THREAD THREE FOR MAKING ART

Gorky & His Mother, Arshille Gorky

Infantin (Sibylle) Alexei Jawlensky

"I seek a form of language which will express my ideas for our time." ---Arshile Gorky

"The artist expresses only what he  has within himself, not what he sees with his eyes."

 Alexej  von Jawlensky 


These two quotes  express my THIRD THREAD FOR MAKING ART. Nothing else needs to be said!


I'd LOVE IT IF YOU WOULD LEAVE A COMMENT-IN ANY LANGUAGE!
Thank you,
Rivian

JERI FELDMAN: ARTIST, WRITER, MY STUDENT

Natasha Two, by Jeri Feldman

I propped up a small easel and started oil painting in my bedroom in Queens, NY at the age of fourteen.  After years of being picked last in P.E., realizing that I had no musical talent, could not type and almost failed home economics, I was finally inspired in art class. It was the one place where a shy kid could really shine.

Fast forward, and after a few decades of career building and child rearing I have picked up the paintbrush. I don't intend to take another break from the canvas, the colors that you still envision when you close your eyes at night, the smell of oil paint.

I don't know how to describe my style as I am always experimenting and finding new inspiration.  From portraits to landscapes, if it has a riot of colors and a distinct mood I just might go for it.

Mick Jagger, by Jeri Feldman

MARYL LE BERRE, PASSIONATE FRENCH ARTIST

Maryl Le Berre

Maryl Le Berre

I met Maryl Le Berre last year  at my favorite Gallery in Paris, Galerie Marie Vitoux in the Marais, my "arrondissement" of preference. Her Art is so emotional, I was drawn in by it immediately. Marie Vitoux compares her figures to contemporary dancers "who vibrate their bodies passionately".  She has been exhibiting her paintings since 1990 and her photographs since 1980. I hope that you enjoy seeing some of her work on SHARE ART!

HANS WITHOUT WHISKERS

This is the latest painting I did of my Husband Hans, a bit different from the earlier Sept. posting of "HANS WITH WHISKERS" I hope that you enjoy seeing both of them!  You can see more of my work on my website:rivianbutikofer.com 

THANKS FOR LOOKING AT SHARE ART! 

I WOULD LOVE HAVING YOUR COMMENTS!

Hans Without Whiskers by Rivian

WOMEN IN THE ARTS ...JOAN MITCHELL, ONE OF THE GIANTS!

Mitchell

Mitchell

Mitchell

This is the first posting on the subject of WOMEN IN THE ARTS.  I will be blogging intermittently about this subject which is, of course, dear to my heart! 
I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM MY READERS, (2,000 in less than two months! yay!) FROM ABOUT TWENTY DIFFERENT COUNTRIES ON THIS SUBJECT. PLEASE COMMENT!

In 1989, a group of women plastered posters across New York. "Do women have to be naked to get into the Met?", the slogan asked. The Guerrilla Girls, as the activists were known, were outraged that while only 5% of the artists in the Museum of Modern Art were women, 85% of the nudes were female. Twenty years later, these posters are not just being exhibited inside a national museum - they are part of the largest all-female showcase in contemporary art to date, one that might finally show the art world what it has been missing.It is the first time the Pompidou Centre in Paris has displayed its new permanent collection of female painters, photographers, designers, architects, sculptors, performance artists and film-makers. After decades of excluding women from its major shows, elles@pompidou was an enormous visual manifesto for the institution, proving its commitment to putting female artists at the core of modern and contemporary art. (I hope more galleries & museums follow suite)!


I am focusing on JOAN MITCHELL, AMERICAN ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONIST, one of the most powerful painters I can think of...of any gender!  Joan Mitchell (1925‐1992) is one of the main female American painters of the 20th century. She was born in Chicago and spent most of her career at Vetheuil, a few miles only from Giverny, two key villages in Claude Monet's art. She passed on way too young at age 67!

The abstract painting she perfected as early as the fifties, oversized, luminous, dynamic, deeply refers to nature (Great Valley, Sunflowers, Linden, Fields). Actually, nature surrounded her studio at Vetheuil with its large views on the Seine river. 

WATCH FOR NEW & INTERESTING POST SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH!

photo by Rivian

photo by Rivian

CAROLYN MARSDEN, RENOWN AUTHOR OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS: MY STUDENT

bio: Carolyn Marsden writes multicultural novels for children ages 7-15.  She was born in Mexico City of missionary parents and now is happily married (in spite of the Land Rover rescue!) to a Thai husband.  Together they have two daughters.

My Thai husband sent me to Belize to retrieve the exotic Land Rover that he bought off EBay from Holland. I decided to chronicle the absurd and dramatic trip--  dysfunctional vehicle, being chased by a Category 5 hurricane, traveling through the lands of the Mexican drug cartels-- in a series of panels.  These first panels show the previous Land Rovers that entered our lives, setting the stage for the arrival of Roger Rover.

ARTIST MICKALENE THOMAS' BEAUTIFUL WORK

I LOVE THIS ARTIST'S WORK!  SHE IMBUES HER WOMEN WITH DIGNITY AND GLAMOUR WHILE EMBELLISHNG THEM WITH RHINESTONES. I encourage my students to experiment with new materials as I like to do also, influenced by many exiting new , (& not so new) artists.
                                     
 WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Naomi Campbel by Mickalene Thomas

Girlfriends-Thomas

NEW YORK-BASED ARTIST MICKALENE THOMAS IS BEST KNOWN FOR HER ELABORATE PAINTINGS COMPOSED OF RHINESTONES, ACRYLIC AND ENAMEL. THOMAS INTRODUCES A COMPLEX VISION OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A WOMAN AND EXPANDS COMMON DEFINITIONS OF BEAUTY. HER WORK STEMS FROM HER LONG STUDY OF ART HISTORY AND THE CLASSICAL GENRES OF PORTRAITURE, LANDSCAPE, AND STILL LIFE. 
INSPIRED BY VARIOUS SOURCES THAT RANGE FROM THE 19TH CENTURY HUDSON RIVER SCHOOL TO ÉDOUARD MANET, HENRI MATISSE AND ROMARE BEARDEN, SHE CONTINUES TO EXPLORE NOTIONS OF BEAUTY FROM A CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVE INFUSED WITH THE MORE RECENT INFLUENCES OF POPULAR CULTURE AND POP ART. 

THREAD TWO FOR MAKING ART-PERSONAL MOTIVATION FOR EXPRESSION

VENICE MIME-photo by Rivian

NINA-photo by Rivian

What is it that motivates us to "MAKE ART"? & taking the question further, "WHAT IS ART? Well, I do not intend to get into a discussion of the definition RIGHT NOW of "what is ART", I'd be most happy to at another posting if I can get enough comments from my readers. So, PLEASE, if you will make comments as to what YOUR DEFINITION OF ART IS... then we can get an honest discussion going here on the BLOG. So, starting with the simple premise that ANYTHING CREATED AUTHENTICALLY WITH 'REAL' & SINCERE INTENTION OF PERSONAL EXPRESSION is considered ART for the purposes of this posting.
Back to the initial question of "WHAT MOTIVATES US?"  When one feels like expressing oneself, one is motivated.  Very simple.  So, depending on what motivates YOU, find that "SOMETHING" & you have your thread!  It can be painting a portrait of someone you love, making an object for WHATEVER REASON.  Seeing something beautiful &/ or interesting & wanting to reproduce it to remember or show to others. Making a gift for someone.  Receiving a commission, (now there's a motivation for you)! So, whatever it is, find PERSONAL MOTIVATION FOR YOUR EXPRESSING YOURSELF, & VOILA, THERE IS YOUR THREAD!
A BIG THANK YOU TO MY READERS FROM ALL OF THE COUNTRIES.  PLEASE LET ME SEE YOUR COMMENTS....IN WHATEVER LANGUAGE! MY HUSBAND SPEAKS SEVEN, & OTHERWISE I WILL GET YOUR COMMENTS TRANSLATED. 
THANK YOU, RIVIAN

Works by 103 street artists from around the world were mounted illegally in a long-abandoned New York City subway station this summer.

A vast new exhibition space opened in New York City this summer, with a show 18 months in the making. On view are works by 103 street artists from around the world, mostly big murals painted directly onto the gallery’s walls.
It is one of the largest shows of such pieces ever mounted in one place, and many of the contributors are significant figures in both the street-art world and the commercial trade that now revolves around it. Its debut might have been expected to draw critics, art dealers and auction-house representatives, not to mention hordes of young fans. But none of them were invited.
In the weeks since, almost no one has seen the show. The gallery, whose existence has been a closely guarded secret, closed on the same night it opened. Known to its creators and participating artists as the Underbelly Project, the space, where all the show’s artworks remain, defies every norm of the gallery scene. Collectors can’t buy the art. The public can’t see it. And the only people with a chance of stumbling across it are the urban explorers who prowl the city’s hidden infrastructure or employees of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. NY Times
PLEASE COMMENT ON HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT STREET ART...UNDER THE STREET OR OVER! I'D LIKE YOUR OPINIONS ON MY BLOG! THANKS,RIVIAN

A zigzag flag by Faile in the abandoned subway station where Workhorse and PAC organized a show of street art, much of it painted right on the walls of the site. 

Installation by Jeff Stark

NYTIMES