Art and Photography Articles

The terminology of graphic design developed in the twentieth century. However, we can see that many events led up to graphic design and is considered a part of history. Graphic design planted its roots in the same rich cultural history of all mediums of art. Art has been a lynchpin of cultures since before the written word. The history of graphic design stems from these ancient, artistic beginnings. Graphic design is created around the history of art and its applications and methods, as well as well as the affects of art techniques and technology.

Like all recreational and applied arts, graphic design got its real beginning with the invention of the printing press. Previously in the history of graphic design, art and other creative works had to be hand copied. The ability to print copies of art and other creative works was a huge step toward the graphic design that exists today.

Another large step in graphic design history was the development of photography, and later film making. These important steps at the end of the nineteenth century were the stepping stones to creating the graphic designs that we have today. This era also marks the beginning of the separation of creative art, or art for entertainment, from applied art, or art that was used for a purpose such as conveying a message, advertising, and other graphic design purposes.

The next largest step in graphic design history was the development of the computer, and more significantly, the technological wave that led to a personal computer in every home as we have today. Graphic design would not be as popular, nor would it be as effective, creative, and reproducible without the invention of computers. Therefore, the history of graphic design is closely tied with the history of computers, computer software, computer imaging software, computer scanners, computer printers, and digital photography. The internet and graphic design software are perhaps the most important of these technological advances that are a large role in the history of graphic design. Without all of these important technological advances, graphic design would not be what it is today.

There are many other important landmarks in graphic design history. In 1919 the first union of art and industry was put into place. In 1929 commercial artists, advertising designers, and illustrators became common place. In 1970 mega computers allowed for more advances in graphic design with companies like IBM. The development of the micro processor, allowing for personal office and home computers, came in 1980 and was marketed with Apple computers in 1984. Finally, the now common place technology of internet access in 1993 tops off the graphic design history that has lead to the graphic design industry we know and recognize today.

To learn more about the history of graphic design, you can search the internet or your local library. Many colleges and universities offer arts classes and history of graphic design courses. Community education programs also often offer summer classes or workshops on topics of interest such as the history of graphic design.

Author Bio: Visit Brian Scott’s website, http://www.FastCashDesign.com and learn about freelance graphic design and how to launch a successful Graphic Design Career.

Many lovers of Abstract Art are very familiar with Abstract Expressionism, especially American Abstract Expressionism. There is another Art style, which could be confused with this movement, and that is Abstract Impressionism. On the surface of things, an Abstract Expressionist Oil Painting could be compared with Abstract Impressionism. However, there are very definite differences, although it would be fair to say, one was born from the other and both were born from Abstract Art.

Abstract Impressionism, like Abstract Expressionism, is usually worked on a large Canvas. With Abstract Impressionism, the Artist implements small brush strokes, reflecting and analyzing space, over time. The Artist is making an Impression of the inner energy, and emotion, which governs and reflects that Artists ‘inner space’. Therefore, the main emphasis is upon internal, personal space, not, as with Abstract Expressionism, an emotional response to an external world. It is this, which adds the contemplative quality to Abstract Impressionist Oil Paintings.

The brush strokes of Abstract Impressionism reflect the early work of the Impressionists and Post Impressionists, such as Monet, Vincent Van Gogh and Seurat. However, within Abstract Impressionism the strokes are shorter. More controlled than the often flurried application of paint, which can be seen so obviously, in many of the Abstract Expressionist Paintings produced.

The ‘Action Painting’, of Jackson Pollock, a well noted Abstract Expressionist Artist, was fast and furious. Despite the fact Abstract Expressionism had a purposeful approach; it was a very different approach to Abstract Impressionism. Unlike Abstract Expressionism, Abstract Impressionism uses the concept of ‘time’. It is one of the most important elements, within the concept. Time becomes an integral part of the Oil Painting. Within the space of the canvas, the artist attempts to depict an analysis of his or her own inner energy, and how it invariably shifts and changes, within the passage of time. Logging points, like mile stones along the road. This is a slow and purposeful analysis of inner energy, depicted at different stages, using the concepts of time and space.

In a way, Abstract Impressionism could be compared to the work of Kandinsky, and indeed, Abstract Impressionist canvas art do have a very lyrical quality. However, the work of Kandinsky was spontaneous and spiritual. If the work of Kandinsky was to reflect a single note, in comparison, Abstract Impressionism, would reflect a melody. How else could this be described? It�s in the visual sense.

