Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Powerful Images

Some remarkable images prompt memories of others.

Top: Helen Mirren, as Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison.

Bottom: University student Benno Ohnesorg, shortly after being shot at a demonstration in Berlin, June 2, 1967.

Linked: The Dead Toreador, by Edouard Manet.


Monday, June 11, 2007

Composing Figures Within an Interior

Sometimes I find interesting compositions in art auction catalogues.

There is a charming work on paper, titled, "Syskon," by Carl Larsson, being offered in the upcoming Sotheby's London sale of Scandinavian art on June 27, 2007.

The work depicts two of the artist's children--a more-or-less frontal view of one of the artist's daughters seated and a more-or-less profile view of her brother standing--in the drawing room of the artist's home.

The lot number for this work is 358.

Composing Figures Within a Landscape

I don't seek out potential pictorial compositions in real life, but I try to stay alert for unexpected situations that look interesting.

The most intriguing situations usually suggest compositions that may or may not be applicable to the kinds of work that I do. The task of adapting them to the kinds of subject matter I prefer to depict is often quite challenging.

The photo below depicts a scene from a polo match in Bethpage State Park, Farmingdale, New York. Clearly, my work primarily depicts human adult females, but I find it engaging to examine the arrangements of different views of human bipeds and equine quadrupeds when I'm at a polo match. On another blog, I'd posted another photo that I find intriguing; however, it is much more difficult to contend with, as it depicts a group of canine quadrupeds.