Selling an Elf

Most folks like Christmas or "the holidays". Many folks like elves, and everybody enjoys vintage ornaments. So it only follows that lots of folks like vintage elf ornaments at Christmas and the holidays! And what better way to bring to a crescendo the warm and fuzzy merging of folks love of elves, ornaments, Christmas, and the holidays than in a painting? A painting of a vintage holiday elf ornament!

                                 "Jolly Old Elf"   5x7 inches,   oil on canvas

I received a lot of positive feedback when this painting was displayed in my solo exhibit back in July, but nobody bought it at that time. That's why it's always good, in a solo show, (if the venue will allow it) to include plenty of sample sheets with contact information for viewers to take.

In addition to holidays, ornaments, and elves, people love free stuff. Sample sheets, even more so than business cards, are kept in prominent places by interested viewers who at some point may want to make a purchase. I’ve had people email me to say they have my sample sheet tacked up on their cubical walls at work. It’s encouraging when someone contacts me about buying a piece months after an exhibit closes.

That's what happened recently when I received a call from a local gentleman who purchased “Jolly Old Elf” to give to a sibling this holiday season. I've got a couple more small holiday pieces I'm now working up that he wants to potentially purchase for other family members as well. What a great feeling it was after we met, to watch him page through my website galleries on his smartphone and get his reaction to my work first hand. This is the second holiday painting I've sold in the past month.

Yes, it's the holidays all year long!

JoeWinklerArt.com

National Gallery of Art Inspiration - Baroque and Dutch

Generally speaking, one of my favorite periods of art history is the 1600s (otherwise known as the 17th century). This is the Baroque period. A period in which some of the greatest oil painters lived and brought to full bloom the art of classic, traditional oil painting.

                           Peter Paul Rubens, "Daniel in the Lion's Den"

The followers of Caravaggio mentioned in the last post and, Caravaggio himself, are sometimes included in this period. Their work certainly had the drama-filled light and action, that the period is known for, yet I've seen books that place them in the High Renaissance. There are rarely clean breaks in general history. It’s mostly just gradual change that becomes apparent and “defined” when looking back, and the history of art is no different.

                           Masterworks

Either way, the rooms at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. hold many treasures from this period, including among them masterworks from the Dutch school which include Rembrandt van Rijn and Frans Hals.

Here are shots I took of some Dutch paintings from the swingin’ 1600s:

                   Frans Hals, “Portrait of a Member of the Haarlem Civic Guard” (detail)

Jan de Bray, “Portrait of the Artist's Parents, Salomon de Bray and Anna Westerbaen” (detail)

                             One of Rembrandt’s self portraits in detail.


Of course another great Dutch master of that time is Johannes Vermeer. Two paintings of his not to be missed on a visit to NGA is “Girl with the Red Hat” and “Woman Holding a Balance”. They hang in little gallery 50c, which is part of the “cabinet galleries” display.  Here is a shot of my wife looking at “Girl with the Red Hat". I was surprised and encouraged, at how small a well known masterpiece can actually be!

Click here for a quick NGA video that will help you to appreciate this little gem!

JoeWinklerArt.com

National Gallery of Art Inspiration - High Renaisance

After the Titian paintings in my previous post, the next group of paintings I was in awe of at the National Gallery, were those of the Late Renaissance and Baroque period.

Not having any Caravaggios in their collection, the two that were the most Caravaggio-like were the ones below, by Gentileschi and Ribera, and they were fantastic to see in person. Unfortunately my hand was not steady enough to get a clear enough close-up shot to share here.

Gentileschi was one of a group of painters who carried on the techniques of the master Caravaggio. This subject was a popular one in early 1600s Italy. This particular piece has a little still-life incorporated into it too.

                           Orazio Gentileschi “The Lute Player”


Both images use light in a way not seen in earlier Renaissance works. I love the dark, neutral backgrounds that really help push the subject to the front

                 Jusepe De Ribera “The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew”

The High Renaissance is well represented in the rooms at the National Gallery of Art, but so is one of my favorite periods, 1600s Baroque. We’ll look at those next post.

JoeWinklerArt.com

National Gallery of Art Inspiration - Titian

The next paintings that really captured my attention were a few portraits by the Venetian master, Titian.

Among the many reasons these portraits are great is their vivid color, and the illusion of texture he achieved in the sitters clothes. The thin application of paint, right next to areas of more solid impasto paint, especially in the clothing, are what make the subject really tangible. As with the Raphael from the previous post, the delicate way in which the faces are executed, and the softness at key edges are something to be appreciated in person.

                                       Titian, "Cardinal Pietro Bembo" (detail)

The sense that I was seeing actual personalties from over 500 years ago, as opposed to idealized religious subjects was very cool. Just standing so close to these paintings and knowing that this is as close as one can get to being in the presence of the master in his own world, (so very different from our own time) was quite a rush!

