What makes Art "Good"?

I have been pondering this age old question for the past few weeks.  Of course, I always think about this, but I keep coming to the fact that no matter how much I want to say that there is a standard of beauty that is universal, there is always an element of subjectiveness, no matter how neutral one tries to be.  Judging student art work recently pushed me to admit this.

What makes art aesthetically pleasing?  I have always thought that if you take a piece of art you enjoy, and broke it down systematically and analyzed it using the Principles of Design, that there are reasons why a piece works.  And this is true.  I always taught my students to critically look at art and think about it in this way.  Take Starry Night by Van Gogh, for example...

This is one of the most beloved pieces of art ...ever.
It works because the positive and negative space is well proportioned, there is wonderful sharp contrast with values and colors, he created a sense of movement with the swirls in the sky.  In addition,  the texture adds depth and interest.
But that all takes a magical piece of art and breaks it down to boring information and facts.
I think its good to critically view art this way, for many reasons, but there is another element that should not be forgotten.
It is an unquantifiable quality of "magic".  I think it may be credited to an individuals set of memories and tastes (some people prefer red over blue, for example), but it is that essence when you look at a piece of art and your heart stirs and you don't want to look away.  It speaks to you.

My husbands favorite piece is this... The Bookworm by Carl Spitzweg

Although it could be analyzed by values and space and balance, this painting captures a commonplace moment and renders a supernatural beauty to it.  That is the real power of it.   And quite frankly not all good art needs to be pretty to be beautiful.

So, I am off to discover the secret of how to capture that essence myself.  I want to create beauty and magic.

Altered Books

Today is my daughter's 10th birthday.  She is my only child who loves art as much as I do.  She drew this direwolf for me.  (My husband lavished me with gifts for mother's day this year.  One of the gifts was a Game of Thrones House Stark T-shirt which has a similar wolf on it, which she used for inspiration. )


During the past two weeks, I was asked to judge two art fairs.  I love seeing the projects that other art teachers develop.  The ironic thing is that I was asked to judge the show at my old school and I totally messed up and totally forgot.  I don't forget things like that.  Anyway, yesterday, the show at another school, was so extremely difficult to judge because all the entries were all so excellent.  This particular art instructor is a kindred spirit in that she loves trees like I do.  One of the projects ... for third grade, was inspired by tree circles.  Another multi-stepped project was a tree with metallic borders and watercolored backgrounds, they looked like they should be in a medieval manuscript.  If I get permission, I will post pictures of them here, or I may try to recreate them on my own.

On another ramble, I have been playing around with my altered book and art journal.  Here are some new pages....

 Rather random concoction of things French, and fairies, and calligraphy...

Vincent Mercaldo - Historian and Artist Take 2

Ironically, days after I posted about my Dad's great uncle Vincent Read about him here., one of my uncles near NYC connected with his grandson.  Tom has shared quite a few images and has shed some light on his life.
 Here is an excerpt of an email he wrote in 2006 to a museum which housed some of his collection:
  Despite creating some wonderful paintings, what my grandfather was really known for was his knowledge of history and his collection of original documents, letters images, posters and photos.   His paintings and documents were featured in many encyclopedia's, (1940 and 1950's era) and reference to his archives can be found in most historical works on William Cody that were written during this era.  Within the family we have dozens of autographed first edition books from writers that had used his materials in their publications.  Even today 40 years after his death, his collection will be featured in upcoming PBS specials including one on Annie Oakley this month and one on the Transcontinental railroad in June.  

This is an incredible painting of Custer's Last Stand.

 And a very unique portrait of Christ...

And another fascinating portrait - one of William Cody.

Apparently, he started out with watercolors (like the ones I own)  and as he matured as an artist, progressed to oils such as these.  I think its inspiring to learn about someone who has a passion for something and can go on to share these passions with future generations.

Awesome Fairy Tale Illustrator

I love this illustrator, Cory Godbey.  His illustrations of fairy tales and fairy creatures are whimsical and magical.

He even has illustrated a fairytale about peahens...

His interpretation of Red Riding Hood is fantastic.  I have been watching Once Upon a Time, and I love how this reminds me of Red's character.

My favorite. I have drawn trees forever and love ents and tree people.  That reminds me.  There is this wine in our local grocery store called Entwine.  Of course I know it doesn't mean Ent Wine, but I read it that way anyway.  That has nothing to do with this illustration, and I have never bought the wine since is over my 5 buck limit. so  I don't know if it is entish at all...

 

Everyone should go here and support this artist.

Altered Book - nooks and crannies

One of my favorite students is working on an altered book project.  She is going through a confirmation class at her church and is creating a book as her final project to express what her faith means to her.  This is the essence of what art should be.
 
She has tons of photos which show her "acting" out her faith through various service and missions trips, and tons of other tidbits, papers, quotes and the like,  which will add to the whole meaning of her book.  Yesterday we cut out a huge hole in the back portion of the book.

Nooks, crannies and holes are a great addition to any altered book.  They can be used to make a secret hiding place for a treasure.  Or they can be used as a shadow box area so that you can use 3D items to your page without added bulk.


The secret is to score (or use a pencil line) the shape you want to cut out.  Then use an exacto knife or box cutter to carefully cut through the pages.  It may be easier to just cut through a few at a time until the desired depth is achieved.  We made a square, but depending on how nifty you get with your knife, any shape would do.

