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Pietro Annigoni: Portrait Masterclass
Pietro Annigoni (1956) Pen and China Ink portrait of Mrs. J. L. Vernon You'd be forgiven for thinking that this was a portrait of Betty Draper from Mad Men. It's from the same time period alright, but...
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Andrea Pozzo in Super High Definition
Image source Halta DefinizioneSee that little SpongeBob Squarepants in the fresco? No? Look again, bottom right. To give you an idea of just how close you can zoom into this image from Halta...
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Zaporozhian Cossacks, by Ilya Repin
Ilya Repin famously portrayed the Cossacks as lusty brigands with sharp wits and even fouler tongues in his masterpiece,Zaporozhian Cossacks writing a letter to the Turkish Sultan. The subject of the...
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Top 10 Happiest Jobs and The American Dream
Was Bob Ross really that happy? Despite finding a family of raccoons evidently nesting in his afro, he certainly seems to have maintained a positive outlook. "The powerful motivator in our lives isn't...
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Oil Paint from the Sea?
The Seine Boat - Stanhope ForbesMy last business idea failed miserably: Animal Rescue Steakhouse ("You'll come for the puppies, but you'll stay for the meat pie"). I couldn't convince the Venture...
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Free Video Demo: Faux Cerused Oak
The following is an in-depth demonstration with video and images, designed to help you learn the traditional method of painting faux oak, generally considered the most difficult wood-grain to simulate...
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American Primitive Wood Graining
"The Printseller's Window'" Walter Goodman 1883Nineteenth Century Tall Grass Magicians (so called because they'd camp in the tall grass on the outskirts of town) with names like Willard the Wizard were...
View ArticleHow to Draw a Perfect Circle Freehand
I came across Vasari's text below and figured I'd make a quick video showing you how to "surpass greatly all other painters". Well, not all the posts can be long and well thought out.(link to...
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Xavier Mader, Piat Sauvage, and Reflected Light
CGI studios have a standard trick used for establishing the reflected light on digitally created images for movies. A large mirrored or matte ball on a stick is placed prominently in the shot. They use...
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The Etchings of Anders Zorn
Anders Zorn pursued light as the guiding principle of his art. Whether it was oil paint, watercolor, or etching, the expression of light on the human form and his beloved homeland of Sweden was the...
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How the Old Masters created the look of Gold in Painting
The detail (above) from Van Loo's painting, Marie Leszczinska Queen of France, is fascinating to me. I've been trying to figure out why I think his rendering of the gold table is unsuccessful. Though...
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Focus, Dammit!
Do we even know why we do things? How many times have I said I can't do something when what I really mean is that I don't want to. It comes down to lack of awareness. So, why can't you meet me?...
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A New Perspective on Velazquez
Velazquez has us standing high above the action in Old Woman Cooking Eggs, but I’ve never fully understood why, though we are clearly staring down on every object in the room, the old woman’s head is...
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Artists and their Muses
Olympia, by Edouard Manet, 1863"O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention!"William ShakespeareThe whole idea of the human-being-as-clothes-horse artist "muse" thing bugs...
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Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck
G. Trignac“I have always looked upon decay as being just as wonderfuland rich an expression of life as growth.”Henry MillerThe Empire in a state of dissipation, portrayed as a post-industrial nightmare...
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I Brake For Fake: Tourists Flock to Replicas of Reality
The real (in case it wasn't obvious) Halstatt, in Austria [image]China's unveiling of it's $9 Billion fake Alpine village was in the news recently, when it was "revealed" that "spies from a Chinese...
View ArticleIrish Folk Furniture
I could have just posted the link on Facebook, but I'm dedicating a blogpost to it instead. You won't regret it. Sometimes it's nice to be reminded that there is an inherent human desire to build and...
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Engravings of Raphael's Designs for the Vatican Loggia
This should quicken the pulse of at least a few ornament nerds out there. I know I'm not completely alone. Yeah, you know who you are. This is my second post on the subject of the extremely rare full...
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I'll Show You Mine, If You Show Me Yours [Part I]
Wiley PurkeyWell, there's been such a huge response that I'm going to be making this into a series of posts. I'm getting palpitations thinking about all the money I could blow on the books I don't have...
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Thomas Jayne Wins Arthur Ross Award
I had the pleasure of restoring these antique Chinese panels for Thomas JayneCongratulations to Thomas Jayne for winning the Arthur Ross Excellence Award for Interior Design, announced by ICAA today....
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