Georgia O’Keeffe, Roderick Mead, Lynn Burton and Southwest Art

Lynn Burton: Chief and Skull (oil on Canvas)
Lynn Burton: Chief and Skull (oil on Canvas) {click, and type Lynn Burton in the Search}

My brother, Lynn Burton, paints anything and everything. However, I appreciate his southwest art motif more than others. I especially like paintings of his Native American Indians, and although we no longer live in the state of New Mexico, we were raised there. So, the tale of Native Americans were a part of our lives.

When people ask me where I came from, I tell them: “I’m from the badlands of New Mexico, barely northeast of Sitting Bull Falls where the great Indian Chief used the butte of the mountain to send smoke signals to his warriors. I was raised one hundred and thirty miles southeast of Lincoln, New Mexico where the murdering, lying, cheating, stealing, and to some at the time, avenging angel, William H. Bonney (alias: Billy the Kid) lived. I am from the state that has the “beep…beep” Road Runner as a state bird, and Yucca as a state flower. I am from the Land of Enchantment. As a young person, I lived eighty-eight miles from where the world famous artist, Georgia O’Keeffe lived.”

"Ram's Head White Hollyhock and Little Hills", 1935
Georgia O’Keeffe: “Ram’s Head White Hollyhock and Little Hills”, 1935

My father took lessons from the well-known artist Roderick Mead. Mr. Mead was a friend of Georgia O’Keefe. One Sunday afternoon at one of my father’s art lessons, he was surprised by a visit to Mr. Mead’s class by Ms O’Keefe. He had the opportunity to meet the famous artist, ask her questions, and listen to her freely talk about her art.

Roderick Mead: Bird of Prey-wood engraving

So, the experience of being raised in New Mexico embedded an artistic desire to paint and draw images of cowboys, cattle, ranches, mountains, plants, animal skulls, and many other items that represent the atmosphere and life of the old west.

My brother is an experimenting person. He likes to try things few seldom does, especially in different materials and forms of substrates. He is constantly looking for different materials that give him different surfaces.

Acrylic Underpainting
Acrylic Under Painting : Unfinished: Lynn Burton

He also experiments with different mediums, constantly trying to come up with some new method of reaching a certain outcome he envisions. It doesn’t seem to bother him if it doesn’t turn out the way he visualizes. “Sometimes it doesn’t turn out the way I thought it would, but often it’s different, even better,” he said, when we discussed it the other day.

The painting to the right is a painting in acrylic that will be painted over in oil. He often under paints his oils with acrylic.

Be sure to visit the galleries above, and visit the art work of different members of the family.  My brother has his own gallery, but it expands if you click on the upper picture on the left, find the magnifying glass and type Lynn Burton in the search.  You can also click here> http://fineartamerica.com/ 

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Lynn Burton: Dancing in the Moonlight (oil on canvas)
Lynn Burton: Dancing in the Moonlight (oil on canvas)

 

 

 

 

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Al Capp, Chester Gould, Stan Lee: A Great Inspiration to Many Cartoonists

Graphite Drawings
Graphite drawings for Graphic Novel slide show

I recall as a young teenager that I was fascinated by the comics. I don’t know if it was the shapely women in the Al Capp’s cartoon strip, Li’l Abner, that inspired me, or the great and more serious intriguing sleuth, Dick Tracy by Chester Gould, or any of the Marvel and DC Comics that I tried copying with a #2H pencil. What a great inspiration Stan Lee was to us all.

I wanted to be a cartoonist. It is a path I might have enjoyed following, but as I matured, I forgot my young passion for this particular art. My Dad kept telling me there was no money in art, that most artists starve. He didn’t mention that in the late 1950s Al Capp was making over a hundred thousand dollars a year with his cartoon strip. Imagine what that is today! That wasn’t starving! I’m not even going to mention PEANUTS!

graphite drawing
Graphite drawing

So, now, here I am, fifty-seven years later, working on a graphic novel style realistic (almost) cartoon narrated slide show film. It brings me back to yesteryear when I dreamed of being a cartoonist, and it feels comfortable. However, it is not as simple as I thought it would be when I was offered the opportunity. I need to draw more than three times the amount of graphite drawings than I anticipated, which will take more than three times the amount of time I planned to put into it; plus, many of the drawings are rejects…not following the narrator’s story close enough or timely enough to fit in. Whew! Okay, I’ll trudge on.

