The Daily Life of Sweetpea[s]

As a totally mainstream non-artist, I pick Dale Chihuly. I just love glass.
 

oooooh, i like him too!
 

He is so great. One of my favorite art shows I have ever seen was when I got to go to Jerusalem with my family. In the tower of David (and in the tower's gardens) there was a Dave Chihuly show. It was absolutely fascinating.

I have to admit that as much as I enjoy painting, I have not really done much study of Art History. So, I do not know many artists' names. I tend to be attracted to paintings that have earthy rich tones (including chocolate browns and rich deep reds) or blues like the deeps of the oceans. I am not really drawn to the impressionists, but I do like paintings that have a lot of paint on them. I like paintings that capture a lot of emotion. So, Jana, as someone who has studied a lot of art, I would love to know who you would recommend I look into?
 

hmmmm. i think i recommend caravaggio-a baroque artist. he doesn't use lots of paint, but his color palette is rich. his scenes tend to have alot of emotion. he was also known for a grittier realism than most baroque artists, who tended to be a little more theatrical. i'll try to think of more. :)
 

Ok, Kells, that sounds awesome! I've never seen a full show, just random installations, a special on TV, and a nice coffee table book that my lovely husband bought me.

With paintings, I am drawn to ones that make me want to touch them. Of course, you're not supposed to touch them, so it's not a great metric.
 

Jana,

very interesting fellow. I went and read a short bio on him and looked at some of his paintings. He was a dark one. His paintings are often quite violent. This seems strange in juxtaposition with how very clean his images are...I mean clean in the sense that the lines are smooth and images sharp. Something about the lines speaks peace, but the content itself does not. Very interesting. Thanks for the suggestion.
 

I love: Picasso, Rembrandt, Bonnard, Rothko

Photographers I love: Cartier-Bresson, Yousuf Karsh, Sally Mann, Richard Avedon, Cindy Sherman and Diane Arbus

And for more contemporary photographers I love Rober Parke-Harrison and Lauren Greenfield. (although they are both radically different from each other.)

I would urge all women to check out Lauren Greenfield's 'Girl Culture' book. I've met her and heard her lecture several times and I love the awareness she brings to the U.S. about women and beauty and body image.
 

yeah yeah. bonnard, too. i forgot about him. i also really like the way john singer sargent paints. rox, there's a richard avedon show in fort worth right now that m. and i are going to go see soon!!
 

kellsey, okay, i did a google search and pulled up lots of bloody caravaggio images....this was not exactly what i was thinking of when i suggested him to you! he just sort of popped into my mind when you asked for suggestions....i was thinking of "doubting thomas," and "supper at emmaus," and "paul on the road to damascus." all of which i think are amazing paintings...and sort of forgetting about the others--which are great, but maybe not what you were expecting!! but you're right, so many of his paintings were gory....i may be wrong but don't think that was that uncommon during that time period. but i do remember that he was pretty disturbed as a person.
 

Jana,
thanks for the follow-up. I would not be surprised if gore was common in art of that era either. I did really like his use of color despite all the swords and blood. Also, it really was very interesting to read about him. He does sound like he had a disturbed and at times traumatic life. Is that common for artists? I don't know much about many artists, but it does seem like I have in my memory that there may be some other famous artists out there with a bit of a craziness lurking beneath the surface...
 

I'm always so behind on these posts. Oh well, my favorite artists are Wayne Thiebaud and Alberto Giacometti! I went to the deYoung Museum in San Fran yesterday and saw 4 Thiebauds! His paint looks like icing that you could dip your finger in and taste! Unbelievable. I would suggest his city landscapes of San Francisco. Giacomettis drawings fascinate me with their movement, yet sensitivity. Beauty........
 

liz, giacometti's drawings are incredible. i'm not a huge fan of the skinny men sculptures, though.