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Buying Paintings: Cubism

What started out as a rather avant-garde art movement has become one of the greatest examples of artistic forms breaking that mold of convention, revolutionizing European painting and sculpture up to the present century, and was first developed between 1908 and 1912 during a collaboration between Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso with influences from the works of Paul Cezanne and Tribal art. Though the movement itself was not long-lived, it began an immense creative explosion that has had long lasting repercussions, and focused on the underlying concept that the essence of an object can only be captured by showing it from multiple points of view simultaneously.

The movement had run its’ course by the end of World War I, and influenced similar ideal qualities in the Precisionism, Futurism, and Expressionistic movements. In the paintings representative of Cubist artworks, objects are broken up and reassembled in an abstracted form, and the artist depicts the subject in a multitude of viewpoints instead of one particular perspective. Surfaces seemingly intersecting at random angles to produce no real sense of depth, with background and object interpenetrating with one another, and creating the shallow space characteristic of Cubism.

French art critic Louis Vauxcelles first used the term cubism, and it was after viewing a piece of artwork produced by Braque, the term was in wide use though the creators kept from using the term for quite some time. The Cubist movement expanded from France during this time, and became such a popular movement so quickly that critics began referring to a Cubist school of artists influenced by Braque and Picasso, many of those artists to Cubism into different directions while the originators went through several distinct phases before 1920.

As Braque and Picasso worked to further to advance their concepts along, they went through a few distinct phases in Cubism, and which culminated in both Analytic and Synthetic Cubism. With Analytic Cubism, a style was created that incorporated densely patterned near-monochrome surfaces of incomplete directional lines and modeled forms that play against each other, the first phases of which came before the full artistic swing of Cubism. Some art historians have also pegged a smaller “Hermetic” phase within this Analytical state, and in which the work produced is characterized by being monochromatic and hard to decipher.

In the case with Synthetic Cubism, which began in 1912 as the second primary phase to Cubism, these works are composed of distinct superimposed parts. These parts, painted or pasted on the canvas, were characterized by brighter colors. Unlike the points of Analytical Cubism, which fragmented objects into composing parts, Synthetic Cubism attempted to bring many different objects to create new forms. This phase of Cubism also contributed to creating the collage and papier colle, Picasso used collage complete a piece of work, and later influenced Braque to first incorporate papier colle into his work.

Similar to collage in practice, but very much a different style, papier colle consists of pasting materials to a canvas with the pasted shapes representing objects themselves. Braque had previously used lettering, but the works of the two artists began to take this idea to new extremes at this point. Letters that had previously hinted at objects became objects as well, newspaper scraps began the exercise, but from wood prints to advertisements were all elements incorporated later as well. Using mixed media and other combinations of techniques to create new works, and Picasso began utilizing pointillism and dot patterns to suggest planes and space.

By the end of the movement, with help from Picasso and Braque, Cubism had influenced more than just visual art. The Russian composer Igor Stravinsky was inspired by Cubism in some examples of his music that reassembled pieces of rhythm from ragtime music with the melodies from his own country’s influence. In literature, Cubism influenced poets and their poetry with elements parallel with Analytical and Synthetic Cubism, and this poetry frequently overlaps other movements such as Surrealism and Dadaism.

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Taking Wedding Pictorials One Step Forward with Digital Photography

Cameras have always been present in times of events. They can really help people keep all of their treasured memories. Of course, during weddings/nuptials the ever-reliable cameras are surely present.

It is well known that weddings are one of the wonderful events in an individual’s life. Many people wait for the day they can have a sacred union with the one that they love. And in order for them to have at least a good memory of this great event, cameras are needed.

You know, it’s amazing how far our technology has come with regards to photography. Many devices or gadgets are now being introduced in order to help people treasure special moments in their everyday lives.

There are also new cameras that are being made especially to capture the most treasured times in our everyday lives. Among these devices are digital cameras. These devices are really great for capturing happy moments during events like weddings.

Since the introduction of digital cams, they have outsold film cameras. Thus, this makes digital wedding photography a more popular service than film photography. Why?

Well, this may be because digital photography can take wedding pictorials into new heights. Cameras used for digital photography provides a lot of new advantages to their users.

One of the major advantages of these digital cameras is that they let users skip the usual film separation process, which is among the most time-consuming processes in photography. So, removing one time-consuming process would mean getting results faster, right? And when living in a fast-phase society, quick results are a must!

Another advantage of digital wedding photography is that, even though it provides fast results, the quality of each printed photo is not sacrificed. This means that no matter how fast you get your pictures, the result is still beautiful.

Another advantage of digital wedding photography is that it provides customization options to its users. This would mean that a user can edit photos even before they are printed. You can change the size, brightness, contrast or sharpness of your photo. You can even add or remove some details on your photos.

Digital photography has also integrated with cellular phones. This means that you only need to bring a phone to take pictures during weddings. Nevertheless, it is a fact professional digital cameras can provide better results than the cameras of cellular phones. Most professional digital cams have 6 mega pixels while cellular phones usually have lower mega pixel.

But perhaps the greatest advantage of digital wedding photography is the availability of your photos to be reproduced over and over again without making any variations between the first printed photo and the last photo printed. Digital photography allows users to save their files on their computers, which would mean that they can be reproduced without wearing out any film, since it doesn’t need one.

But, no matter how great a technology is, it’s still not perfect. One of the major disadvantages of digital photography is that it is not ideal for 4-color printing. Why? Well this is because of the fact that there will always be a variation between the images you will see on your pc monitor and your 4 color printed photo.

Why? Well, computer monitors use RGB, right? Four color printing uses CMYK. RGB and CMYK have entirely different outputs. So, no matter what you do, the image on your monitor will never be the same as your 4 color photos, unless there are computer monitors that also use CMYK to produce colors for the images and texts.

Nevertheless, digital wedding photography is still better than film photography and that is also a fact. See for yourself.

Buying Orange Paintings for Friends

Buying orange paintings for friends can be very rewarding. This can also be a business if it is done properly. If you know your friend’s tastes, you can be very successful.

I have been finding the most delightful paintings in orange lately. I have been buying the paintings for friends. They have been very well received.

I found a seascape that had a beautiful red and orange sunset in it. The artist was Robyn Joy and buying paintings from her has been relatively easy. Her prices are reasonable and the quality is excellent.

There was a painting that I decided to buy for some friends that were getting married. The painting was enormous and perfect for the loft they just purchased. It was orange and red and had a very stylized heart represented in the center. The painting was shipped from Germany and arrived only three days before the wedding!

The painting that I chose for my son’s college roommate was of orange sneakers. He got an executive position at Nike and needed help decorating his office. He loves the color orange and was thrilled that I actually found some dynamic modern impressionistic art for his office that featured shoes.

My yoga instructor has been a good friend to me. I found buying a painting for her to be a very rewarding search. The painting that I ultimately chose was an abstract nude orange oil painting. She proudly hung it in her studio.

My love of orange paintings tends to lean toward the abstract. I keep finding paintings that really speak to me. Buying the paintings for my friends has been really fun. One of my oldest friends received a painting of orange blossoms for Christmas. I know that orange trees bring back wonderful memories for her.

While I was searching for just the right painting for my friend’s new home, I found a wonderful artist named Aileen. I bought her painting called Sunset Palm. It was an original acrylic painting on solid wood. It was breathtaking.

Folk art is something that I am not very good at buying. I found myself drawn to some pieces at a local gallery that were very colorful and fun. I even found myself buying one! The friends that I bought the painting for are cat lovers and this was a folk art painting of three cats.

The painting I bought for my best friend looks very stylish on her plain walls. It complements her modern furnishings and it makes an instant focal and conversational point. This painting is orange and burnt sienna has a dream like quality and, according to the artist, is born from our rich cultural heritage of myths, legends and poetry. It is full of atmosphere and evokes feelings of mystery.

