Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Art in Laguna Beach California Laguna Beach Vibe

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Laguna Beach Art, events, galleries, restaurants and all kinds of 
news about Laguna Beach Ca.
Summer is approaching, you can subscribe to Laguna Beach Vibe
and stay current on events.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Laguna Beach Art Gallery

Laguna Beach has a reputation for it's art galleries and fine dining. 
There are endless art galleries all along Coast Hwy in the Laguna Beach area.


Coast Hwy looks very similar today as it did many year ago, now there are even more art galleries, some are corp owned while others are family owned or individually owned galleries.









Sunday, March 8, 2015

Fabio Napolioni art I Will Never Stop Looking

"I Will Never Stop Looking"
by
Fabio Napolioni
Hand signed and numbered by the artist.



Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Van Gogh to Rothko: World Class Art Arrives in Arkansas

by Alex Gladden
Van Gogh to Rothko,” an exhibit featuring the celebrated artist, Vincent Van Gogh, arrived at Crystal Bridges last Saturday providing art fans throughout the area an extra excuse to make the voyage to Crystal Bridges despite the wintery weather.  

While entrance to the permanent collection at Crystal Bridges is free, there is a small supplemental payment of $10 to enter the “Van Gogh to Rothko” exhibit. The exhibit showcases the multiple eras of art that make up what is called abstract art, said Beth Bobbitt, the Crystal Bridges media relations manager.

The exhibit includes work from 73 artists and 76 actual pieces, Bobbitt said.

“The exhibition marks the first time many of these works have toured in decades, and Crystal Bridges is one of only four institutions that will host ‘Van Gogh to Rothko,’” Bobbitt said.

The exhibit is a part of the collection at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York, and it spans art created over 150 years and 16 movements – including modernism, abstract expressionism, pop art and post-impressionism, according to the Crystal Bridges website. “Van Gogh to Rothko” will stay until June 31.

Some, like UA art history professor Leo Mazow, said they are very much looking forward to seeing the highly anticipated exhibit. Mazow praised the Albright-Knox Art Gallery as one of the most prestigious galleries of American art. The “Van Gogh to Rothko” exhibit adds to Crystal Bridges’ already impressive art collection, Mazow said.

Beth Owen, a nontraditional art history student, said she is also really looking forward to seeing the “Van Gogh to Rothko,” exhibit. Owen specializes in mesoamerican art history and said she really likes being able to see the comparisons between contemporary work and the pre-Columbian art work.

In particular Owen said she was really excited to see Rothko’s “Orange and Yellow.” Owen said she had previously not been impressed with his work until she took a studio class and attempted to imitate the art.

“I have now come to appreciate work of artists like Rothko,” Owen said. “I can not wait to have my previous doubts confronted and actually be proven wrong when I actually do get to see my first Rothko.”

Although many UA students have not been able to visit “Van Gogh to Rothko,” some students have been able to see the exhibit. Senior Andrew Schalk has been able to see the exhibit twice.

Schalk said he really admired how the museum really focused on education. The museum had commentary beside each piece to inform audiences about how each work influenced its time and even other works in the exhibit.

“Crystal Bridges balanced nicely the ability to make the viewer feel exuberantly overwhelmed and able to understand all at the same time,” Schalk said.

“Van Gogh to Rothko” is designed so that viewers can see how the different artists influenced each other. The exhibit also shows how the artists evolved.

For example, the Picasso featured at the exhibit, referred to as “La Toilette,” is a part of Picasso’s “Rose Period,” of art. This piece is very different from some of Picasso’s later work, which would fall into the category of art that Picasso helped to pioneer, cubism.  

The exhibit also includes information about the different artists attached by the artists’ work. By “La Toilette,” the museum included information about artists Picasso was influenced by, including the artist famous for his use of geometrics – Cezanne.  

As Picasso continued to develop his style into cubism, he based some of his technique off of Cezanne’s work.   

There are, of course, works of art by the artists for whom the exhibit is celebrated – Van Gogh and Rothko. The piece featured by Rothko is one of his celebrated pieces, “Orange and Yellow.”  The work presents two squares: one of orange and one of yellow. The piece that is included in the exhibit by Van Gogh is “La Maison De La Crau,” or “The Old Mill.”

Van Gogh did not rely so much on reality to complete “The Old Mill,” as much as he represented his emotions through colors, museum curator Manuela Well-Off-Man said.  

