Finding Frida
What You Should Know Frida Kahlo is one of the best known 20th century female realists to be rescued from potentially being lost to history. A lengthy series of shows, books, plays, movies, and relentless [...]
Nightfall / Snowfall
The above painting by Ivan Fedorovich Choulste, Nuit de Mars, Russie, is a reprisal from our previous edition. It’s a remarkable painting that bears a closer look. The black pond mirrors the night sky, a [...]
Snow Day!
Like many of his peers, Russian landscapist Ivan Choulste dedicated himself to the rugged natural beauty of his country but he truly excelled at painting snow. He adored the light of the Mediterranean, but his [...]
From the Many to the True
After you’ve been painting a while, you might reach a point where you begin to suspect that you lack a “style” - your work seems all over the place, your processes somewhat random, your paintings, [...]
The Science of Stealing
Good artists imitate; great artists steal. This phrase is variously attributed to Steve Jobs (who misattributed it to Pablo Picasso), and to Lionel Trilling, Igor Stravinsky, T.S. Eliot, and William Faulkner. (Oh, and the less well-known [...]
Figures Shrouded in Mystery
“My decorations belong to the poetic and imaginative world where a few choice spirits live.” - Thomas Wilmer Dewing, from a letter to Charles Lang Freer dated February 16, 1901. Inspired by his summers in [...]
Resetting Your Palette – and Your Mind
Recent psychological studies about creativity identify mindset as a helpful way of understanding why some artists have long, fruitful careers and others give up. A poll of 140 creativity researchers identified the most important ingredients [...]
The Forest for the Trees
For anyone building an art career, individual successes and failures often can feel like “live or die” moments. Dealing with setbacks is part of the job description. One of the best strategies may be to [...]
A Morning Walk with Sargent and Monet
“Is Mr. Sargent in very fact an American painter?” asked American novelist Henry James in the pages of Harper’s Bazaar in October, 1887. Sargent had recently moved to Britain from France and was scouting Boston [...]
Open Skies and Breezy Seas
A look at the marine paintings and life of historic master Emil Carlsen Nordic Reflections: The Marine Paintings of Emil Carlsen By Valerie Ann Leeds Lyricism, quietude, subtlety — these are the defining qualities of [...]