Learn to Draw in a Short Period of Time

Is it possible for someone to learn to draw in a short period of time? More specifically, can one learn to draw well in a matter of weeks?

Dr. Betty Edwards would say, without hesitation, yes.

Can a Book Quickly Teach Someone to Draw?

In the 1970‘s, Edwards authored a booked titled Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Since the book’s release in 1979, it has sold over 2.5 million copies. The book’s popularity is due largely to the fact that its exercises garner results that any aspiring artist craves: the quick acquisition of skills necessary to draw beautifully.

Targeting the Right Brain is Key in Picking up Artistic Skills

The theory behind Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is simple: tapping into the right side of the brain via practicing certain exercises can increase a person’s ability to swiftly obtain the artistic skills required for drawing. Concerning the right/left brain theory, scientist and neurosurgeon Richard Bergland said, “…your left brain is your verbal and rational brain; it thinks serially and reduces its thoughts to numbers, letters and words… your right brain is your nonverbal and intuitive brain; it thinks in patterns, or pictures.”

Because the right brain thinks in patterns and pictures and is non-verbal, it makes sense that primarily using that side of the brain when learning to draw would increase the chances of successfully gaining artistic skills.

This Simple Exercise Can Help You Learn to Draw

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is packed with tools that target the right brain and teach drawing skills. Here is just one exercise that can help you begin your journey of learning to draw; the exercise is called “Breaking Up Space”:

• Only draw vertical and horizontal lines
• Do not think in terms of words
• Relax
• Draw at a slow to medium pace
• If you run out of space just retrace the lines you have already drawn

This exercise “helps put the left side (of the brain) to sleep and exercises the right side.” It’s important not think in words while practicing this. Using this technique is a first step you can take to begin to get your right brain accustomed to being used somewhat independently of your left brain. This creates an ideal mental environment for learning to draw.

Besides her book, Dr. Edwards also offers other materials that foster right-brained learning of artistic skills. These resources include DVDs, workshops, and more.

Are you a natural when it comes to drawing? If not, have you always wanted to learn to draw? Has intimidation discouraged you from trying? Share with us in the comments box below.

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Art Created in Confinement

Art created in confinement may be the most beautiful art of all. Why? Because this type of art comes from a place of utter vulnerability and realness. Those who are confined have been stripped of many freedoms and consequently have emotions that are also stripped and raw. This is why the art that is created from this frame of mind is nothing short of amazing.

Holocaust Victims Prove Art Is Worth Dying For

The Holocaust Period was perhaps the greatest era in history in which art was created in confinement. Individuals held in concentration camps were not just confined; they were also brutally tortured. But the incredible fact is, these individuals managed to find whatever makeshift art supplies they could to craft magnificent drawings and paintings.

Yad Vashem, the World Center for Holocaust Research, is located near Jerusalem, Israel. Amongst its many galleries and displays is an art museum that will take your breath away. This art museum features walls and walls of drawings and paintings that were created by artists held in death camps. These works of art, some gruesome, some hopeful, give us an inside look at the emotions Holocaust victims experienced. At the same time, the pieces remind us of the inherent ability we as humans have to look within ourselves and draw out passion and beauty in the most hideous circumstances.

Author Julia Cameron says in her book The Artist’s Way, “(Creating) art always gives us the ability to move out of the victim position…Holocaust victims scratched butterflies on the walls of concentration camps. That assertive creative act spoke plainly: ‘You cannot kill my spirit.’ At its core, art is triumphant.”

Creating Art in Confinement Confirms the Value of Art

When individuals who are in confinement create art, the sheer value of art itself is displayed. For example, it was very dangerous during the Holocaust to create art, but death camp detainees created it anyway, even in the face of losing their lives as a result. Why would anyone risk his or her life for art? Perhaps because art has the ability to keep the human spirit alive. This ability makes art intrinsically valuable.

Art Helps Jailed Juveniles Find Purpose

Art created in confinement is not unique to the past. A recent article published by http://www.wishtv.com tells us that currently jailed juveniles are utilizing art for self-expression. Not just that, creating art is helping these juveniles find purpose for their lives.

Reportedly, youths held in the Marion County Jail were caught with what the aforementioned article referred to as “artistic contraband”: art supplies. Instead of punishing these youths, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office decided to team up with the Indianapolis Art Center to allow dozens of juveniles to take part in a program geared toward teaching visual literacy and art skills, as well as building confidence and empathy. The art skills that are being taught to youths held in the Marion County Jail are proving to have a positive effect on these young people’s lives.

How Has Making Art Helped You?

Has there ever been a time in which art was a lifesaver for you? Perhaps you went through a traumatic event and turned to art in order to maintain your hope and sanity. If you’ve had an experience like this, or have created art in confinement, we would love for you to share a comment with us.

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Coloring Book Fosters Emotional Healing

Can art help heal the emotional wounds of adults? Specifically, does color possess the ability to act as a healing agent to the human psyche?

The short answer to both of these questions is yes.

Art therapists and other medical professionals are well aware of the amazing ability art and color have to minister healing to the unseen injuries inflicted by emotional trauma. An increasing number of universities and colleges are designing degree programs that enable students to pursue art therapy as a profession. Art-based therapies are becoming commonplace in hospitals, and are often integrated into treatments for behavioral health patients.

Psychologist Ellen Lacter took art-based therapy into a new and exciting direction when she created a therapeutic coloring book aptly named A Coloring Book of Healing Images for Adult Survivors of Child Abuse.

Coloring Book May Resolve Abuse-Related Issues

A Coloring Book of Healing Images was created to assuage the hurts that result from abuse. Author Ellen Lacter, who has been an art therapist since 1977, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor since 1998, and clinical psychologist since 1986, designed this coloring book with results in mind. Lacter brought nearly 30 years of experience into the creation of this coloring book, packing it with tools that foster self-care and can bring healing and resolution to abuse-related issues.

This very special coloring book consists of 17 chapters. Each chapter details a facet of healing; examples of chapter titles include Acceptance, Self-Love, Hope, Joy and Play, and Healing Abused Parts of Myself. Included in each chapter is a description of a particular aspect of healing, as well as plenty of ready-to-be-colored illustrations.

Illustrators Robin Baird Lewis and Jen Callow helped the author bring the curative coloring book to life by composing its images. “As the reader applies art media to the images, their meaning can be deeply internalized to tap into the survivor’s infinite internal resources and to pave a personal path for healing.”

Color Your Way to Healing

The memories of child abuse have a way of seeping deeply into the subconscious and expressing themselves in ways that negatively alter a person’s life. Individuals who live through child abuse are true survivors. A Coloring Book of Healing Images for Adult Survivors of Child Abuse is a resource designed to help people go from merely surviving to thriving.

Coloring books are no longer just for kids. If you are an adult survivor of child abuse, Ellen Lacter’s healing coloring book could be a steppingstone on your journey toward emotional wholeness.

Read more about A Coloring Book of Healing Images for Adult Survivors of Child Abuse here.

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The Next Era Of Art May Be All About “Me”

Renaissance. Baroque. Romanticism. Realism. Impressionism. Expressionism. Postmodernism. What might the next art movement be? Murmurs of an odd, but undeniably relevant, phenomenon might be the next big thing: an art movement that is all about “me.”

The term “selfie” encompasses the act of taking a picture of yourself. In reality, long before camera phones, people were taking pictures of themselves. And before we used cameras to snap shots from arms-length away, people were capturing their images through painted portraits. You’ll remember that some of the world’s most well-known artists, like Rembrandt, Frida Kahlo, Picasso and Vincent van Gogh, created self-portraits. But a painted self-portrait in the age before cameras is far different then the ego-centric art of today.

In an article for Artnet.com, JJ Charlesworth proclaimed, “The Ego-Centric Art World is Killing Art.” However, it has been said that such cries were heard every time a new art era dawned and another became history.

Might we be entering a new era where artwork does not call us to look through the eyes of the artist as much as it beckons us to look into the eyes of the artist? Are we about to embrace art that does not lead us to think about events, places, people, or emotions but rather look inward to the sensations we experience and benefit from as a result of art?

