Seo 5 Consulting asked:


Originalbirdart.com (Mill House Gallery) was launched in March 1998 to help bird and wildlife artists market their work on the Internet. Since the internet is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, it allows for a larger audience of fans and collectors to become acquainted with and to conveniently purchase the artists’ work (unlike localized art galleries and shows). Originalbirdart.com does not charge the artists for setting up their work, only a small commission which is about half what a typical gallery charges. A work’s price is set by the artist, and is the same elsewhere. In shows or galleries, however, when a sale is made on Originalbirdart, the artist will receive a larger and much deserved share of that sale for his or her efforts.

Originalbirdart.com was created and is managed by John Hazelton who is a graduate of the computer industry having worked for IBM and Sperry Computer Systems for over 20 years. John and his wife began to collect bird and wildlife art 12 years ago, so Originalbirdart was launched very naturally because of its creator’s personal appreciation of this extraordinary art.

Among all the works of art available, you will find bird paintings, bird art, wildlife art, animals and animal art, landscapes and landscape art, seascapes and seascape artwork, wildlife sculptures and carvings (wood carvings, or bronzes, pewter, fiberglass), original bird and wildlife paintings, still life artwork, The demographics of the artists exhibiting their art on Originalbirdart.com are a total of 59. They range from many parts of the USA as well as from the UK, Spain, Italy, Canada, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Mexico and the Netherlands.

Originalbirdart.com brings together available artwork from artists from Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Idaho, Canada, and recently, worldwide. Originalbirdart.com’s focus area for talented and accomplished artists was originally the Midwest, but now, there is no restriction. The artist’s actual artwork may be in their homes and studios, or on displays in galleries and shows. Originally, Originalbirdart.com began operations in Wisconsin in the Town of Ottawa’s only millhouse which was built in the mid-1800’s on the bank of a small stream called Scuppernong. In 2007, Originalbirdart.com relocated along-side the “world famous” White River in Norfolk, Arkansas.

You may also go to the Testimonials section in Originalbirdart.com’s website to get feedback from the many satisfied collectors. The Testimonials provided are for works ranging from $500 to $5000. One of those satisfied collectors expressed how they received their painting in a perfectly packed and very well protected condition. They also mentioned how they were blown away by the level of details and thought of composition…

John Hazelton and the artists hope everyone enjoys the paintings and works of art exhibited in Originalbirdart.com. Hopefully you will feel comfortable investing in original art through this medium as well. John Hazelton and the artists are determined to make this “virtual gallery” a success and are certain that you will be completely satisfied with your selection of original paintings and works of art.



Catherine

Seo 5 Consulting asked:


Originalbirdart.com was created and is managed by John Hazelton who is a graduate of the computer industry having worked for IBM and Sperry Computer Systems for over 20 years.  John and his wife began to collect bird and wildlife art 12 years ago, so Originalbirdart was launched very naturally because of its creator’s personal appreciation of this extraordinary art.  

Among all the works of art available, you will find bird paintings, bird art, wildlife art, animals and animal art, landscapes and landscape art, seascapes and seascape artwork, wildlife sculptures and carvings (wood carvings, or bronzes, pewter, fiberglass), original bird and wildlife paintings, still life artwork,   The demographics of the artists exhibiting their art on Originalbirdart.com are a total of 59.  They range from many parts of the USA as well as from the UK, Spain, Italy, Canada, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Mexico and the Netherlands.

Originalbirdart.com (Mill House Gallery) was launched in March 1998 to help bird and wildlife artists market their work on the Internet.  Since the internet is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, it allows for a larger audience of fans and collectors to become acquainted with and to conveniently purchase the artists’ work (unlike localized art galleries and shows).  Originalbirdart.com does not charge the artists for setting up their work, only a small commission which is about half what a typical gallery charges.  A work’s price is set by the artist, and is the same elsewhere.  In shows or galleries, however, when a sale is made on Originalbirdart, the artist will receive a larger and much deserved share of that sale for his or her efforts.