Imagine looking inside yourself, right now. What would you see? Would it be a whoosh of tumbling energy? Like water draining from a bath? Or, would you see a steady, flowing tide? This is a spatial visualization of energy, a metaphor, and this is where an Abstract Impressionist Artist begins. However, the point is not to depict that metaphor in a literal sense. Abstract Impressionism attempts to give an Impression, of the inner energy that reflects this. From this starting point, the Artist moves on. Analyzing, and expressing visually, the movement of that energy. This is why the passing of time is such an important element within Abstract Impressionism.

Abstract Impressionism reached its peak during the fifties, in America. The onus was very much upon the approach to the work. Not so much upon the method, or even the outcome. It was Elaine De Kooning, wife of Willem De Kooning, who first used the term, Abstract Impressionism. Elaine de Kooning was a respected Artist in her own right, although somewhat overshadowed by the huge success of her husband. Elaine De Kooning was a critic for ART news, and became especially respected, and recognized, within that field. Once she coined this new term, it was not long before it was adopted by other Art critics, and Artists alike.

One of those critics was Lawrence Alloway, who, at the time, was a leading member of the English ‘Independent group’. In 1958 Alloway held an exhibition for British and American Painters. He was a highly respected critic and curator in the UK. However, in 1961 Alloway moved to the United States, with his wife. Here, he became an extremely influential writer, and curator. Alloway was the curator for the famous, 1966, exhibition, ‘Systematic Painting’, an exhibition that proved to be another important stepping stone, for the world of American Contemporary Art.

Author Bio: Angela Dawson-Field is an avid writer for Arts My Passion’s oil painting gallery. She divides her time between writing and studying art movements including abstract art and Modern art. She is an accomplished painter and produces wonderful portrait oil paintings.

Modern Art has led the way to a far deeper and diverse exploration of Art, and Art is, and always has been, a reflection of ourselves, and our culture. Ultimately, it is, who we are. In this way, when choosing Canvas Art for our home, we instinctively want the Artwork, we choose to reflect this. Modern Art fulfils this desire, for many people. Why is this? It has a lot to do with the fact Art incorporates so many aspects of our development, as individuals, and as a society generally. Whichever style of Modern Art appeals to you, one thing remains certain. It will add style and chic to any modern home.

Modern Canvas Art adds that all important finishing touch to any newly decorated room. It can also enhance your existing decor, by adding something new and exciting to your surroundings. Modern Canvas Wall Art can turn a tedious wall into a vivacious and interesting focal point. Much more economical than replacing furniture. By simply hanging a fabulous piece of modern Canvas Art, you can change the ambience of a room, and make your environment a lot more interesting. There are many forms of Modern Art, some more diverse, and more controversial than others. For more than one hundred years, the time when the realms of Modern Art were moulded, there has been much controversy. Today, much of the Abstract Art which was once rejected, primarily, because of lack of understanding, has become widespread. Abstract Art developed through many progressions within Art. However, it is Russian born Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (1866-1944) who was accredited as being the first Modern Abstract Artist to produce pure Abstract Art works, in 1910. Kandinsky grew up in the city of Odessa, situated in the Southern Ukraine. Unlike many of the famous Artists of this period, Kandinsky did not study Art, nor did he begin painting at an early age. In fact, Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky did not pick up an Artist brush or pencil until he was thirty years old. He studied law and economics at the University of Moscow, then went on to gain a professorship at the University of Dorpat.

When Kandinsky moved to Munich in 1896, he began to study Art at the private Art school of Anton Azbe. A school which had become one of the most famous in the capitol. Kandinsky was not the only renowned Artist to study here. Jawelensky, Jakopic and Petrovic all attended the A�be School. Jawelensky moved to the Bavarian capitol in 1896, the same year as Kandinsky, in order to study at the Azbe School. In 1909, he and other artists would join Kandinsky to form the Neue K�nstlervereinigung M�nchen, in 1909. It translated, the �New Artists Association of Munich�. The early work of Jawelensky was rich and colorful, but later, his work would search for the simplicity and spirituality found within Abstract Art. The New Artists Association would lead to founding of Der Blaue Reiter, or the Blue Rider, group. A short lived but notable forerunner, for the development of Modern Art, during the twentieth century. Kandinsky and Franz Marc was central to the formation of the �Blue Rider�. The group formed as a direct response to the refusal to exhibit an Oil Painting of Kandinsky�s, titled �The Last Judgement�. Other members of the Blue Rider group included August Macke, Albert Bloch and Lyonel Feininger. All of which are considered to be highly influential and important painters, with regards to the development of Modern Art. The color blue, for Kandinsky represented the spiritual – as discussed in his book published in 1911, �On the Spiritual in Art�.