Charlesworth uses the example of Marina Abramović’s exhibit “512 Hours” as an example of ego-centric art. Abramović’s performance show seemed to resemble more of a self-help empowerment course than an art display, implies Charlesworth. Known as participatory art, Abramović guided the museum visitors on ways they could live in the present, find themselves and be themselves. These are not bad things, and some people believe the journey to such enlightenment has always been a form of art. It is just different.

For hundreds of years, art has led us to think broadly about the world around us, often teaching us something new about a place or time we could never be in. Now, this shift is leading us to look deeply into ourselves, at a place and time we know all too well: the present.

And, in the ego-centric art era, if art isn’t all about us, it is all about the artist who created it. Charlesworth prompts us to recall Shia LeBeouf’s 2014 performance art show “#iamsorry,” where he invited people to gawk at him wearing a paper bag over his head that read, “I AM NOT FAMOUS ANYMORE.”

Another artist who creates work directly inspired by her life is Tracey Emin. Her first recognizable art work was titled, “Everyone I Have Ever Slept With,” where the names of past lovers (even those whom she was not intimate with) were posted to the inside of a camping tent. Later, Emin created “My Bed,” which was an installment of her bed and the mess of items she kept by it.

Speculators of art seem to recognize the growing presence of ego-centric art, but it has yet to be recognized as a movement. Although, this may be because much of the world is snapping selfies and discussing the latest Facebook copyright ordinances, claiming their posts belong to them. It is, to some, their art. The art of “me.”

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The World’s First Tetrachromat Artist

The unique nature of an artist can be considered art itself. What sets great artists apart may not be their talents but their circumstances. While we know much of our destinies are determined by the decisions we make, remnants of happenstance hover over many of the artists we know and love.

No one understands this better than Concetta Antico, who, in 2012, received news that would change her life and send her already successful art career into high gear.

The Making of an Artist

To Concetta, art and life have always been one in the same. Her love of art began at the age of seven, when she found herself fascinated by color. This was around the time she started painting. Even at a young age her peers recognized the Australian native’s creative talent.
Now in San Diego, the place she considers home, Concetta’s days begin at the sight of color. The moment she opens her eyes she feels inspired by the color variations outside her windows and inside her home. Even the different fibers found in her wood floors can captivate this color connoisseur. These everyday sightings are what encourage Concetta to paint extraordinary works of art.

As an oil painter, Concetta paints each piece of art in one sitting and may accomplish 12 or more paintings per month. (With an exhibit on the horizon she has been known to paint up to 30 pieces in that time.) As it may seem, there is no time for creative blocks in Concetta’s world, although, she rarely feels confined by the age-old artist’s plague. Each day Concetta’s appreciation for art is renewed as she takes in the millions of shades, tones and hues that color her world.

Beyond her own art, Concetta also owns and operates an oil painting school called The Salon of Art (http://www.thesalonofart.com/). In her 25 years of teaching, she has instructed over 15,000 people on how to paint.

At a glance, it seems Concetta Antico has lived multiple lives, all dedicated to the pursuit of art. But these are merely chapters of a single story; the story of an artist. And the current chapter, the one where she and her art become known throughout the world, is only just beginning.

Behind the Artist’s Eyes

Concetta describes some of her recent fame as a result of being at the right place at the right time. And to some degree, this is true. In fact, had Concetta’s life not unfolded the way it has, the world may still not fully understand tetrachromacy, a condition where a person possesses four types of cone cells (independent channels for conveying colors) in the eye. It is typical to possess three cone cells but not four. Ultimately, a person with tetrachromacy, or a tetrachromat, may see 99 million more colors than the average person.

Concetta Antico is the world’s first tetrachromat artist, a combination that some researchers have dubbed “The Perfect Storm.” One reason why few people know about tetrachromacy is because not many people know they are seeing more colors than other people. Concetta, on the other hand, has been immersed in color her entire life. Therefore, she is a highly functioning tetrachromat who fully embraced her condition before she knew it was there. This is why Concetta is able to help researchers better understand 2-3 percent of the world’s population that have four color cones. Tetrachromacy involves a unique connection between one’s eyes and brain. Sometimes, people who are unaware they are tetrachromat’s have not allowed their brains to recognize the large amount of colors their eyes take in. Because Concetta has been using color her entire life, her brain is quick to recognize assortments of color that others (even fellow tectrachromats) cannot process.