Originalbirdart.com brings together available artwork from artists from Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Idaho, Canada, and recently, worldwide.  Originalbirdart.com’s focus area for talented and accomplished artists was originally the Midwest, but now, there is no restriction.  The artist’s actual artwork may be in their homes and studios, or on displays in galleries and shows.  Originally, Originalbirdart.com began operations in Wisconsin in the Town of Ottawa’s only millhouse which was built in the mid-1800’s on the bank of a small stream called Scuppernong.  In 2007, Originalbirdart.com relocated along-side the “world famous” White River in Norfolk, Arkansas.  

In addition, in regards to the Wildlife Gallery itself, it is considered small in comparison to the Bird Art Gallery.  In order to exhibit any of their work in the Wildlife Gallery, the artists must first have work on exhibit in the Bird Art Gallery.

Also, please take a minute to read some of the Testimonial provided by many of the very satisfied collectors who support Originalbirdart.com, the artwork available and the services provided.

John Hazelton and the artists hope everyone enjoys the paintings and works of art exhibited in Originalbirdart.com. Hopefully you will feel comfortable investing in original art through this medium as well.  John Hazelton and the artists are determined to make this “virtual gallery” a success and are certain that you will be completely satisfied with your selection of original paintings and works of art.



Jack

Julie Shoemaker asked:


Painting landscapes with acrylics is both relaxing and rewarding.  Let your personal style come through and you should find this a great hobby. Acrylic paint is a medium that can look like an oil painting or a watercolor painting when finished.  It depends on the artists’ style and how thick they apply the color.  Either way, starting out by painting landscapes helps to get your feet wet in the world of painting.

You can learn to paint a landscape on canvas paper, canvas board or stretched canvas.  I always suggest practicing your techniques first on an inexpensive canvas or acrylic paper.  I am a sort of perfectionist with my art, and tend to become frustrated easily.  By practicing first, then applying it to the finished piece I feel more comfortable.  You may be satisfied without practicing.  Painting is about what makes you feel good! 

Keep your supplies handy.  Have your spay or mister bottle handy to keep the acrylics moist, keep a water supply handy for the brushes, and always have paper towels handy.  

Let’s create a simple landscape painting.  Lightly sketch in a horizon line with pencil about ¾ of the way down the canvas.  In this case out emphasis will be the sky because only ¼ of the painting is land.

 Wet the sky with white gesso.   Add some color to the same brush and starting at the top, use criss-cross strokes and blend down to the horizon line.  Use any color.  Daytime skies can be blues & purple.  Nighttime skies can be these colors just darkened with reds and oranges near the horizon.  Blend the colors as little or much as you like.  Now your sky is done. 

Now it’s time to create your land or hills.  Chose a medium to light green and with horizontal strokes lay in the distant field or hill.  Keep things interesting by sloping it.  Change the green slightly by darkening it and add a couple of more layers of fields as you work your way forward.  The darkest layer should be in the front of the painting. 

That’s it!  Anything else you add to your painting is a plus.  One or two distant trees would be neat or maybe just a single bird in the sky, low to the horizon. 

I hope this little lesson helps inspire you to have fun painting landscapes with acrylics.



Reginald

Art Exchange asked:


The World’s Best Art Consultancy

art-exchange.com unveils Release III of its art tool for designers

The Future Art Consultancy

Locating and placing artwork in a design project is arguably the most difficult part of the project. While some designers take on this task themselves, many enlist the assistance of an art consultant. One limitation of this approach is the consultant’s limited universe of artists. Most art consultants end up with a few “go-to” favorites.

Imagine an art consultancy able to directly access 10,000 artists, with technology capabilities aggregating art choices in a portfolio for emailing or high-resolution printing for presentations. Add the ability to correspond with clients via e-postcard including selected images. And finish with the ability to access framing options online thus enabling the designer to actually show the customer how the pieces will look framed.

Does It Work?

Can a website help you find art? Art-Exchange (www.art-exchange.com) is not a new website, not a new service, not a new company. It does, however, take a new approach to providing art to designers. And it has a new site design that Art-Exchange claims will make the service even more powerful and easier to use.

