A. J. Casson & Timeless Memories

26 Tuesday Jun 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Canada

Tags

Antigonish, Antigonish Nova Scotia, Canada, Group of Seven, J. Casson, Nova Scotia, Songs Without Words, WordPress

A.J. Casson, LL.D, R.C.A. (1898-1992)

Still Life, 1937

I had never seen this particular Casson: an indoors Casson resembling an indoors Micheline. I enjoy life indoors, but would love to have conservatory: a green house.

Occasionally, I do go out carrying my camera in the hope of finding beautiful landscapes. I then return home and paint. There is a degree of resemblance between what I am painting and what is on the photograph, but my eyes seem to process and recreate what I am seeing.

When I lived in Nova Scotia, once a week, I would join a group of artists, my friends. First, we shared a glass of wine and then we started to draw the model we had hired for the evening. To begin with, we drew very quickly: no more than a few minutes, but we graduated to longer sessions. We were of course drawing the model from different angles, but we would compare our drawings and each artist had his or her style, whatever the angle.

These artists were kind to me. I was a self-taught artist except for a few lessons on how to do watercolours and etchings. My preparation was otherwise academic. What I knew was the history of art. However, my artist friends, some of whom were professional artists, provided little suggestions that went a long way. It was a form of apprenticeship.

The little tips helped, but in the end artists show their vision of the world and of the multitude of little objects that surround them and may have surrounded them a life time.

By the way, have you read Colltales on Elvis Presley: http://colltales.com/? What an article.

Micheline Walker©

June 26, 2012

WordPress

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

22 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in Art

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

art, Basket of Fruit, Caravaggio, Chiaroscuro, Daniel Barenboim, Milan, Songs Without Words, Still life

Still Life with Fruit, by Caravaggio

Caravaggio (Milan, 28 September 1571 – Porto Ercole, 18 July 1610) introduced chiaroscuro to the world of fine arts. But the above painting is chiaroscuro in reverse: the backdrop is pale. Usually, the backdrop is dark.

Chiaroscuro is a painterly, rather than linear, approach to creating dimensionality in a painting or grisaille.

I believe this is my shortest blog ever. Let the picture speak for itself. I hope it will bring you pleasure.

To view the complete works of Caravaggio, please click.

22 Mendelssohn Lieder ohne Worte, Op.53 – No. 4. Adagio in F ‘Sadness of Soul’, Daniel Barenboim (piano)

(please click on the title to hear the music)

Tom Thomson’s The West Wind

14 Saturday Apr 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Canada

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

Algonquin Provincial Park, Canada, Grey Day, Group of Seven, Jack Pine, Songs Without Words, Tom Thomson, West Wind

The West Wind by Tom Thomson

Tom Thomson’s The West Wind (1917) also constitutes a powerful symbol of Canada. In this respect, it stands next to The Jack Pine. Tom Thomson loved the North and lived in Algonquin Park. But both The Jack Pine and The West Wind express solitude. Nature encloses man, but man nevertheless stands alone.

14. Mendelssohn Lieder ohne Worte, Op.38- No. 2. Allegro non troppo in C minor

Today I am featuring Tom Thomson’s The West Wind as I continue to investigate the 1837-1838 Rebellions, which took place in both Canadas. The Rebellions of 1837-1938 constitute so defining a moment in Canadian history that I need to research these events very carefully.

Please enjoy The West Wind. Tom Thomson was associated with the Group of Seven‘s art and the Group of Seven’s art is a monument to Canada’s history.

My musical offering for today is Lied number 14 of Mendelssohn’s 49 Lieder ohne Worte (Songs without Words). It is played by Daniel Barenboim.

I chose the fourteenth Lied to mark an anniversary. A hundred years ago, on April 14, 1912, the seemingly invincible Titanic sank, reaping the lives of some 1,500 of its passengers. Ironically, Mendelssohn’s Lied is entitled Lost Happiness.