However, if it weren’t for being at the right place at the right time Concetta may not have learned she has tetrachromacy. Nor would the world have the first artist who can shed light on what it is like to see life through rich color.

Recognizing Tetrachromacy

Two separate occasions led Concetta to the team of researchers who would genotype her as a tetrachromat. The first was a trip to an optometrist with her daughter, and the second came in the form of an email from one of her students.

In 2009, Concetta’s then 8-year-old daughter came home from school with an uncommon concern. She couldn’t see the board when her teacher wrote on it in orange. It seemed like a case of colorblindness, which is odd because it is very rare for girls to be colorblind. However, a trip to the eye doctor proved that Concetta, a lifelong lover of color, had a daughter with colorblindness.

Concetta didn’t think too much of the rarity in her line of DNA until a student of hers, Wendy Martin, sent her an email about a genetic factor that may influence how some individuals see color. Wendy was a research scientist herself and had noted an “alchemy” in Concetta’s work. When Wendy told the artist/teacher that she couldn’t put her finger on what made the art unique, Concetta joked that it must be her fourth receptor. Shortly after this conversation, Wendy sent Concetta an email with an article that connected the dots of her unique talent. The article stated that a person with four receptors could, in fact, have a colorblind daughter.

On this day in November, 2012, Concetta emailed the authors of the article, thus taking the first step in recognizing what the world knows her for today. Concetta Antico is a tetrachromat.

Same Art, New Fame

What has changed since receiving this news? Concetta still wakes up inspired by colors outside her windows and inside her home; she still owns and teaches at The Salon of Art; she completes each painting in one sitting. But on top of these decades-long practices, Concetta now has a press career. With the eloquence of a tenure educator, the accent of an Australian empress, and the poise of an internationally renowned artist, Concetta grants interviews about her artwork and how tetrachromacy influences her craft.

There is no doubt that Concetta’s talent and work ethic are worthy of fame, but much of this new wave of success has come from her accepting and embracing a DNA condition that is propelling her career to new heights.

So in an exclusive interview with Concetta Antico, the world’s first tetrachromat artist, Segmation has one burning question: What is your favorite color?

Her response might come as a surprise. “White,” she says.

An artist who is known to live in a world of color is most drawn to the color white. Some might argue that white is not a color, but those people are not tetrachromats. “Everything speaks to me,” explains Concetta. “It’s hard to detach from color. It is a huge component of everything I do.” She also expresses that colors like red and yellow are too strong. To her, white is peaceful. And let us not forget, to a tetrachromat, even white is a mosaic of color.

Images made available by Concetta Antico.

The Writer Who Knows Her Colors

Who needs Pantone when you can create your own colors? A multi-talented artist from Los Angeles recently created a color chart that helps her write better.

Ingrid Sundberg knows color. You might find this statement ironic when presented with a picture of Ingrid. Her hair is currently purple. But an out-of-the-box hair color is only the tip of the iceberg. Ingrid Sundberg really knows her colors and she is sharing her knowledge with the world through a color thesaurus.

Arranging and naming 240 unique colors, Ingrid compiled a seemingly comprehensive thesaurus. However, her purpose in completing this strategic art activity was not to publish a reference manual. Her goal has always been to boost her creative writing. With this lexicon of colors before her, she can create descriptive and intriguing work. “I use it all the time when I write. It really helps in revision as I try to make my work fresh and vibrant,” says Ingrid.

Other writers benefit from this thesaurus, too. Those who read and follow Ingrid’s blog, “Ingrid’s notes,” may have known about the color guide. However, Ingrid wants everyone to know it is not official. “This was something I made for myself based on color words I liked and the colors the words evoked for me…” she tells Board Panda. This explains how inventive colors like bumblebee, tiger and penny made the list.

Now that multiple media sources have reported on the color thesaurus, some haters are emerging, claiming the various shades of black are too similar and pointing out how Pantone already created a comprehensive color chart. Unfortunately, these people overlook what motivated Ingrid to create such a chart in the first place. She was never trying to cut corners or appease the world around her; she wanted to create a tool to help her write descriptive and intriguing passages.

