Various by Donalee Nelson
Creativity
Jolt
As we look forward to a
beautiful autumn it seems like a good time to share some great workshops,
videos and artist gatherings with you. Whether you are a novice or a
professional artist it is important and fun to attend classes when you can.
They not only amp up creativity, but are valuable in exposing artists to new
techniques, different viewpoints and expanding horizons.
The artists highlighted here
all teach throughout the United States as well as abroad. All of them share
videos showing their process. I have taken classes from one of them, seen
presentations from another and the third is new to me but I enjoy his videos.
Dennis Perrin created The
Perrin Method and teaches in person and through his online Atelier. Find out
more about him on Facebook or at www.theperrinmethod.com.
From October 28 – October 30, 2018 he will be conducting a live workshop at the
Santa Paula Museum in California. We are lucky to have his workshop, Painting From The Inside Out, here
on the Central Coast because the artist lives in the east.
Erin Lee Gafill comes from the
creative family that owns Nepenthe in Big Sur. Her grandmother was an artist as
is her mother and uncle, Kaffe Fassett. She teaches, gives demonstrations and
talks throughout the world and is the owner, along with her husband Tom
Birmingham, of Studio One – Big Sur. On their current agenda is a trip to Italy.
Awaken the Artist Within – a Taste of
Italy is happening September 29 – October 11, 2018. If you want to go
check out www.studioonebigsur or on Facebook
to get all the info and find out about other projects they have going on.
One of my favorite artists is
Robert Burridge. It is hard to keep up with Bob as he is such a popular coach.
His workshops are fun, he has great insight and humor and teaches all over the
world. I have taken oil, watercolor and acrylic classes from him as well as
collage. He shares a weekly video with his techniques called Bob Blasts. If you are
interested Bob even does one-on-one classes out of his studio in Arroyo Grande,
California. All the information you need is at www.robertburridgestudio.com or
on Facebook. Learn from the best, step up your game or just have a great time.
Highlights
Aftermath: Art in the Wake of World War One is at
the Tate Britain until September 23, 2018. It has been a hundred years since WWI
ended so this exhibit looks back at how art in Britain, France and Germany
responded to the changes that ensued after the war. Of course, artists reacted
in different ways, from making works of social commentary to trying to imagine
a better future. Artists such as Picasso, Leger, Braque, Max Ernst, and Grosz
are represented among many others. Find out more at www.tate.org.uk where you can also see many
of the works in the show.
Where
you can see my artwork
My artwork
is available at Rons. For
further information call the shop at 805.489.4747. Rons
is located at 850 W. Grand in Grover Beach a few blocks from the train station,
a golf course and the beautiful Pacific Ocean. For more information go to Rons website at www.ronsingroverbeach.com or find
him on Facebook.
Not To
Be Missed –Museum Exhibits
As the Four Preps sang, “Twenty-six miles across the sea, Santa Catalina is
a-waitin' for me”. The
Catalina Island Museum is part of Los Angeles County and is therefore close to
the movie industry. Jaws: The Art of
Fear in Filmmaking, is a special exhibition that runs until September
16, 2018. The Production Designer of the iconic film, Joe Alves, shares the
original storyboard drawings, behind the scenes photos, plus original props and
ephemera. Famed magician Houdini was interested in filmmaking toward the end of
his life. Houdini: Terror on the
Magic Isle runs until October 7, 2018. The film, in which he starred,
was made on the island. The exhibit features ephemera and movie props from the
film which put Houdini in danger and ended in mystery. If you are a fan of
either film, find out more about these exhibits and the Catalina Island Museum
at www.catalinamuseum.org and take
a tour. The museum celebrates its 65th anniversary on September 8th.
Go to their website for more information.
The Palm Springs Museum of Art is
all about Eighty @ Eighty.