Graphite Drawing
Graphite Drawing

First off, the story is not PC correct in the very sensitive world of today; but, keep in mind,  it is a fictional story taking place in 1897 in South Carolina. If I tell more than this, I’ll end up telling the story, so I will not talk more about it. Just understand the racial sensitivities, the morays, and the moral codes of the deep south thirty-two years after the Civil War were not what they are today.

I enjoy the art of it all, and consider it a challenge. After reviewing several books that have helped me understand the challenge of doing realistic drawings in a cartoon scenario, I have especially learned to appreciate the great Stan Lee. What a world he helped to create. Any cartoonist, or graphic artist, must pay homage to the man.

graphite drawing
She shot him in the left butt cheek with thirteen gauge buck-shot!

 

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Review of Five of Most Popular Posts

Wassily Kandinsky: "Composition Vll" (1913)
Wassily Kandinsky: “Composition Vll” (1913)

Who and What Inspired Wassily Kandinsky? Wassily Kandinsky was a brilliant, well educated student of life. In 1896, at the age of 30, he was pursuing a promising career as a law and economics instructor. Fortunately for the world of art and all future artist he made a passionate and major career change at this time of his life. He decided to seek a life of art. Who and what inspired him to make such a drastic change of life? (To review this, click on the picture to the right)

 

El Greco: "Christ Driving the Traders From the Temple"
El Greco: “Christ Driving the Traders From the Temple”

 

El Greco Famous Artist Techniques: El Greco’s works are painted on a fine canvas and covered with a warm reddish-brown ground. This was common in the second half of the sixteenth century. He used thick oil with the consistency of honey to temper his pigments, applying it with broken strokes using a course hog’s hair brush.

(click on picture to the left to read this very informative article)

 

R. D. Burton: "The Old Woodie" (Acrylic on Board~2012)
R. D. Burton: “The Old Woodie” (Acrylic on Board~2012)

It was not Edward Hopper’s “GAS” that inspired me: The images that Hopper painted often evoked uncertainty, which was somewhat mystifying. A sense of loneliness tended to prevail while he depicted deserted small towns, desolate images of urban and suburban areas, railroad tracks leading in or out of an industrial area. If the scene was not totally deserted there was a solitary figure or couple in a cafe, empty office, or hotel room. I have Hopper’s famous painting, Nighthawks, as my computer screen savor. (Great article. Click on picture to read.)

 

 

graphite drawings for Curse of St. Croix (Prologue)
Illustrated graphic novel graphite drawings for Curse of St. Croix (Prologue)

Artist Richard Burton Illustrating a Short Graphic Story: Sometimes an artist decides to step out of their comfort zone to a much more uncomfortable zone.  In my case, from fine art drawing and painting to illustration work.

I have finished twenty-three drawings that covers only five pages of a 20 page story, with approximately seventy-five to go. I am in the process of doing graphite drawing works for a narrated short slide graphic story soon to be published. (Click pic)

Graphite Drawing
Graphite Drawing for narrated slide-show: Curse of St. Croix (Prologue)

What Are The Main Parts of a Good Composition: Why do some paintings and drawings seem to work while others do not? It depends on how much an artist puts into the planning stages. When it comes to composition, some artists seem to do things instinctively, almost as if it comes natural. These are usually artists that have spent a good deal of time with palette and brush in hand. When painting or drawing, they naturally think of the main elements of composition: AREA; DEPTH; LINE; and VALUE.