Such a color chart does more than enhance her writing; it may add to her visual artwork as well. That’s right—Ingrid publishes novels for young adult readers and illustrates children’s books, too.

Ingrid credits her broad range of artistic talents to a childhood where, living in Maine, she cultivated a vivid imagination. On her journey from being an engaged child to a lifelong learner, Ingrid received a bachelor’s degree in illustration and a master’s degree in screenwriting.

While we do not know if the color thesaurus helps Ingrid bake better (because yes – she bakes too: http://www.ingridcakes.blogspot.com/), she likes its assistance so much that she is making additional color charts: a hair color chart and “emotions/facial expressions thesaurus” are in the works.

It seems that Ingrid has accomplished what she intended. Better yet, she has proven to be a talented creative writer: her first book, All We Left Behind, will be published in 2015.

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An Artist’s Story of Taking Risks and Staying Determined

Like many artists, Alexis Lawson found herself at a fork in the road. One path boasted little brush, bright lighting, and a trail that went as far as the eye could see. This was the path of education; after finishing her schooling, she would become a teacher with a salary, pension, and set vacation days. The other path was barely visible, covered with thick foliage and debris. She couldn’t see where it led beyond a couple steps. This was the path of professional photography.

Alexis took the path less traveled. Shortly after her daughter was born, about five years ago, she decided to avoid the safe route and go out on a limb. She became a professional photographer.

Since making this decision, the artist’s path has taken Alexis on a journey of discovery. As she progressed in her career, she experienced many changes. For instance, Alexis’s photography career started with taking pictures of children and families. Today, Alexis specializes in couture female portraiture.

The Palm Beach based photographer was turned onto glamour photography by Sue Bryce, the portrait photographer behind the Olay Best Beautiful Stories. To follow in Bryce’s footsteps, Alexis signed up for mentorships and workshops with photographers who specialized in shooting “glamour shots.” Alexis admits that photographing women as if they were Vogue cover models “hit home” with her. It was this feeling and her admiration for women—who, like her, managed careers, homes, and families—that prompted her to shine a light on their inner and outer beauty.

After realizing this, Alexis stepped out onto another limb. She turned the back room of her home into a photography studio. Even though there was no guarantee people would come into this space or solicit her services, she took the chance and made a massive renovation.

With a studio in place, Alexis knew it was up to her to bring in women to photograph. She began pounding the pavement, working 50 hours a week to network and market her unique services. All the while, Alexis knew that what she told the women she photographed applied to her, too. “Be true to yourself and stick to it,” she would say.

Like many artists, Alexis had talent. But beyond talent, she worked hard to make her dreams come true. The evolution of her career involved taking risks, working hard, and overcoming obstacles. As she took time to navigate the rocky terrain of the path she chose, she remained focused on the most important thing: being true to the artist inside her.

Today, Alexis Lawson can be found in Palm Beach, shooting couture photographs from her in-home studio. Visit Alexis’s website to see an extensive display of her photography: http://www.alexislawsoncreative.com/.

If you want to be a professional artist, you can. Take the path less travel. Step out onto a limb and work hard to make your dreams reality. And take Alexis’s advice: Be true to yourself and stick to it.

The Artist Who Wants to Banish Fear of Color

Kaffe Fassett has often said that his mission in life is to “banish the fear of color.” He plays with rainbow hues the same way a painter mixes shades on a palette, using needlepoint, patchwork, painting, knitting, and ceramics to create a veritable feast of color.

An exhibition of his work, titled “The Colorful World of Kaffe Fassett,” is on display at the American Museum in Britain until November 2. Laura Beresford, the exhibition’s curator, describes the show as “textile art.”

The spectacle begins at the entrance to the exhibit area, where knitted strands decorate the garden lamps and multicolored pom-poms hang from an aged tree like jewel-bright fruit. Once inside, the visitor is treated to even more dramatic visual treasures: a royal red Chinese vase presides over other scarlet-hued creations, a deep blue patchwork rug replicates Turkish tile flooring, and crisp green vegetable patterns (from artichokes through onions to cabbages and leeks) are woven into cushions with startling detail.

