Carl Larsson

Art Appreciation

It's almost Christmas day, and I was surfing the net for artists or photographers who were primarily known for Christmas themes.

I came across Swedish painter Carl Larsson. He grew up in extreme poverty, attended the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts at the age of thirteen, and became a graphic artist for newspapers, magazines and books before moving to Paris at the age of 24. He then met his wife, Karin Bergöö, another artist, at a Scandinavian artists' colony outside Paris who had an influence in his work.

His wife and children became his models, and he is more recognized for his paintings of his family during Christmas.

You can learn more about Carl Larsson HERE.

Brita as Iduna (1900) via wiki

Selfportrait with Brita (1894) via wiki

Christmas Morning (1894) via wiki

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Larsson
http://www.clg.se/encarl.aspx
http://carllarssonlevenenwerken.blogspot.com/
http://hubpages.com/hub/Some-Old-Fashioned-Christmas-images-for-Art-Lovers-this-holiday

Jacques-Emile Blanche

Art Appreciation

Born on January 1, 1861, Jacques-Émile Blanche was a sought after French portraitist. Influenced by contemporaries like John Singer Sargent and  Édouard Manet, the self-taught artist was known for his paintings of society's well-known artists, writers, composers, and aristocrats.

Portrait of Marcel Proust (1892) via rrforget

Self Portrait via bjws

Claude Debussy (1902) via artnouveaujugendstil

Sources:

http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/blanche_jacques-emile.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques-%C3%89mile_Blanche
http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/painting/commentaire_id/portrait-of-marcel-proust-2276.html?tx_commentaire_pi1%5BpidLi%5D=509&tx_commentaire_pi1%5Bfrom%5D=841&cHash=fa2647fb34
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/artists/jacques-emile-blanche
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/jacques-emile-blanche-765
http://www.fondation-pb-ysl.net/en/Jacques_Emile_Blanche-635.html
http://rrforget.blogspot.com/2013/03/forgetting-relevance-making-mark-in.html

Sergio Lopez

Art Appreciation

Californian painter and illustrator Sergio Lopez is known for his in plein air and figurative paintings of women with floral patterns.

Based on an interview he did with Denver's Heliko Gallery, he is a traditionalist artist, inspired by artists such as Norman Rockwell and John Singer Sargent, and hates the art buzzword "neo." You can check out the full interview HERE.

You can also see his wonderful charcoal sketches and oil paintings HERE.

Chromatella via favoriteartistssyatonka

Anastasia via tuttartpitturasculturapoesiamusica

North South East West via thepeoplesprintshop

Sources:

http://www.themainloop.com/
http://mainloop.deviantart.com/
http://www.inprnt.com/gallery/the_main_loop/
http://www.zatista.com/store/artist_profile/items/5257/The-Main-Loop#seller_id=5257 http://themainloop.blogspot.com/
http://www.saatchiart.com/themainloop
https://twitter.com/mainloop
http://instagram.com/mainloop
http://www.tuttartpitturasculturapoesiamusica.com/2012/09/Sergio-Lopez.html
http://artodyssey1.blogspot.com/2012/03/sergio-lopez.html
http://favoriteartistssyatonka.blogspot.com/2013/05/blog-post_25.html
http://www.thepeoplesprintshop.com/blog/sergio-lopez/
http://blog.helikongallery.com/2014/10/30/20-questions-with-sergio-lopez/
http://www.faithistorment.com/2013/07/painted-roses-paintings-by-sergio-lopez.html

Tom Kelley, Sr.

Photography Appreciation

Tom Kelley Sr. was an American photographer best known for taking the iconic photos of Marilyn Monroe naked which was then used by Playboy magazine.

In 1935, Kelley established a photography studio in Hollywood and began taking promotional photos of movie stars such as Clark Gable, Bob Hope, and Marilyn Monroe.

You can see more of his photos of Hollywood legends HERE and HERE.

Marilyn Monroe (1949) via pulpinternational

Sources:

http://www.durangodowntown.com/kelleystudio/tksr.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Kelley_%28photographer%29
http://www.tomkelleystudio.com/
http://www.mptvimages.com/search#tom+kelley
http://www.pulpinternational.com/pulp/keyword/Tom+Kelley.html

Luis Ricardo Falero

Art Appreciation

Perhaps you have seen his artwork before in books. Maybe even glanced at a print hanging in a store or office. And like myself, you really didn't know who painted those mystically beautiful and surreal paintings.

Spanish painter Luis Ricardo Falero was known for his paintings of beautiful young women in fantasy and celestial settings.

You can see more of his mystical paintings HERE.

Bedouin Girl (1891) via tierradentro

Moon Nymph (1883) via whosthatgirl-searchme

The Twin Stars via artodyssey1

Sources:

http://www.artmagick.com/pictures/artist.aspx?artist=luis-ricardo-falero
http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artist.php?artistid=150
http://artodyssey1.blogspot.com/2009/10/luis-ricardo-falero-luis-falero-spanish.html
http://maherartgallery.blogspot.com/2012/05/luis-ricardo-falero-spanish-1851-1896.html
http://www.artnet.com/artists/luis-ricardo-falero/past-auction-results
http://pathofsoul.org/2013/01/28/primordial-image-of-the-mother/
http://tierradentro.tumblr.com/post/75723052963/bedouin-girl-detail-1891-luis-ricardo
http://noemynord.blogspot.com/2012/06/blog-post_7197.html
http://whosthatgirl-searchme.blogspot.com/2012/03/luis-ricardo-falero.html
http://surrealistisch.blogspot.com/2012/05/luis-ricardo-falero.html

Alexander Rodchenko

Photography Appreciation

If you are my age, you probably recognize the inspired photo of Russian Avant-garde muse Lilya Brik on the rock band Franz Ferdinand's You Could Have It So Much Better album cover.

The photograph is by Russian photographer Aleksander Mikhailovich Rodchenko. He is know as one of the founders of constructivism, a Russian architectural philosophy during the early 20th century.

You can see more of his wonderful work HERE.


 

Lili Brik (1924) via jewishcurrents

Radio Listener (1929) via pnt

Pionerka (1930) via mastersofphotography

Sources:
http://lumieregallery.net/wp/238/alexander-rodchenko/
http://i12bent.tumblr.com/post/2436222249/alexander-rodchenko-dec-23-1891-1956
https://arth318snapshot.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/alexander-rodchenko/
https://chrispaynephotoblog.wordpress.com/2013/11/11/alexander-rodchenko-laszlo-moholy-nagy/
http://todoscontraelarte.blogspot.com/2012/12/otras-perspectivas-alexander-rodchenko.html
http://pnt.typepad.com/blog/2011/03/alexander-rodchenko.html
http://www.all-art.org/art_20th_century/rodchenko1.html
http://mastersofphotography.wordpress.com/2014/09/30/alexander-rodchenko/
http://jewishcurrents.org/august-4-the-muse-of-the-russian-avant-garde-19816
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Could_Have_It_So_Much_Better
http://www.artnet.com/artists/alexander-rodchenko/

Chicago - You're the Inspiration

Music Appreciation

My dad use to have a small collection of albums ranging from Pink Floyd to Michael Jackson to Chicago. He would play albums during get-togethers and parties.

One of the albums I remember him playing from beginning to end was Chicago's IX album--back then, shuffling wasn't easily available.

I quickly became a fan, and I would steal borrow the album and pretend I was a DJ with my Fisher Price record player.

When I was eight years old, I remember watching Chicago's "You're the Inspiration" video. It featured the band playing in a apartment-setting with snip-its of couples embracing and kissing.

The song was released on November 29, 1984 and hit No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.


via warnerbrosrecords