Once upon a time a woman named Kat O’Sullivan, lived in an ordinary 170-year-old farmhouse. O’Sullivan is not just any woman, she’s an extraordinary artistic woman. One day she decided to turn her 170-year-old farmhouse into a magical rainbow farmhouse. The house sits close along the shore. Some say if you walk deep into the woods of High Falls, New York, you might come across this magical rainbow farmhouse. When you see the house, you may feel like you’re imagining it or you’re in a Hansel and Gretel situation but you’re not. Yes, you’re eyes, they are not deceiving you at all; the house is real. This house is said to have been built back in the 1840. Click the link below to get an exclusive look at the rest of the story.
Photo of Steven Spazuk “Courtesy of Steven Spazuk/Slate”
When it comes to works of art the most fascinating aspect is the design process used to make it. Every artist has their own unique methods, which they use to design their works of art. There are many different ways you can design a work of art, some of which I have never heard of or seen. Artist Steven Spazuk uses the process of fire-painting to create his works of art. Check out the intriguing video of Spazuk using the fire-painting technique below. According Mature Nature Network (MNN) Spazuk first started using the technique of fire-painting back in 2001. From what I’ve seen Spazuk has a lot captivating works of art.
In a blog post on Slate.com, Kristin Hohenadel, a blogger, quotes Spazuk talking about where he got his inspiration to start fire-painting.
“”People always ask me this question and every time I am sort of embarrassed by it,” the artist tells me in an email. “The truth is that I dreamt of it. I was in a gallery (in my dream) and was looking at that black and white landscape and I knew that it was done with fire and completely understood the technique. In the morning when I woke up I remembered that dream and started to experiment. It was an instant love affair with the medium. That was in April of 2001 and I have been working with fire ever since.””
Are you surfing the Internet looking for pumpkin design ideas. Well, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) staff writer, Margaret Gallagher, offers tips for designs for pumpkin carving from experts. Check out her article on the CBC News website.
Pumpkin carving is a messy job but the end result is worth it. Pumpkin carving will help you get into that Halloween spirit. I remember my first time carving into a pumpkin it didn’t look that great but I can say that I at least tried. Cutting into the pumpkin and taking out the seeds out is such a magical moment. It makes you look like you’re a surgeon operating on a patient, It’s just you and the pumpkin. I’m a huge fan of pumpkin pie and pumpkin seeds. So I like to put the seeds in the oven afterwards. Besides that, we know Halloween is all about the candy.
Please comment and like my post below. Let me know what you do to get into that Halloween spirit. Also, let me know your design ideas and enjoy All Hallow’s Eve.
The concept of a selfie has come along way. Nov. of 2013, the word selfie was deemed the “word of the year” by the Oxford English Dictionary. The definition of a selfie is a self-portrait pictures. People usually will take selfies and then share them on social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter. The funny thing is that the style of a selfie has been around for generations. Unlike the past selfies are now a big mainstream. There is a music video on YouTube called “#SELFIE,” by the Chainsmokers. Selfies are a unique form of photography because it’s a way of self-expressing yourself. You don’t have to be a photographer to take a selfie. I think capturing your self-expression is the key to taking a good selfie. Some people will take a selfie while they are injured. The art of selfies is apart of our culture that almost everyone had adapted to. People have started to use the word usies when taking a group photos. The difference between a selfie and a usies, is a selfie is by yourself while a usies is a group photo.
For this blog post I wanted to go with the topic of Halloween, since it’s right around the corner.
I decided to surf through the web to find Halloween makeup artist and I came across this one individual who was featured on ABC News. The Nikki Shelley, 33, is a makeup artist who really has a lot of talent. Shelley she’s one of those artist who developed her skills through self-teaching. I was impressed by her All Hallows’ Eve face paint collections that went viral. My favorite one of her face paintings is the scary clown face, face painting. The way Shelley is able to hide her face behind the paint, blend colors and make everything like authentic and real is beyond amazing. To be able to mix light and dark colors, shade and apply details to make everything seem real is a skill set that takes a lot of patience. For a self-taught makeup artist, I think Shelley is a heck of an artist.
Please comment and like below. Tell me what are your thoughts on Shelley’s face paintings. Also, tell me your Halloween costume ideas.
For this post I wanted to take everyone back in time to talk about different historical time periods. This is more of a heavy read post but I wanted to take everyone further beyond today’s modern art. I decided to analysis different art works from different periods, to help everyone to understand the ideals of ancient art.
Photo of “Discobolus of Myron” (Discus throw) Courtesy of Wikipedia
When trying to understand where some of the ideas of Ancient Greek art came from, some of ancient Greek art ideas were borrowed from Egypt and Mesopotamia. We can look at the marble copy of Myron lost bronze statue of the Discus Thrower. The marble copy is a copy of Myron’s original bronze sculpture. The discus thrower was also referred to as the Discobolus that was sculpted by sculptor Myron. The marble sculpture of the Discus Thrower is a sculpture from the Early and High Classical periods. The Classical Period (480-479 BCE) was a period where a lot of emphasize on what was tasteful and perfect. Myron really emphasizes on the physical aspects of the Olympic Discus Thrower. Myron emphasized on that three-dimensional aspect of showing a 5’ 11’’ feet tall sculpture in motion. Greeks art really emphasizes on male nudity. Their Olympic games was where athlete competed in the nude. Greek athletes of that time competed in the nude, where they showed a sense of openness but that does not apply to most cultures now. The sculpture is captured within a very chaotic and harmony style. It feels like Myron tries to emphasize of the idea of perfection. When looking at the sculpture it sort of look like a non-naturalist human pose, because of the way he’s about to throw the discus. The sculpture resembles sort of the ideal figure of a male athlete.