Pop art is fun to buy for friends. I had a friend move to Southern California and buy a beautiful home. I found the perfect painting for his stark white kitchen. The painting is of an orange and a glass of orange juice. It looks so nice on the new wainscoting.

My niece is getting married later this year. I have spent quite a bit of time getting to know her soon-to-be new in-laws. I have found a lovely painting for them as a welcome to our family gift. They are involved in rose competitions and I found them a wonderful oil painting of a wild orange rose. I can’t wait to give it to them.

The most energetic painting I’ve purchased was for a friend of my husband. I found an art student at the local college that was trying to sell a wall painting she had done in orange and green. The painting depicted orange and green in nature and how they represented the moods of the day. I wanted to keep this one for myself.

I have a friend that teaches in a Montessori school. I found that buying a painting for the school was pretty easy. The classroom my friend teaches in is called the Iris room and I found a lovely watercolor painting of an iris that was very vibrant. My friend and her students sent me a very lovely thank you note for buying it.

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Let’s Get Digital: SLR Photography Basics

Nowadays, according to psychologists, more and more people are getting visually inclined. In other words, most of us love to use our eyes!

In what ways do we use our eyes for?

We use our eyes to view things in our environment. However, through time, man has devised ways on how to preserve the things we see, whether these are beautiful or not, and one of which is by way of using cameras.

These days, the biggest sellers in the camera market are the so-called digital SLR cameras.

Just what is an SLR camera?

SLR is an acronym for Single Lens Reflex. SLR cameras were the tools made for and used by professional photographers. Cameras such as these, similarly, make use of mirror that reflects light entering the lens up into the eye piece or the viewfinder. Thus, a photographer can gauge how the image or picture will look like. Moreover, a SLR camera uses lenses that are interchangeable. Hence, this camera can be used for long distance telephoto photography or close-up macro photography.

A digital SLR or DSLR camera is dependent on lenses and mirror and their optical capabilities. However a DSLR camera uses light sensor chips and digital memory cards instead of films, basically a computerized version of the abovementioned camera.

The following summarizes the comparison between DSLR and point and shoot cameras (SLRs):

1. DSLRs and SLRs use interchangeable lenses for better resolution.
2. Any picture you take using SLRs and DSLRs is usually crisper, cleaner and fine upon reproduction.
3. DSLRs have a higher speed when it comes to focusing and taking pictures
4. DSLRs perform better at low lighting conditions by using ISO speeds. These cameras have lesser granularity.
5. DSLRS provide more professional power over depth of field, light, and responsiveness.
6. DSLRs provide a more immediate feedback as they use digital chips or light sensing CCDs that translate incoming light rays into digital pictures.
7. DSLRs and SLRs cost more than point and shoot cameras.
8. DSLRs and SLRs are usually heavier than some point and shoot models.

Some sample DSLR models are listed below:

Prosumer models:

• Canon EOS 10D
• Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT
• Nikon D50
• Nikon D70s
• Pentax *ist DS

Professional Models:

• Canon EOS 1D Mark II
• Canon EOS 20D
• Fuji Finepix S3 Pro
• Nikon D2x

Who actually wants DSLRs? Anyone wants to have crisper and clearer pictures—be it a hobbyist or a professional photographer can opt for a DSLR model. Anyone who will not bother carrying bigger cameras on trips in order to bring back topnotch photos can make use of DSLRs.

Like all electronic and computerized gadgets, digital models tend to get cheaper yet better over time. For sure, DSLRs will eventually migrate down to consumer cameras: ability to take bursts of 10 frames in a few seconds, quick response time, higher resolution image sensors, and accurate auto-focus, among others.

The only thing that will remain constant are the laws of optics—you will not get the same results from a finger-nail sized lens as with larger lenses used by professional users. Also the fact that people do not have enough money all the time remains the same through time.

If you plan to take photography as a profession, practice shooting some shots using prosumers models and consider budget and quality of lenses before you say, “Big Cheese”!

Buying Jewish Paintings

I have a family that has commissioned me to find all of the Jewish paintings I can find. He has given me no budget constraints. I’m not sure why he doesn’t have guidelines set up for me to follow; he just wants to amass a collection quickly.

I found an oil on canvas that was a Jewish painting called Jewish meeting. The artist was Amparo Cruz Herrera. The artist is Spanish and this work exuded grace. I liked it a lot. I purchased it for eight thousand dollars. My benefactor was happy with the purchase.

My client made no distinction between Jewish paintings that were of a religious nature and those that were only painted by a Jewish person. I bought a rare Leon Bakst that was dated 1910. His subject was a person in an exotic costume. I’m not sure where my client plans to display it.

The next Jewish painting I found for him was a cityscape in oil of a deserted house in Veroia. This painting only cost six thousand dollars. Veroia is a Jewish neighborhood in northern Greece. I thought that this painting was a little bit unsettling.

I found another good Jewish painting for my client. The title of the painting was Juedisches Oesterreich Jewish Austria and was created by Frank Ettenberg in 2004. The person that sold me the painting said that the painting evoked a feeling of the artist’s state of being face to face with nationalism, his ethnic identity and an existential situation.

I found another Jewish painting I liked for four thousand dollars. The oil painting called Birds of Paradise was painted by Maurice Sterne. Sterne was a Jewish immigrant from Russia. He was the first person to have a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He exhibited 174 paintings, drawings and sculptures.

I found a Jewish painting of a cat that sold for thirty five hundred dollars. The artist of this work was Wettingfeld Zarojewski. I could not find any other work from this artist at all. My client really liked it. He is also a cat lover in addition to being a collector of Jewish art.

There was a wonderful Jewish painting of a woman seated. I fell in love with it on sight. The woman depicted looks so reflective and comfortable. I feel at ease just gazing at her.

I finally found a religiously significant Jewish painting for my client. The artist was Joan Landis and the title of the painting was Simhat Torah. This is the painting that was used by Pomegranate Publishing for their 2003 calendar and their greeting cards. I thought it was lovely.

I liked the Jewish painting by Joan Landis so much that I sought out more of her work. I purchased two paintings. One of the paintings was named Shabbat and the other one was Mikveh. I took the three that I purchased to my client and he fell in love with them. He asked me to find more of her work.

I found more work by Joan Landis and I purchased every one I came across. I found three more of the Jewish paintings on eBay at reasonable prices. I purchased Shavuot, Purim and Birth for three thousand dollars each. I felt like I got a bargain.

I liked the colors in the Jewish painting I bought called The Tailor Shop. This painting was created by Jacob Glushakow. He was an active member of the Jewish community in Baltimore. His parents were immigrants from Russia at the start of WW1. He has a painting that is still kept in the permanent collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art.

I was fortunate to find two Jacob Glushakow Jewish paintings on the same buying trip. The other painting I found was entitled Barn in Maryland. I liked it a lot and my client was very pleased with what I brought for him.

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Top Reasons to Opt to Digital Photography

Today, more people are getting hooked over Digital photography. Since the birth of digital photography, it has been easier and more convenient for people to capture the best photos they desire. Digital Photography indeed has become the wave of today and in the near future. But what if you’re still using the old mode of taking photos- the film photography? Well, think again.

For those few people who are still using film photography, here are some good reasons why you should opt for digital photography:

1. Generally, one of the most excellent features of choosing digital photography is that its convenience. Aside from the fact that digital cameras are easy to use since they are user friendly, these cameras are also portable and you can just safely place it in your pocket anywhere you go.

2. With digital camera, you can save your time and effort. Digital cameras provide instant feedback once you take photos. It has a review button to let you view all the photos so you’ll be able to choose the best one. At the same time, it has also a delete button for those photos you don’t like to keep. In short, you can keep on trying until you get the right photo. Now isn’t that great?