(Click on drawing to the left to read article)

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Manet: The Hesitant Revolutionary

“There is only one true thing: Instantly paint what you see. When you’ve got it, you’ve got it. When you haven’t, you begin again. All the rest is humbug.” – Edouard Manet

Edgar Degas sketches of Manet

“We didn’t know that he was this great,” commented Edouard Manet’s friend, Edgar Degas, shortly after Manet’s death. This was understandable since Manet the man had carefully hidden Manet the artist. The passing of Manet the man suddenly exposed Manet the artist with utmost transparency.

Manet’s friend, the esoteric poet at the time, Stephen Mallarme, described him as “the only man who tried to open up a new path for himself and for all painting.”

Edouard Manet: Before the Mirror Oil on canvas, 1876

Few artists are kind to their colleagues, and although Paul Cezanne never cared for Manet’s personality, he declared that with Edouard Manet began “a new state of painting.”

Gauguin often was quoted as flatly stating: “Painting begins with Manet.”

No one at the time doubted that Manet deserved the epithet revolutionary. Often modified, but never basically questioned was the state of painting since the 14th century. this is what Manet overthrew, creating a new state of painting – modern painting.

Manet’s painting, Before the Mirror, defines what his revolution was about. The painting depicts a woman (probably of easy virtue), partially dressed with her back toward the viewer. She seems to be gazing at herself in the mirror.

Mirrors were not new for artists. They were often used by all artists as symbols of their profession, reflecting not only the model portrayed, but also the art of painting.

However, Manet changed the concept of art, thus the revolution. For centuries, the clarity of the images in mirrors painted by artists was the success or failure of the artist. In his painting, Before the Mirror, Manet never even tried to paint the image in the mirror. He did something strange. Instead of seeing the young woman’s likeness in the mirror, their is a plethora of loose brush strokes, rough, and thick. All we see is paint!

The confused art world went crazy, but in 1890, more than a decade after Manet painted Before the Mirror, artist Maurice Denis explained Manet’s relationship between the subject depicted and the act of depicting in this manner: “Remember that a picture – before being a war horse, a nude woman, or an anecdote – is essentially a plane surface covered with colors assembled in a certain order.” Manet brought about an art revolution in the 19th century that has lasted to this day. Be free artist. Their are no rules.

It was not Before the Mirror that was Manet’s only clash with the art world. Many of his paintings confused, and changed the way art was conceived. However, as all great people do, they just do.

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What Are The Main Parts of a Good Composition

Representational portion of larger paintingWhy do some paintings and drawings seem to work while others do not? It depends on how much an artist puts into the planning stages. When it comes to composition, some artists seem to do things instinctively, almost as if it comes natural. These are usually artists that have spent a good deal of time with palette and brush in hand. When painting or drawing, they naturally think of the main elements of composition: AREA; DEPTH; LINE; and VALUE.

AREA: This is the flat surface within the four borders which you draw and paint. You need to concern yourself with the objects that you place in the picture, and how they relate to each other. How large are they?

Graphite Pencil

 

DEPTH: A large house (southern mansion) is above and to the left of the woman’s head. A tree is in the lawn of the mansion drawn much smaller than the trees on the right side of the picture. However, when looking at it, it seems to be as tall as the trees on the right. This feels natural to a viewer, because the different sizes represent distance. When representing depth, objects are drawn or painted in a way they seem to exist in space, appearing close or far away to the viewer. The partial large trunk of the tree to the right, and the expanse and different levels of the ground also depict depth.

LINE: By arranging the objects in your composition so their shapes or main lines lead a viewer’s eye unconsciously to the center of interest.

VALUE: Simply put, value is the lightness or darkness of either a particular area or shape within the picture or of the whole picture.

There is much to consider when working with value. I only recall something I read once by N.C. Wyeth, “Let your darks be dark, and your lights light.”

My brother, artist, Lynn Burton (gallery above) always said to put drawing or painting in a dark room with very little light, and if you can make out the objects in the picture, then the value is correct.