Featuring recent acquisitions, it is comprised of various exhibits as the venue
celebrates its eightieth year. Jean
Michel Basquiat: Portfolio by Lee Jaffe is comprised of fifteen photos
taken by Jaffe of the artist. Also included is Chase Ramp Selections: Todd Hido’s Suburbia and Journey Through the Desert – The Road
Less Traveled. These exhibits are on view through September 16th
and are all about wonderful photography. The museum also has a subsidiary
museum in Palm Desert known as the Galen. It is surrounded by the four acre Faye Sarkowsky Sculpture Garden
that features over ten significant sculptures surrounded by landscaped gardens.
A visit to these two venues make it worth the drive. Google the museum or go to
www.psmuseum.org for current information.
If you love Laguna Beach you
will be interested in Art Colony: The
Laguna Beach Art Association, 1918-1935 at the Laguna Museum. The show
runs through January 13, 2019. My mother and I spent many wonderful times in Laguna
wandering through the various art galleries. Many were off the beaten track.
Celebrating the centennial of the beginning of the art association in this
beautiful beach town, the exhibit features paintings by many of its founders.
If you are as anxious as I am to see it, take the time to get a preliminary look
at www.lagunaartmuseum.org and
learn more about this exhibit.
African Twilight: Vanishing Rituals & Ceremonies is currently at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana. The exhibit, which runs through
January 6, 2019, includes the work of Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher. The
photographs and films were taken over the last 15 years as they traveled to
over 45 countries. Take a look at www.bowers.org
for more facts and interesting information.
Highlights of the
Permanent Collection celebrates the Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s 75th
anniversary. The exhibit features some of the museum’s most well-known pieces. The
Armand Hammer Foundation has loaned some amazing Impressionist and
Post-Impressionist paintings to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Also on view
until November 11, 2018 is Fauvism to
Fascism featuring the work of artists Derain and Vlaminck. Fauvism was
expressionism on steroids…with the use of bright colors and very gestural
strokes. Many artists were considered Fauves for a period of time and left to
pursue other types of art. Vlaminck and Derain also took other paths, and
ultimately were supported by the arts administration under the Third Reich
which politicized their work to advance the agenda of the Nazis. This should be
an interesting and revealing show. Of course, Portrait of Mexico Today, painted by David Alfaro Siqueiros while living in political exile
in Los Angeles in 1932, has a home in the front façade of the museum. It is
intact and is in a protected spot. We are so lucky to have it. Check on line at
www.sbmuseart.org/ for more details.
The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena
hosts Line & Color: The Nature of
Ellsworth Kelly until October 29, 2018. The show features two series of
lithographs meant to be shown together as well as two large paintings. Mr.
Kelly’s journey as an artist is very interesting. To find more on this show and
the artist go to www.nortonsimon.org
and get information on upcoming exhibits also.
Rauschenberg: In and About L.A. is now at the Los
Angeles County Museum of Art through February 10, 2019. Although he lived in
New York and Florida for the most part, Rauschenberg was stationed at Camp
Pendleton in 1944 - 1945 and visited his first museum in Los Angeles. In the
1960s and 1970s he worked in the L.A. area and the exhibit features works the
artist created in the southland. More information is at www.lacma.org about this exhibit.
Artists and Their Books/Books and Their Artists is at the Getty
Center in Los Angeles until October 28, 2018. As the younger generation focuses
more on their computers and less on books, a rich culture among artists of
making and twisting the definition of what a book can be continues. This
exhibit highlights many delightful books made by artists. Currently at the
Getty, Icons of Style: A Century of
Fashion Photography, 1911-2011 is at the museum through October 21, 2018.
This is a wonderful excursion through photographs by Cecil Beaton; Richard
Avedon, Helmut Newton, Edward Steichen and many other wonderful artists. Many
of the fashions photographed are part of the exhibit. They too are art. Information
at www.getty.edu will fill you in on what is
going on as well as with dates and times. There is a great survey online for
this exhibit.
Fans of the Eighteenth Century is ensconced at the de Young
Museum in San Francisco. The exhibit is culled from the museum’s own collection
and is on view until April of next year. Check www.deyoung.famsf.org which will have
all you need to know. The de Young prides itself in making its exhibits
accessible and has instituted a plan for people who are unable to come to the
museum whether for medical reasons, distance or finances. They have two robots that will take visitors
on a tour via the internet. Rebecca Bradley is the Accessibility Curator. You
can email her office at access@famsf.org
if this great idea is of interest.
