Artist Empowers Humanity by Reinventing Classic Portraits

Artist Kehinde Wiley is restoring power and respect to humanity through art. How? By reinventing classic portraits in a way that honors black individuals. Wiley believes art—particularly portraiture—is power. He told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, “What is portraiture? It’s choice. It’s the ability to position your body in the world for the world to celebrate you on your own terms.” With stunning vulnerability and bravery, Wiley reworks classic paintings so that they include black and brown-skinned people as the main subjects. For example, Wiley reinterpreted Jacques-Louis David’s portrait of Napoleon crossing the Alps by replacing Napoleon with a camouflage-clad black man. The made-over portrait places the black man in the same position of influence that Napoleon held. Now, that’s power.

The True Role of an Artist

What is an artist’s role in society? Should artists primarily make things look better, prettier? Kehinde Wiley doesn’t think so. He believes artists should think about “what they can do to start a broader conversation about presence and imminence and the desire to be seen as respected and beautiful.” According to Wiley, an artist’s role in society should be one that facilitates the redemption of the beauty of humanity, regardless of race. That’s why he’s pouring his blood, sweat and tears into transforming masterpiece paintings into works of art that feature individuals of black and brown skin tones. Wiley says, “I understand blackness from the inside out. What my goal is, is to allow the world to see the humanity that I know personally to be the truth.”

Kehinde Wiley Makes Mugshots Beautiful

Mugshots are not typically thought of as beautiful; they are most commonly associated with shame and punishment. However, Kehinde Wiley sees them as something entirely different: a type of portraiture. Wiley turns mugshots into portraits that subtly broadcast a person’s vulnerabilities, fears and dreams. This is just another way he is displaying the humanness and intrinsic importance of people who are sometimes overlooked by society. Wiley refuses to overlook these individuals. He wants the world to see them for who they really are: humans who deserve to be respected and understood. Kehinde Wiley has a pretty good idea of why he is alive and what he was born to do. He says, “My job is to walk through the streets, find someone who’s minding their own business, trying to get to work, stopping them — the next thing you know, they’re hanging on a great museum throughout the world, and it allows us to slow down and to say yes to these people, yes to these experiences, yes to these stories.” Please note: the photos featured in this blog post are NOT the property of Segmation.

Read more Segmation blog posts about art and color:

Artists Bring the Streets To Life with 3D Art

The World’s First Tetrachromat Artist

An Artist’s Story of Taking Risks and Staying Determined

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

Join us on FacebookSegPlay® Mobile iTunes now available for iPhone and iPad

www.segmation.com

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.

An Art Project For Human Kind

Art mimics its creator.

The art project Humanae has a strong identity and global reach, just like its creator. The woman behind the art has a colorful lineage and resilient sense of self.

Angelica Dass is a photographer who set out on a mission to expose the myriad of identities, cultures and skin tones that exist throughout the world. The Humanae project involves her taking a portrait of an individual and extracting an “11 by 11 pixel sample” of the person’s face. She matches the exact shade to Pantone’s elaborate color system. Then, she edits the picture so that this shade becomes the portrait’s backdrop.

When Dass aligns the pictures, she shines a light on what people often forget: no two people are exactly alike. With over 2,000 photographs, Humanae is revealing that two people might share a cultural heritage but are different in many other ways.

Nobody knows this better than the creator, herself. Angelica Dass is number 7522 C on the Pantone color scale. She is Brazilian by blood but her biography sheds light on the texture that weaves this artist together. “[Dass is] the granddaughter of ‘black’ and ‘native’ Brazilians,” an article in the Latin Post reads, “and the daughter of a ‘black’ father raised by ‘white’ adoptive parents.”

It is easy to imagine how such a checkered past raised a few questions in the mind of a young Dass. Her questions propelled her to seek answers in art. Through the Humanae Project, she is “recording and cataloging all possible human skin tones.”

What started as a final project for her Masters degree in Art of Photography has now turned into a global adventure. She is eager to photograph as many people as possible. But this is not necessarily of her personal volition; the project has taken on a mission of its own.