Then you must glue the pages together.  I think Elmers white glue works best.  This is the most tedious part of the project.  It takes some time, and then you must weight the whole thing down to prevent bumpiness.

You can add a border or paint around the shape.  Remember, there are no rules with altered books, so the possibilities are endless.  This is a great way to make a hiding place for a flask, or money, as well, but then you probably wouldn't want to display it on your coffee table.

This particular nook will hold a rosary.  

Here is her completed page:

Not all those who wander...continued

My previous post and painting were all wrong.  I realized what the problem was.  Once again, I was trying to mimic "popular" styles, which are fine in the process to figure out how to do certain techniques and all.  But it wasn't right.  It looked too industrial and modern for me. So here is my First Try.
I painted over the canvas with sepia and did some distressing techniques.  Using a Hobbit styled font, I hand painted the words.  A couple spots bother me, but I will fix them later.  I will totally redo the bottom.   I may not get to touch it up for a few days.  Plus that may give me some more ideas....

Even though unfinished, I feel more at peace with how it is coming out....

I added some gold leaf paint, but the photo was awful due to lighting, but it looks cool...

Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost

For many reasons, the largest being that our house is on the market, I have been truly uninspired lately.  You can't really have a messy place when you are selling a house.  And now, I am not trying to sell anything, so I tried a few different drawings, doodles, projects and just can't get into them.  However, last night I had this epiphany that I should do a painting with text or a quote.  Sooo....

Now, for the true LOTR fans,   I realize the true quote is "not all those who wander are lost".  But I felt it may have been too cluttered with the extra word.  I probably should have used a smaller font, or different type of letters, I don't know. Tonight I may paint over the whole thing and try again. Remember, I am uninspired at the moment.  Now to pick up the trail of debris left by my three wonderful kids.

Vincent Mercaldo - Painter of the Old West

      My father inherited 3 watercolor paintings from his great uncle Vincent.  Vincent Mercaldo was an italian immigrant who was a professional artist in NYC.  My mother told me they were "cast-offs" and his best works were in museums.  I haven't found out all the details of his life yet, but from what I could gather online, he painted, photographed, but was important mostly because he gathered a great collection of photographs and paintings of the Old West. He owned photos of  Annie Oakley and Wild Bill Cody, among others.
     Here are some pieces of his collection  Vincent's Collection .
 
     Ever since I can remember, these paintings were hanging in my brothers' rooms.  Then I asked for them when I had my own kids.  My brother Luke had already been given the larger of the three (which I think is the only signed painting).

These are the two I own.  I think they were preliminary studies for his paintings.  The painting below is Luke's.  It was by a window during a storm and has suffered some water damage, which I am going to research to see what can be done.  I may just scan it and see if anyone with photoshop skills can help me get a clean digital copy.

It is really cool when you learn about someone in your family's past who has had similiar loves and interests.  The Mercaldo family has had its share of excellent musicians, even a few recordings, but there are less visual artists.  Plus, this inspires me to search out some western landscapes to photograph and paint when we move to Texas!

Angel Oak Tree and other pastel paintings

During the past couple of days I have attended a watercolor/pastel workshop.  I am really going to miss the Cabarrus Art Guild when I move.  The people who I meet through the events and classes are amazing.
My goal was to not only learn more about the medium, but to push myself creatively.  Lately, a lot of my paintings have been "flat".  Lacking something.....magical.  So, I thought that this was a great opportunity to try to rediscover that essence. During the workshop we learned some techniques with layering pastels over watercolor backgrounds and acrylic washes.  It is a great technique for a watercolor that is not working out "right" , you can fix it with a layer of pastels. 

I have always drawn trees, probably since I was 7 years old.  I love them.  But until recently, I did not know about the Angel Oak tree in South Carolina.  A friend was telling me about it, and it is an amazing tree, and it is extremely old.  And it is the #2 most photographed tree in America.  I heard that some developer is trying to cut it down to put a housing development there.  Can I just say, that would not happen in tree-loving Vermont.  How could anyone think of hacking down such a beautiful triumph of nature?   Here is a pastel sketch on canvas paper of the Angel Oak Tree. (not totally done, but I am at a point where I do not know yet what I need to do to finish it)

The next is a seascape which I attempted with a black gessoed background and rougher texture.


Another seascape with warm hues on a sanded paper.

 My favorite technique became using pastels on a metallic background.  This originally was supposed to be the essence of water or a waterfall,  one of the other artists at the workshop suggested this composition with the sun on the bottom.  I think it works.

 A gold background with mountain...

So say we all... (art journaling)

Lately, I have been working on pages in my art journals.  It is a great outlet, since I can't get things too messy around here (our house is for sale).  Also breaking my toe last week has caused me to be more stationary than I am used to.   Art journals don't require anything more than the book, pen, or pencil, and you don't need a lot of space to work.
For me, I have put aside my acrylics and been working on my nemesis.... watercolors.
The paper in my journal is handmade (not by me) and reacts so uniquely to the paint.  I am really liking the affect.

BSG fans may appreciate this page...

Below is a page inspired by Kandinsky's composition paintings.  In a recent class, I had my students look at a few of his paintings and create their own similar piece of art.  This is my interpretation.  I guess I was craving olives...