Five Great Artists

From the time I could hold a pen, I have been drawing. As my attention span widened, I would spend hours drawing pictures and making up stories about the characters in my sketches. This passion for art drove me to take several drawing and painting classes in my teenage and college years. Now it fuels my deep appreciation for the skillful artwork of others. Below, I've selected five of my favorite paintings from five of my favorite painters. I hope you enjoy gazing at them as much as I do!



David Heath is a contemporary painter from the central Virginia area whose breathtaking landscapes and detailed portrayals of the Appalachians feed my longing for the rolling hills and peaceful solitude of the Virginia countryside.



Christian Zacho is another of my favorite landscape painters. The peaceful clarity captured in his woodland scenes reminds me of my childhood blithely roving through the woods and splashing in the creek.



John William Waterhouse was a British painter who focused largely on romantic scenes from Greek mythology and classic literature. His languid, full-bodied subjects are often striking dreamy poses such as the one pictured above.



British painter Edmund Blair Leighton had a fascination for romantic, medieval themes and tender lovescenes from the Victorian era. Leighton especially loved depicting courting scenes as shown in the painting above, appropriately entitled "Courtship."



Lastly, the greatest American painter who ever lived: Norman Rockwell. Rockwell had an extraordinary talent for conveying emotion through the body language and sometimes comical expressions on the faces of his subjects. The picture above is called "The Window Washer" and is one of my many favorites.

Although I don't have the knowledgeable mind or the ample money of an art connoisseur, I enjoy keeping a little gallery of pictures that I can look through periodically to inspire, uplift and bring a smile. Who are some of your favorite painters?

My Greatest Weakness

If I had to choose my one greatest weakness, it would undoubtedly be books. I love everything about them. The smell of paper and ink, the grainy feel of the pages, ornate covers and bindings, sweeping fonts, colorful illustrations...

I could spend hours in Barnes and Noble just relishing the massive amounts of literature surrounding me. Each book represents so many years of research, travelling, writing, thoughts, and emotions.

Yesterday I was browsing in a quaint downtown bookstore and found these two gems.



Originally penned in 1905 and 1906, these treasures are a delightful blend of botany, poetry, and art, saturated throughout with the author's ardent love of nature.



The author, Edith Holden, was born in 1871 in the town of Moseley, England. After growing up in a family of seven children, she attended art school and worked as an illustrator, later marrying the sculptor, Ernest Smith.



These two books are full of her favorite poems, personal thoughts and observations of local wildlife throughout the year.



Her detailed watercolors are exceptional as is her excellent taste in poetry, and I'm excited to have two more books to add to my collection. :)

It's finished!

For about two weeks now I've been working on a master study of The Flower Picker; a pre-Raphaelite painting by my favorite artist, John William Waterhouse. Once it dries I'm planning on hanging it in my dorm room.



I started out with what was supposed to be a brief sketch. Needless to say, I got a bit carried away. I'm more of a sketcher than a painter. :P



The first few days, I painted the sky and the ground.



Next I moved on to the fence.



Then I focused on the background and foreground foliage.



Finally, I concentrated on completing the girl and putting on the finishing touches. Of course, like any work of art, it is never truly finished. However, since I'm returning to school tomorrow, I don't have any more time to work on it.

Even though it isn't anywhere near the quality of Waterhouse's masterpiece, it will serve its purpose to brighten up our room. And the best part is, I don't have to pay $70 for a poster! :)

A Special Project

Last week I started a very special project. It's slow going, but I'm hoping to finish it before I leave for school this Friday.







Can you guess what it is yet? ;)

Another Great Painter

Although John William Waterhouse is my favorite, Edmund Blair Leighton comes in a close second. Also born in the 1850’s, Leighton’s paintings are much like Waterhouse’s, focusing on medieval and Pre-Raphaelite themes with a few Victorian paintings on the side. Here are a few of my favorites.



This one is called The Courtship and is my favorite out of all his paintings because of the beautiful lighting and the contrast between the masculine and feminine stances.



Leighton did a lot of paintings with couples; this one is entitled The Favour.



This one is called The Lilac. I absolutely love the vibrant lighting in the top left corner and how huge the lilac bush is!



This painting, oddly titled Off, strikes me as very mysterious. The colors are very muted and dull compared to his other paintings, and the fact that the man is walking away with a somewhat dejected manner makes me wonder what has just transpired. Is the woman a coquette? Or perhaps she rejected him because she did not love him. Her face is very stoic and doesn't give a clue as to whether she is sad, annoyed, or proud. My guess from her posture and expression is that she is proud but slightly regretful. What do you think?

An Amazing Painter

Ever since I was introduced to his work, John William Waterhouse has undoubtedly been my favorite painter. Born in the 1850's, Waterhouse's work mainly focuses on Pre-Raphaelite themes from classic literature and mythology with a few sketches taken from his life in Europe. Below are some paintings he did of everyday things, which are some of my favorites.



The Flower Picker. I love the grace and femininity of his female subjects and the fact that they resemble real people instead of his definition of beauty.



I also love the way they're dressed. :) This one is Gathering Flowers in a Devonshire Garden.



Though he didn't do many of children, this painting, which he entitled Two Little Italian Girls, is brimming with mischief, and I love his slightly impressionistic brushstrokes.



Here is an example of a more Pre-Raphaelite theme. It's called At the Shrine and is suggestive of another painting he did called The Soul of the Rose. I immensely enjoy his paintings and would leap at the chance to see some of them in person.