Following the Masters

"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” - Michelangelo

We now moving on from the Ashcan School to old school, where great art began: The Italian Renaissance. These artists are truly the “Old Masters”, a few notables include:

Leonardo da Vinci

Michelangelo Buonarroti

You can find more artists of the era at artcyclopedia. Submissions are due March 31st. Please email to mtrmburnett@gmail.com

You can also celebrate Michelangelo’s 535th birthday on March 6th by renting a copy of “The Agony and the Ecstasy” and maybe even make some Caprese Salad in honor of his birthplace!

This month also marks the one year anniversary of this blog! Thanks to all those who have participated over the past year!

Challenge 10 Art Gallery

2010-01-28T18:03:00.000-08:00

Rebecca Wang

Harriet Porter

Pam Huggins

Challenge Ten - Robert Henri and the Ashcan School

2010-01-14T08:06:00.000-08:00

Boy with a Green Cap (aka: Chico)

by Robert Henri

Since we are reading The Art Spirit by Robert Henri this month, it seemed fitting to devote a challenge to him and his later influence - The Ashcan School.

Henri travel to Paris in 1886 to study traditional academic art under the guidance of William-Adolphe Bouguereau. While there, he also embraced Impressionism helping him create a classic style with looser brush work as depicted in his portrait work. But, Henri wanted more than the classical, academic depictions of art, he also felt that portraits should reveal the "character" of the person being painting. (See youtube video: Art Treasures of Nebraska - Robert Henri)

Don't stop to paint the material, but push on to give the spirit. ~Robert Henri

Henri returned to Philadelphia and began teaching in 1892. He began to attract a group of followers that would meet to discuss both art and culture. Henri began to rebel against Impressionism as being too romanticized. He felt that art should be more "real", describing the depictions of every day life..."akin to journalism". See Robert Hughes American Visions - Episode 5 (watch time: 00:54 to 04:42).

When artists from Henri's circle were reject in the National Academy of Design's 1907 Exhibition, he organized a show of his own in 1908 that included a group known as "The Eight": Arthur Davies, Robert Henri, William Glackens, Ernest Lawson, George Luks, Maurice Prendergast, John Sloan and Everett Shinn.It was revolutionary for it's subject, gritty urban scenes and "art for life's sake". Their work would later be characterized as The Ashcan School and defined as a realist artistic movement.

This month's challenge is to be inspired by the work and philosophy of Robert Henri. You might choose to copy one his works or or be inspired to paint a dirty urban scene like artists from the Ashcan School movement. UPDATE: This challenge will be due on February 28th.

We will also continue to read from The Art Spirit until the end of Challenge Ten, so there is plenty of time to join in if you haven't started.

We had nice variety of entries for Challenge Nine...go check them out if you haven't already and, as always, thank you for joining me on my art journey.

Reading Group - The Art Spirit by Robert Henri

2010-01-02T19:40:00.000-08:00

Robert Henri

1865-1929

Your style is the way you talk in paint. ~ Robert Henri

Happy New Year to everyone! This month we will be reading Robert Henri's The Art Spirit . As the extended title states it is a collection of Henri's notes and lectures, and not written in a the usual book format. There is a lot of "art wisdom" to be taken in so feel free to read it as you wish and leave comments about certain passages that speak to you or any favorite quotes you may have, but most of all learn and enjoy!

Reading Book Group and a * Giveaway *

2009-12-16T13:27:00.000-08:00

And the winner is...Sherry Massey (Autumn Leaves)
True Random Number Generator
Min:1
Max: 11
Result: 3
Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Thanks to everyone who left a comment and to all who are going to join in on the reading group!

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One of the reasons I started a monthly painting challenge was to force myself to finish my painting projects. The other was that it was more fun to have others join in with me. For the same reasons, I've decided to start a reading group on this blog as well. I've had a copy of The Art Spirit by Robert Henri sitting around for a while with the good intentions of reading it, but have not made the time for it.

So, starting January 1st, 2010 I hope you all will join me in reading this book. You don't even have to be an artist...only an art lover to join in. There are no rules to reading this book...you can jump in at the middle if you choose. The forward by the author himself states...

