I previously posted a photo here of Mark Rothko’s oil on canvas painting Four Darks in Red, painted in 1958.
Tag: Monday Mood
Mood: Monday
I previously posted a photo of Ralph Fasanella’s painting titled May Day, painted in 1974 in oil on canvas.
Reading Fasanella’s Wikipedia entry provides an interesting look at how an artist develops, is influenced, and how his reputation, recognition, and popularity can be swayed by shifts in politics.
Among other things, I was struck by this: In a press release regarding his death, John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, declared Fasanella to be “a true artist of the people in the tradition of Paul Robeson and Woody Guthrie.”
I discovered so much about Paul Robeson doing research for the Neverending Saga, and Woodie Guthrie has always been an important cultural reference for me.
About this painting in particular: Fasanella’s art was highly improvisational. He never planned out works, and rarely revised them. He said of his 1948 painting May Day, it “just came out of my belly. I never planned it. I don’t know how I did it.”
I suspect many writers can understand this, as well as musicians.
Mood: Monday
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Portrait of Félix Fénéon, 1890
Paul Signac, France
oil on canvas
Today, April 24, is the date my parents were married. Among favorite recollections of that day, as they attempted to be married in a civil ceremony, they were told they needed two witnesses, and they stepped outside to stand on the sidewalk to figure out what to do. As it happened, my mother’s niece Pat and Pat’s boyfriend Herb were walking down the street. My parents spotted them and asked for their help, which was readily given.
I’m not sure how many years later, Pat and Herb were also married, and a few decades after that, they came to the wedding when Tom and I married. They’re the ones who gave us the lime coasters which have provided so much fun and playfulness through the years–inadvertently beginning what would become a recurring motif among a few of us: lime and lemon slices on all kinds of decorations and home goods.
Mood: Monday
The photo previously posted here was of the work Runaway Time by artist Eileen Williams. The work is fabric, wood, and mixed media.
It was really hard for me to choose from among Eileen Williams’s creations. You can see more of her work at eileen williams ART, with additional photos of her art and more about her process at Baker Artist Porfolios.
Mood: Monday
The photo previously on here was of Missed Connection, a mixed media work of watercolor, acrylic, oil pastel, glitter, and pencil on wood, 2016, by artist Wyanne Thompson.
I highly recommend going to Wyanne’s website and learning more about her. She inspires me.
Mood: Monday
Photo previously posted here was of the work Field of Madness,, giclee on fine art paper, 2016, by artist Ciprian Socaciu.
Mood: Monday
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Artist Alexei Jawlensky, Russia, Germany
oil wax medium on cardboard, 1928
The name of the painting is Sorrow, the word I searched in art titles first because of the school shooting in Nashville. Before I learned of the shooting, I’d been thinking of the losses of two important women I know.
Both women lived long, full lives, one dying in December at age 98, and one dying in February at age 96. They were smart, strong women full of many talents and were greatly loved by those blessed to know them. Both showed me enormous kindnesses at different times in my life, and each of them had a son who changed my life and helped shape who I am in profound ways. I will always be grateful for those men and their mothers.
I can’t help but wonder what amazing things three nine-year-old children and three adults in their sixties would have continued bringing to the world if it weren’t just so important that people in this country remain “free” to buy assault weapons that exist for the sole purpose of quickly killing large numbers of humans.
Mood: Monday
Photo previously posted was of the mixed media work Fly, by Lynn Whipple in 2011.
I’m unsure why birds keep finding their way into what I’m writing, but one benefit is that they draw me to new artists. I’ve really enjoyed exploring Lynn Whipple’s website and Instagram account.
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Happy birthday to our friend Steve C and remembering that time he had an entire jet to himself. Travel large, my friend! (Photo credit: a flight attendant with a sense of humor… Ah, those were the days.)
Mood: Monday
Photo of computer artwork previously posted here is from Oliver Nome (Penciller), and JJ Kirby (Colorist), 2010, and can be found at this link. Title is provided in comments.
Mood: Monday
Photo of the artwork previously posted here was an oil on canvas painting, Carnival Venice in the evening lights, by Maria Delendik in 2020.