The San Francisco Legion of Honor hosts Truth and Beauty: The Pre-Raphaelites
and the Old Masters which began June 30 and goes through September 30, 2018. For
fans of Pre-Raphaelite artists this will be a major show. The exhibition shares
the works of these artists juxtaposed with works by the artists that inspired
them including Botticelli, Raphael, Titian, and Veronese. Look for their
inspiration at www.legionofhonor.famsf.org
and for more information on this dazzling show.
Donald Judd:
Specific Furniture is at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art until November 4, 2018.
Known primarily as a minimalist sculptor, this exhibit focuses on the artist’s
furniture design. He collected furniture designs as well and his influences
included Aalto, Mies van der Rohe, and Schindler among others. The exhibit
pairs Judd’s designs with the pieces by other designers that he owned. Also at
the museum is René Magritte: The
Fifth Season, which focuses on his later work, after he left Surrealism.
It is up through October 28, 2018. KTTV, when it was a local Los Angeles
Independent TV station, had a wonderful art collection. It housed a Moore
sculpture, as well as a Frida Kahlo canvas among many others. It also had two
of Magritte’s bowler hats as shaped canvases. They were large pieces…about 4 or
5 feet tall. The iconic bowler has been used countless times. It was actually a
plot point in the remake of the movie The
Thomas Crown Affair. I was talking with the curator and was curious as to
why there were two as it seemed to me it should have been a triptych. He told
me that there actually was another one but that it had been stolen. As I said,
these were large works so I’m not quite sure how it was surreptitiously removed
from the lot replete with many guards. Go to https://www.sfmoma.org
for more on these exciting shows.
Ongoing
at the Seattle Museum of Art is Big
Picture: Art after 1945. The exhibit includes some amazing works by
Rothko, Motherwell, Newman, Hoffman, etc., and there are interesting videos on
the museum website. Go to www.seattleartmuseum.org
to obtain more information. All are wonderful and the interactive videos online
are great!
The Clyfford Still Museum in Denver continues to present
intriguing shows. Upcoming is a special exhibit curated by the younger of his
two daughters, Sandra Still Campbell. A
Daughter’s Eye/A Daughter’s Voice is at the museum September 14,
2018-January 13, 2019. Many of these works on view were unrolled and stretched
for the first time just for this show. Campbell’s recollections about her
father and his art occur in a podcast and wall texts. She is able to make
connections between paintings that are unexpected and elaborate on his process.
She recounts the idea of recapitulation he used in reference to his process.
The term, used in musical theory, refers to repetition with slight changes. She
recounts how her father was “all about the fire of the human spirit” and fought
against sterility. I’m expecting this to be an incredible exhibit. Currently
featured is Highlights from the
Collection, which runs until September 9, 2018. Included are close to
50 paintings and 30 works on paper representing the span of the artist’s
career, beginning with his traditional work in the 1920s through his wartime
abstractions. More than 25 of these works have never been on display
previously. Also on view is A Light
of His Own: Clyfford Still at Yaddo. Yaddo is an artists’ retreat in
Saratoga Springs, New York. Still was a young graduate student at this time. During
this period in his artistic journey he began to move toward painting from inner
comprehension, as opposed to reacting to what he saw on the outside. The
exhibit features 19 small paintings that he created at the retreat. Check out www.clyffordstillmuseum.org for all the details.
Make Room for
Color Field
continues at The Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, Missouri until December
30, 2018. The exhibit highlights three of the leading exponents of color field
painting. It includes four works by Helen Frankenthaler, Morris Louis and Jules
Olitski. The technique consists of merging thinned paint with unprimed canvas.
These are some of my favorite artists. The museum’s website at www.nelson-atkins.org
will provide more information.
The Art Institute of Chicago is hosting John Singer Sargent & Chicago’s
Gilded Age which focuses on the artist’s Chicago connections and presents a
full range of his works. The exhibit is on view through September 30, 2018. More
details are at www.artic.edu for these
fascinating exhibits.