"No effort has been made toward the form of a regular book. In fact the opinions are presented more as paintings are hung on the wall, to be looked at at will and taken as rough sketches for what the are worth. If they have a suggestive value and stimulate to independent thought they will attain the object of their presentation."

There will be a section to leave comments or favorite quotes. If you are interested in participating and would like to win a copy...please leave a comment. Also, if you have participated in any of the past or current challenges you get a "bonus" entry so please leave a second comment for an extra chance to win. The giveaway ends December 27th and a winner will be chosen via random.org on December 28th. You can also pick up a copy at Amazon...

Also...don't forget the deadline for Challenge Nine artwork is due January 13th.

Challenge Nine Gallery - Favorite Master Artists

2009-11-19T06:53:00.000-08:00

gemma

Gloria Viorge

Alan Osler

Ellie Elledge

Tj Lev

Rick Nilson

Millie Nguyen

Sharon Wright

Cathyann Burgess

Challenge Nine - Who's Your Master?

2009-11-18T05:52:00.000-08:00

La Gioconda (aka Mona Lisa)

by Leonardo da Vinci

For Challenge Nine I am going to leave it up to you to show us who you are inspired by! Who is your favorite master artist? (As always, just make sure not to copy any living artists and to be aware of copyright laws). It is also a great opportunity to finish one of the past challenges that you might not have been able to get finished in time. Feel free to submit work inspired or copied by a favorite artist that has been painted or drawn prior to this challenge that has not been previously posted to this blog. Also, with the busy holiday schedule, I am going to extend out the deadline to January 13^th and limit the post to just one per person (just for this challenge). Please email to mtrmburnett at gmail dot com (Sorry... I had it wrong on the last challenge!) along with your name and blog or website link.

~~~

For those of you who participated in the self-portrait challenge…I received this information from the wonderful Deb Keirce concerning Art Calendar’s 2010 Self-Portrait Cover Contest. The deadline for this contest is December 11, 2009 with no entry fee!

~~~

Thanks to all who participated in last month's Van Gogh challenge...it was a lot of fun with a lot of great entries! I will continue to post entries for Challenge Eight until the end of today if you still need to submit your work.

Challenge Eight Gallery

2009-10-26T06:13:00.000-07:00

Gloria

Dida

Charlotte Tanner

Ria Hills

gemma

Claire Beadon Carnell

Challenge Eight - Vincent van Gogh

2009-10-18T21:49:00.000-07:00

The Mulberry Tree, 1889

Vincent van Gogh

Thank you to all of you that participated in the self-portrait challenge...one of the most challenging challenges yet! Now we are on to Vincent van Gogh. His wonderful, unique style of painting seems like it would be a lot of fun to emulate. Feel free to go about this challenge however you feel inspired by his work. You might want to copy some of his work or choose to paint from your own reference in the van Gogh style. You could work from his color palette, use thick texture, or try you hand at making those great, swirling brushstrokes. Challenge Eight is due November 18th. Please email your final work to: mtrmburnett at gmail dot com.

A few great links:

Van Gogh Gallery

Van Gogh Palettes and Techniques

Paint Like Van Gogh!

Challenge Seven Gallery

2009-09-21T10:28:00.000-07:00

Sylvia Williams

Greg Piszko

gemma

Cindi DeWeese

Karen Hargett

Nicole
~

Deb Keirce

Challenge Seven ~ The Art of the Self Portrait

2009-09-17T15:36:00.000-07:00

Portrait of a Man (Self Portrait?), Jan Van Eyck, 1433

First of all, THANK YOU to all who participated in the last challenge! There were so many wonderful interpretations of Western Art. For this month's challenge, the inspiration was a wonderful book I came across at the library, Artists’ Self Portraits. You might want to see if your local library has a copy since it's a little pricey. It's also HUGE... so you'll also get a workout just picking it up. For some lighter reading, here is an interesting Wikipedia article on the subject, but before you check it out, you may want to try out this fun little quiz to test your knowledge first.
~

Self Portrait with a Cap, Rembrandt, 1630

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I hope you'll enjoy this challenge. It can be silly or serious, realistic or abstract, a quick sketch or a finished portrait. If you are not up to painting yourself you might think of painting one of your favorite artist’s self portrait instead. Or maybe think outside of the box…maybe paint a grouping of items that represents you. If you’ve already done a self portrait, then great! You are ahead of the game and we would all love to see it in the gallery!