3. The next good thing about digital photography is its capacity to have your photos printed immediately. Actually, you can it is much easier if you have a digital printer. You can just simply connect your digital camera to the printer and press the button to print. On the contrary, film cameras takes time before you get your photos developed. You also have to go back to the photo shop to get your pictures.

4. Another great thing you can get from digital photography is the capacity to modify or edit your photos anytime. Since the images are in digital files, it is much easier now to edit them. You can simply open the images in any photo editing software supported by the file. With the photo editing software, you can alter or adjust the color of your photos. You can also crop the photo and design your own photo. All of these in one photo editing package. It’s more than what you can get from film cameras.

5. If you want to put up a small business, then digital photography would be of great help. Let your creativity works. Digital photos cannot just be simple photos. Now, you can turn them into T-shirts, mugs, invitations, greeting cards, calendars and a lot more. This is for the fact that digital photos can be printed anywhere and in anyway. Just make use of the right photo paper, and surely, you can make lots of money from it.

6. Lastly, digital photography has the ability to share the photos you have you’re your love ones and relatives. You can simply give a copy of the precious moments to someone everywhere. Just attach the softcopy of the photo to your email and send. That easy. But with film camera, you will spend money just on scanning the photos, to be able to send them online. Of course that’s an extra work for a digital photographer.

Apparently, digital photography has really paved way for making photography convenient and easier at the same time achieving high quality photos. It just shows that there’s no other time to opt to digital photography than now.

Buying Impressionist Cityscapes

I have been looking for impressionist cityscapes in various mediums to decorate my home. I prefer to hang art that was created in the last fifteen years. There are so many great artists to choose from.

I have decided that I want to have three impressionist cityscapes painted in acrylic. I will be buying one called Stormy Desert that was painted by an artist named JoanAnn. The piece is painted on a 40” X 30” canvas and has flowering cactus plants in the foreground.

The next impressionist cityscape painting I plan to buy is called Tuscan Waterfall. The piece is a triptych and is on three gallery wrapped canvases. The artist lives in Tennessee and supports herself with her art.

The last acrylic impressionist cityscape that I plan to buy is called Autumn Dream. Autumn is my favorite time of year and the painting captures every color of autumn. The artist painted the sides, so there is no need to have it framed. I can’t wait to see this hanging in my home.

I have found only two impressionist cityscapes that I liked in the Gouache medium. The first was from an artist named Joe Wojdakowski and the subject is an area located in Wells, Maine. I’m not sure why I am so drawn to this particular impressionist cityscape, but I am and plan to buy it.

The other Gouache impressionist cityscape that I plan to buy features Big Ben in London. The artist is an Englishman named Alasdair Rennie. The scene is rainy and I like it a lot. It reminds me of my time in London when I was a child.

The first oil impressionist cityscape painting I bought was called Koi Pond Reflections. I’ve seen this artist’s work before and I always really like it. The painting was completed using brush and knife. The painting has not arrived, yet, because the paint is very thick and needs to complete the drying process undisturbed. I cannot wait to get it!

I really like having various styles of impressionist cityscape paintings. I don’t just like variety in the mediums; I like variety in styles and influences. I really fell in love with an oil impressionist cityscape painting called En Sendero that was originally purchased in Oaxaca, Mexico. I purchased the painting for just over three thousand dollars.

The oil impressionist cityscape painting of Paris that I want was painted by a well recognized painter Radik Atoyan. He is Armenian and signed the painting in his Armenian language. He has a unique way of using color that just makes his painting look special.

I have also been interested in watercolor impressionist cityscape paintings. There is an original painting that depicts an urban rainy night that I think would be perfect for me. The painting just makes me feel good to look into.

I made a purchase not long ago that was painted by an Israeli artist named Yosef Kosssonogi. The use of color in this watercolor impressionist cityscape is so vivid. I could not wait to hang it on my wall. After the shipment arrived with the painting, my brother came right over with a level to hang it.

I found a painting that reminded me of a vacation I took to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The impressionist cityscape painting was created by Adam Maeroff and I think that it is the perfect painting to complete my collection.

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