Every Artist, within the Blue Rider Group, had an individual approach and style associated with their Abstract Art. However, what each of them shared, was the desire to express and paint a �spiritual truth�. Therefore, promoting the concepts we recognize today, as Modern Abstract Art. The principles of Modern Art, essentially Abstract Art, began with Kandinsky, and the work carried out by the Blue Rider group. Even today, their philosophies remain quintessential to most, if not all forms of Modern Art. The underlying foundation to what has evolved to be one of the most important milestones in the History of Art. To enjoy Abstract Art, one must, essentially, understand it, aesthetically and spiritually.

Arts My Passion – Find modern canvas art

Author Bio: Angela Dawson-Field studies The History of Art in her spare time. Her interests include |Modern Art, Contemporary Art, Abstract Canvas Art, Impressionism, African Art and much more.

New Year’s pictures in China, more than a thousand years of history. As early as the Han people have posted on the door Door God the Chinese New Year custom, to show that evil ??. Ming and Qing dynasties, paintings entered the peak phase, the formation of Yangliuqing Tianjin, Suzhou and other famous paintings Taohuawu genre.However, as the late 19th century the popularity of modern printing technology, coupled with China was the constant fighting, paintings of color taste in Chinese people’s lives gradually pale.

China’s traditional wood block New Year pictures have been sought after abroad. Chinese New Year Pictures Museum in Wuqiang County, Hebei Province, 20 pieces of paintings reproductions of these paintings of the real thing now houses the British Museum in London, the United States part of the museum, in China has become an out of print.”Many foreign scholars and experts on the Chinese New Year Prints high level of interest,” Hebei Province Wuqiang New Year Prints Guo Rong, deputy director of the museum, “said the museum each year Wuqiang New Year pictures of foreign experts and scholars have thousands of people, relatively speaking, until the past few years, the Chinese people gradually discovered woodcut New Year pictures of the collection value. ”

Years of traditional woodblock art collections, wood carvings, hand painted the art on a subject matter is rich in bright, reflecting the various parts of China on Chinese New Year of the history, culture, customs of the development of a very strong country flavor.There collector said that since New Year’s pictures are posted on the wall art, updated every year, preservation is very difficult to survive in the world of the fine is not much, so sought after by people.

Yangliuqing in China, the hometown of the famous wood block New Year Pictures Tianjin Yang Liu Qing Ming and Qing Street, a town where people gathered in a lot of Yangliuqing masters, many retail outlet selling paintings still maintain the traditional Chinese “front shop, a factory “Hand Workshop business model, art retail outlet where people carry out creative, then paintings of various sizes hanging boutique sales.”With the development of Chinese society and people’s aesthetic conception, Yangliuqing by the popularity of products into a collection, from menial jobs into skilled work, in the past presented a tribute to the Imperial Palace paintings is to be seen as fine.” Ming Qing Street “New Year picture sheet,” said Zhang Keqiang workshop manager.

“In 2006, my workshop sold nearly 6000 paintings, in which most of the fine paintings, Singapore, Japan and other national and regional customers to go higher price. In addition, local enterprises in Tianjin Group buy paintings and abroad Gift Boutique Hu Zeng is also a great proportion. “Zhang Keqiang said.In recent years, like the paintings, collecting more people up New Year pictures, paintings, as reflected in folk culture, art, its collection and the value of the investment on the rise.

2000 Beijing auction, an auction, “New New Year Prints Selected Works” liberated zone woodblock watermark 16 scattered sheets, the reserve price 3,000 yuan, results have been photographed in high priced 8800 yuan. In 2004, Guangzhou, China Session fine paintings at auction, the precious wood block New Year pictures in a few million more than the auctioneer, a Ming Dynasty, New Year pictures, “Shouxing map” last shoot high of 7 million.”Yucheng number” is the opening up of China, Tianjin to resume the first edition of New Year pictures willow Aoki workshop production of hand. Manager, he said that in the past, an average size of the Yangliuqing sell fifty or sixty yuan, can now be sold for 150 yuan more than the price of fine paintings of the higher prices, those painters beautiful, larger size of the wood block paintings, In particular, sought after by people.

