Artist of the Week - Edward Hopper

 Edward Hopper

Hopper is famous for capturing the mood and feel of the mid-20th century in his paintings. From lonely diners and hotel rooms to houses on the shore, his paintings lend a vision of what life was like in those times.

 Nighthawks is a 1942 painting by Edward Hopper,that portrays people sitting in a downtown diner late at night. It is considered Hopper's most famous painting, as well as one of the most recognizable in American art. It is currently in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Following are more works by Edward Hopper, in chronological order

Queensboro Bridge
1913

Blackhead, Monhegan

(Maine)

1919

"There will be, I think, an attempt to grasp again the surprise and accidents of nature and a more intimate and sympathetic study of its moods, together with a renewed wonder and humility on the part of such as are still capable of these basic reactions."   ~ Edward Hopper

Chop Suey

 1929

 Always reluctant to discuss himself and his art, Hopper simply summed up his art by stating, 

“The whole answer is there on the canvas."

Freight Car at Truro
(Cape Cod)
1931

Room in New York
1932

"If you could say it i words, there would be no reason to paint."
~ Edward Hopper

Shakespeare at Dusk
(Central Park)
1935

Gas
1940

The Martha McKeen of Wellfleet
(Cape Cod, Massachusetts)
1944

"My aim in painting has always been the most exact transcription possible of my most intimate impression of nature."  ~ Edward Hopper

Sunlight on Brownstones

1956
"In general it can be said that a nation's art is greatest when it most reflects the character of its people."

Intermission
1953

"No amount of skillful invention can replace the essential element of imagination." 

1960

"Great art is the outward expression of an inner life in the artist, and this inner life will result in his personal vision of the world."

~ Edward Hopper

Chair Car
1965

"Well, I've always been interested in approaching a big city in a train, and I can't exactly describe the sensations, but they're entirely human and perhaps have nothing to do with aesthetics."

~ Edward Hopper



Sources

MS Museum Syndicate

 ARTcyclopedia

Webmuseum

The Edward Hopper Scrapbook

ABC Wednesday - Letter L

L is for Toulouse Lautrec

(Henri Marie Raymond de)

(1864-1901)

One of Toulouse- Lautrect's most famous works,
Dance at the Moulin Rouge

"I paint things as they are. I don't comment. I record."

~Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Toulouse-Lautrec was born in Albi into one of the oldest aristocratic families. Henri was weak and often sick. By the time he was 10 he had begun to draw and paint. At 12 young Toulouse-Lautrec broke his left leg and at 14 his right leg. The bones failed to heal properly, and his legs stopped growing. He reached young adulthood with a body trunk of normal size but with abnormally short legs. During his convalescence, his mother encouraged him to paint. He subsequently studied with French academic painters L. J. F. Bonnat and Fernand Cormon.    read the rest here

Sources:

Renoir Fine Art

Toulouse-Lautrec Foundation

ABC Wednesday

Art Animalia - Le Zèbre

Mario Avati

Six Running Zebras

 (unattributed)

 photo close-up of a zebra

(artist unattributed)

 Lucian Frued

George Stubbs

Picture for One Moment

Do you recall those "memes" where people tagged you and you could play along in any number of ways? Well, they're now appearing on Facebook and this time, I'm not participating!  Once in a while, it's a fun thing to do, if it's of interest but once these things gain a momentum, bloggers are bombarded with them and it's nothing but a nuisance.

In case you've not caught on, photo memes and what I call themed memes, work differently. A blogger thinks of a theme for photo subjects or for personal interpretation through writing, poetry, artwork or whatever other creative way he or she chooses. The entries are then linked on the host's blog through Mr. Linky. Those are the ones I love. You can choose whether or not to participate, there is no obligation and it's fun and rewarding to see what people make of the particular theme or category. 

On my photo blog The Pagan's Eye I've started my own feature called Picture for One Moment. I don't plan on using Mr. Linky on it, but if people see it, they can participate on their own blogs and play along. There are no rules. I'm calling it a "mememe" because it really is about one image that I choose for lots of reasons for no reason at all. My friend Linda of Vulture Peak Muse, has gone ahead to play it. Great stuff, Linda!

I'm now bringing this same idea to The Pagan Sphinx. Every once in a while you'll see the title Picture for One Moment and in it will be an image that caught my eye - either my own photograph, someone else's (with permission) or an artwork image. Sometimes there will be information and links, other times I may include very little; leaving it up to the eyes of the beholder to interpret or click off; enjoy or furrow their brow.  ;-)

Picture for One Moment is that of a creation by contemporary British artist Tracey Emin. This is not my photograph and I honestly don't recall where I found it.

Tracey Emin

2001

Resources:

 

Artcyclopedia 

 

Modern Mask

A Journal of the Arts

 

 

The Friday Evening Nudes

Frankly, I'm running out of steam to post The Friday Evening News on a regular basis. It was fun for awhile, but it appears in general that with 138 "followers" and several thousand visitors from several hundred countries, the comments have actually decreased.

I'm not a person who needs or even wants an adoring audience. In fact, I feel somewhat uncomfortable with the idea, even if I could pull it off! I'm rather private and I like it that way. I don't like to be the center of attention. At the same time, it's nice to get some validation for the work I put into this. It seems that  validation comes in the form of intrinsic rewards and the pleasure I get from the comments of a few friends in both the real and virtual worlds. The later being people who can see beyond the images and the few words I write and recognize that there is a person here worth getting to know. Once again, I thank the dozen or so regular and occasional blog friends who leave comments here. It means a lot to me and I don't want to disappoint you by discontinuing the Friday Evening News. As I said, though, it's gotten kind of old and I'm thinking of other new features that I can entertain you with!

As a last hurrah, I post for you this Friday, a nude of mammoth proportions. ;-) You may have seen her and felt disgust. Initially, I felt the same. But I kept wanting to go back to to see this painting because the artist's intent intrigued me. For me, it's the interest and curiosity in why that keeps my passion for art alive.

Benefits Supervisor Sleeping

Lucian Freud 

  b. 1922

When he paints, Freud talks, and he likes to go to a restaurant with the sitter after each session to carry on talking...read the rest of the article at Guardian.co.uk

And while I'm at it, why not post a few more Freud nudes? I love his work.

"At the outset there is always a mystery. We cannot know what a painter brought to painting or what drew him to it."    - From Lawrence Gowing, "Lucian Freud" read the book review here

My work is purely autobiographical.. It is about myself and my surroundings. I work from people that interest me and that I care about, in rooms that I know.  ~   Lucian Freud

I paint people not because of what they are like, not exactly in spite of what they are like, but how they happen to be.    ~ Lucian Freud

I remember Francis Bacon would say that he felt he was giving art what he thought it previously lacked. With me, it's what Yeats called the fascination with what's difficult. I'm only trying to do what I can't do.    ~ Lucian Freud 

Peace, Love and All Groovy Things,

Pagan Sphinx