“Humanae has influenced areas, materials, attitudes, knowledge, human meaning, expression, and communication outside of my control,” she tells Latin Post. The purpose of the project has pursued a greater calling than Dass ever intended. The growing collection of 2,000 photographs represents a sense of equality.

The people who are photograph come from all walks of life. Not only are they from different parts of the world, they are of different socioeconomic circumstances and education levels. They speak different languages and have contrasting social norms, too. But these differences are not what appear on camera. The differences viewers see go far deeper, exposing the individual.

With individuality front and center, humanity seems to exist only because of differences. Or, as the creator of Humanae would say, her project is as “global as humanity.”

Read more Segmation blog posts about creative photography:

Food Never Looked So Good

When Ink Art and Underwater Photography Collide

Photography: Black and White or in Living Colors

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

Segmation

Join us on Facebook

www.segmation.com

Learn to Make a Custom Paint by Number Pillow

Have you been keeping up with Segmation’s paint by number blog posts this month? If so, you are aware of the impact this art form has had on American culture. Do you love paint by number? We hope so, because this post outlines how to make your very own paint by number pillow.

The first step in creating your paint by number pillow is to obtain the supplies you need: paintbrushes, a fabric marker, masking tape, paint pot strips, paint by number guide, fabric paint, “heavyweight” cotton (to be used for back of the pillow), hand sewing needle, thread, “plain, light colored utility fabric for pillow front,” scissors, and Poly-fil. Once you have gathered your supplies, you are ready to move into the crafting stage of the project.

Next, you will print a paint by number guide (you can download the right side of the guide at http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com/files/rightside.pdf, and the left side at http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com/files/leftside.pdf). Once each side of your guide is printed, you will tape the sheets together to make a whole guide. Place the guide atop your fabric (intended for use as the front of the pillow) and cut the fabric to fit the size of the guide.

Now for the fun part! Trace the paint by number guide onto your pillow fabric. You can do this by hanging/taping the paint by number guide with the fabric ontop to a window. The sunlight coming through the window will help you to see the paint by number lines. Use your fabric marker to trace the guide onto the fabric as carefully as possible. (Don’t forget to include the numbers.) Make sure you do this on a sunny day!

Next, you will number your paints and begin to add color to your pillow front. Paint your picture by simply matching up the numbers of paint with the numbers on the pillow guide. This will result in a beautiful paint by number pillow front!

How much do you enjoy paint by number and Segmation? Whether you like being a perfect painter, great digital artist, or have fond childhood memories of coloring inside the lines, your experience is unique. We want to hear your story in the comment section below. What does paint by number mean to you?

Note: this project was adapted from http://www.abeautifulmess.com/2012/07/make-your-own-paint-by-numbers-pillow.html; here you will find more in-depth instructions for this project as well as directions for putting a back on the pillow, etc.

Coming soon: Read Segmation’s exclusive article about the unique ways many professionals have incorporated paint by number into their careers.

If you enjoyed this Segmation blog post, we bet you’d love:

• Hole Punch Portraits Make Artist Famoushttps://segmation.wordpress.com/2012/11/04/hole-punch-portraits-make-artist-famous/
• Use Color to Bring Your Home to Life https://segmation.wordpress.com/2012/10/29/use-color-bring-home-life/
• Can You Be Taught to Read in Color? https://segmation.wordpress.com/2012/09/18/can-you-be-taught-read-in-color/

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

Segmation

FREE Newsletter

Join us on FacebookSegPlay® Mobile iTunes now available for iPhone and iPad

www.segmation.com

More Anders Leonard Zorn – Swedish Portrait Painter

http://www.segmation.com

Anders Leonard Zorn was born in Sweden in 1860. Though his parents never married, he was allowed to take his father’s name. Raised by his grandparents, Zorn spent his childhood in Yvraden and attended Mora Strand and a grammar school in Enkoping.