According to New Year picture collection experts, collectors should choose a number of world famous paintings paintings paintings printed in workshops, such as Henan zhuxianzhen, Hebei Wuqiang, Sichuan and other places Mianzhu fine paintings, mostly older, less survive in the world, with more high investment and value for collection.

Author Bio: I am a professional editor from China Products, and my work is to promote a free online trade platform. http://www.himfr.com/ contain a great deal of information about white ceramic vases,thai tom yum soup,acrylic rods, welcome to visit!

Before your eyes are a particular painting; sang along in a big rooster, the overall feeling is very strong, and feathers are very shiny. However, after closer look found that it was not painted with the paint, is to use a butterfly’s wings makes up for. About WU Ze wide home based butterfly art galleries, landscapes, flowers, birds, people, animals and other Diechi painting dazzling.WU Ze wide, 68 year old former secondary school biology teacher Jiajiang County. Since 1960, as a biology class teacher, he was hooked on the colorful wings of butterflies. His retirement in 1995 after the butterfly art has been good, he continued to create new works, and have received many awards. In 2002, he was also invited to a butterfly craft works on display in Canada.

Magic Diechi paintings have always focussed on Tweezers, scissors, glue, tools, very simple, one with bright butterflies wings in Wu teachers imaginative arrangement, a dancing girl Dai will leap off the paper. Even what has been the wind gave rise to spots on the peacock skirt, have performed just right.

“China’s butterfly art from the Qing dynasty, there may be a butterfly’s wings were just used to do a few simple accessories, sixties and seventies of the last century has been the development in Taiwan, and now have carried forward the trend,” WU Ze all that in foreign countries, butterfly wings instead of ink painting is called an alternative Chinese art. Butterfly wing colors are all natural, and a wide range of colors, can be refracted at different angles different luster, creators through the thinking process, you can arbitrarily be collage into ordinary paint can not be expressed in effect.

“Magic butterfly wings have a very strong performance edge, as long as can be imagined can do. Beauties of ancient times and even hair can do it.” WU Ze chuen, said. According to his years of research and exploration, he painted a rough Diechi classified as eight categories: Diechi collage Diechi main painting, Diechi clip art, Diechi impressionistic paintings, Diechi wings in the painting, Diechi craft painting, Diechi decorative painting, as well as recording Diechi scale paintings. Most of his work is the main draw Diechi, that butterfly wings pasted mainly other areas such as manpower, face, beak, claws and so difficult to express Diechi place, had to be completed by strokes and other aids.

To study the anti corrosion technology butterfly specimens, he had many years of hard exploration, and finally found the exclusive secret. For this secret, he was almost blind eyes. Many years ago, he and other butterflies, like the works of art produced using the method to formalin injection specimens of anti corrosion, when he will be butterfly needle piercing the body when the needle broke, and liquid spray into his eyes, he immediately wash with water, then rushed to the hospital for treatment, the doctor says that fortunately came early, or else more likely than eyes. Later, he studied with great concentration, a new anti corrosion syrup, a good effect, producing works of art can be long term preservation of butterflies.

Diechipianfei at Home and Abroad

WU Ze wide engaged in a butterfly work of art has been 46 years, so many years, even he himself could not remember how much work to create. Most people’s curiosity is that so much work needed to butterfly wings really come from? Is it thanks to his students to the field to collect specimens do?”No!” WU Ze wide shaking his head said, “Now the national attention to ecological protection, and does not allow casual collecting specimens, it is impossible to say Jiajiang collected so many specimens, these butterfly wings, relies entirely on the provision of artificial breeding farm.” Butterflies are also in captivity? A few years ago, he organized the mobilization of a farmer near a butterfly farms, primarily to provide him with specimens of technical difficulties due to farming, and in addition he needs no other outlet for the farmers soon gave up. He now needs specimens mainly to farms in Liaoning Experimental High School to purchase.

To date, WU Ze full of Diechi there have been more than 200 pieces of art were sent to parts of the exhibition. In 2000, his work “eyebrows may worry Hu” (eagle) in Hong Kong “Chinese art of the Fourth World Conference” on the international special prize. From 2002 to 2003, his series of works have been invited to the Canadian Museum of Niagara Falls, Butterfly by visitors from around the world appreciated. In August 2004, his work, “singing” (big cock) to participate in “to commemorate centenary of Deng Xiaoping,” exhibition after being in Sichuan Museum of Art collection, at the same time, his painting is still the “China Branch of the Fifth Entomological Society of Butterflies Symposium, “won first prize. In the same year in October, he participated in a number of works, “the Third China International China Fair cum second session of the China Folk Art Boutique Exposition”, and won a gold medal.

WU Ze wide fame far and wide, located in the exhibition room of his house from time to time there will be some far to the customer. In one case, a Taiwanese people to Leshan travel, I heard the whole of Die Chi WU Ze painting is very beautiful, they shop around to find his home address, inquire about a full two days to find the gentleman a pen on paper and wrote: “I come from Taiwan, and appreciate your paintings, special to see. ”

Now, he and others prepared jointly by the “theory of art and the production of Butterfly,” forthcoming. “This book, is to make ordinary people learn to produce such works of art.” He laughed and said: “I am doing for decades Diechi paintings, in which the bitterness and experience a lot, both in this book reflected in his later years can be considered to draw a perfect conclusion to it. ”

Author Bio: I am a professional editor from China Products, and my work is to promote a free online trade platform. http://www.himfr.com/ contain a great deal of information about foil stamp machine,chi hair products,used gumball machine, welcome to visit!

The Blue Rider group was centered around the famous Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky, the Artist who has been accredited with the honourable title of the worlds First Abstract Artist. A short lived association, existing for just three years. Nevertheless, they were a highly influential group of Artists. The Blue Rider group dispersed in 1914, because of the eruption of the first world war. Two core members, Frans Marc and August Macke died in combat. Kandinsky and Alexander von Jawelensky returned to Russia. Despite this, their ideas continued to be developed in Europe, primarily through an influential Netherlander group known as ‘De Stijl’. Abstract Art had captured the imagination of Europe. In 1921 Kandinsky returned to Germany and began teaching at the famous Bauhaus a year later. In 1923, along with three members of the original group, Paul Klee, long time friend Jawelensky, and Lyonel Feininger, Kandinsky formed the Blue Four (Die Blaue Vier). In 1924 the group exhibited and held lectures in America. Abstract Art had become more well known in the United States after two major Abstract Art exhibitions. One of which was held in New York, in 1913, and another in San Francisco four years later. After which, many of Americas younger Artists began experimenting and embracing the concepts of Abstract Art. One of the most famous of which, was Georgia O�Keeffe. In Europe, despite two world wars, Abstract Art had become one of the West’s most profound attributes.

Kandinsky continued to work at the Bauhaus, and promote his theories of Abstract Art in America. The Nazis closed the Bauhaus, a Modern Art and Architecture school, in 1933. Kandinsky sought sanctuary in France, away from the despotic world of the Nazis, who regarded Abstract Art, to say the least, as incompetent. Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky died in France, in 1944. However, his legacy to Modern Art, most certainly did not. Around the same time, new developments, within Abstract Art, were taking place. Abstract Expressionism really became a ‘showcase’ for American Art. However, it also had a huge impact upon European, Modern Art.

American Abstract Expressionism made such a huge impact in the West, that it toppled Paris from it�s pedestal and made New York the new world Arts center. Nevertheless, the term itself had been previously used, many years before, in 1919, to describe German Expressionist Oil Paintings. In America, the term Abstract Expressionism, was first used by Alfred H. Bar Jnr, in 1929, to describe the Oil Paintings of Kandinsky. Alfred Bar was an Art Historian and the first ever director of New York�s ‘Museum of Modern Art’. A highly influential man, especially with regards to the responses and attitudes toward the acceptance of the Modern Art forms, developing at the time.

In 1946, New York writer and Art critic, Robert Myron Coates, applied the term to the Oil Paintings of Kooning, Pollock and Gorky. Coates spent much time in Europe, and was a highly experimental writer. Indeed, there were many similarities between theirs, and the work of Kandinsky. Including many of the other European Artists, who had produced Abstract Art, during the early nineteen hundreds, like Klee and Jawelensky. However, the early Abstract Art was primarily concerned with the spontaneity of the spiritual, the conscious, and the unconscious mind. American Abstract Expressionism was not spontaneous, these were usually large Oil Paintings, which involved careful planning and execution. They represented a much more calculated and considered response to the world, which investigated both our conscious and unconscious spiritual responses to it.