The author of more than thirty books, Kaffe Fassett has hosted TV and radio program for the BBC and Channel 4 in the UK, where he currently resides. In 1988 his design and color work was the subject of a one-man show at London’s prestigious Victoria and Albert Museum, marking the first time a living fabric artist had a dedicated show there. The same show went on to tour nine countries. He has designed stage props and costumes for the Royal Shakespeare Company and exhibited his quilts, knitting, and needlepoint at the Modemuseum Hasselt, Belgium in 2007. Not surprisingly, his autobiography is titled ‘Dreaming in Color.’
Among the items on display at the American Museum is a knitted bodice and skirt with flowing and dotted sleeves that he created with UK designer Bill Gibb, walls of hand-knitted sweaters made from silk and alpaca, and a vibrant full-sleeved coat that Fassett knitted after seeing Rudolf Nureyev in a ballet of “Romeo and Juliet.” The exhibition also includes Fassett’s pen-and-ink drawings from 1964, which hang in a room dedicated to artwork from the 17th century.

Fassett, whose self-proclaimed motto is “When in doubt- add twenty more colors” has even made his famous craft-related quotes part of the exhibition. They have been printed on posters and hung on a multicolored wall, silently reminding visitors of the philosophy that drives his vision.

The American Museum was founded in 1961 to showcase American artwork and crafts. Situated inside a 19th-century manor, it features wood-panelled rooms full of handcrafted furniture from Connecticut or Massachusetts. A collection of more than 250 patchwork quilts provided plenty of color to offset the neutral shades of the Shakers.

When asked about future exhibition dates and details, Fassett smiles affably and shrugs his shoulders beneath a multicolored shirt. He wears a purple sweater tied around his neck and deep green corduroy trousers. This vagueness about date and place is understandable from an artist who turned his back on black and white long ago and has remained staunchly faithful to a playful color credo.

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Robert Henri – American Portrait Artist and Teacher

Tan Gam by Robert Henri

American artist Robert Henri had a mind of his own. Loyal to a fault and guided by his convictions, Henri was as great a leader as he was an artist. Throughout the course of his notable career, he defied traditional standards of art, pursing and promoting realism.

Robert Henri was born in Ohio and raised in Cozad, Nebraska. At that time this town bared his birth name: his father, John Cozad, founded the town when Robert was eight. Unfortunately, the entire family fled this area after an altercation resulted in John murdering a local rancher. Eventually they ended up – under the guise of alias names – on the east coast.

When the drama of childhood waned, Robert Henri completed his first painting. He was 18 years old. Enjoying the activity and appeased by his natural skill, Robert planned to attend Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1886. There, he came to appreciate the work of Thomas Eakins and the artist’s approach to realism. Henri continued to pursue his education by traveling to Paris where he attending Ecole des Beaux Arts. After his time there, he traveled Europe briefly before returning to Philadelphia where he began his career in art education.

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Early in his career it became apparent that Henri was a born leader and a natural teacher too. It is said he inspired students by saying their art could be “a social force that creates a stir in the world”. Within a few years Henri was inspiring more than his students; he developed a following of aspiring artists as well.

During this time, Robert Henri was moving away from the impressionism that influenced his early work. He began moving towards realism, and encouraging other artists to do the same. This ignited a movement that urged American painters to pursue art with fresh perspective, making it okay for artists to express the world as they see it – not the idealized vision society wants see. The movement came to be known as the Ashcan School.

In 1898, Henri accepted a teaching position at the New York School of Art. Around this time, students, colleagues, and critics observed the passion he had for his craft. He was uninhibited by societal norms and blazed a trail for artists to express the realities of life.

Henri was admired and followed by many. In fact, he was elected to the National Academy of Design (a museum and school established to promote fine arts) for recognition of his artwork. Unfortunately, when the National Academy did not display the work of his colleagues at a show in 1907, Henri became disenchanted with the mainstream art world. He knew a bold move would be required to emphasize the importance of realism.