                                     Titian, "Ranuccio Farnese" (detail)

Main technical difference to note between these paintings and earlier Renaissance paintings in the National Gallery, is the paint texture getting thicker in highlight areas which makes the brush work more apparent. Titian, sometimes referred to as the first “modern” painter, was one of the earliest painters to begin to move away from the soft, smokey edge techniques and oils on wood panels, to more direct methods of oil painting on canvas.

We'll move on to some Late Renaissance pieces next time.

JoeWinklerArt.com

National Gallery of Art Inspiration - High Renaissance

                           Pillars-National Gallery of Art Entrance

One of the best days of my recent Washington D.C. holiday was spent at the National Gallery of Art. I was there from open to close one day exploring the West buildings' galleries which is where the classic paintings of Europe and North America are hung.

To start off there is a large selection of works from various periods of the Renaissance, which includes the only Leonardo in America. But my favorite high Renaissance painting was Raphael's "Alba Madonna".

Seeing a work like that in person really gives one an appreciation for the quality of the paint surface and the glaze technique (called "sfumato") that no reproduction can capture. Certain areas are so thinly applied in glazes that it's a wonder the illusion of three dimensional form can be achieved so beautifully. Not to mention the amazing color. And there's scarcely a brush stroke to be found anywhere.

By the way, the cast shadows on these images is from that ornate frame, which was just honkin' huge and awesome in itself. I didn't use flash in my photography (scroll down to see my last post concerning that), but paid the price because I didn't bring a mono-pod and could not hold the camera steady enough in the low light of these rooms to get a really sharp image.

In general I think I like Raphael's paintings better than most of the High Renaissance work I see in books and museums. It's a pity he had to die so soon (at only 27). Raphael's figures are a bit more natural than Michelangelo's, and the colors of this particular Madonna more vivid than any Leonardo painting I've seen.

Speaking of vivid color, there were some fantastic Titian's on view in the next few rooms.

We'll look at those a little closer next time.

JoeWinklerArt.com

Back From a D.C. Holiday

Just returned from an art inspiring few days in Washington D.C. Had a couple super gallery visits to the National Gallery of Art and the National Portrait Gallery. In the next few posts I will be sharing my photos of my favorite paintings (yes photography is allowed in the galleries) and discussing why they are my favorites.

But for today, just going to show some photos I took in the midst of some real bad weather. It rained hard all but one day I was there so my outdoor photo options were limited to say the least. I felt my typical shots of the Lincoln Memorial needed some interest so here’s what I came up with:

I really wanted to walk around the tidal basin at sundown and shoot the Jefferson Memorial and other things, but I never got there, mostly because of the weather, and partially because I expended all my energy milling about the art museums from open until close.

In a totally UNretouched image, here is an example of just how much it rained and how heavy the cloud cover was:

That cast shadow on the clouds from the spotlight tells the tail. If you’ve never been there, believe me the capital building is huge but it isn’t real tall. Heavy cloud coverage.

Bats fly around the top of the dome too, which you can see better if you click the image.


One last photo note - I always chuckle to myself when I see folks using flash photography in the art museums. Using flash just destroys the image that is recorded more often than not, by putting a huge white glare right over a portion of the image. And if the painting being shot is behind glass, forget about seeing any image at all. Either bring a monopod or just turn up the ISO and hold the camera extra steady when shooting. I think people in general over estimate the amount of light needed in digital photography.

JoeWinklerArt.com

Inspirational Holiday

Well, September came quick this year and it’s time for the blog to take a holiday. It’s going to be an inspirational one because I will be visiting Washington D.C. and going to the National Gallery of Art as well as the National Portrait Gallery.

                     National Gallery of Art interior

                      National Portrait Gallery interior

One of the great things about living where I live is that D.C. and the National Gallery of Art, is only a few hours drive away. One of the bad things about living where I live is that we only get a certain amount of good weather every year, so I admittedly am more prolific in my art during the Fall and Winter seasons than I am in the Spring or Summer. So this trip comes at a good time since it should stoke my painting fires really right for the months ahead.

Below are some of the great paintings in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

                                "Girl with a Red Hat"  by Johannes Vermeer

                               "Street in Venice"  by John Singer Sargent

                                 "The Biglin Brothers Racing"  by Thomas Eakins

                                    “Ginevera de Benci” by Leonardo da Vinci

If you’ve ever been to the National Gallery of Art or the National Portrait Gallery, e-mail me and let me know which paintings were your favorites and why.

Finally, click here for a great YouTube video about Vermeer’s “Girl with a Red Hat”.

JoeWinklerArt.com