From a very early age, Anders Zorn showed great potential as an artist. He desired to become a famous sculptor and spent many hours carving pieces of wood into realistic objects. His love of sculpting and obvious talent transferred well into the realm of painting. From 1875 to 1880, Zorn studied this art medium at the Royal Academy of Arts in Stockholm, Sweden.

Initially, Zorn enjoyed painting watercolors. His 1880 watercolor, In Mourning, drew attention for its detail and realistic portrayal of a grieving woman.

Knowing that he wanted to marry, Zorn set off at an early age to make a substantial living as an artist. Fortunately, his talent made him quite successful all over Europe. He had a unique knack for painting portraits. Anders Zorn believed that a portrait should be painted with background detail appropriate to the subject’s own life setting. He became well known for his true representation of both culture and character when painting a portrait. Zorn’s portraits contained a variety of subjects from the esteemed political and royal figures of his day to typical rustic images. In England, Zorn was especially known for his nude paintings.

By 1885, Zorn had made his fortune and was able to marry his wife Emma. They spent the first eleven years of their marriage traveling abroad, but always returned to Sweden for the summer. Emma was instrumental in Zorn’s career. She willingly took on the role of critical analyst. It was during these years that Zorn mastered the complicated task of painting realistic water scenes, which is a feat he is still praised for today.

Zorn switched from painting watercolors to painting oils in 1887. The second oil painting he completed, A Fisherman in St Ives, was a quick success.

By this point in his life, Zorn had mastered three incredible talents. First, he was making money painting realistic and lively portraits. Second, he could paint light reflecting off water – a rare technique at the time. Third, the paintings he created during his summers in Sweden proved he could manipulate light and create both shadows and sunbeams. To combine all three, Zorn painted many subjects in and around water.

Being recognized as a great artist allowed Zorn the opportunity to travel to the United States in 1893. He served as superintendent of the Swedish art exhibition at the Columbian World Fair held in Chicago. Throughout the rest of his life he traveled back to the United States for work and pleasure. His talent for painting portraits had reached America and he was in constant demand. Two Presidents sat for Anders Zorn; Grover Cleveland and William Taft.

Zorn also enjoyed etching. He even illustrated an etching of Theodore Roosevelt. It was an art form that Zorn began practicing in the early 1880’s and continued to use as he created masterpieces throughout his life. In all, he completed 289 etchings, most of which were portraits.

In 1896, Anders and Emma moved back to Sweden for good. A cottage from his grandfather’s farm was relocated and the Zorn’s spent several years remodeling and expanding it. The pair quickly immersed and invested themselves in the community. They started reading programs, a library, and a children’s home, in addition to opening a local school.

Zorn’s passion was to discover a way to preserve Swedish folk music. His work sparked a renaissance of folk music in Sweden and kept it alive. Even today, the most prestigious award for a folk musician is the Zorn award.

Zorn continued to paint until his health began deteriorating. In 1920, Anders Leonard Zorn passed away. A diverse group of people attended his funeral as a true testament to a life of dedication and talent; from the Swedish royal family to colorful characters from all walks of life and from many places.

The Zorn cottage in Sweden still stands today. Part of it is devoted to a museum. It is preserved not only as a historical testament to the era in which Zorn lived, but in memory of a giving, adventurous man who shared his talents with the world.

There are 33 paintable patterns.

Would you like to enjoy painting Anders Leonard Zorn masterpieces yourself? (see more details here)

Segmation

SegPlay® Mobile iTunes now available for iPhone and iPad

Anders Leonard Zorn

Anders Leonard Zorn (1860 – 1920) was one of Sweden’s best portrait painters. Although skilled as a sculptor and printmaker, Anders achieved his fame with the use of oils and watercolors depicting rustic life, nudes, and an assortment of portraits. His skill with portraits lies with his ability to depict the individual character of the person.

Lighting and the treatment of water were particularly extraordinary in his works. Anders believed that a portrait should be painted in an environment that was natural for the model.