DEADLINE IS OCTOBER 16! Please email a photo of your work (or the blog link to your photo) to mtrmburnett @ gmail.com (without spaces). I sometimes get a little busy and cannot post it right away, but if you haven’t seen in posted within a couple of days, please email me or leave a comment. Sometimes they don’t make it through the spam blocker!

Triple Self Portrait, Norman Rockwell, 1960

Challenge Six Gallery

2009-08-18T06:40:00.001-07:00

Rosemary Sexton

Dana Cooper

Rosemary Sexton
~

Challenge Six - Western Art

2009-08-13T20:19:00.000-07:00

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone 1872 by Thomas Moran

This month's challenge will be focusing on Western Art. Most recently, I've seen it's influence everywhere I look with many festivals and hows in the area which has inspired me to create this month's challenge.

Obviously growing up in the West, the area is dear to my heart. When my father saw my interest in art at a young age, he showed me the art he enjoyed, that of Frederic Remington and C.M. Russell. He later went on to tell me about Maynard Dixon and how our relatives in Southern Utah would often see him. These people were cattle ranchers who worked hard all day and though it strange to see a guy outside painting for a living. (If they had only thought to buy one of his paintings!). This month, the Thunderbird Foundation in Mt. Carmel, Utah will be hosting Maynard Dixon Country 2009 from August 28-30, 2009.

If anyone were to question the importance of art, they would need to look no further than to the works of Thomas Moran. It is his paintings that were shown to Congress to help initiate the National Parks System. Next month, PBS will be featuring the series "National Parks - America's Best Idea" by Ken Burns. Also, the Grand Canyon Celebration of Art will take place on September 14-19, 2009 honoring art’s importance in establishing the parks.

Another upcoming festival in my home state honoring a western artist is the Everett Ruess Days on September 25-26, 2009 in Escalante, Utah. Ruess, a romantic, yet tragic figure created beautiful block prints of the western landscape and wrote poetry. Then in 1934, he all but vanished. There was no trace of him, until this year when reports that his remains were possibly found (See National Geographic article).

There is so much to learn from this beautiful genre of art. Other notable names to check out are Frank Tenney Johnson, Georgia O’Keefe, Thomas Worthington Whittredge, Albert Bierstadt, and many more.

Your assignment - Study the works of these great artists and then find a future masterpiece in your own corner of the world, no mater where you live. You can look up and see clouds like Dixon’s, or see the sunlight glow on a mountain like a Moran painting, or try paint traditional western subjects, such as cowboys, Native Americans, horses, etc. I will leave it up to you to get into the spirit of things and be inspired. (Another thing I will leave up to you is to know the copyright laws.)

Submissions are due September 15th.

Thank you to everyone who sent in their flower submissions! We ended up with a big beautiful garden!

P.S. Just in case you might be wondering…who am I to be telling you what to paint? I am definitely no expert, just an art lover who loves to learn about art and to paint. If you come across any errors, please let me know. And, I humbly thank you for joining me on my journey.

Challenge Five Gallery

2009-07-17T13:40:00.001-07:00

gemma

Marlene

Challenge Five ~ Flowers & Gardens

2009-07-15T12:46:00.000-07:00

Poppies at Argenteuil by Claude Monet

“I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.” ~ Claude Monet

This month's challenge was inspired from all the poppies that popped up in my yard...

Last fall, I randomly sprinkled some wildflower seeds in my front yard, now I have my own little poppy field! It made me think of Monet's painting. Then I started thinking of other artist who have painted poppies...

Van Gogh's Poppies

Everyone from Mary Cassatt, Gustav Klimt, Georgia O'Keefe and Jan Breugel, the Younger have painted poppies. Of course, this challenge is not limited to poppies. What is your favorite flower? ...Or your favorite master floral still life or garden painting? Let's see what everyone can come up with! Challenge Five will be due August 14th.