I spoke with Richard Gipe, President and CEO of Art-Exchange, to find out why he thinks his company’s service is so special. I asked him, “If you had to communicate Art-Exchange’s value to designers in a single sentence, what would you say?”

Here’s what he said: “If you want to access as much art as we have on Art-Exchange, you would have to go to 20,000 galleries, and you would have to deal with so many different sellers that the logistics would be overwhelming.” That sounds pretty good. But does the site work?

About Art-Exchange

Art-Exchange is a business service provider that specializes in solutions for the design trade. They can offer solutions to designers as an art consultancy, or they can provide solutions to art consultants to help them be more effective and efficient.

For the past five years Art-Exchange has been actively contacting artists to list their works on the exchange. Today there are approximately 100,000 different works of art created by over 10,000 different artists. Imagine searching 100,000 records to locate the perfect art solution. Nearly 60% of all the works are originals, and the remaining 40% is a variety of editions. All of these works are organized in a database, and a search engine locates works using any or all of the following criteria:

• Artist’s name

• Title

• Subject matter

• Style

• Medium

• Size

• Colors

• Price

• Orientation

Suppose you need oversized original works and price is an issue. Maybe you want only works with lighthouses. Or perhaps you need large public works. That’s how specific the search engine can be. And with the new design, if you enter several criteria and the search engine can’t find a work that matches all your criteria exactly, it will refer you to the works that match your criteria most closely, so that you don’t have to start over. As one of the new site’s designers said, “We don’t ever want to show nobody anything.”

Normally, designers hire an art consultant or visit multiple galleries or view print books to find the perfect art solution. That’s the old way of finding art. Now designers can look in one place and view tens of thousands of originals alone. This is the new way of finding art. Art-Exchange let’s designers search for all the art they need in one place. That alone has the potential to save time, but the website has some other very powerful features that give designers even more flexibility and power.

Powerful Features

One very important new feature is the Designer Portal. Art-Exchange has four different portals that members can use to enter the site. There’s one for retail clients, one for community partners, and another for artists and other sellers. But the Designer Portal is available only to designers. Once you enter the portal, you can search for the art you want, view images of the art, and immediately see designers’ wholesale pricing.

Here’s another great new feature: Portfolios. How do you keep track of the works that fit your client’s needs? You keep a portfolio. Designers can set up portfolios for individual clients, different locations, or just for future reference. It’s easy to save works to custom-made portfolios. And it’s easy to show the portfolio to clients—from anywhere in the world.

Another terrific feature is the Exhibitions section. Exhibitions include the works of around 200 artists and are compiled topically. Prior exhibitions, which are still accessible, include Realism, Landscape, Watercolor, and Impressionism. In order to have fresh ideas readily available for clients, designers need to be reviewing art all the time, and these exhibitions can help. It takes only fifteen minutes to view an entire exhibition.

Another feature that can help designers and clients work together—especially when clients have trouble describing their interests—is the Postcard feature. Clients can go to the website to browse for themselves. They can view an exhibition, browse by artist, or do a search. When they find something they like, they can send images to their designer using electronic postcards.

Soon, Art-Exchange will even offer the ability to create Custom Frames online so that clients can view the artwork in different frames and choose the one they like best.

Full-Service Art Consultancy

Art-Exchange goes far beyond just the website, however. They also provide full-service art consultancy. They have a full staff of qualified art consultants who can do as much or as little as a designer wants them to. Anything a typical art consultancy does, Art-Exchange will do. If a designer works with an art consultant already and wants to maintain that relationship, Art-Exchange will even work with his or her current art consultant.

How to Access the Features and Benefits of Art-Exchange

Go to www.art-exchange.com and visit the Designer Portal. Log in as a designer and learn about how the service works. You can easily search for art, access their full-service art consultancy, or guide your favorite art consultant to Art-Exchange. A subscription is free. Art-Exchange is paid by the sellers on completed transactions; so they only get paid if they’re helping designers find the right art, for the right job, at the right price.