Our collection of Anders Zorn patterns contains many of his most recognized works including Margit, Midsummer Dance, Our Daily Bread, A Fisherman in St. Ives, and Night Effect. There are also several self-portraits included.

There are 33 paintable patterns.

Would you like to enjoy painting Anders Leonard Zorn masterpieces yourself? If so, visit http://www.segmation.com/products_pc_patternset_contents.asp?set=ALZ to see our Anders Leonard Zorn patterns. These patterns are basically paintable images of Zorn’s paintings.

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

Segmation

SegPlay® Mobile iTunes now available for iPhone and iPad

Custom Art Made from Your DNA

What do you believe is the epitome of custom art? Are you surprised that we answer this question by pointing a finger at you?

It’s true. You are completely unique. But are you wondering what this has to do with art?

DNA11 is a company that uses genetic science to create custom DNA artwork.

This means you can purchase custom DNA art; artwork designed around your DNA fingerprint.

How Does it Work?

If you are interested in purchasing one of these pieces, your first step is to visit the DNA11 website (http://www.dna11.com/about.asp).

The company website will give you detailed information about the portrait making process. Here is a brief overview of what you can expect after you contact DNA11.

What You can Expect

DNA11 will send you at kit which includes a mouth swab and a DNA collection card. After you have collected your DNA you will ship it back to the company.

From there, your DNA sample will be taken to the lab and technicians will isolate eight DNA sequences that are unique to all individuals. What they end up with is a DNA imprint. This imprint is then stained and photographed.

The photograph becomes the foundation of the artwork. A designer will add color to the imprint photograph until it is deemed a worthy piece artwork. Finally, your custom picture will be copied onto a canvas.

If DNA artwork doesn’t sound like something you are interested in, DNA11 offers other options. You can also have your fingerprint transformed into a piece of custom art, as well as your lips. Information about these processes can also be found on the company website under Kiss Portraits and Fingerprint Portraits.

If they still haven’t grabbed your attention, DNA11 now also offers DNA ancestry portraits. These portraits encode you genetic lineage and turn it into a one-of-a-kind family portrait.

If you want to know more about DNA art and the company DNA11, founded by Adrian Salamunovic and Nazim Ahmed, visit the website below and watch a video presentation created by the company founders.

http://money.cnn.com/video/smallbusiness/2012/04/16/sbiz-dna11-canvaspop.cnnmoney/?source=cnn_bin

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

Segmation

SegPlay® Mobile iTunes now available for iPhone and iPad

www.segmation.com

Related articles

• Company Makes Artwork Personal With Client’s DNA (miami.cbslocal.com)
• DNA portraits (holykaw.alltop.com)
• DNA 11 Ancestry Portraits Unlock the Secrets of Genetic Lineage (prweb.com)

The Woman Who Inspired Mona Lisa

Arguably the most famous painting in the world, Mona Lisa is an iconic oil painting created by acclaimed artist Leonardo da Vinci in the 16th century. For centuries, the piece has been the subject of much fascination, scrutiny, and admiration.

One of the longest-running questions pertained to the identity of the woman depicted in the painting. Although many believed it to be the wife of an Italian businessman, Francesco del Giocondo, the artist left no record to confirm that, and there were several other obscure references that implied other possibilities.

But in 2005, the mystery was finally laid to rest. At the University of Heidelberg in Germany, a library researcher named Armin Schlechter discovered a note made in the margin of the works of Roman philosopher Cicero. In the note, a friend of da Vinci’s, Agostino Vespucci, confirmed the sitter’s identity to be Lisa del Giocondo. Shortly after the birth of their second son, her husband had commissioned the painting to display in their new home. The Italian title loosely translates to “Lady Lisa”.

Today, the original painting is displayed in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, and is widely renowned as a timeless symbol of enigmatic femininity.

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

Segmation

SegPlay® Mobile iTunes now available for iPhone and iPad

www.segmation.com

Cold Case Paintings: When Mystery and Art Collide

When we hear the phrase “cold case,” we don’t apply it to paintings. However, the combination of mystery and art might be the type of subject matter that many of us find intriguing.