The colors Van Gogh used to paint “The Old Mill,” suggest happiness.  The colors in the work are mainly light and lead viewers to think on subjects of joy, Well-Off-Man said.  

“This is a theme that we will see throughout the exhibit today,” Well-Off-Man said. “Many of the artists featured used color to express their emotions.”

Mazow also highlighted on this theme when discussing the exhibit. The exhibit highlights a later work by Pollock called Convergence. Crystal Bridges has already acquired several of Pollock’s earlier works. Mazow said that this will allow audiences to see the artist mature.

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends, and the museum is closed Sundays.


Friday, January 30, 2015

What is mixed media art?

Mixed Media Art can be defined in a few ways, here is the internet definition:

Mixed media tends to refer to a work of visual art that combines various traditionally distinct visual art media. For example, a work on canvas that combines paint, ink, and collage could properly be called a "mixed media" work, but not a work of "multimedia art."

If the above definition seems lacking, it's because it is. Mixed media art can involve metal, coffee grounds, paper, wood, canvas, plastic, sand, dirt, shoes, spoons, motors, wire, fishing line, cue tips... getting the idea? Mixed media art can involve anything... and that means human parts or animal or bugs, or whatever. Some will see a surreal work and categorize it as a surreal work, overlooking the fact that it is a mixed media work. On one of my many trips to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, I saw an exhibit that was one of my least favorites of all time as it displayed stuffed birds impaled on sharp sticks that were anchored by balls of mud or earth. It took a few seconds and I remember saying... "uh, let's get out of here". I had one of my kids with me so that display seemed a bit harsh for ther viewing.

To give you a better idea of how an artist will use various materials to create a work, I turn to the popular artist Clara Berta who has a studio in downtown Los Angeles.

Clara uses all types of materials in her works ranging from fabric to coffee grounds, here are a few examples:

"Whispers"
by

The appeal of the above work is clearly the impressive texture of the work.
Quite alot of mixed media artists tend to look at a canvas and then do whatever...
Berta's works seem to have a more deliberate and thought out feel to them
as the form of the work and composition are telling a story without using
a traditional image. This style seems to fit well with todays interior designers
as her works are being placed in high profile locations.

Here is another example of Clara's work, notice again the texture and
feel of the work and the balance and composition.

"Symphony of Love"
by
Clara Berta

When you look at vintage mixed media art, you see for the most part
an assortment of Collage Art, or images that have been cut and mixed 
together, or a drawing that includes an image cut from a magazine etc.

As the years progressed and mixed media begain to take on new form, popular 
artists like Picasso, Dali or Warhol begain to change thier canvas, but not so
much the elements they put on the canvas. If you look back at works
by these artists, you will find that they painted with acrylic, oil, ink and watercolor,
and for a while it was canvas and paper, but that changed and became metal, ceramic, lucite,
lambskin, rice paper, wood and other materials.

If you are interested in learning more about mixed media art
or are an artist who is interested in creating mixed media art
that goes beyond what you tend to see in most galleries, contact
the artist Clara Berta for help.






Sunday, January 25, 2015

What is my art worth?

You found a painting in the attic and don't know where it came from or what it's worth.


The kinds of calls I get range from "I found something in my Grandma's basement" 
to, "I bought this 30 years ago and I don't know what I did the with paperwork for it"

Art comes in many forms and limited edition art or open edition decorative is
something that has been popular for many generations.

In some cases a person finds what they think is a painting but it turns out
to be a print that has been textured with varnish so it will appear to have
brush strokes. In other cases an etching might be photographed and then
printed as a lithograph or an engraving might be scanned and printed
as a giclee... It can be confusing.

There are a number of categories, here are a few:

1. Original Paintings 
2. Original drawings
3. Etchings
4. Engravings
5. Original Lithographs
6. Offset Lithogrpahs
7. Monoprints
8. Serigraphs
9. Posters
And there are more.

If you need help authenticating or appraising a work of art, it can be a 
Dali, Picasso, Chagall, Miro, Warhol or any artist and I can do the
research and help you. In some cases I can help you for free, in
other cases where I spend alot of time, I charge affordable fees.

Before you spend money on art, you should allow me to check the work
and the source and make sure you are making a good decision.

I also help art collectors find and verify works that want to add to their
collection and if you are new to art collecting and don't know where to
start, I have been helping clients with art related matters for over 25 years now.

or call: 310-461-9480


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