When you've finished, you can either email me a photo of your work (no larger that 600 pixels wide, please) or you can post it on your blog and email me your blog info so I can copy the the photo from there (with your permission, of course) to post on this site.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Maxfield Parrish challenge! What an amazing artist to work from. Your works were magnificent! I don't know if any of you also came across this fun website during your searches, dingo.org. There are some fun parodies of Maxifeld Parrish's paintings with Gizmo the dog.

Challenge Four Gallery

2009-06-19T15:24:00.001-07:00

Sheila Estep
after Stars

Beckie Saar Leone

after The Century Magazine, August 1897 cover

Rodica Voicu
after Ecstasy

Michelle Burnett
after an illustration in The Century Magazine, Nov. 1904
(unknown title)

gemma
after Ecstasy

Anne C M Campbell
after The Tempest

Wendy Sprague
after Violetta

William Cook
after Ecstasy

Charlotte Tanner
after Phoebus on Halzaphron

James Parker
after Stars

James Parker
after The Canyon

Deb Keirce
Wake Up!
after Daybreak

Ria Hills
after The Reservoir, Villa Falconieri, Frascati

Gwen Bell
after The Dinky Bird

Diana Marshall
after Ecstasy

Andrea Pope

after Peaceful Night

Challenge Four ~ Maxfield Parrish

2009-06-17T11:06:00.000-07:00

Ecstasy by Maxfield Parrish

A big thank you to all who participated in Challenge Three! It was great to see all the different landscape works chosen by everyone. (Normally, I have a chance to thank everyone individually and get your work posted right away, but I've been at a painting workshop and on vacation over the last few weeks so I really appreciate your patience with me!)

I received a little suggestion for Challenge Four to paint the works of Maxfield Parrish which I thought was a brilliant suggestion! So feel free to choose any painting by Maxfield Parrish to paint (or draw) in any medium. Also, if you are interested in learning about Parrish's painting methods, a great article on his glazing technique can be found here. Enjoy painting... the deadline for Challenge Four is July 15th!

Challenge Three Gallery

2009-05-22T09:02:00.000-07:00

Rodica Voicu
after The Red Oaks by George Inness

“Morning, Catskill Valley”, also known as “The Red Oaks”, is drawing the attention of everyone by its rich colours and I think it is the nicest one of his paintings.

Sylviane Le Cann
After Le Golfe de Marseille vu de l'Estaque, 1885 by Paul Cezanne

Andrea Pope
After Mediterranean Landscape by Pablo Picasso

I chose Picasso because of his unique style and the vibrant use of colors.

Kaye Sowers
After A Landscape Study at San Vigilio, Lake Garda by John Singer Sargent

Wendy Sprague

after View to the Almafi Coast by Carl Frederic Aagaard

I selected a painting by Carl Frederic Aagaard because I love the subject and the style of this piece. This is the type of thing I'd love to paint on my kitchen wall! The painting is called View to the Almafi Coast.

James Parker

after Boticelli's Anuncion

James Parker

Volcano Poas in Costa Rica, in the style of Dalhart Windberg, DaVinci, O'Keefe, Van Gogh

Volcano Poas in Costa Rica is a marvel when the clouds subside to allow the sun to showcase the exquisite color varieties in the layers of its caldera and the vibrant flowers and foliage striving to regain a dominance of presence.

Carolann Gould
After La Pie by Claude Monet

In the UK we get scenes like this one every winter. Many reproductions differ in colour of the snow but I think Monet would have used these violet shadows.

Liz Pearson

After Pierneef

"It's after a very well known South African artist who was born the same year that Johannesburg was founded (1886)! I found the following info on him, if you're interested."

Jacob Hendrik Pierneef - who loved our trees Prominent South African artist whose modernist and geometric style revolutionized South African art in the early 20th century. Pierneef is often named as South Africa's greatest painter and his work is widely praised for its combination of raw genius and dedication to technique. The peak of Pierneef’s development as an artist is marked by the 32 panels he was commissioned to produce for the new Johannesburg Railway Station which replaced the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek Park Station in 1929, completed by 1932.