Whether it works or not, the darkest area of the illustration above is the nurse’s dress (the woman in the middle). It is next to the white dress on the woman on the left. A viewer’s eye should go directly to these two women. The nurse uniforms would not work today, but this is the way they were in 1897 in South Carolina.  This is illustration work for a graphic novel.  The women are staring at the father of the woman in white. He’d just dropped the young woman off at the Howloon Asylem for the mentally ill.  She is in agony, and the nurse next to her is coddling her. Everything in this picture is depth, line, and value.

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Artist, Richard D. Burton, Illustrating a short graphic story

Richard D. Burton

Sometimes an artist decides to step out of their comfort zone to a much more uncomfortable zone.  In my case, from fine art drawing and painting to illustration work.

Twenty-three drawings that covers only five pages of 20 page story. An estimated seventy-five to go.

I am in the process of doing graphite drawing works for a narrated short slide graphic story that is to be placed on YouTube sometime in the future.  That is, if I ever get my part finished. Also, if the producer gets a narrator, actors, music and sound effects that can fit into the drawn frames as they slip and slide across the screen.  To date, I have made a great many drawings with many more to do.

Without spilling the beans and telling the story, all I can say is that it is a “gripper”.  I was concerned at first, because I felt it wasn’t PC correct until I realized it was total fiction set in the deep south in1897 when there was no PC correctness. Most of all, there is the possibility that a Zombie is involved.  Let’s face it, do we have to be PC correct with a Zombie?  That’s all I’m going to mention about the story.  However, there is more to discuss about illustration work.

I have learned the hard way that pictures seldom “just” happen.  A good picture encompasses related elements supporting and strengthening each other that determines the form and success of the finished work.  No matter how well you draw or paint, a picture will not be complete until all its parts have been put harmoniously together.

It is important for an artist to clearly understand what they wish to communicate, and then give pictorial form to the idea. When they do, they must arrange the shapes into a logical order which helps get the original idea clearly across to the viewer.

Remember that the first image that comes to mind is only a possibility.  An artist often thinks on paper. I know I certainly do. It is the only way I’ve ever found to come up with a picture that works. The picture on the right (>>) took at least fourteen small sketches before I finally settled on this one. Of course, when illustrating, the picture must relate to the story.

To think, draw, and arrange the objects you need for your composition is time consuming; but it is also one of the most interesting and important (as well as fun) steps to a completed illustration.

It doesn’t take long to understand that when placing objects in a picture, one needs to reduce them to their most simplistic shapes. For example, two individuals are facing each other in the composition. The closest one has his back to the viewer, the other facing him is farther away? Sometimes the person closest to the viewer is much larger than the one farther away.  So, a good understanding of perspective is critical.

Sometimes I will draw separately on different paper all objects to be in a picture.  I will blow them up or down on my printer, cut them out, and experiment with them together onto a separate paper while using a perspective grid to make sure the size relationship is correct.

My favorite book on perspective is Matthew Brehm’s book: DRAWING PERSPECTIVE HOW TO SEE IT AND HOW TO APPLY IT.

After thinking, drawing, arranging and checking perspective, you must consider the very important BIG THREE…DEPTH, LINE,VALUE.  This will be discussed in another blog.

Eleven years old Willa Mae now understood the adults told little white lies. What the animals were doing was not playing, they were making life.
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Marketing Art

Anguished Spirit/Trail of Tears
Anguished Spirit/Trail of Tears:Richard D. Burton (Watercolor/ 300# Archers

The internet is full of someone writing an e-book for you to download that promises the magic of marketing your art.  Much of it is good, but most are one variation or another of the same seven to ten points of what to do.

Congratulation to all artists that stay in the game and are involved with it with regularity. This means that you are in the field DOING IT. It probably means you’re thick-skinned, and can take rejection without it destroying you. Succeeding at anything takes not only talent, hard work, and perseverance, but mental strength, as well. This comes from knowing you are great at what you do, and never doubting it no matter what anyone thinks. You recognize if ever you have a doubt, or a mental stumble, you can get it all back with a simple thought by asking yourself:

“How bad do I want it?”