American Abstract Expressionism took the world of Art by storm in the early forties. After World War II America became a place stifled by censorship. Abstract Art was so, exactly that, Abstract, it became a ‘safe’ way for Artists to avoid that censorship. Abstract Expressionism was widely experimented with among Painters. However, it was not a development that was limited to the realms of Oil Painting. There were many influential sculptors who played an important role, with regards to the American Abstract Expressionism movement. Many of whom, including David Smith and Herbert Ferber, also exhibited their work in the groundbreaking and somewhat infamous, �Ninth Street Show� in 1951. American Abstract Expressionism flooded the Arts of America and Europe, right up until the fifties. This was when Abstract Art would experience yet another metamorphosis, with the arrival of Minimalism.

Author Bio: Angela Dawson-Field is an avid writer for Arts My Passion’s oil painting gallery. She divides her time between writing and studying art movements including abstract art and Modern art. She is an accomplished painter and produces wonderful portrait oil paintings.

The American Modern Art Movement of Abstract Expressionism, which included the work of Jackson Pollock, Hans Hoffman and Willem De Kooning, is considered one of the most important, with regards to the progression of Modernism. The term Modernism defines the revolutionary concepts, which occurred early in the twentieth century, with regards to Art, literature, and architecture. Modernism rejected tradition and was highly controversial at the time. It was a revolution, as such, one that paved the way for new ideas to take shape, which resulted in many new, and exciting, Modern Art movements to evolve. Even today, the subject of Modernism, within Art, remains a controversial one.

The emphasis of Modernism, within the realms of Modern Art, remains with the freedom to express, emotionally, politically and ultimately, artistically. Some Modern Art forms seek to do this by eradicating expectation, by presenting the bizarre and therefore, startling the viewer with unpredictability. In this way, all traces of Traditional Art are revoked, forcing the viewer to rethink and abandon any pre-concepts they might have. In the Soviet Union, Modernism was rejected by Stalin’s Communist Government, on the grounds that it was elitist. In the same way, the Nazis branded this Art as Narcissist. This may seem a curious way to describe Modernism. However, for many Artists, producing Traditional Art, this has true basis. When an Artist produces Art that wholly represents themselves, not visually, but emotionally, it could be deciphered as self indulgent. Which could also be described as Elitist, or Narcissism. Rather like someone who talks about themselves all the time! Traditional Art places the emphasis upon representing, or if you like, discussing, the world around them. Therefore, the Artist is not wrapped up in themselves, or their emotions. The interest of these Artists lies in showing, representing, the world to others, and in this way, they are regarding that world outside of themselves. Embracing it, and everything in it, as a whole. This was why the Nazis displayed Modern Art (Modernist) Paintings alongside the ‘Art’ of mentally ill patients. The Degenerate Art Exhibition, held in Munich, in 1937, has to be one of the most famous in history. The point they were making was that the ‘ramblings’ of Modernist Paintings were, effectively, no more coherent, or valuable, than the ramblings of a madman.

Modernism did flourish within more capitalist societies, although the Artists themselves claimed to reject those same societies. Modernism gained its pace after the second world war, reaching a crescendo during the sixties. Modern Art went through many phases, and new directions, during the fifties and sixties. There was a definite, subjectivist, revolt against Abstract Expressionism. Now, these Artists would be regarded as radical, and they would represent the avant-garde. Art critic, Clement Greenburg, was among the first to approve and admire the Canvas Art of Jackson Pollock. In 1964 he was the curator for one of the most influential Art Exhibitions to tour America, which displayed the work of this new avant-garde. Thanks to this exhibition, Color-Field, Hard Edge Painting, and Lyrical Abstract Art, would all make their breakthrough, into the world of Modern Art. Around the same time, in 1962, the Sidney Janis Gallery, in New York, exhibited the work of ‘The New Realists’. Collectively, they represented another, new, Modern Art Movement, and that was, Pop Art. Sidney Janis opened his first Art Gallery in 1948, and was among the first in New York to exhibit the work of leading European Artists, such as Klee, Mondrian, Miro and Bonnard. His Gallery was also among the first to exhibit the emerging Artists, of the American Abstract Expressionist movement. This included Artists such as, Jackson Pollock, Kooning, Rothko and Robert Motherwell. For this he gained much prominence. In 1958 Greenburg had made tribute to Sidney Janis, commenting that his exhibitions did much to aid the ‘legitimacy’ of American Artists.

The 1962 Pop Art Exhibition sent tremors through the New York Art world, which reverberated right across the Atlantic. Pop Art was a term first used in 1958, by English Art critic, Lawrence Alloway. Like most of the new, Modern Art movements, Pop Art was a flurried response against Abstract Expressionism. It enjoyed, no, reveled, in the paradoxes of a consumerist society. Modernism would also incorporate Minimalism, during the early sixties, and by the end of the sixties, Post-Minimalism and Process Art. Slightly later, Conceptual Art would also emerge.