As a result, he set up an exhibition called “The Eight”. All featured work signified a break from traditional art perspectives of the time. In February 1908, five American artists put paintings on display at the Macbeth Gallery. Only once did they come together for this purpose; regardless, it left a lasting impression. It also propelled Henri to continue leading and promoting independent artists.

Robert Henri organized a number of art shows and exhibitions between 1910 and 1920. They included “Exhibition of Independent Artists”, jury-free exhibitions at the MacDowell Club, and the Armory Show. In addition, he continued his career as a teacher at the Art Students League between 1915 and 1927.

While Henri was a skilled artist, his natural gift as an influential teacher solidified his fame. He was effortlessly able to lead and organize people to pursue their passions. All the while, he prompted them to believe that art was a personal expression of a real world. In the book, The Art Spirit, one of Henri’s students compiled his works of art and detailed accounts of his thoughts on the subject.

When Robert Henri passed away in 1929, his influence lived on. In fact, it served as a bridge to usher in European modernism. More so, it inspired artists to reach levels of self-expression that had never been seen before. As an effect, realism came to life through the power of art.

The San Diego Museum of Art will be the first museum exhibition dedicated to the Spanish paintings of Robert Henri  from March 29, 2014 through September 09, 2014. Spanish Sojourns Robert Henri and the Spirit of Spain consists of over 40 major paintings borrowed from important museum and private collections around the country. More information can be found at:  http://www.sdmart.org/.

However, this post is meant to recognize his artist style and some major pieces. For those who want to read more of Robert Henri’s story, visit this link: http://www.segmation.com/products_pc_patternset_contents.asp?set=RHR. Also, Segmation is proud to offer 44 digital Robert Henri patterns. By downloading these paint by numbers masterpieces, you can emulate one of the most fascinating artists who ever lived.

Enjoy the 44 Robert Henri Patterns Segmation has for you and continue to learn and celebrate the life of a great artist.

Sources:

National Gallery of Art

Robert Henri Museum

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William Glackens – American Realist Painter

Thomas Moran – American Landscape Painter

William Merritt Chase – American Impressionist Painter

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Art Illuminates Science

Until recently, common technology could not capture the fine details of life. A new age is upon us now. The slim and sleek devices many people carry in their back pockets are able to capture information and images that were unavailable a few years ago.

One man uses advancements in technology to artistically illuminate science. He is getting a lot of attention as a unique individual who is scientifically astute and creatively brilliant.

Merging Science and Art

Many people have thought this merger was near impossible thanks to a common misconception that humans either think with the right side of their brains or the left. As the saying goes, people are either smart with numbers and figures or see the world to creative lenses. Clearly, this is not the case anymore.

Fabian Oefner is a Swiss photographer who is contradicting this inescapable myth. Oefner goes to great lengths to put the intricacies of the world on display for all to see and experience. Using art and intelligence, he is bringing science to the public in a very creative way.

A Photographer’s Connection

He acknowledged the misnomer mentioned above in a recent TED Talk. He said, “If you look at science, science is a very rational approach, whereas art on the other hand is usually an emotional approach to its surroundings.” In recognizing this, he has made it his goal to merge these scenes and create a single image. He wants the collaboration of art and science to move a person by activating his or her mind and emotions.

Two of Oefner’s art pieces, of many, include the visibility of a sound wave and the combustion of flammable alcohol. He records the science projects with a state-of-the-art “camera that shoots 3,000 frames per second.”

Visualizing Sound: Oefner sets tiny, multi-colored crystals atop a piece of foil that rests on a speaker. When the music moves the crystals his camera captures the art of sound.

Capturing Combustion: In a second piece of artwork, he uses items a person may find in his or her home to create an explosive shot. Setting fire to a bottle of whiskey, he freezes a flame.

Fabian Oefner does not stop there. He continues to mesmerize the world with the reality of science through the vehicle of art.

More of his pieces can be viewed on this CBS news slideshow: http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-205_162-10018481.html.

Read more Segmation blog posts about Art and Science:

Extracting Art from Science

Art and Science – A Genius Combination

Art and Science – A Genius Combination

Be a Artist in 2 minutes with Segmation SegPlay® PC (see more details here)

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