Five years ago a portrait of a women clad in Renaissance attire was re-discovered. The finding of this painting made headlines then, and it may be making headlines once again. The reason for this is that many believe the painting is the work of Leonardo da Vinci. If so, the portrait is worth far more than the $20,000 it originally sold for. Experts believe that if the painting is in fact a true da Vinci, it could be worth upwards of $100 million dollars.

Are you hooked yet? If you are, then you will be happy to know that NOVA has devoted a whole program to solving the mystery of who created the portrait of the Renaissance woman.

Be prepared to encounter a new group of experts; individuals focused on combating the world of art theft and doing their part to identify fraudulent pieces.

How do you identify the creator of a newly discovered piece of art? You will have to watch the program yourself to learn the tricks of the trade, but don’t be surprised to see these art experts tackle the mystery in the same manor that criminal investigators attack unsolved murders and missing persons report.

You will have the chance to follow the debate surrounding the portrait of the Renaissance woman. The debate is quite intense between those who believe the portrait was created by Leonardo da Vinci and those who do not. You will also be immersed in the world of art mystery and discover the actual techniques that experts use to identify a painting’s origin and creator. Put you knowledge to the test and learn alongside these expert art investigators.

Click on the link provided below to watch the mystery unfold for yourself! If you are an art enthusiast who is always up for a good mystery then be warned… you might just find yourself glued to the screen.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/mystery-masterpiece.html

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

Segmation

SegPlay® Mobile iTunes now available for iPhone and iTouch

www.segmation.com

Related articles

• Mona Lisa Mystery: Did Da Vinci Paint Hidden Animals in his Masterpiece? (ibtimes.com)
• How a ‘New’ da Vinci Was Discovered (time.com)
• An Amateur Artist Cracks 500 Years Old Da’ Vinci Code: Finds Anmal Images in “Mona Lisa” Painting! (hitechanalogy.com)

Art Alive

If you’ve never been to the San Diego Museum of Art for their yearly event, Art Alive, this is the year you should participate. The San Diego Museum of Art challenges floral designers to make the artistic masterpieces housed in their museum come alive through their floral interpretations. This four day event, beginning April 12 and ending on April 15, will fill the museum with thousands of flowers and, hopefully, thousands of visitors. The pictures in this blog post are examples of what you can expect to see at Art Alive.

Floral designers of all levels, from amateur to professional, gather at the museum to create floral sculptures that mimic famous pieces of art. The sculptures of flower arrangements depict images painted on canvas, from portraits to landscapes. Throughout the four day-long festivities, these living floral arrangements will be placed beside the famous pieces of art they are interpreting.

The museum’s masterpieces truly come alive as they are interpreted by these creative floral designers. You will be surprised and delighted to see how imagination comes alive when flowers meet with paint. The floral designers make use of light, color, and structural ingenuity to make these canvas paintings take on a new dimension. Art Alive celebrates artistic masterpieces of all types.

The four day-long event will be packed with activities. The event begins with an opening celebration on April 12 and includes a dinner for guests and a sneak peek at the Art Alive floral designs with their painted counterparts. The exhibition is open to the public beginning April 13. The Art Alive exhibition will also included fun events for children and families. These events will be geared towards the idea that art is alive.

Flowers After Hours is another nighttime event in which guests can peruse the floral art exhibit while sampling tasty hors d’oeuvres and drinks. Behind the scenes, these floral designers are competing hard to create their own artistic masterpieces inspired by the famous works located at the San Diego Museum of Art.

If you plan on visiting the Art Alive exhibit at the San Diego Museum of Art, be prepared to pay an entry fee. Rest assured that this fee is going to a good cause–Art Alive is one of the museum’s greatest fundraising events. The proceeds will go towards special exhibitions, educational outreach programs, and art conservation projects.

Can you imagine a more perfect way to usher in Spring?

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

Segmation

SegPlay® Mobile iTunes now available for iPhone and iTouch

www.segmation.com