Peggy Montano
After Landscape 1889 by John Henry Twachtman (1853 - 1902)

"This is my feeling and interpretation of Twachtman's painting."

Michelle Burnett
After Harvest Moon by George Inness

"The color in this painting appealed to me as well as the fact that it appears to have been painted in plein air, which is something that I want to do more of. Landscape painting is not a strength of mine, but reproducing this painting really helped me to learn to simplify colors and shapes in a landscape."

Deb Keirce
After Monsted's Stream by Peter Mork Monsted

"I chose to be inspired by the landscape artist Peter Mork Monsted (1859-1941.) His 'A Winding Stream in Summer' and others that he painted strike me as scenes that could be the Potomac River, the Mississippi, or countless others. I think everyone can relate to a favorite fishing spot, picnic area, or clearing where they like to soak up the sun that looks similar to the places Monsted so masterfully captured on canvas. I knew I didn't have the time to try to make a copy of Monsted's work. So, I focused instead on the color tones - composition of lights and darks within the piece."

Cathyann Burgess
After Monastery at Albano by George Inness

"I connected with this image because of the drama of light behind the bell tower contrasted with a sense of a quiet intimacy between the two small figures off center. Additionally, the economy of means used to depict this scene arrived successive glazes over a period of time longer than what I, the impatient painter, normally experiences to get to the finish. I enjoyed what and how much I learned from this experience!"

Challenge Three ~ Master Landscapes

2009-05-15T07:11:00.001-07:00

Challenge Three – Master Landscapes
Deadline: June 17th

With the beautiful weather upon us it is time to get outside and paint! Personally, landscapes are a weakness of mine. There is so much information in a landscape that you must learn to edit and of course mixing the greens is always a challenge as well. What better way to perfect you own landscape paintings, than to study the Masters.

For this challenge you can paint any master landscape. You might want to choose a work from one of the Hudson River School artists or an Impressionist's garden. Through the Artcylopedia site, you can search specifically for landscapes, styles, periods, or artists and find a landscape painting that appeals to you.

Paint as many as you like and I will post up to 3 of them so let get a lot of practice!

One painting that I will be working on is…

Harvest Moon
By George Inness

The color in this painting appealed to me as well as the fact that it appears to have been painted in plein air, (though I’m not certain if it was or not). You can join me in painting Harvest Moon or show us your favorite landscape.

Rules: Paint any landscape or any other outdoor scene of your choice from a master artist. (Of course, please do not choose any living or copyrighted artists).

All mediums are welcome.

You can copy the painting as you wish, whether it is trying to replicate the painting or painting it with your own interpretation.

You can tell us why you chose the painting you decided on. (Optional)

Upon completion, email a jpeg photo (not any larger than 500 pixels wide please) of your work and a link to your blog or site to mtrmburnett@gmail.com by June 17th. Also, please include "FTM image" or something similar in the subject line or I may mistakenly overlook your email.

SUGGESTION BOX IS OPEN FOR CHALLENGE FOUR

Also, everyone please leave a comment on what you would like to paint for the next challenge. It can be a specific painting, a favorite artist, subject or style. Let me know over the next few weeks and I will then set up a poll from these suggestions for everyone to vote on.

A big thank you to everyone who participated in Challenge Two! (I'm still taking entries today if you haven't gotten yours in yet.) Please scroll down and check out all the beautiful entries!

Another big thank you to James Parker and his Empty Easel article that mentions this blog. It was at James' suggestion that I started this blog. Thanks James!

Challenge Two Art Gallery

2009-04-18T17:24:00.000-07:00

Phyllis Fitzgerald

Deb Keirce

Challenge Two...The Votes Are In!

2009-04-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

For Challenge Two we will be painting… (drum roll please!)

Walking on the Beach
by Spanish Impressionist Painter Joquin Sorolla y Bastida (1863-1923)

Note: I’ve seen two different versions of this painting on the internet. You can choose which version you prefer to use as your reference.

Artist Links:

Art Cyclopedia

Art Renewal Center

Museo Sorolla (in Spanish)

Saint-Andre.com

joaquin-sorolla-y-bastida.org

Wikipedia

Thank you to everyone who voted and a big THANK YOU to all who participated in Challenge One! Also, feel free to pick up you “participant” blog badge to the right. (I will continue to accept entries for the next few days if you haven’t quite finished Challenge One.)

Thank you also to Rhonda Hartis Smith for suggesting Sorolla!

There are no rules for the challenge! You can use it as an opportunity to study Sorolla's methods and recreate the painting as is, or you can use it as an inspriration for your own work. Use any medium you wish...paint all or just part of the image. Have fun with it!

Challenge Two entries are due by May 15th!

~~~Happy Painting! ~~~

Vote on What to Paint for Challenge Two!

2009-03-31T17:18:00.000-07:00

While there is still two weeks left to complete Challenge One, I’m going to put up the poll to vote on what to paint for Challenge Two. Please use the poll to the right to vote! Thank you for all your suggestions!

The choices are:

Flowers In A Crystal Vase by Eduard Manet

Valley of the Vaucluse By Thomas Cole

Pas Meche (Nothing Doing) by Jules Bastien-Lepage

Carnation, Lily, Lily Rose by John Singer Sargent

Walk on the Beach by Joaquin Sorolla

Morning by Maxfield Parrish

FYI...Poll closes April 14th at 10:00PM MST

Suggestion Box – Looking Ahead to Challenge Two

2009-03-20T08:34:00.000-07:00

While there are still over three weeks left to continue working on the current challenge, or to jump in and join us if you haven’t started yet, I would to start thinking ahead to the next challenge and put out the “suggestion box”.

What would you like to paint? How about a certain subject, like flowers or gardens for May? Or is there a particular artist that you love and whose work you have always wanted to paint? How about a certain style Impressionism, Renaissance, etc.? All that I ask is that we limit it to works that are no longer copyrighted, which (to my knowledge) is death of the artist plus 75 years.

So please leave your comment and in a few weeks I will put up a poll to vote on the choices. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your support!

03/26/09 - UPDATE:

Some clarification on copyrighted works. I was checking out the blog Public Domain Clip Art and found some information on "published" works:

[copyright expiration] applies to the United States, where Works published prior to 1978 were copyright protected for a maximum of 75 years. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" from the U.S. Copyright Office.Works published before 1924 are now in the public domain and also in countries that figure copyright from the date of death of the artist (post mortem auctoris) and that most commonly run for a period of 50 to 70 years from December 31st of that year.

So (James) this means we can also include some of Maxfield Parrish's work and a few others that might have been limited by my previous copyright limit.

Starting next week, I will have a poll so we can vote on who we will paint next! Until then...keep painting! :)

Following the Masters

~* Spring Break *~

William Bouguereau - Dear Bird (1867)

I apologize for not posting earlier. Family, work and home have kept me very busy so the challenge is going to take a little spring hiatus. There are so many wonderful challenges out there to keep you busy. Here are just a few:

Windows to the Words

Virtual Paintout

Calypso Moon Artist Movement

Inspiration All Around Us

A Day Not Wasted

Challenge 11 Gallery

Challenge Eleven ~ The Italian Renaissance

Challenge 10 Art Gallery

Challenge Ten - Robert Henri and the Ashcan School

Reading Group - The Art Spirit by Robert Henri

Reading Book Group and a * Giveaway *

Challenge Nine Gallery - Favorite Master Artists

Challenge Nine - Who's Your Master?

Challenge Eight Gallery

Challenge Eight - Vincent van Gogh

Challenge Seven Gallery

Challenge Seven ~ The Art of the Self Portrait

Challenge Six Gallery

Challenge Six - Western Art

Challenge Five Gallery

Challenge Five ~ Flowers & Gardens

Challenge Four Gallery

Challenge Four ~ Maxfield Parrish

Challenge Three Gallery

Challenge Three ~ Master Landscapes

Challenge Two Art Gallery

Challenge Two...The Votes Are In!

Vote on What to Paint for Challenge Two!

Suggestion Box – Looking Ahead to Challenge Two