Star Wars and the
Power of Costume
runs through September 30, 2018 at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Featured are
over 60 original costumes. This should be on the list of must-visit for any
fan. The museum website is at www.dia.org and gives information on the creative process of costume design.
The Smithsonian
National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington
D.C. is the culmination of over a century of work. Founding Director Lonnie
Bunch said that “The African American experience is the lens through which we
understand what it is to be an American.” The website welcomes us with its
opening words: A People’s Journey, A Nation’s Story. It is part of our national
history. The museum contains much memorabilia, including both negative and
positive. Of course, there is much history here including examples of slave
ships. However, there are more current examples, including Carl Lewis’ journey,
clothes from James Brown and Pearl Bailey, a trumpet owned by Louis Armstrong
and Chuck Berry’s red Cadillac. Items also includes some owned by Harriet
Tubman, the dress Rosa Parks was sewing when she refused to leave her seat, and
clothes designed by Geoffrey Holder for the award winning Broadway play The Wiz. Areas include a sports museum
and a visual arts museum among others. The only permanent art exhibit on the
mall will be Visual Art and the
American Experience, which focuses on the contribution Americans of
African descent made to the history of American Art. The galleries will also
feature changing exhibits so check out www.nmaahc.si.edu
for information.
The National Gallery of Art in Washington
D.C. is showing Jackson Pollack’s largest painting, Mural, from 1943. Jackson
Pollock’s Mural is on display until October 28, 2018. It was
commissioned by Peggy Guggenheim for her New York City townhouse. The 20 foot
painting marks a change in style for the artist. Along with this painting as
centerpiece, several other paintings and works on paper will be on view as well
as his masterpiece, Lavender Mist.
Find out more about this wonderful show at www.nga.gov
with more examples for you to enjoy.
While you are in Washington D.C you might
also want to take a look at the Hillwood Estate Museum and Gardens, the final
home of Marjorie Merriweather Post. She was a collector and her home is open
with special exhibits. Currently the museum hosts Fabergé Rediscovered. The exhibit continues until January of
next year. Mrs. Post collected over 90 pieces of Fabergé. If you are a lover of
the decorative arts this is a good place to go and www.hillwoodmuseum.org will give you
information and reveal some of her amazing pieces of eye candy.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art has
some very interesting exhibits. Face
to Face: Portraits of Artists will run through October 14, 2018. The
show contains interesting photos of painters, writers and musicians taken by
great photographers. Also on view is The
Duchamp Family through August 2019. Apparently he was part of an
artistic family. The exhibit features the Duchamp siblings who were also
innovative. These exhibits are described on the museum website at www.philamuseum.org with more information
about other shows as well.
A landmark exhibition is currently
at the Albright-Knox Museum in Buffalo, New York. Robert Indiana: A Sculpture Retrospective provides a broad
view of the artist’s work and is on view until September 23, 2018 when it moves
to the Tampa Museum of Art. Considered an enigmatic figure, the exhibit
features many views of his LOVE
sculpture that have never been displayed. Also included are his assemblages, paintings,
drawings and prints. Their website at www.albrightknox.org
has some interesting insights on the show.
The New York Historical Society
has a beautiful website that you must see. The fourth floor of the museum has
been turned into a Gallery of Tiffany
Lamps from the museum’s extensive collection. This ongoing exhibit
features 100 lamps, many designed by women. Starting in November and ongoing is
Audubon’s Birds of America Focus
Gallery which will display watercolor models for the artist’s work, The Birds of America. The society also
has Picasso’s Le Tricorne on display.
The painted theater curtain from the ballet was produced in 1919. Visitors can
also have a look at Ed Ruscha’s Fanned
Book from 2013. Coming up in October, Harry
Potter: A History of Magic comes to the museum from a collaboration
with a British Library exhibition. Many of the objects on display are from the
publisher’s, author’s and illustrator’s own archives. There is much to see at
this great venue so check out www.nyhistory.org
and prepare to be surprised by all the wonderful historical pieces on view.