Although, Vincent Van Gogh may or may not have sold a painting in his lifetime, it didn’t seem to keep him from continuing on with his work. This was especially true in the last year of his life when he became extremely prolific by painting (some say) 200 separate paintings. But I can imagine him saying, almost screaming each time he slapped paint on canvas, “How bad do I want it?  To bad he didn’t hang around long enough to find that he really was the artist that he thought he was. Perhaps, his original intention when chopping off his ear was to get attention, not to go down that dark tunnel of which no one has yet to return.  Yet here we are one hundred and twenty-six years later talking and writing about it.

Remember, whatever it is that people say about you, good or bad, you are successful if they are just talking about you.

Anguished Spirit/Trail of Tears
Anguished Spirit/Trail of Tears: Richard D. Burton/Graphite on Paper

I certainly hope that none of us cut off an ear, or ready to take such dire measures to succeed. However, it is important that we keep our passions high, never doubting our talent, never being afraid to take chances.

I remember it was back in the early seventies (may have been late sixties) in Houston, Texas, that I read an article about an artist that was suddenly the rage in town. It was the artist, Jim Rabby, who was painting colorful pallet knife oil abstracts. I went to visit his studio, and all I saw was a very colorful owl that he painted. The paint was so thick, and worked over with a pallet knife, that it looked almost like a bass relief. Although it was very colorful, it didn’t “grasp” me. Why? Because I was unable to comprehend his type of art at the time.  In other words, I would not have been able to create his composition as an artist, because I was unable to think like he did.

However, he could do it, and he did do it.  Yes, he did it, and not only did it, but did it in a big way. He marketed his work with zeal, and he did so in a big way; and his work sold, and his work sold in a big way. You can check the web, he’s been very successful with his style of art. In other words, he didn’t believe you had to die so that a hundred years later you might be somebody. He decided to be somebody while alive.  I congratulate him. This was more than forty-five years ago, and he was kind enough to talk to me in the studio the day I visited, and I recognized in him a vivacity and self confidence I had not seen in many artists. He believed in his talent and himself.  He knew he was doing something people liked.  Mostly, they were willing to spend good money to have what he was offering them.

My suggestion for marketing your art (remember, I simplify all things):

  1. Do good work
  2. Believe in yourself
  3. Promote  your art and yourself with ZEAL
  4. Do all of the above non-stop, and never ceasing

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Trail of Tears Saga: Anguished Spirit

Making a full scale drawing.

So, I awakened a few months ago, and was dreaming of a most unusual event in history. It really happened, and was known as the “great removal”. A scourge in the annals of American history.  It was also known as “the trail of tears.” This was when President Andrew Jackson ordered the Cherokee Indians to be removed from their homes and sent to the western territories.

ANGUISHED SPIRIT
ANGUISHED SPIRIT/TRAIL OF TEARS: RICHARD D. BURTON-18″X28″/WATERCOLOR ON 300#ARCHERS COLD PRESS

If you’ve been following this blog, you may be familiar with the story, but if not I’ll remind all of the situation as it happened.

I dreamed of the Indians under great stress and anguish walking the more than a thousand miles through rough terrain and agonizing weather as their relatives died and were buried off the side of the trail to the tune of more than four thousand burials.  I also dreamed of an anguished, disheartened spirit in the sky watching over the reluctant travelers.

As I awakened, I knew I must do something tho the incident happened approximately 176 years ago. I felt that I had to paint a picture of what I dreamed, or envisioned. There are others that have painted the incident, but I have not let their paintings influence me. I am hung up on my originality. My compositions are mine, and mine alone; and, as far as I know, they don’t have the spirit in the sky. I did a lot of historic research, mostly trying to get the clothing and head dress correct.

I also did sample paintings for practice while concerning myself with how to portray the anguished spirit.

