Edward Hicks paints neat and tidy artworks. So, it’s easy to recognize this trademark style in The Cornell Farm. Hicks obsessed over creating order in his paintings. Many art historians attribute this to a yearning within Hicks to quell his inner demons. But it may have been quite the opposite. Completely self-taught, Hicks could have adopted this perfectionism to prove his artistic merit.
Wife of a rich New York merchant, the Mrs. Richard Yates portrait judges. We can see it in her wise expression. It’s also clear that she cares little about being judged. After all, this portrait shows her with intact flaws as well as perfect eyebrows and luxurious silks
Roy Lichtenstein’s pop art painting M-Maybe reflects childhood comics. It commands our attention with nostalgic dots. They point back to the newsprint quality of yesteryear’s comics. Still, Lichtenstein uses pointillism in only two facets of the painting. He differentiates aspects within the portrait. Polka dots color the woman’s face and skin as well as reflective surfaces.
Benjamin West’s The Death of General Wolfe is a near perfect History Painting. Not because it’s accurate. Rather it sets a prime example of West’s reinvented genre.
Grant Wood painted this portrait the way a theater director puts on a show. First he discovered the setting. Wood saw the house, now famous for inspiring American Gothic, in a small Iowa town and knew it had to be in a painting. Then he cast his sister and dentist to play the two roles.
Andrew Wyeth’s The Drifter brings to mind a romantic archetype. A drifter’s that person you can never know. Right when you think you might understand them, they’re gone. Poof. The feelings this brings up make this a romantic painting. That’s why it’s so very unusual. Despite its emotion, this is a remote portrayal.
Susan Rothenberg’s known for her expressive technique. Her paintings exemplify movement. This is the key element to Vaulting. A vaulter becomes motion rather than mere man.
Mary Cassatt’s painting Mother About to Wash Her Sleepy Child dwells in motherhood. Its careful composition combines with a smudgy Impressionist technique. This painting captures a moment of messy mothering.
Marcel Duchamp’s “The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even” has two frames. They create a symbolic opposition that permeates the work.
America teetered on the edge of revolution in 1768. Paul Revere was an intense and articulate Son of Liberty. But the painter, John Singleton Copley, engaged to a hardcore Tory, wished to abstain from political discourse.
Sisters dwell in distinct developmental stages for The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit. This famous John Singer Sargent painting holds viewers rapt in a sisterhood spell.
Los Angeles painter, Randi Matushevitz reminds us badass babes are ageless. Her Ugly Portraits thrill me in a world buried behind cuteness filters.
Winslow Homer’s Snap the Whip delights in joyful nostalgia. No matter the life we’ve led, at some point we all had a moment like this. These scampering bare feet sing to us of freedom.
George Caleb Bingham’s painting, Fur Traders Descending the Missouri, dwells in romanticism. The work reminds us that romance in art takes many forms.
Venus Lamenting the Death of Adonis by Benjamin West tells an ancient story. The beloved goddess Venus fell hard for heartthrob hottie Adonis. But it was not meant to be.
Mario Gonzales paints monsters and men. There’s little difference between them in his edgy, intriguing work. Famous for his tagline When it Reigns, I’m Poor, Mario makes art that speaks to the city.
WaterColor by Antonio lifts and lightens bodies with his work. There’s profound depth as well. That’s because strong lines and archetypal themes ground the work.
Painter Nathan McKenney, AKA @early_touch, creates engrossing artwork. If you love to dive into a painting and get lost in multiple meanings, this is the painter for you.
Artist Michelle Albala grew up in Tokyo, Tel Aviv, Florence, and California. She started making sexy art in NYC after art school. Then Michelle found a new inspiration in Tahitian pearls and African gems. Thus, she now also creates fine jewelry as wearable art.
Halloween brings ghosts and ghouls to our front door. Why not our paintings too? Check these out from Cecilia Garcia de Lama.
A focused figurative artist, Crixtover Edwin paints magical portraits. This painter bridges the fantasy reality gap with a delicate touch and bright details.