When asked what he would most want to communicate to designers about the company and the service it provides, Gipe said, “I want the members of ASID who place art to try the art consultancy service at Art-Exchange, and if they’ll give us 10% of their trust, we’ll earn the other 90%.” If you’re a designer or an art consultant, it’s worth trying. Does it work? Is it really whole new way of finding art? Yeah, that’s what it is. And for designers, the world of art will never be the same.



Sally

John Burton asked:


Renaissance

The Renaissance (meaning rebirth) was a cultural movement that started in Italy in the fourteenth century, and spread throughout Europe. In art, the style of painting became highly realistic, and attempted to mimic nature as closely as possible.

What to look for: a rich three-dimensional perspective, human subjects in proportion (usually wearing robes and making grand gestures), and convincing representation of spaces.



Baroque

The term Baroque is often applied to art of the whole of the seventeenth century, and first half of the eighteenth century. Painters expanded on the naturalistic tradition established during the Renaissance, and extended their subjects to include landscapes, and still life. Baroque painters often set their subjects in vast landscapes, or interiors with extended views through doors, windows, or mirrors.

What to look for: melodramatic spaces, fat cherubs, light rays and fruit bowls.





Rococo

Rococo was a decorative art that originated in France in the early eighteenth century and is marked by elaborate ornamentation, with a profusion of scrolls, foliage, and shell-like forms.

What to look for: paintings of the aristocracy at play, asymmetry to composition, many small-scale ornamental details, and pastel colours.



Neo-Classicism

During the Neoclassical period (mid eighteenth century), the work of the Greeks and Romans (pre- Renaissance) became popular again, and paintings depicted historical subjects.

What to look for: paintings with sharp outlines, cool colours, armour, spears and sandals.



Romanticism

Romanticism is assumed to be in opposition to Neoclassicism, and the term used to refer loosely to a trend in art of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. It was characterized by the avoidance of classical forms and rules, emphasis on the emotional and spiritual, nostalgia for the grace of past ages, and a fondness for exotic themes.

What to look for: complex compositions, intense colour, soft outlines and heroic or scantly clad subjects.



Realism (1850 – 1880)

Realism came about in France during the Industrial Revolution. Realist Artists attempted to create objective, accurate, detailed, and unembellished representations of the external world based on the impartial observation of contemporary life. The name Realist refers to their subject matter; humble citizens doing everyday work and previously considered unworthy of representation in high art, rather than mythical heroes, Biblical or classical subjects, and portraits of the rich.

What to look for: paintings of poor people working.



Pre-Raphaelites (1848)

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood were a group of young English artists who rebelled against the style of the day that was being taught at the Royal Academy and other art schools. They felt the art was dark and muddy in colour, and the subject matter artificial. They admired the work of the artists of the fifteenth century, and their name, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, honoured the depiction of nature in Italian art before “Raphael”. Pre-Raphaelite artists believed art should have a serious, moral purpose and often filled their work with symbols suggesting deeper meaning. Most of all, they believed in artistic excellence. To give their paintings a lighter, fresher look, they used bright colours and painted on a white canvas, rather than a brown one. While the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood lasted less than ten years as a group, other artists carried on with the style, which became broader and more muted in colour.

What to look for: subjects taken from the Bible, Shakespeare and the legend of King Arthur. Paintings exhibit meticulous detail, intense colours, tight handling of paint and complex compositions. Many works are highly realistic.



Impressionism (1860 – 1900)

The Impressionists were a group of French artists discontent with academic teaching, and who shared approaches, and techniques. They abandoned traditional formal compositions in favour of a more casual and less contrived arrangement of objects within a picture. The identifying feature of their work was an attempt to record a scene accurately, but without the use of traditional muted browns, greys, and greens in favour of a lighter, more brilliant palette. They stopped using greys and blacks for shadows, and used short (visible) brush strokes to produce flecks of unblended pure colours. They cast off literary and anecdotal subjects in favour of candid portrayals of ordinary people (doing regular things in everyday locations), landscapes, and architecture. Indeed, they rejected the role of imagination in the creation of works of art. Their name derives from a criticism of the first “impressionistic” work publicly displayed.

What to look for: paintings look normal from far away, but close up they are a bit of a mess. Also look for the same the same image painted two or more times under different lighting conditions.



Post-Impressionism (1860 – 1905)

Post-Impressionist were not a cohesive movement, and the style of individual artists vary. Post-Impressionism was simultaneously an extension of Impressionism, and a rejection of its concern for the naturalistic depiction of light and colour in favour of an emphasis on abstract qualities or symbolic content. Post-Impressionists continued using vivid colours (e.g. Cézanne painted red grass), thick application of paint, and distinctive and visible brushstrokes.

What to look for: You see paint first, and the image second.





Abstraction

Abstraction is a generic term for art that does not represent recognizable objects. Abstractionist abandoned art as the imitation of nature in favour of imagery from the imagination and the unconscious. Abstraction comprised a number of different movements, such as Fauvism, Cubism, Futurism, Dada, Surrealism, and Expressionism.

Fauvism (1905 to 1907), as a movement, had no concrete theories. The name derives from the judgment of a critic who referred to the artists disparagingly as “les fauves” (wild beasts). Fauvist artwork is characterized by distorted forms, bold and vivid colours, often applied unmixed, and a spontaneity and roughness of execution. Fauvism was short lived, and most practitioners became Cubists.



What to look for: You may say to yourself, “I could do that.”

Cubism (1907 to 1914) retreated from traditional perspective in favour of geometric forms. It attempted to achieve the illusion of three-dimensional forms in a different way by showing many aspects of familiar objects all at once from many vantage points to create new combinations.

What to look for: You may ask yourself, “What is it?”

Futurism(1909) was an Italian movement with the intention to reject tradition ideals, and celebrate the aesthetic generated by the speed and power of the machine, and the energy and restlessness of modern life. Futurists adopted the Cubist technique of depicting several views of an object simultaneously with fragmented planes, and used rhythmic spatial repetitions of the object’s outlines in transit to render movement. Their preferred subjects were machines, and urban crowds. Their palette was more vibrant than the Cubists’.

What to look for: You may ask yourself, “What is it?”

Dada (1916–1923) was initially a Swiss movement who channelled their revulsion at World War I into an indictment of the values that had brought it about. They were united not by a common style, but a rejection of conventions in art. Through unorthodox techniques, they sought to shock society into self-awareness. The name Dada itself was typical of the movement’s anti-rationalism. Various members of the group are credited with selecting the name for its childish and nonsensical connotations.

What to look for: You could be forgiven for not recognising a Dada exhibit as art (e.g. Duchamp “improved” the Mona Lisa by drawing a moustache on her).

Surrealism (1924) flourished in Europe between World Wars I and II, and grew principally out of the earlier Dada movement, and was similarly a reaction against the “rationalism”. It attempted to join fantasy and everyday reality to form a new reality, and drew on the theories of Sigmund Freud, that the unconscious was the source of the imagination. Many different forms of Surrealism developed, including the realistically painted images of Salvador Dalí.

What to look for: something that simultaneously looks real, and unreal.

Expressionism: was an art movement of the early twentieth century in which traditional adherence to realism and proportion was replaced completely by distorted colour and form to emphasize and express the intense emotion of the artist.

What to look for: dribbling, drippy paint splattered on the canvas.

 

Portraits by John Burton



Catherine

Mark Ralph asked:


The emerging art market for highwaymen paintings have arrived over the past decade. Art that once sold for $25.00 or bought at a garage sale for a few dollars now fetches upwards of Several Thousand dollars. Highwaymen art collecting is both a rewarding and exciting field. This type of art is new enough so that collectors can still find bargains, yet old enough where the artists reputations have become established.

The highwaymen artists were a group of black Florida landscape artists from the Ft. Pierce area who sold their paintings during the 1950’s though 1980’s. Their paintings were designed for tourists, people on vacation as well as businesses and new homeowners. They painted colorful tropical scenes which depicted pristine Florida beaches and countryside.

