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| Abstract Sunset Copyright 2015 Hirschten Oil on Canvas |
"Abstraction is real, probably more real than nature."
-Josef Albers
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Flowers in a Wine Glass
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| Flowers in a Wine Glass Copyright 2015 Hirschten Oil on Canvas |
"The fairest thing in nature, a flower, still has its roots in earth and manure."
-D.H. Lawrence
Friday, March 13, 2015
The History of Flower Painting 101
"Each blossom that blooms in their garden bowers on its leaves a mystic language bears."
-Percival
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| David Kandel, German Herbal, Illustration of a Lime Tree, 1546 |
As I prepare for the upcoming class "Painting Botanics", I have been totally geeking out on the history of botanical flower painting!
We will begin our first day of class by examining early renaissance
herbals and DISSECTING SHAMROCKS THE DAY AFTER SAINT PATRICK'S DAY.
(Sacrilegious I know!)
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| Jan van Huysum, Dutch 1724 |
Starting in the Dutch Golden Age reaching into the Victorian era the
people of Europe were crazed with floral symbolism. Lovers would gift
each others flowers (and paintings of flowers) using this secretive
symbolic language. Oh la la!
Flowers were not just decorative ornaments in these paintings but told
the story of life, death and the moral code of the age. We will be
creating still-life paintings inspired by their methods and madness!
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| Amazing woman explorer, Maria Sibylla Merian "Life Cycle of the Butterfly" 1705 |
As Europeans pushed for exploration of new territories during the "Age
of Discovery" scientists documented their finding with artistic
paintings. In this class we will be closely observing floral "specimens"
until we can capture their graceful beauty.
And this is only the beginning of the story!
Then there is Impressionism and Symbolism and O'Keefe's bold Modernism....
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| Odilon Redon, Ophelia, French Symbolism 1910 |
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
New!!! Alchemy of Art Podcast
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Inspired by the completion of my book "The Alchemy of Art: Stories for the Classroom" I have started a podcast to share the collection of folktales and true stories!
Each episode includes stories, questions from listeners, book recommendations and inspiration to keep you going. It will also be a place where I can answer the philosophical and practical questions I get asked about why and how we create art.
Please feel free to contact me with questions you would like discussed on the podcast!
Listen on iTunes
Or Podbean...
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
The Crepe Myrtle Tree
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| The Crepe Myrtle Tree Copyright 2015 Hirschten Oil on Canvas 16" x 20" Buy Now On Etsy |
To me crepe myrtle trees are summer. They are the south. There is nothing quite like taking a walk on a 100 degree hot afternoon and rounding the bend to come upon a tree like this one.
It is on days like today when the Indiana landscape around me is covered in snow that I have to admit... I wish I was home.
"The ache for home lives in all of us,
the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned."
-Maya Angelou
This painting depicts the Ann Street Methodist Church adjacent to the Old Burying Ground Cemetery in Beaufort, North Carolina.