Georgia O’Keeffe: Visions of Hawai’i
highlights her work for the Dole Pineapple Company. Currently at the New York
Botanical Gardens until October 19, 2018, the exhibit features 17 of the
artist’s paintings done in 1939. She visited Hawaii to fulfill a commission for
the pineapple company and the works haven’t been seen in New York for 40 years,
when they were originally displayed. To find information on the show visit www.nybg.org and view some of her work.
The
Museum of Modern Art in New York is hosting Constantin Brâncuși Sculpture from the museum’s collection
of his work. The show runs until February 24, 2019 and features 11 of his works
as well as photos and other archival material. His use of wood, metals and
stone in his pieces set them apart so go to www.moma.org
for more information.
Currently at the Guggenheim
Museum in New York and on view until September 12, 2018 is Giacometti. The exhibit includes in excess of 175
sculptures, paintings and drawings by the artist. The emphasis is on his studio
practices as is evidenced by the inclusion of plaster sculptures along with
photos and ephemera. Feel free to check www.guggenheim.org
for information and make sure to listen to various curators talk about the
challenges of restoring Red Lilly Pads,
an Alexander Calder mobile. The museum is also featuring the work of Constantin Brâncuși, one of the
most important sculptors of the 20th century. The Guggenheim started
collecting his work in the 1950s and it is their impressive collection is on
display. Also ongoing at the museum is the Thannhauser
Collection which features many French masterpieces by such artists as
Degas and Picasso. Don’t forget to check out other museum locations such as
Bilbao and Venice.
History Refused to Die is at the Metropolitan Museum
of Art in New York until September 23, 2018. The works are from a 2014 donation
from the Souls Grow Deep Foundation and includes thirty works. The artists are
from the southern United States. Information on this wonderful show can be
found at www.metmuseum.org as well as dates and
times. Also on view at the Met Fifth Avenue and the Met Cloisters is Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the
Catholic Imagination through October 8, 2018. From the Met Costume
Institutes collection, the exhibit highlights the connection between fashion,
medieval art and Catholic tradition.
The Boston Museum of Fine Art has a rare exhibit of pastels which are fragile. French Pastels: Treasures from the Vault showcases a collection of many of these works that have rarely come together
for public viewing. The exhibit, which includes works by Monet, Millet and, of
course, Degas among others will be up until January 6 of next year. Ongoing,
the museum explores its own roots in Collecting
Stories: Native American Art by reflecting on some of its early
acquisitions. Continue to check so you don’t miss anything because coming up
soon is Casanova’s Europe: Art,
Pleasure, and Power in the 18th Century. Please be sure and
look at www.mfa.org to find more information.
The Peabody Essex Museum in
Salem, Massachusetts has a plethora of interesting exhibits ending December 30,
2018. Raven’s Many Gifts: Native Art
of the Northwest Coast focuses on the museum's own collection of this
art covering the past 200 years. Double
Happiness: Celebration in Chinese Art and its companion exhibit, Importing Splendor: Luxuries from China
have titles that are self- explanatory. MegaCity:
India’s Culture of the Street examines the changes in art that happened
as India obtained independence. Japanomania!
Japanese Art Goes Global focuses on the museum’s vast collection of
Japanese export art collection. The place to find more information is www.pem.org and get a view of these wonderful
exhibits.
There are many wonderful
exhibits currently at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. On view through
January 2019 is Fashioned from Nature,
which explores the relationship between fashionable dress with natural history
specimens and the development of innovative fabrics and dyes. In a similar
vein, Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up
opened June 16, 2018. The show features her personal artifacts and clothing
which were stored for over fifty years. The clothing shown online is beautiful
and especially a Guatemalan full length cotton coat. It is lovely. Catch the show
before it leaves November 4, 2018. For more information check these out at www.vam.ac.uk if they are of interest.
The Tate Britain is showing Aftermath: Art in the Wake of World War
One until September 24, 2018. The exhibit shows the impact of the war
on the British, German and French artists of the period. Meanwhile you might
just catch the last days of The EY
Exhibition: Picasso 1932-Love, Fame, Tragedy which is at the Tate
Modern until September 9, 2018. For more information on these exhibits www.tate.org.uk will have everything you need
to know. While you are there, check out the amazing videos at the site about
various exhibitions.