The beginnings of the movement began when well known Florida artist A.E. Backus, now considered the dean of Florida landscape painters, had a meeting in 1954 with Harold Newton. Backus inspired Harold to paint Florida landscape scenes instead of the religious scenes Harold was currently painting. Harold Newton had a natural talent and was easily able to change his art to capture the tropical scenery. Harold taught his younger brother Sam Newton how to paint in his style and they created some of the best quality highwaymen art. Because Harold couldn’t find any gallery representation, he decided to sell his paintings door to door by driving up and down the Florida coast. Harold would sell the paintings out of the trunk of his car and by simply walking into businesses, stores and banks.

During 1955, one year after Harold Newton met A.E.’Bean’ Backus, Alfred Hair started receiving formal art lessons from Backus. Alfred learned some basic oil painting techniques from Backus. Alfred continued his lessons with Backus for about 2 years. By this time Harold had already found success with his marketing method of selling paintings door to door, traveling up and down Florida’s limited main highways. Although Alfred Hair didn’t aspire to paint in the exceptional quality as A.E. Backus or Harold Newton did, he saw an avenue for making money. Alfred took what he learned from Bean Backus, combined with the way Harold was selling his art and created mass produced Florida oil paintings. Alfred wasn’t looking to make great art, he was looking to make fast money from the thriving tourist market. Alfred had a vision and he enlisted the help of several friends to make paintings, build picture frames out of crown molding and market the product. Some of his framers even became painters.

Jim Fitch coined the name “Highwaymen” during a 1995 article he wrote about this group of 26 painters. The name fits perfectly but the number of painters is not set in stone. Some people claim they were part of the group, others say there was actually less then 26 painters and at least one wants no affiliation. Today several other Florida artists paint in the Highwaymen Style and even their art is finding a new Collectors Market. One thing is very clear, if it wasn’t for A.E. Backus, there wouldn’t be any Highwaymen or Highwaymen style art. Now that you know how the Highwaymen Art Movement began, the best way to collect it is to buy the best painting you can afford from the artist who has a good reputation for quality work. Study their work and see what aspects about it you like. For instance, Do you like brush strokes or palette knife work?… or What’s the condition of the board? Select the artist(s) whose work developed in a solid, consistent way. Don’t just buy a highwaymen painting because of the highwaymen name, buy it based on the strength of the painting. A quality painting is an investment which will always retain it’s value and appreciate in the future.



Georgia

Kathryn Dawson asked:


South Africa has been home to some of the most beautiful art forms in the world. From the rock art era of the ancient civilizations to the Bushman or San art forms or contemporary art styles of today, all have played their roles to help make the art and culture of South Africa one of the most unique one in the world.

Presently, the vibrant and talented contemporary artists are carrying forward this tradition of million years by producing some of the most unique and stunning African paintings.

History of South African art

To actually know about the colorful and interesting art of this land, you need to go hundred and thousand of years back in time. There are various caves in South Africa bearing proof of ancient African tribal art forms. There are many wonderful art objects of small drilled snail shells inside these caves, which served as habitats for the ancient tribes.

South African art saw a drastic change when Khoisan, San, and Bushman tribes started showing their artistic genius in fluent art forms. The examples of their creative work are still present in several South African cave paintings. Next, it was the turn of Bantu and Nguni tribes, who arrived with their own exclusive art forms, to add more variety to the art traditions of South Africa.

Locally rooted art forms

During the colonial era, artists living in South Africa mainly focused on depicting the different themes of the changing world. Whatever they did even today stands out for its remarkable perfection and accuracy. The art forms were mostly on topics like flora, fauna, native people, and the landscape. This era witnessed the birth of artists such as Thomas Baines, who is known worldwide for his creative art form.

With the beginning of the 19th century, the locally rooted art forms began to get new life with the help of painters like Jan Volschenk and Hugo Naude and sculptor Anton van Wouw. However, their creative attempt was basically a form of momentary art which highlighted the poor condition of the nation in 1910.

