IN MEMORIAM: BARBARA SIMMONS: THE MOST TALENTED ARTIST WITH WHOM I’VE EVER HAD THE HONOR OF WORKING!

  Some of you may be aware of the fact that I have had the pleasure & responsibility of teaching ART for about 43 years to probably thousands of students! There is ONE ARTIST who stands out amongst all of these many many students, (I feel uncomfortable even calling her a “student” because I have learned so much from her!)  This marvelous and extremely gifted artist is Barbara Simmons.  Barbara began her ART exploration as a painter and evolved into a sculptor/mixed media artist.  Her work demonstrates a uniqueness, freedom, humor, joie de vivre & a willingness to experiment reminiscent of other times before ART became so commercial! Indeed, Barbara works for herself alone in a dazzling & devoted labor of pure love!I 

I hope that you will enjoy the examples below of some of the visual joy produced by a truly talented ARTIST! 
*All pieces are mixed media.
**PLS. leave comments, you don’t need a google acct. you can simply put your name where it says name/URL, thx.

The beautiful ARTIST Barbara Simmons left this earthly world yesterday, Oct.12, 2018.  I can only hope that she might be somewhere where she can continue to create wonderful ART....who knows...


With Love & Admiration
Rivian

Barbara Simmons

Barbara In Process

In Process
                                                                               

Barbara Next To Her Sculpture

The King With His General

                                                                               

                                                                             

Barbara Using The Door Handle Her Son Forged 

Barbara Next To Her Sculpture

ANGELIKA ERNE, ARTIST WHO NEVER CEASES TO CREATE!

ANGELIKA ERNE

'I begin with an idea and then it becomes something' Pablo Picasso. "This is how I see my art, it starts with a thought, a smell, an emotion and then it just starts to develop it's own soul.
I have enjoyed the best of two worlds, having grown up in Germany, spent 8 years in Switzerland  and have been living since 1992 in San Diego.
I am very grateful that I found my teacher Rivian Butikofer, who encourages me, pushes me and always surprises me with her passion for art." Angelika Erne 

.......And I am so thankful to have a student who soaks up everything that I show her, is always willing to experiment and try something new. If she lived in New York, Los Angeles, or Berlin where ART is more on the 'cutting edge',  I am certain that she would be selling her work for a great deal more than she does!  Angelika never ceases to amaze and delight me with her brilliance; she is a perfect example of what continues to excite me and give me such a sense of fulfillment from my teaching!  Thank you dear Angelika.
Rivian

 Las Vegas, photograph

 Untitled, photo transfer

Untitled, photo transfer 

Narcisus, mixed media

Who Are You, mixed media

Madonna Of The Roses, Mixed Media

What's Behind#1, mixed media

My Marilyn, embellished photo transfer

Marilyn 2, photo printed on Mylar

Forever Young, mixed media

embellished photo transfer


ALL OF THE ABOVE WORK IS FOR SALE. PLEASE INQUIRE ON THIS SITE 

"Artists view the world with our own eyes, each of us; and we make from us the world we see." San Diego , FAITH FLEURY

Faith Fleury & Rivian Butikofer@ 16+1

My earliest memories are in my grandmother’s gardens – the lively bursts of color and the lush, cool green shade of the 75-year old willow trees.  That’s probably when my fascination with color began. 

 I spent a large share of my life building business models and product launch plans in “high tech” – the more creative side of finance, 

all the while pining for that satisfaction of making something visually expressive.  

There is nothing like that special elation from creating a drawing or painting that makes people want to stop and drink in the environment I’ve produced.  

Now I devote as much of my time to those pursuits as I can, keeping a playful frame of mind whether it’s making an intriguing portrait, an inviting landscape or experimenting in mixed media/ collage and more abstracted forms.

Artistic Influences

Sorting out the influences on my work is a complex task – on any given day, the order of importance shifts. 

In studying art history, I was exposed to the whole panoply of “gods”:  Durer, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Renaissance artists Da Vinci and Michealangelo – they still captivate me; the economy of brushwork of Valasquez and Goya which looks remarkably “modern”; the expressiveness of El Greco, etc. But the period which has most influenced me is twentieth/ twenty-first century artists: Matisse, Cezanne, Picasso, Degas, Kandinsky, Calder and those who’ve followed.

 As I have explored more contemporary work, I find my favorites list has grown to include Nolde, Lucien Freud, Basquiat, Wayne Thiebaud and David Hockney. There are so many exciting developments in today’s artistic environment.  I’ve become a great fan of many current painters including Elizabeth Peyton, Romare Beardon and Beverly McIver.

FAITH FLEURY

I am so proud to say that Faith has been a student of mine since I first began teaching at The Athenaeum, La jolla nine years ago.

Faith Fleury, Self, Pastel

Faith Fleury, Self, Acrylic

Faith Fleury, Self, Acrylic

Faith Fleury, Acrylic

Faith Fleury, Acrylic

Faith Fleury, "Sissie & Ber", Acrylic

 Faith Fleury, Kiku, Collage & Mixed Media on Paper bag

Faith Fleury, Toshi, Collage & Mixed Media on Paper Bag

Faith Fleury, John, Palette Knife

Faith Fleury," Not My Problem" Collage

Faith Fleury, 'Self Portrait' mixed media 
incl. collage & photo transfer 

Faith Fleury, "Rock Phantom", Mixed Media incl. spray paint & collage

ALL PIECES ARE FOR SALE @ faithfleury.com or inquire on this BLOG

GAYLE TAUBER, ARTISTE D'EXCELLENCE

Gayle Tauber, Lucien Freud, Oil

Gayle Tauber has been involved in entrepreneurial businesses for more than 40 years, mostly as a cofounder of startups that focused on health/wellness, social responsibility and the preservation of capital.  Her most recent business, Kashi Company – a producer and marketer of cereals and grain-based products  was started in 1983 and sold to the Kellogg Company in 2000. Gayle started drawing as a young girl, but it was not until she sold her business that she had time to pursue her art interest with her first teacher, Rivian Butikofer, "who has skillfully guided and nurtured her artistic exploration."

Gayle has been painting with me for several years.  Her Master has been and continues to be Lucien Freud, the greatest portrait painter of the 20th Century & beginning of the 21st Century until his death. December 1922 – 20 July 2011. "...was a German-born British painter. Known chiefly for his thickly impastoed portrait and figure paintings, he was widely considered the pre-eminent British artist of his time. His works are noted for their psychological penetration, and for their often discomforting examination of the relationship between artist and model." (Wikipedia)

Like Freud, Gayle is guided by her commitment to exploring the psychology of her subject, their "inner being" if you will, rather than simply their exterior manifestation. This is not to say that she is not searching for her "own work", she is! For example Gayle is using a more extensive palette than Freud does. It is always extremely challenging to have a master such as Lucien Freud and try not to compare yourself to him! I am so proud of my student GAYLE TAUBER, ARTISTE D'EXCELLENCE!

Gayle Tauber, Freud, Oil

Gayle Tauber, Jerra, Acrylic

Gayle Tauber, Sage, Oil

Gayle Talber, Self Portrait, Acrylic

Lucien Freud, Photo

Note: You may also look at my previous post on Gayle from Dec. 20, 2010

SHAREART was #1 on Google for Andy Goldsworthy Land Artist search-new sculpture by CAROLYN MARSDEN!

Carolyn Marsden-Mixed-Media Sculpture

THREAD FIVE FOR MAKING ART-SELF PORTRAITS

      

Acrylic, 2007-Rivian

Many times we just do not know what to draw or paint.  This has been the way of artists for a long time.  That is why so many of the masters did SELF PORTRAITS.  So, if you are stuck on what to do next, just do a SELF PORTRAIT.  Following are a few examples of some of my work.  I will be posting many SELF PORTRAITS by the masters in the next posts.

Chalk Pastels, 2002-Rivian

Mixed Media, 1997- Rivian

 Photo Transfer- Rivian

Mixed Media on cardboard & wood,2009- Rivian

Acrylic, 2009-Rivian

"WE ALL HAVE OUR OWN EGYPT"

Rivian in front of "We All Have Our Own Egypt"

The mixed-media piece shown is "WE ALL HAVE OUR OWN EGYPT" my most recent piece that was in an invitational show that opened March 9, 2011 at the GOTTHELF GALLERY, Lawrence Family J.C.C San Diego. 

“WE ALL HAVE OUR OWN EGYPT” is Inspired by THE EXODUS, the parting of the red sea. The torn canvas represents the sea. The Swarovsky  crystals & gold leaf  symbolize the JEWISH PEOPLE having been freed from Egypt & making their way to “The PROMISED LAND”, ISRAEL. Written in Hebrew on the golden path is “He Set Them Free”

Painted in the sky is, (in Hebrew, “BLESSED ART THOU….” & painted in English, “Blessed art thou o Lord….”

‘THE SUN IS RISING TO A BRIGHTER DAY!”