Two exciting exhibits are currently
at The National Gallery in London. Ed
Ruscha: Course of Empire and Thomas
Cole: Eden to Empire couldn’t be more different from each other. Cole’s
paintings are grandiose landscape paintings while those of Ed Ruscha are mostly
of modern box shaped industrial buildings in Los Angeles. Church’s paintings
are shown along with paintings by Turner and Constable, artists who inspired
him. These are up until October 7, 2018. Be sure to watch the 3-D video about
this show at www.nationalgallery.org.uk
when you look for details.
At Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum No Offence: Exploring LGBTQ + Histories
takes the viewer through the ways gender diversity has been expressed
throughout history and across cultures. Commemorating the 50th
anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act, the show is up through December 2,
2018. Check out their website at www.ashmolean.org
for information plus some interesting videos.
So many exciting exhibits are
coming to the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Picasso:
Blue and Rose opens September 18, 2018 and runs through the beginning
of January of next year. The exhibit covers the artist’s blue and rose periods
from 1900 – 1906. Included are paintings, drawing, sculptures and engravings. In
November Renoir Father and Son:
Painting and Cinema will be at the museum followed by Berthe Morisot: Female Impressionist
and Degas at the Opera
scheduled for 2019. Check out www.musee-orsay.fr
if you will be in Paris for this show.
The Musee Unterlinden in Colmar
France underwent a renovation and expansion in 2016. In the Alsace region, the
museum has been in existence since 1853 and is home to Gruenwald’s Medieval
masterpiece, Isenheim Altarpiece, as
well as one of only 3 tapestries of Guernica
approved by Picasso. It also has a large collection of Dubuffet artwork. The
National Geographic station aired the made-for-television series on Picasso’s
life which features a dramatization of the making of Guernica and how it came to be and why. I had the privilege of
seeing the work at MoMA years ago. As I got off the elevator in the museum I
came face to face with this large masterpiece. I have never forgotten the
experience. The museum’s website at www.musee-unterlinden.com,
is very informative.
Simply
the Best:
The best place to find books on
the arts, Arcana is a very
special bookstore located in the Helms Bakery complex in Los Angeles…it is wonderful!
I have known owner Lee Kaplan for decades and his selection of books is as
superb as his taste is impeccable. Arcana: Books on the Arts is at 8675 Washington Boulevard, Culver
City, CA 90232. For information go to http://www.arcanabooks.com
or call 310.458.1499.
Michiko Jewelry Design is an
incredible jewelry store in downtown Seal Beach, CA, featuring excellent
one-of-a-kind gifts. The shop owner and artist, Carol Matsumoto, custom designs
beautiful pieces. Michiko is
at 228 Main Street. Call 563.431.3237 for more information or check www.michikojewelrydesign.com
Places
to Go, People to See
During the summer several
museums have special nights where they show movies. Catalina Island museum is
featuring movies about islands like Hawaii this year on First Fridays at the Museum. The Palm Springs Museum is
showing A Passion for Fashion
on Thursday evenings for its summer series. Check their websites for times.
The Corning Museum of Glass began
Glassbarge last May. The
fully equipped barge with glass making equipment began in Brooklyn Bridge Park
and ends in Corning on September 22, 2018. There is still time to get on board so
you have a chance to make your own glass. Very cool. Check out www.cmog.org for so much more.
One of California’s great
architectural treasures, along with Hearst Castle to the north, The Adamson House and Malibu Lagoon
Museum is a spectacular Spanish Colonial style home overlooking the
Pacific Ocean. It was built in 1929 and most of its contents are original with
wonderful Malibu Tile work. It is open to the public Thursday – Saturday and
you can take a tour between 1-3pm. Get all the information at www.adamsonhouse.org and see some
wonderful photos of the house and grounds. My grandparents built their Southern
California home around the same time. It was a Spanish style California
bungalow and though it was much smaller and not at all elaborate, I still love
this kind of special architecture.
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