A twist

Artists Maggie Laubscher and Irma Stern gave a different look to South African art during post-impressionism and expressionism in 1930s, . The way they used to play with color and composition, gave rise to a contradictory art form that totally differed from the prevailing norms then.

Even artists like Gregoire Boonzaier, Maud Sumner and Moses Kottler were able to successfully influence the prevailing art forms with their masterly works.

Apartheid Period

This period, which ran from 1948 to 1994, witnessed an immense diversity in the overall art forms, ranging from landscape paintings to abstract ones. Also, being very politically active, this era saw some major political influences in the art forms. The art world got artists like Jean Welz who gave a sophisticated touch to several of his portraits, ***** landscapes and still life paintings.

These African art forms, developed by the ancient tribes or the contemporary artists provide an insight into this truly magical land and its rich traditions of art. A great way to get these wonderful pieces of art is to purchase them online where you will get an unbelievable range to choose from and competitive prices.



Melvin

Suzanne asked:


 

The beauty of the heavens and the splendor of Mother Nature have found expression in art from time immemorial. The function of art has always been devoted to expressing beauty in all its diversity. No wonder, Aristotle described art as an imitation of life. Human beings take delight in the works of imitation (representation). This explains why man has always tried to represent whatever he sees around. The consequence of this human desire was the inception of landscape paintings- a genre as old as the first century A.D.

 

Landscape art refers to the portrayal of scenic beauty of nature, with the sky and weather conditions taking a considerable area of the canvas. The word ‘landscape’ is of Dutch origin (‘landschap’ meaning a sheaf or patch of cultivated ground). The word was finally included in the English vocabulary in the 17th century. The 15th century witnessed landscape painting gaining recognition as a major artistic genre in Europe. The themes used in these paintings chiefly drew from religious subjects, as can be found in Rest on the Flight into Egypt, the Journey of the Magi, or Saint Jerome in the Desert.

 

Historians often trace the origin of landscape painting to China. However, it was not before the Middle Ages that this genre earned recognition. The Italian painter Ambrogio Lorenzetti is credited with making the first painting devoted to landscape in around 1335. The development of this painting gradually initiated with travelers exploring their surroundings. In Rome, the ‘classical landscape’ flourished through the contribution of Paul Bril and Adam Elsheimer and the Italian painters, Annibale Carracci and Domenichino. The French artist, Claude Lorrain, reproduced some of the best instances of ‘classical landscape’. Set amidst classical subjects, his paintings gave over to vast landscapes with areas of light and space.

 

The 17th century saw landscape paintings embracing domestic and familiar settings especially in the works of the Dutch School- Van Goyen, Rembrandt, Ruisdael, Hobbema, Koninck, Cuyp, and others.The 19th century witnessed English painters taking cue from the Dutch and reproducing exuberant paintings in oil and watercolors. Wilson, Crone, Constable, Turner, Cotman, and Bonington are some of the notable names of the time.

 

Post Constable and Turner, the development of landscape painting occurred in France. The Impressionistic Movement cast a profound influence on this genre of art. The invention of oil paint in a tube changed the style of art. Since then, artists could go out and paint directly from the landscape. Vincent van Gogh carried this tradition forward, where he depicted personal emotions through his paintings. The blend of Romanticism and new Surrealism can be found in the early twentieth century, especially in the painted landscapes of Paul Nash and Graham Sutherland.

 

With the dawn of the modernism, landscape painting found itself projecting some gritty realism, paralleling the work of the ‘kitchen sink’ school in literature. However, landscape paintings are now showcasing a poetic approach as well; the works of Roger de Gray are an instance.

 

Thomas Cole took the landscape painting in the US to new heights with the foundation of the Hudson River School. As times keep on changing, the trends observed in every genre of art keep changing as well. New explorations, new movements, new innovations have always taken art to new heights, and so has landscape painting been influenced by these trends. Original paintings by the renowned landscape artists are treasured and will be treasured by the generations to come.



Brenda