Author Bio: Angela Dawson-Field is an avid writer for Arts My Passion’s oil painting gallery. She divides her time between writing and studying art movements including abstract art and Modern art. She is an accomplished painter and produces wonderful portrait oil paintings.

Art has been produced throughout the Indian subcontinent since 3000BC. To the eye of Western collectors, Indian Art can seem highly ornate. Especially in comparison to the modern and contemporary art produced in America and Europe. Because of this, some might consider Indian Art to be an acquired taste. If it is, there is little wrong with this. Many of the finer things in life are only enjoyed, once they are truly appreciated. To appreciate something, it must be understood first. To achieve an understanding of Indian Art, one must look upon it aesthetically, in relation to the culture and ideological concepts of this diverse and highly ritualistic civilization.

Traditional Indian Art is expressive, sensitive, and highly designed. It portrays a world, which has been relative to the beliefs of the Indian people, since the year zero. The beliefs of the Indian people have shown much tenacity over the last two thousand years. In which case, their art has also remained as persistent, and consistent. Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism are the three main religions in India. Hinduism, also known as ‘Sanatana Dharma’ (which means ‘The eternal law’), is the most dominant. It is also considered to be the oldest living religion. Jainism, also referred to as ‘Shraman Dharma’ or ‘Jain Dharma’, is an old Indian Dharma religion. Similar to Buddhism and Hinduism, the most fundamental philosophy of Jainism is based upon self help, and a progression towards a higher level of spirituality. To pursue the ultimate goal, which is to achieve a supreme state; a state known in Jainism as ‘Jina’ (meaning conqueror), and known in Buddhism, as enlightenment. In Hinduism, this is moksha, which means ‘freedom’.

All three religions revolve around the conceptual paradox of existence. Based upon those concepts, Indian Art touches upon the three essential elements of that existence. That is, our senses; sight, touch, smell, taste, and sound; and our emotions and inner spirit. Within Indian Art, it is all these things that make our world. Each fusing with the other to produce form. Ancient Indian Art swept through the far east, alongside Hinduism and Buddhism. Because of this, it became highly influential in Asian Art, especially in China and Japan. From the thirteenth to the eighteenth century, Indian Art became more geometrical. Islam became dominant across India, and the Muslim leaders forbade the portrayal of the human figure, within a religious context. As Indian Art is rarely anything else, this rule dramatically changed the face of Indian Art.

Indian paintings have been found in two areas of the Indian subcontinent. The Ajanta caves are a group of thirty caves, located in the state of Maharashtra, east central India. They were first discovered in 1819. The Ajanta frescoes are based upon on the Jatakas (the life of Buddha), and reveal the development of Indian Art up to around 700AD. This is known as the ‘Gupta Period’, and is the most classic period of Indian Art. The Ajanta Paintings are explicit in their spirituality, to the point of being sensual; depicting various portrayals of Buddha, love scenes and sleeping women.

Traditional Indian Art began to diminish at the end of the nineteenth century. British rule brought with it Western influences. Consequently, Indian Art became a mere imitation of European Art. Nevertheless, in comparison, this phase was relatively short lived. In one hand, British rule had somewhat neutralized Indian culture. However, on the other hand, their archaeological studies uncovered many ancient examples of Indian Art. This, in turn, led to renewed interest in more traditional, ancient styles. One of the leading universities in India is the Visya-Bharati University. It was founded by Rabingranath Tagore (a painter and the first Asian poet to win the Nobel prize for literature), in 1921. The purpose of the university was to bring Western and Indian cultures together. Here, Indian Artists experimented with many of the early twentieth century art styles, including impressionism and surrealism; As well as reviving traditional Indian Art styles, primarily, those of the Gupta Period.

Painter, Nandalal Bose, is regarded by many modern art critics to be among the best twentieth century Artists of India. As a young artist, Nandalal Bose joined a circle of writers and Artists whose intention was to revive the classic Indian traditions. His work depicts village life, and Indian mythology. Indian Art has re-established its traditions. However, there continues to be a certain essence of the West, within the work. Once again, proving art does not dictate life. Life dictates art.

Author Bio: Angela Dawson-Field is an avid writer for Arts My Passion’s oil painting gallery. She divides her time between writing and studying art movements including abstract art and Modern art. She is an accomplished painter and produces wonderful portrait oil paintings.

