Gem & Mineral Show..

I had the chance to run by a Gem and Mineral show today that was in town for the weekend.

There is always so much inspiration at these shows and I always have a list of things I need to pick up...

I grabbed some mica for an upcoming art project...the mica pulls apart in thin sheets and has a metallic sheen.

And some optical calcite!!! What a score! I use them for display bases for small architectural fragments or other oddities I have. (Got the idea from a Veranda magazine where one was used for a place card holder)

Here is the picture from Veranda where a calcite crystal is used for decoration.

Ok, back to the show. I always take reference shots of minerals for use in faux work.

Look at the banding of the malachite! Great reference for some trompe work.

Even the smallest specimens were not to be overlooked.

The best part of the show was a table they had set up for a large meal..every food item was a mineral or  gemstone!

There were loaves of rustic bread, cured hams, baked potatoes and pie!

Ended the day with a few pieces of mille fiori glass. I am a sucker for their intricate designs. Hope your weekend was full of fun and art!!

100,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who knew when I blogged my first post in April of 2009 that I would still be hanging around in 2012? This is a monumental day for Art's the Answer! I just hit 100,000 pageviews for all time!!! I have followers in France, Italy, United Kingdom, Russia, Poland, India, Canada, Chile, Spain and so many other countries.
I thought I would share what the statistics say are my top ten posts.

Math and art seem to be very popular! Fractals...Math and art in Harmony is my most viewed post with 3,381 hits.

It seems the basic, age old techniques are the most searched. Second on my list is Scagliola with 2,823 hits.

Back to math again with Haeckel coming in third for all time with 1990 hits.

One of my all time favorites...The Beetles are Coming is fourth with 1606 hits.

Fifth was "Going for Baroque"and Hans Silvester (another one of my favorites) came in sixth.

Mood Boards, Headboards,Strapwork (another favorite) are seventh, eighth and ninth and finishing tenth is  The Art of Grottesca! How timely ! I will be studying with Carolina again in April through Jeff Huckaby's studio. Here are the details if anyone would like to join me.

Thank you all for following my blog and taking time to leave comments. I have made many friends and this journey has enriched my life more than I ever knew was possible. Now, I am off to research a new post!

Blue and White

Michael Duté

There is no doubt of my love of chinoiserie, but the blue and white palette seems to make it even better!

The simplicity of colors ....the blue just pops against the creamy white background.

Many elements of chinoiserie motif can be drawn from ceramic designs.

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Michael Duté's chinoiserie murals always delight me!

His work reminds me so much of intricately painted porcelain.

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The work of Irish artist Michael Dillon also features some incredible blue and white chinoiserie.

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 Wedgwood, delft, chinoiserie...all blue! Blue is soothing..it reduces stress by lowering blood pressure. I think that is another reason I am so drawn to it!

Driven to Paint....

Over the Christmas holidays, I had a job to  woodgrain two metal doors for a client. The clients are a husband/wife team of doctors and I would be working in the medical complex while they were closed.
I knew I would enjoy this job because the mother of the wife was a very prolific painter and her work is featured throughout the halls and waiting rooms of the complex.

Living in exile in Yugoslavia and being sent to prison did not deter her from painting

Painting from her soul, she used canvas, sometimes in the form of scraps  glued together... wood...any flat surface she could find.

You can see the urgency in her brushstrokes, the energy, the drive to paint.

The daughter, (wife) besides being an oncologist; is also an accomplished artist favoring sculpting. These pieces are in the waiting room of the medical complex.

Almost 800 paintings tell the life story of the mother.....the villages they lived in, the dreams for better.

I somehow managed to woodgrain the two doors, often taking inspirational breaks to look at the many paintings lining the hallway walls. I considered it an honor to have even been asked to do the job, knowing the depth of artistic background the couple have.
What drives you to make the world better for 2012? We can all make it better through art!