never-ending gallery

[B4real]

We have been recently speaking about doing art with different materials and surfaces. Coincidentally, last night I watched a programme about that very same thing on local TV called How To Paint The Mona Lisa. The artist featured normally paints his portraits with a completely opposite method to Leonardo Da Vinci. I was doubly interested to see the show because in the early 1960’s I studied in-depth at school on how Leonardo painted his famous Mona Lisa. Needless to say, It was an interesting experience for him (and me)

These are Australian links so hopefully you can access them -
https://iview.abc.net.au/show/how-to-pa ... -mona-lisa
Click in the above on the LHS and it takes you straight to the programme below -
https://iview.abc.net.au/video/ZW3244A001S00

[LisaLCFan]

...After seeing your sign I can't help but reciprocate with these Aussie signs...

I have a bunch of those all over my house (I have a thing for signs)! Here's another Aussie sign that hangs in my kitchen:

[LisaLCFan]

...These are Australian links so hopefully you can access them...

No, not outside Australia due to "rights restrictions", it says. I have previously seen a show (or two) about the Mona Lisa (no relation, as far as I know), and it is certainly interesting to hear various analyses and theories about it. And, of course, Da Vinci himself is incredibly interesting, not least for the staggering and remarkable array of work he did in the realms of science and engineering, some of which are inextricably connected to his artistic methods. Having wandered through an art gallery or two, the difference between previous painters and da Vinci, especially in matters of perspective (or lack thereof, for the former), is starkly obvious when their respective paintings are viewed more-or-less side-by-side.

(Having said that, I do not get much aesthetic pleasure from da Vinci's paintings -- I appreciate them for their immense skill and ingenuity, but I don't particularly like them as artwork!).

Oh, and PS, Bev: lovely picture of the lorikeets -- when I visited Australia, I greatly enjoyed watching them (and hearing them -- they are very vocal, are they not!) -- their brightly coloured plumage is so striking and beautiful!

[B4real]

Lisa, that’s a great sign! When I lived in Melbourne, I went Phillip Island, just south of the city and watched the fairy penguin parade. They had a sign in the carpark to check under your car for stray penguins before you started your car. They were so tiny that they could easily be overlooked and they did wander everywhere.

I thought that Mona Lisa programme might not be accessible overseas. Nevermind.
Speaking of art in general, Leonardo and our recent discussion of ‘things unknown’, I was reminded of a post I did years ago in the Poetry Section with all those subjects mentioned -
https://www.leonardcohenforum.com/viewt ... ci#p292750

I feel the aim of art is not necessarily to depict only the external appearance of things. It is possibly more important to describe their internal implication. That applies to words as well as visual images. You know, the main reason I really wanted to paint was because of light - inner light and outer light. But it is that fleeting ethereal quality of light from within that keeps me doing what I do regardless of the subject matter.

“Father of Light
light of all things
show me the light
so that I may paint
light worthily”

These words were found on a scrap of paper in Leonardo Da Vinci’s art studio after his death.
.... and I have just found them on a scrap of paper in my art studio..... hummmm!

and just to lighten up the light –

at the speed of light.jpg
who really knows what’s out there!! – ha! maybe the truth!!

Thanks for your kind words about my stained-glass painting of lorikeets. Yes, they sure do make a lot of noise! There is a gum tree at the back of my garden and when it rains they roll and bathe in the leaves while screeching very loudly. They seem to be having such fun! Below is photo of two of them escaping to a quieter place on my verandah to share a private moment - so cute. It was a rainy, overcast day.

And I’m still talking about doing art with different materials because that’s what I do
In keeping with our ‘feathered friends’ bird theme, below is a mixed media painting I did of a rooster.

I’ve combined India ink, acrylic paint, metallic paint, metallic ink and designer’s gouache on 2 ply cold pressed Bainbridge Illustration Board. I had an enjoyable time doing this! I’ve called it, “Bad Hair Day” because the rooster does not have a joyful expression on his face - maybe because his feathers are ruffled! To keep the mood of the painting I cut freely around the image to emphasise the feeling of it. I then mounted it onto another board and framed it under glass with a double mat (inner soft grey metallic and outer ivory cream) and pale gold frame. I did enter it in an art show as a miniature painting (it measures 20cm x 10cm) but I didn’t win any prizes. Who cares, the gratification is in the doing!

[AlanM]

This "sign" amused me.

Alan

[B4real]

Hehe! Good one, Alan,
I remember when I was in Austria and I said I was from Australia they thought I said Austria

[Geoffrey]

so encouraging to see people engaging in friendly conversation! continue forever
-------------------------------------------------------
i love computer software

[LisaLCFan]

When I lived in Melbourne, I went to Phillip Island, just south of the city and watched the fairy penguin parade. They had a sign in the carpark to check under your car for stray penguins before you started your car...

Ah, yes, those adorable little penguins! I, too, watched the "penguin parade" on Phillip Island (which is where I bought my sign) -- what a delightful experience -- just amazing little creatures! I also recall those warning signs in the carpark -- as below:

sign.jpg (7.95 KiB) Viewed 2119 times

As for your artwork, that is one grumpy-looking rooster -- I wouldn't want to mess with him, ha-ha!

[LisaLCFan]

...i love computer software...

Clearly! The images you make are interesting, and I like how you play around with colour to create the illusion of light and shadow, contour and depth, etc..

[Geoffrey]

...i love computer software...

Clearly! The images you make are interesting, and I like how you play around with colour to create the illusion of light and shadow, contour and depth, etc..

thank you, lisa. i used to paint a lot of traditional portraits, but in the end they seemed to be too similar to those done by everybody else - and i didn't particularly like them as artwork - if i may quote from something i read here recently. i have no ambition to be innovative, only to avoid being bored. yes, computer image software (vector versus raster, etc.), or anything to do with computers, continually fascinates me - and appeals to a thirst for engaging in challenges.

a lot of people are reluctant to explore the potential of their digital devices. they consider it too technical, and rather than enter a whole universe filled to the brim with virtually endless creative possibilities they instead sit and passively vegetate while watching television programmes day in and day out. they follow sport, football, skiing, golf, billiards, even chess matches. can you understand that? is that a good way of showing how much one appreciates this splendid gift of life? what an incredible waste! i have zero respect for such individuals and want nothing to do with them.

[LisaLCFan]

...i have zero respect for such individuals and want nothing to do with them...

I quite agree that other people's shortcomings can be extremely irritating to those of us who are perfect, however, I do try to remind myself that, in many cases, it is not their fault: not everyone is born with high intelligence and endless aptitude for a variety of things, rather, many people are small-minded and simple folk who are incapable of exploring and enjoying all of the riches that life has to offer, for their limited mental capacity renders them unable to recognise, know and/or understand what they are missing. If they love to vegetate in front of a TV for hours on end, believing that to be the epitome of happiness, then perhaps that is all that they are capable of enjoying.

I do not lack respect for such people, as you do, instead, I sometimes feel rather sorry for them, and by knowing of their inadequacies, I am ever more grateful that I am not like they are. It is a mistake to assume that other people are capable of doing what you can do, for that is based upon the false belief that all people are equal to one another, which they are not. One of my favourite philosophers, John Stuart Mill, also recognised the inequalities inherent in people, particularly when it came to matters of enjoyment of life's many pleasures, and on that subject, he had this to say:

“It is indisputable that the being whose capacities of enjoyment are low, has the greatest chance of having them fully satisfied; and a highly endowed being will always feel that any happiness which he can look for, as the world is constituted, is imperfect. But he can learn to bear its imperfections...

It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, is of a different opinion, it is only because they only know their own side of the question.”

― John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism

[B4real]

... He’s there where the light and the darkness divide... He'll come from the shadows...

https://www.leonardcohenforum.com/viewt ... ws#p372379

[LisaLCFan]

Very cool picture of Leonard, Bev! Love the colours and its air of mystery (well, to me there is an air of mystery!), and the whole thing reminds me, in the best way possible, of those old paintings on black velvet (but yours is far classier!).

What media did you use? It's really very cool (as was Leonard).

[Geoffrey]

Very cool picture of Leonard, Bev!

great work, artistic, intriguing, enigmatic, atmospheric. putting it through a filter is like opening an oyster and finding a pearl - leonard with a microphone to his lips. nice surprise, but bev's original version is more effective because the darkness creates an interesting mystery

[B4real]

Geoffrey wrote: a lot of people are reluctant to explore the potential of their digital devices. they consider it too technical, and rather than enter a whole universe filled to the brim with virtually endless creative possibilities ...

Ah, Geoffrey, I’m not one of the reluctant ones (read below) and nothing is really too technical, just logical

Lisa wrote: Very cool picture of Leonard, Bev! Love the colours and its air of mystery (well, to me there is an air of mystery!), and the whole thing reminds me, in the best way possible, of those old paintings on black velvet (but yours is far classier!).What media did you use? It's really very cool (as was Leonard).

Lisa, Thanks for your ‘cool’ words! You both know that I do art with many materials and my above image of Leonard is no exception but none of that black velvet stuff here! Read my answer above to Geoffrey . The hardest thing about creating this (or any artwork) was imagining the overall design concept of trying to express the feeling of the occasion. Remembering Leonard – even though he is gone, he is still with us. So, I came up with a combination of the words I wrote and an image to harmonize with them. Then I simply messed around with my computer software until I got what I wanted. Yes, I’ll use anything in art to get my message across!

EDIT:
Thanks Geoffrey! And yes, I wanted there to be mystery and Leonard has often talked and sung about darkness. Your filter creates a more immediate feeling with the silhouette defined and the colours more vibrantly varied. He really has come from the shadows! You’ve had fun with this interesting and thoughtful variation, haven’t you?