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warm, uncomfortable, full of home and cold and darkness

Study for the Thessalian Witch (Lucan’s Pharsalia, book 6), 2017

Ink on paper, 24.2 x 18 cm

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Josep Moncada

‘Maria’ by Josep Moncada ^

‘Lila’ by Josep Moncada ^

‘ Un fragmento de piel acariciada, besada, recorrida... ‘ by Josep Moncada ^

(means, “A fragment of skin caressed, kissed, traveled...”) 

‘Sweet and Subtil Silence’ by Josep Moncada ^

Say hello to Josep Moncada, an artist who paints hyper-realistic images of people relaxing and playing in pools. As you can see, these are absolutely incredible in color, skill, and overall being. As far as I can tall he only paints pool scenes, but I really don’t mind that. He does it so well, I’ve never seen hyper-realism quite like this. Painting objects under water requires so much skill and practice, I’m amazed at his talent. His paintings are currently up for sale.

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Le Sommeil De Manon

This is ‘Le Sommeil De Manon’, painted in 1906 by female French artist Melanie Jeanne Lemaire. It was painted via oil on canvas and depicts a nude gray-haired woman reclining on her bed. Her shoes are placed on the shelf of her bedside table and her dress lies discarded on the chair next to the end of the bed, looking as if it were just thrown there before collapsing back onto the bed. The gray, nearly frizzy hair mixed with the smooth, pale contours of her body make for an interesting look. Of course, this painting was meant to be set in the 1700′s so gray hair was normal (they put lots of powder in their hair because it was rarely washed and it smelled), however if looked at from a more modern angle she almost seems ethereal in her being. It gives her a look of immortal grace, relaxing nude on a bed with gray hair and the body of a young woman. The pose is also very sexual. The way her mouth is slightly open, to the way her hands rest lightly above her breasts, the pearls around her neck, the way her legs are positioned and her toes pointed. It quite literally screams sexuality. Le sommeil de Manon means, “The Sleep of Manon” so we can assume that this sleeping beauty is called Manon. The cool tones of her curtains around her bed and the sheets she lays on offset the warm tones of her skin very well. Wish there was some analysis of this painting, it is ethereal in its beauty. I’m only just discovering Lemaire after years of loving her paintings, but sadly there isn’t much information about her or her art. But alas, I shall keep searching; an incredible female artist must never be swept under the rug in favor of a male artist with the same skill level as her.

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An Afternoon Stroll

Now, this is a bit of an odd piece. I found it on Pinterest, labeled ‘An Afternoon Stroll’ by a French female artist named Melanie Jeanne Lemaire in 1845. I’ve searched on Google images and searched on Wikipedia, but there is no story and no information on it. That saddens me, because I’ve loved this piece for so long. If anybody knows anything of it or would like to do more research into it, that would be lovely. Anyways, let us dig in.

So, as you can see this is what looks to be an oil on canvas painting of two high society women (probably French knowing the name of the artist) taking a literal afternoon stroll. I just love this piece because there’s no drama or over-exaggerated-ness involved. These look to be two women who had run into one of their acquaintances and are now calling their goodbyes to said acquaintance, not to mention the fabulous fact that the woman in lavender looks like shes calling out the word, “Darling!”. OR now that I carefully look at the details in these women, I almost see some flirtatiousness in them. The lavender woman looks like she’s waving someone over with her hand, her mouth quirked up in a small smile and neck exposed. The woman in the what-appears-to-be-green-ish-yellow-ish dress has her head tilted back and eyes lidded. She looks behind her, not fully looking at whomever is behind them, and lightly lifts her skirts, an ordinary gesture when walking, but she’s raising her skirts quite high for proper society. I guess I’ll never find out the true story behind this painting and if they truly are sexual deviants from the 1840′s, or if they’re merely upper class ladies having a stroll. I’ll keep looking, but until then, enjoy this beautiful piece by a female artist.

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The Spherical Bear

I just would like to leave this here for those that don’t prefer dramatic, extravagant pieces and would much rather decorate their thoughts with simpler, more happy-making pieces of art. This is a piece by Marc Johns, a water color artist who makes small, colorful doodles accompanied by little sayings. He has many many pieces, all wholesome and precious. Take for instance this spherical bear, he wants to be a dancer. You see, it’s so simple and so very innocent that it momentarily distracts us from the stress and anger of everyday life. I highly recommend you check out some of Marc’s artworks, they make me happy and I want the same for you.

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all i do all day is search the internet for art while procrastinating writing my history paper

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A Favorite Custom

A Favorite Custom by Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema was painted in 1909 and is the artist’s recreation of the bath houses in Pompeii. In the painting, whcih is oil on wood, you see two women splashing each other in the frigidarium, or, ‘cold bath’. The artist had the inspiration to create such a piece after seeing photographs of the ruined Stabian baths. He has used his own creative liberties to make the bath look more luxurious by making the walls and floors marble, which is something that would be found only in the largest imperial baths. The simple beauty of this piece and the calming color scheme makes it a happy painting that will delight art-lovers for generations to come.

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The Roses of Heliogabalus

this is The Roses of Heliogabalus by Lawrence Alma Tadema in 1888. it depicts the roman emperor  Elagabalus having a banquet. This actually isnt the entire painting, just a portion with the most flowers. the actual painting is roman nobles eating at a banquet while pink rose petals rain down on them from a false ceiling above. this is an oil on canvas painting.

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Madame X

This is Madame X, a portrait of French/American socialite Virginie Amelie Avegno Gautreau painted by John Singer Sargent in 1883. Virginie was known throughout French high society as a true beauty and her rumored infidelities. John was commissioned to paint her and after many complaints to his friends about how lazy she was, they finally got down to business and begun the portrait. The contrast of her unnaturally pallor skin to the black drama of the dress and even the brown of the background, makes for a natural yet sexy portrait. The turning of her head and the extension of her arm holding her up make her look powerful and create a certain tension in her body as well as show off and accentuate the curves and contours. This is the epitome of beauty in high society then, an elegant neck, pale skin, cinched waist-- it’s all done perfectly. Virginie and John both loved the portrait however it was not recieved well by critics and the rest of proper society. You see, in the original Virginie’s right shoulder strap had fallen off and was hanging at her right arm. This gave an aura of sexiness that wasn’t needed due to the already suggestive pose of her body facing forward and her head turned, creating a pose that looked both assertive and submissive. One of the most interesting aspects of this piece is her red ear. You see, Virginie dusted herself daily with lavender power to give her an intoxicating aroma as well as an extremely pale appearance. The red ear is nearly symbolic in it’s utter human-ness. It was there to give the viewer an almost uncomfortable yet aroused emotion. Virginie was humiliated at the debut in the Paris Salon when everybody easily figured out who the model was and John left France for London soon after fixing the portrait and putting her strap back on her shoulder. John took the portrait with him and did another portrait in America of another female socialite, this one receiving admiration from the American people. 

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Touch

This is a painting by Valentina Yaskina called Touch. It’s quite simplistic but i love the smooth, round lines and the more plain colors. its quite relaxing to look at, paintings that involve more oceanic themes are always beautiful. theyre either striking or like a breath of fresh air. i havent seen much by valentina and im hoping to see more of her.

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Sorry

some of the pieces i find don’t have watermarks or the poster didn’t credit the artist. this makes me sad because id like to share that which i like, but i hate to not give credit. sorry.

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Gossip

this is Gossip by John William Waterhouse. i find this particular painting by john to be overly wholesome and precious while also remaining simplistic. i can just imagine these two ladies looking over the garden wall and discussing with their neighbor about the family across the street’s teenage daughter who was seen sneaking from the house midday the day before wearing men’s hunting boots. the woman sitting down’s child plays with her skirts, finding comfort in the familiarity of the green fabric. only when a crash is heard from behind them do the two women have to turn back and find that the pale of water left out to ring the laundry in had been knocked over by the children. there’s so many scenarios i can imagine happening and i adore them all. its a painting with so much mental potential. john is outdoing himself.

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The Beach

this is The Beach by Sally West. its created by putting little paint blobs and smears on canvas. i love it. i thought about trying to create something similar to this using the same technique, but after really thinking about it i realized the in-depth planning to have it actually make any of the sense that it was meant to. i believe sally created many pieces using this same technique and she has gone through SO MUCH PAINT. she makes really cool and beach-y town themed paintings. they would look nice in my bathroom.

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(unknown)

i know i dont have any followers but id just like to leave this here

i just want to let the world know my opinion on this painting. it is terrifying. the sea terrifies me. i love the ocean, i love the beach, but its a love that comes from deep-rooted respect and fear. and this painting just brings out every form of awe and fear inside of me. the immense size of the ship itself is frightening, intimidating, it makes me want to hide. and from the looks of the waves there seems to be a storm ocurring. that scares me as well. not only do i dislike boats and ships and sea vessels in general, but the thought of being stuck out in open ocean during a storm makes me shiver and look around. for what? an ocean storm hiding behind a chair? the irrational fears of humans are quite silly, but oh so very real. i have a certain respect for this painting. it’s so very well done  and theres so much detail in this vessel. ugh its just so good. if i knew the artist i would credit them, but if anybody knows can you tell? ill find out at some point and edit it in.

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Fish

sculptures have never really been my thing, but im quite fascinated by this one in particular.

this is ‘Fish’ by Constantin Brancusi. i read about this scultpure in a book that i never finished and have really been intrigued by this. when you think of a fish, do you think of the different parts of a fish? the scales? the gills? the specific fins? i personally think of a flying silver blur exploding out from the sea in a flash of aquatic force in the midst of a lightning storm. this sculpture by Brancusi perfectly captures the force of life that is a fish. i don t know. 

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for those of you that visit this blog and wonder what this painting is:

(this one ^) it is Miranda by John William Waterhouse. It is my current favorite painting by him. i just adore the forlorn look of her and the way herbody is positioned. it reminds me so much of myself and i see a lot of myself in her. but dont get dear miranda here confused with Miranda--The Tempest also by John William Waterhouse.

(this one ^) this is Miranda--The Tempest. two quite different paintings in aura but very similar names. sadly when you search for Miranda by JWW all you reall see is The Tempest. this was just a btw because i dont want anybody to get confused on such beautiful pieces of art.