Artwork of the month: Married Life.

Married life is a big deal to me, being a new husband and wanting my marriage to be successful I tend to look at couples in happy marriages hat have lasted a very long time and wonder.  Everyone has a different view on what makes a marriage a success.  For me, I want to be able to always improve the quality of our lives as a couple, and to simply maintain our happiness.  That said I want to show you a work of art that I see as comedy, and brilliance.

The painting "Married Life" by Roger de la Fresnaye, depicts a man reading the paper smoking a pipe with his naked wife around his arm.  That being how the artist views marriage is funny, seriously funny, and I am sure that artist laughed at it.  If you can't see the humor in that I can not help you.  Oddly, this painting has had a profound impact on my compositional choices over the last 10 years.  I truly admire the composition, the placement and bend of the objects, and the line work on the figures.  it is a strong cubist work, and I'll bet the artist was proud of his little joke.  "Married Life" is hanging out at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts on permanent display.  I have been lucky enough to be able to spend a great amount of time studying this work.  

Roger de la Fresnaye

French, 1885-1925

"Married Life"

1912, oil on canvas

I am a husband...

...it is the best decision I have ever made.

Artwork of the month: Georges Braque.

I have been working on abstractions of the Minneapolis landscape; simple line drawings that I will eventually turn into oil paintings.  As I think about my forms, I envision color combinations that will express the content of each composition.  Lately I have been reminded of Georges Braque's landscape "The Viaduct at L'Estaque" and how bright and unstable his use of color feels.

This is my favorite landscape at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.  I have always paused in front of it to just look without thinking.  The use of yellow as a central color is unnatural, and oddly waking while allowing it to retain the laid-back mood of a landscape. Braque created harmony with discord like a soothing out of tune instrument.

The nonnaturalistic colors of the Fauves, and the simple geometric forms he reduced the subject-matter to are pointedly runners up to Cézanne's work of bold all encompassing spaces.  Albeit, Braque's choices are those of a master as this is a master oil painting.

Georges Braque

French, 1882-1963

"The Viaduct at L'Estaque"

1907, oil on canvas

"Art is made to disturb, science reassures."

-Georges Braque

Rabbititus studies.

I like this direction...

...now to work on movement.

Artwork of the month: Cubist village.

I simply love this oil painting.  Cubism had its moments that is for sure.  Albert Gleizes is considered a founding father of cubism.  He has an overwhelming amount of good paintings in his portfolio, but what he lacks is self control, as his work is rarely edited.  This painting is one of my favorite works on display at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

Albert Gleizes

French, 1881-1953

"The Village"

1913, oil on canvas

Thanks for reading even though this post is a little slack...
...more to come soon.

Artwork of the month: Fernand Léger.

I have been contemplating this work of art at the Minneapolis institute of arts for several years now.  Up close and personal this oil paining looks vibrant and alive while muted and soft.  Compositionally this painting is bold and subtle.  The subject matter is plainly laid out for the view to understand through the abstraction.  

The impact that this has had on my own compositions is telling in my art three studies.  The example that Leger leaves behind for abstract painters is one of simple bold daily life.  Besides life is more interesting than stories, and this painting tells us no mythology, but only presents its subject.

Fernand Léger

French, 1881-1955

"Table and fruit"

1909, oil on canvas

Thanks for checking in with the blog...

...I will post more of my ink studies soon.