Cosplay is an Art: Megacon Birmingham 2022

via The 86th Floor: Cosplay and Cons

Fashion is DEFINITELY an Art: The Crystal Ball - Fall Fashion Show March 2022

 

via Dallas Market Center

Album Cover: Jennifer Lopez - Love?

Album Cover

Album: Jennifer Lopez - Love?

Released: April 29, 2011

Cover Art Designed: Julian Peploe

Photographer: Warwick Saint

Art Direction: JP Robinson, Julian Peploe, and Warwick Saint

Sources: Wikipedia, Composite.is

Cy Twombly

Art Appreciation

Born in Lexington, Virginia on April 25, 1928, Cy Twombly is best known for large-scale, freely-scribbled, calligraphic and graffiti-like works on mostly gray, tan, and off-white colors.

Twombly began taking private art lessons at the age of 12 from the Catalan artist Pierre Daura. After attending art schools and universities, he studied at the Art Students League of New York. There he met Robert Rauschenberg.

Rauschenberg encouraged him to attend Black Mountain College. There he met other artists who had influence in his work.

His first solo exhibition was held at the Samuel M. Kootz Gallery in New York City in 1951. 

In 1957, Twombly moved to Rome and married Italian artist Baroness Tatiana Franchetti. They had a son, Cyrus Alessandro Twombly, a couple years later. 

From 1955 to 1959, he worked along side Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns.  Around that time, Twombly developed the technique of gestural drawing characterized by thin white lines on dark canvas, appearing as if the surface had scratches.

In the 1960s and 70s, Twombly would inscribe names of mythological figures in his paintings. In 1978, Twombly's Fifty Days at Ilium incorporated cryptic pictorial metaphors.

Untitled (1957)

Leda and the Swan (1962)

Victory (1984)

Source: Wikipedia, Wikiart

Dance: Doja Cat - Woman

Choreography: JoJo Gomez

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Cosplay is an Art: K1DSUN - Espejo

Cosplayers: Nadyasonika, ShiraHime, Twiin Cosplay and Glory Lamothe

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Fashion is Definitely an Art: Giorgio Armani Spring/Summer 2022

Fashion Designer: Giorgio Armani

via FF Channel

Texas' Falkenstein Castle

When the world was closed during the early part of the pandemic, 2020, my girlfriend and I noticed a castle in the distance while hiking Longhorn Cavern State Park. The sight triggered our curiosity; however, we soon forgot about it when we returned to Austin.

Recently, I came across an article on El Paso's KLAQ radio station's website that highlighted a castle in the Hill Country--the one we saw on our hike. If you aren't familiar with the Hill Country, it's the area west of Austin that is... well... hilly. 

The article included a YouTube video by Kara and Nate, a young globetrotting couple from Tennessee, who stayed at the castle. 

In the video, Kara explains that the castle, which is called Falkenstein, was inspired by King Ludwig II's Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. Further research finds that the owners, Terry and Kim Young, used a design by King Ludwig II for his other castle, Falkenstein, which didn't get fully built.

The 20,000 sq. ft. castle sits on 113 acres of land located about 13 miles west of Burnet, Texas. 

The cost? Well, as the video photo shows, it'll set you back a little over a couple of grand. So, round up eight couples, and the place can be affordable. 😉

via Kara and Nate

via Billy Perkins

via Beyond Civilization (Xplore RC)

via Panther City Air

Travel + Leisure: Your Best Shot: Zoe Osborne

On the last page of its magazine, Travel + Leisure features photographs submitted by their readers. In this particular November 2020 issue, a photograph by award-winning journalist Zoe M. Osborne, of her boyfriend sipping yak-butter tea caught my attention. 

As she explained in the issue, "Oi,' I called to my boyfriend as he sipped yak-butter tea in our mountainside hut. He came to the door and I snapped a quick shot, capturing this much needed moment of reprieve. We had just arrived at a tiny village near the Kali Gandhi River, in Nepal, after three days of hiking the surreal landscapes of the Upper Mustang, in the remote Himalayas." 

Looking at the photo, you can feel the relief from his posture and grin behind the mug. 

She added, "We were tired and sore: believe it or not, I hadn't brought proper hiking shoes for the expedition. But the chilly air was energizing and the smell of dal bhat -- steamed rice and lentil curry -- simmering on the wood-fired stove filled me with so much joy."

  

I quickly became a fan of Zoe. Check out her website: http://www.zosborne.com. 

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Willem Drost

Art Appreciation

Since I started this blog, back in 2008, I've been featuring artists found via the internet -- Wikipedia being my primary source. This one is a particular find. More so because this artist lived a short life.

Willem Drost was a Dutch Golden Age painter and printmaker of historical allegories. He was a student of Rembrandt before traveling to Rome with painters Karel Lot, Joan vander Meer, and Lieve Verschuier. He died in Venice on February 25, 1659.

Several paintings that were thought to be Rembrandt's were later attributed to Willem Drost such as Portrait of a Young Woman with her Hands Folded on a Book. 