When we look at the Hellenistic Period (334-323 BCE), the Hellenistic Period was a period about the concepts of unprecedented realism and heightened emotions. When we think about art from the Hellenistic period we can think of the 4’ 2’’ tall bronze sculpture of the seated defeated boxer from Rome, Italy. The statue is a statue that shows an old boxer with a broken nose and bruised ears. Still within the Hellenistic Period Greek sculptors really emphasizes on the aspect of nude athletes. When you look at the structure you can draw a lot of emotions from this statue. His face is really shows a lot of emotion, the senses of being exhausted and sad. We can draw that sense of the defeat boxer not yet being defeated quite yet, he’s ready for another round. The boxer could be looking up to the heavens asking his God to for the strength to carry on. You can see the heighten realism emotional part about being battered and tired within this sculpture. He is in a sort of dazed state of mind, as if he is thinking of something.
“Liu Bolin, Hiding in the City – Art No. 1, 2013″ courtesy of kleinsungallery.com
Liu Bolin, the man who is also known as “The Invisible Man.” He has one of the most creative minds in the world; his art work is impressive. I’ve seen most of his creative pieces, and I have to say I was moved by his work. Some of you might be wondering why is he called the “The Invisible Man.” He got the name from being able to hide himself, if you check out his collection, Hiding in the City, you’ll see and understand what I’m talking about. Art revolutionary and it’s such an important aspect of life, without art there’s no excitement. I really like is his Dragon Series Panel collection. We all know dragons are just so freaking cool but that’s not why I really love this collection. The artist that help him with his collections got to be very talented, being able to match detail for detail is an impressive skill set to have. It might of took some of you a minute to find Bolin in the photo above. The artist who worked on him did a heck of a great job matching detail for detail, so that he blended in with the background. I believe that this type of visual imaginary is definitely revolutionary and there’s always room for it.
If you want to learn more about Liu Bolin, you can check out his video,Liu Bolin: The Invisible Man, on TED.com. Please comment, like, reblog, share and tell me what you think about this type of visual art below.
Photo of Shepard Fairey courtesy of arrestedmotion.com
I really like Charleston, S.C. street artist, Shepard Fairey. Fairey is one of the most well-known and influential street artist out there. Most of us probably have seen one of his works of art already, the iconic “Hope” 2008 Obama Presidential Campaign poster. He is one street artist who doesn’t let his talent go to waste; I like that he demonstrates his talent all over the world. He has designed murals in great places like Toronto, Canada, Berlin, Germany and Denver, C.O. He tends to be drawn towards drawing propaganda art work. His propaganda art pieces are beyond great, within each lays a message. He is one street artist who has revolutionized the world of street art. Check out Fairey’s site OBEY GIANT and/or his twitter @OBEYGIANT to learn more about his art work.
We see graffiti not just on the sides of trains but also on the sides of buildings. Seeing all of those designs on the sides of buildings, walls and trains makes me think, why? Why not use your talent for something bigger and legal, other than drawing on building sides. Instead of drawing designs on the sides of buildings how about drawing on a canvas.
Please like and comment below, your thoughts on the art of graffiti.
Photo of the Memorial Art Gallery courtesy of Wikipedia
If you haven’t been to the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, N.Y., I suggest you visit it. If you love visual art, then you got to check out the Memorial Art Gallery. I have only been to the gallery twice in my life and I enjoyed each and every visit. I wouldn’t mind going back and checking out the place, to see what’s new. The artwork they have in there is incredible. They have art pieces from Ancient Greece, Egypt, Africa, Rome, China and many other places. Seeing those beautiful and magnificent works of art will inspire and motivate some individuals. Some individuals will just look at a work of art and want to design something as great. I know when I looked at those great monumental art pieces, they motivate me to want to be great and go beyond my limits. I want to one day be able to design something so great that people will admire it for centuries. Check out the pictures I was allowed to take within the Memorial Art Gallery and comment below. Let me know what you like and think about the works of art below.
The College at Brockport hosted their 14th Annual Diversity Conference, Oct. 2, 2014. The conference kicked off early in the morning at 8:00 a.m. and ended later that day at 4:55 p.m. Throughout the day there were multiple sessions taking place, from a cultural showcase event to a multicultural food tasting event. During the cultural showcase event, there was this one table that featured henna body art. I never really looked into what henna is and where it came, until now. Henna is actually a plant, a small tree, which is turned into body paint. This type of art style is mostly common among women. Women in Africa, Middle East and India mostly practice this art style. It’s a really fascinating style of art. Henna Rising was the name of the company that was doing the body art for individuals. It was very interesting to watch the two ladies make designs on individual’s hands. You really got to have a lot of focus and patience when making a design. I was impressed by the people doing the body art at the table henna table .You really have to be talented to pick up this style of art.
While I was browsing through YouTube, I was coming across individuals who created their own designs. In those videos I rarely saw any messing up, which could be an indicator that your talented. I came across this one artist who I thought was very talented. Her YouTube channel is Deborah Brommer, you have check out her channel. I also suggest you check out her webpage. If you’re interested in this type of art check out the video above if you haven’t, and witness true artistic skills at work.
If you get a chance, please check my friend’s blog. His blog features updates information on local bands, including the band he’s a part of. Click on the picture of him below and it will instantly take you there.
Alan Taylor Jr 
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