Cut outs of different figures for graphite composition
Cut outs of different figures for graphite composition
"The Removal - Trail of Tears"
“The Removal – Trail of Tears” (19″wX15″h)
Transparent Watercolor

My concern was whether to paint the spirit as I did the Indians (in full color), or did I want to paint it in a monochrome style? I decided on the latter, using the color of the sky, which at the time was already painted. All I did to get the depiction was to remove the paint with a wet brush, leaving the lighter color outlining the image.

I realized that with enough imagination, their could be several different compositions taking some of the Indians out of the paintings and rearranging them.

portion of drawing: Anguished Spirit-Trail of Tears
portion of drawing: Anguished Spirit-Trail of Tears
Down WindWait: R.D. Burton
“Down Wind Wait”: Watercolor (Arches :300) – R.D.Burton

Although, I have many different ideas for paintings other than the Original Americans, and must get to it. However, by using the drawings and sketches already worked on, I intend to someday return to these compositions and paint more. Until then, they can patiently wait in a file drawer in my studio.

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Artist, Richard Burton painting in his garage.
Artist, Richard Burton painting in his garage.

 

Posted in American Indian, art, art information, Composition, Drawing, painting, R. D. Burton, Richard D. Burton, Trail of Tears, watercolor | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Trail of Tears Saga: Anguished Spirit

Abstract Art – What is it?

Artist, Richard Burton painting in his garage.
Artist, Richard Burton painting in his garage.

The world of art went through fundamental changes in terms of style toward the end of the nineteenth century. Trying to mirror reality or capturing a moment in time was no longer the purpose of art. The brush strokes, marks, and colors made by an artist gave validity to the world as they interpreted it. In other words, their creation became an end within itself.

Recently I was asked, what is an abstract painting? I didn’t exactly know how to define the answer, so I think I mumbled something like…”If you don’t know what it is, but you sort of like or hate it, it’s abstract.” Personally, I’ve enjoyed and liked some abstract art most of my life. One of my favorite abstract artists is Wassily Kandinsky, who often has been given credit for being one of the first abstract artists, if not the father of abstract art.

Wassily Kandinsky: "Composition Vll" (1913)
Wassily Kandinsky: “Composition Vll” (1913)

Kandinsky explained his interpretation of his work when asked about his paintings: “Color is the keyboard. The eye is the hammer. The soul is the piano, with its many strings. The artist is the hand that purposefully sets the soul vibrating by means of this or that key.”

Okay, so Kandinsky had a more perfect explanation of what abstract art is than I did, but for some, however, I believe that I nailed it. I’ll try to remember Kandinsky’s lines so the next time I’m asked, I’ll sound more fluid.

The trip toward abstraction began in earnest in the early years of the twentieth century, as artist began to colorfully depict the world around them. Matisse and Fauves used colors for emotional or decorative effects, rather than a means to make objects appear realistic. Pablo Picasso depicted form and space with ground breaking change.

Picasso - Cubism
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon: Pablo Picasso, 1907, Cubism

In his Cubist painting, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, Picasso’s influence came from primitive art. The three women on the left of the work were painted at the start of 1907 when he was inspired by ancient Iberian carving from pre-Roman times. the other two figures were painted when his interest had shifted toward African art.

Along the journey towards abstraction their were many new artists that became the rage. Franz Kline developed a distinctive style of painting after seeing his brushwork magnified through a projector.

Painting Number 2: Franz Kline
Painting Number2 : Franz Kline, 1954

 

 

You can see copies of many of Kline’s works in offices even to this day. This particular one is at the Museum of Modern Art, so I do not have to tell you it is valued at a fortune.

Talking about fortunes and then some, if you accidentally stumble across the “dribbler’s”work(Jackson Pollock), it’s like winning the lottery (100 mil or better).220px-Namuth_-_PollockPollock placed his canvases on the ground and rapidly started pouring, dripping, splashing, and manipulating the paint with a variety of implements.

Jackson Pollock: "Blue Poles"
Jackson Pollock: “Blue Poles”

Recently, I was asked to do an abstract painting by my nephew and his soon wife to be. I felt it would be a good decision to do as a wedding present, so I decided to tackle the job. Those of you that know me, know I’m more of a realist painter, so when I decide to do the work, I did so with a certain sense of concern. I really was entering a knew world. I did not wish to imitate any other artist’s, so I didn’t even open an art book (which I have more than I should) to seek ideas. No, I grabbed some acrylic paints and a small board canvass, turned on a Ludvig Von Beethoven CD (Yes, I listen to music sometimes when painting…jazz, blues, rock-and-roll, rock, and sometimes classical.), and began slapping paint to canvas. However, it wasn’t until Beethoven’s 5th Symphony came on did the brush, colors, and canvas become one. Suddenly, it was right in front of me. The idea I was looking for! Now, all I had to do was get the composition onto a much larger canvas.

I hope you enjoy:

"Composition in the 5th": (Acrylic on canvas - 40"X60") - Artist: Richard D. Burton
“Composition in the 5th”: (Acrylic on canvas – 40″X60″) – Artist: Richard D. Burton

 

 

Posted in Abstract Art, art, art information, art museum, Artist, Composition in the 5th, Franz Kline, Jackson Pollock, Matisse, Pablo Picasso, painting, R. D. Burton, Richard Burton, Richard D. Burton, Wassily Kandinsky | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Abstract Art – What is it?

The Impressionists Changed the World

Oscar-Claude Monet
Oscar-Claude Monet

The term “Impressionism” comes from the title of Claude Monet’s painting Impression, soleil levant (Interpreted: Impression, Sunrise. The painting was exhibited in 1874, and changed the world for artists. Monet had painted the painting before nature outside of the studio and in the open air. Prior to this, paintings were usually produced in the artists studio. Of course, artists sketched outdoors; however, their sketches were used for references to the highly realistic paintings they did inside.

As usual when a new art movement is introduced, the impressionists were received with a storm of protests. Art connoisseurs, as well as, art lovers and buyers were accustomed to seeing paintings with the tiniest details defined. They felt the impressionists were merely doing color sketches. Roughly 150 years later we are used to allowing our eyes see the details that are not depicted, just as we do in nature. Most good impressionists can give enough details (just as we see nature) to represent what actually exists.

Impression, soliel levant: Claude Monet
Impression, soliel levant: Claude Monet

Many of the artist of today prefer the plein-air method of painting landscape. They love to capture the colors of natural light falling on the various hues of nature. Most will agree that the fresh air they breath as they paint is so refreshing that the exaltation helps create the mood of their paintings.

The practice of open-air painting appeals, mostly, to the artist’s desire for a direct appeal to nature. The impressionists to this day, just as it was in the beginning of the movement, insist that artist should concentrate on capturing the color intensity of the visual world before their eyes.

Technological advances played a large part in the impressionist movement. Prior to the nineteenth century, artists had been obliged to mix their own pigments and oils in small batches that had to be used quickly before they dried up. The availability of zinc paint tubes transformed their working methods. The portability of new, ready made colors were much more affordable and easy to use. The new manufactured pigments enabled artist to capture the intensity of color created by strong sunlight.

Today, literally thousands of artist are impressionists, and many of them paint in the plein-air method (open air technique). Art Center Information’s featured Artist of the Month, Texas artist, Lynn Burton, likes to remind us that although he paints all different genres, he loves to “Get up early in the morning before the sun comes up, and go out to the farms and country, and with brush, paint, and canvas, have a great time.” “Gettin’ loose,” he likes to call it. “Don’t know how many hundreds of times over the last 50 years of painting I’ve done this,” he continues.

One of our favorite plein-air paintings of Lynn’s is below. If you want to search Lynn’s latest paintings, you can go to

http://www.fineartamerica.com/

Be sure to type his name in the search section.

You can also get to his page by clicking the picture at the bottom.

Also, feel free to browse all the galleries above.

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Lynn Burton: Babbling Brook Bridge - Oil on Canvass
Lynn Burton: Babbling Brook Bridge – Oil on Canvass

 

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