Portrait of a Man (c. 1655)

Portrait of a Young Woman with her Hands Folded on a Book (1653)

Bathsheba (1654)

Sources:

Wikipedia, metmuseum.org

Pole Dance: Big Sean - I Don't Fuck With You

Choreography: Gracie Buntine

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Cosplay is an Art: LA Comic Con 2021

 

via SKDR Films

Fashion is DEFINITELY Art: Georges Hobeika Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2022

Fashion Designer: Georges Hobeika

via Fashion Feed

Fiona Apple - Sleep to Dream

Music Appreciation

As I've mentioned in previous posts HERE and HERE, I had a thing for Fiona Apple. To me, when in my teens, she was that perfect image of what I wanted in a companion: gorgeous eyes, seductive contralto voice, beautiful hair, and thin. 

The classically trained pianist began writing her own songs at age eight. Her debut album, Tidal, was released when she was 17. 

The second single, "Sleep to Dream" was released on April 14, 1997. The song is one of Fiona's most successful singles. She won the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist in a Video for this song. The music video was directed by French director Stephane Sednaoui.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtuF-p5_86ajFS-49gXIlHw

Simone Cantarini

Art Appreciation

Simone Cantarini was an Italian painter and etcher best known for his paintings and portraits of religious subjects. 

Born on April 12, 1612 in Pesaro, Cantarini's artistic abilities was discovered by a church parishioner who accompanied the young artist to Venice. While in Venice, Cantarini was guided by artists Sante Peranda, and Francesco Mingucci.

His first commissions included Saint Rita of Cascia and The Immaculate Conception with Saints. An early Cantarini masterpiece was the St. Peter Healing the Lame Man, which reveals influence from Italian Baroque painter Guido Reni. 

In 1634, Cantarini joined Reni's studio in Bologna. While there, Reni taught Cantarini etching. His stay with Reni was short since the two eventually had a fall-out. There are several speculations as to what caused the breakup. 

Cantarini did return to Bologna after Reni's death in 1642 where he opened his own studio training artists like Lorenzo Pasinelli, Flaminio Torre, and Giovanni Battista Venanzi.  

Archangel Michael with Hagar and Ishmael in the Desert

Noli me tangere (Don't touch me)

Saint Peter healing the cripple

Sources: Wikipedia

Dance: Nelly - Hot In Herre

Choreography: Brinn Nicole Pumpfidence

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Cosplay Is An Art: Anime Impulse 2022

via The L.A. Explorer

Fashion is DEFINITELY Art: Moschino Fall/Winter 2022/2023

Fashion designer: Jeremy Scott, Moschino

via FF Channel 

Alison Lapper

Art Appreciation

British artist Alison Lapper is known for incorporating her disability in photography, digital imaging, and painting. She was born on April 7, 1965 with a medical condition called phocomelia. 

An article in The Guardian, which you can read here, tells of her struggles growing up with the disability. At seven weeks old, she was sent to a children's home with other children with various impairments.  

At a young age, she got involved in art. She enrolled in Heatherley School of Fine Arts, an independent art school in London, then the Faculty of Art and Architecture at the University of Brighton, where she graduated first class honors in Fine Arts in 1994.

After the birth of her son, she produced work that aimed to challenge society's preconceptions about motherhood and disability. In 2003, she won a Woman of the Year award and awarded an MBE, a British order of chivalry, for services in the arts.

In 2019, her son, Parys, died of a sudden suspected accidental drug overdose. In an interview, Lapper mentioned her son had been bullied at school over her disability which led to his mental illness.

Sources:

Wikipedia, The Guardian, National Portrait Gallery UK, artranked

Lidia Savoderova

Modeling Appreciation

How do I start this blog entry? *thinking* 🤔

I have a huge crush on Lidia Savoderova. Plain and simple. 

I follow several professional photographers. It was when I noticed a collection of photographs by Ivan Warhammer of Lidia Savoderova when my heart stopped. I needed more of her. 

The sought-after Russian model began her career in 2013. She posed for the adult website, Femjoy, early in her career.

The 5'7" model was born on April 5, 1991. And just in case you are wondering, yup, she's a natural 34D.

Back to crushing on Lidia.

photo by Maxim Guselnikov

photo by Volker Wagner

   

photo by Arkadiy Kozlovskiy

photo by Ivan Warhammer

Source: 

babepedia.com

Maurice de Vlaminck

French painter Maurice de Vlaminck is considered one of the principal figures in the Fauve movement. Fauvism is a style of painting using intense bold colors incorporated by a group of early 20th century artists, such as Henri Matisse and André Derain.

Born on April 4, 1876, De Vlaminck met Derain in 1900 during a train accident on their way to Paris. The two became lifelong friends. 

Derain had an influence on the self-taught artist de Vlaminck. Derain introduced de Vlaminck to Matisse. After that, de Vlaminck became using intense colors and applying thick daubs. 

A few years later, de Vlaminck exhibited his work with Matisse and Derain at the Salon des Indépendants and at the Salon d'Automne. 

In 1942, he published a tirade against Picasso and Cubism -- supposedly, he felt resentment towards Picasso's Cubism art movement overtaking Fauvism.

Sur le zinc, 1900

L'homme a la pipe (1900)

Source: Wikipedia

Pole Dance: iBenji - Boom (Instrumental)

Exotic Professional: Mariya Pugacheva

Revolution 2022. Snow Storm

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Cosplay Is An Art: Katsucon 2022

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Fashion is DEFINITELY Art: Custo Barcelona Spring / Summer 2022

Fashion Designer: Custo Dalmau

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