There are many different ways and styles to paint or you may even have your own. But if you like how I paint, then this process will be useful to you. Whether or not you decide to do an under- drawing and paint over it, I would suggest creating a very detailed painting with raw umber. This under-painting will be to determine where you want your lights and darks before you lay in your colors. This will also help you determine the values of the colors you’re going to glaze over this under-painting.

I heard the under-painting was an old renaissance technique, but I have also seen similar ideas in many art books. What I found is that they were only having you use raw umber to sketch out the outlines of the objects in your painting. I decided to take the use of the raw umber under-painting to a new level of incredible detail.

You will want to paint semi-transparently to achieve this and build up many layers of shading as each previous layer dries. So you will be using cold pressed linseed oil and an alkyd resin mix and then the raw umber pigment mixed in thus making it semi-transparent. This can be a slow process because you need to wait till layers dry before you can add other shading layers. You can’t rush this part and cut corners, but it’s worth all the time it will take.

You will start with a completely plain white canvas and start shading in areas where it will be darker, but your first layer should be very, very light. Remember, it’s better to shade down in semi transparent layers, than to just slap in a wad of dark paint. You can’t achieve these depth and lighting effects like that. The areas left most white, will be your brightest areas. The dark or shadow areas will be the raw umber layers to whatever degree/darkness you want them. If you take the time to do this process, you will end up with a tonal under-painting of very high detail and depth and some incredible lighting effects. It’s truly an awesome visual experience to watch it unfold before your eyes. Another cool thing that is happening is that real light is bouncing into the semi-transparent layers of the painting and coming back through those layers toward you. It gives the painting fire and snap. It also gives you an extremely real sense of true 3d depth that makes it seem like you can reach into the world of the painting.

When you can take the time to paint this way, I can promise you it will be worth the extra effort. If the process is to slow for you I would suggest paint the way you would like but then have a painting like this that you work on every so often just to get your feet wet with it before you commit to painting this way.

Author Bio: Michael Orlando is a veteran motion picture visual effects artist, and most recently has been concentrating on his oil painting career and building his art business. His original fine art oil painting can be seen at http://www.etsy.com/shop/orlandoart

This can be a highly debatable topic, but I do think there are certain qualities a great painting should have. Feel free to disagree, but here is what I think.

It has to grab your attention and have the ability to draw someone in to have a closer look. There should be some snap or fire in the color harmonies even if it’s a darker painting. The lighting should be natural and have its own glow, unlike the faux lighting effects often used. There must also be detail in the shadows and dark sections of the painting as well as detail in the highlights. It should also achieve an adequate sense of depth.

The shading and brush work should be appropriately done. I say appropriately, because an artist may want to have a loose brush stroke as part of their style or effect and it’s acceptable for that painting. But in some paintings you can tell that the artist may have been a little lazy and did not render out an element as well as they could have. You can spot this by looking at other elements in the painting. See if they are of similar quality, or some spots of the painting are more refined than others.

The painting needs to have a certain level of detail, otherwise it did not take that long to make. You can see this when a painting gets your attention but the closer you get to the image or zoom in on an image the illusion falls apart. It’s because it lacks detail. I think that a painting should have enough detail so it holds up even when you get closer to it.

One of the most important effects a painting must have is the ability to pull you out of your element, and stir up emotions. Or if the painting causes you to reflect or ponder. If you can find yourself starting to mentally wander in the painting and it gets your imagination going, then it’s a good painting. But if you can feel somehow refreshed a little for having gotten lost in the painting and temporarily forgot about the days troubles, then it’s a great painting.

As an oil painter, I can tell you these are high standards and difficult to achieve, but I think these are the qualities that make a great painting. And I sincerely hope I have made some paintings that have these effects on you.

Now I also want to add that sometimes a great painting can be quite different than what I say here. This is because one also has to consider that an artist can take an idea or subject and have it distilled down in a way that you are getting only the cream or the main focus of the painting, but yet it says it all. Paintings like this are at the opposite spectrum of the way I paint, but they are valid. It also means that the artist has taken a great deal of time to work out their idea and have come to realize that this is the best way to communicate their vision or idea.

Again, this is what I think and the way I strive to paint. But using this information as a guideline will help you when deciding to purchase a piece of original art.

Author Bio: Michael Orlando is a veteran motion picture visual effects artist, and most recently has been concentrating on his oil painting career and building his art business. His original fine art oil painting can be seen at http://www.etsy.com/shop/orlandoart