American Artists: Painting New Wave with Changed Perspective

Every art movement has its starting point; every art has a pool of artists putting stones of foundation. American world of art saw such happening in 19th century. In 1872 artist John Gast painted a scene of ‘people moving west’, capturing their activities. That painting started era of balancing naturalism and romanticism in US art in particular and American art in general.

Mary Cassatt

There had been movements who represented the American art and the famous painters who contributed to the treasure of the art-world of america. Here is some narration about the wonderful art history of America.

In the beginning of the art history in America, John Gast had painted this popular scene wherein a group of people were proceeding to the west. This was an established trend of people of America during that period. This painting was named and called as ‘Spirit of the Frontier’. It depicts the settlers moving in western direction. Here the artist had tried showing duel thing: the bubbling will of the people to progress and get some protection by the Godly beings. Showing the part of realism, too, the artist had painted one forward moving train.

Hudson River Valley Painters: Thomas Moran’s depiction of the Western landscape was so effective, and demanding the storm of emotions too, that it was instrumental to the formation ofYellowstone National Park. The park was officially created in the year 1916. Thomas Moran and his colleagues Thomas Hill, Albert Bierstadt and William Keith are known as artists of a group known as ‘Rocky Mountain School of Landscape Painters'.

ANDREW WYETH : Painter Of The People

Andrew Wyeth who has recently passed away at the age of 91 was a self-taught artist. It would be proper for me, as a person who has something to do with colours and canvasses, to remember the great painter of our time.

Andrew Wyeth

(July 12, 1917 - January 16, 2009)

Image Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Andrew Wyeth started his artistic journey earlier, say from the cradle. Under his father cooperation and guidance he started his artistic journey at very young age. In addition to his family’s artistic history, Andrew Wyeth had the inviting rural landscape lying in the surround. He started with drawing and catching the sense of romance from the Renaissance and American artist, he went on painting his watercolours.

Andrew Wyeth had booked a special corner for the poetry of Frost and Thoreau. This poetic attachment, well supported my passion for music, equipped him for creating a near relationship with nature and romance. Known as the “Painter of the people” and for being a realist artist, he had earned much popularity in America and abroad.

The biggest fame for Andrew Wyeth came from the Helga paintings. It’s long line of women wearing no clothes, keeping Helga Testorf, as model. For the paintings done during the period running from 1971 to 1985, it is believed that no one knew about the process of the painting going. Neither Andrew’s wife not Helga’s husband knew about Helga acting as model for the Wyeth’s paintings. Everyone knew about the paintings only when all of them were unveiled exhibited.

As the most of the great master painters always have been controversial, Wyeth was not an exception. He was a controversial artist throughout his career. In his young age, It was period of abstract paintings in America. Andrew Wyeth painted mostly realistic paintings, the landscapes and portraits of Helga being the main subjects. Though he had attracted record number of visitors to his exhibitions, he contrasted his contemporaries in style. He rarely used oil paint; he mainly used water colour and egg tempera.

If you want to see the paintings reach with veiled abstraction, overt beauty, and having strong current of emotions; then the paintings by Wyeth would be a good material. In his paintings rich with symbolic contents, Andrew Wyeth had used the light and shadow to illuminate the subjects on the canvass.

His death is a matter of mourning for every artist and every art-lover. May god bless his soul in Heaven.

Realistic Painting : David Ligare, Penélope (1980)

David Ligare: Penélope (1980), originally uploaded by iesluisvelez.

David Ligare, born 1945, is a California based painter from USA. His paintings are the narration of the unmatched beauty of the Californian landscape. His favourite subjects are the landscapes and the still life. But his figurative paintings are also of master quality.

The age-old themes of that the Greek sculptors and renaissance painters chose have still remained the darling of the viewers. David works on the ancient themes, too. In addition to the art depicted by the ancient painters, the art of the painters like Nicholas Poussin has influenced the style of painting used by David Ligare.

What an Artist Does

The artist who knows the art of landscape painting would study the geometric aspects of he scene he or she is going to paint. The organizing of these aspects plays a great role in converting a few colours on palate and a simple canvas into a masterpiece. An artist like David would do the same. Once all the components of the scene is incorporated, the intuitive element of the artist would inject a meaning into the veins of the painting. There after the whole art-piece would be rich in respect of its physical structure, its eye-catching surface and the superbly places content on the canvas.

Hudson River Valley Painters

• LANDSCAPES IN OIL : Hudson River Valley Painters

WOMEN ARTISTS: Painting With Instinct, Depicting Strength

Women artists from America continent have shown their power of imagination and the force of intuition through the medium of colours and brushes, in all the time, in all the ages. Though on most of the occasions, these women artists have faced difficulties while getting training and selling their art works, the fairer flock have never bowed down before the odds. Despites the negative forces playing in the market, these artists have struggled to come out and have gained the due recognition for their art. Here are some of the ladies who have acquired their space in the field of painting. They have done it with strong will they hold in head and heart.

AMERICAN PAINTING: Balancing Naturalism and Romanticism

Child Hassam Landscapes :The American Painter Childe Hassam had painted the landscapes of seaside areas, the period was last decades of nineteenth century. The prolific American Painter Childe Hassam owns a wide and thick body of paintings, the landscape paintings. Childe Hassam’s landscapes mostly run around the subject found in North America, and he painted many from this area. Childe Hassam’s work includes the paintings of late nineteenth century during which period his art was in full form. He used oil and canvas to depict his masterly skill and became a famous American Painter. [Image on top. Courtesy; Mary Cassatt [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons]