March 1, 2012

Profile of Canadian Abstract Landscape Artist Ted Godwin

Ted Godwin, a Canadian painter, rose to prominence in the 1960s as a member of the Regina Five (1958-1968). The Five were a group of abstract painters, living and working in Regina, Saskatchewan, whose work was comparable to that being created in the New York art scene at the time.

In the mid-1970s, Godwin moved away from pure abstraction to more representative painting focused on landscape. His inspiration came from the expansive prairies, vast mountains and untouched scenery of Canada.

*Miz Beaver's Cafeteria and Mr. Brook Trout's Playground #6, 1980*

Despite the switch to a more representative technique, many of Godwin’s paintings look like abstract paintings in disguise.

For example, the pattern, brushwork and whimsical composition of Miz Beaver’s Cafeteria and Mr. Brook Trout’s Playground #6 (above) give an abstract feel to the work. True landscapes are also usually characterized by having expansive, wide-views with clear sky-horizon-ground layouts. The perspective of this work, being so low to the ground, only adds to the abstract feel.

Other paintings by Godwin can be found in major public collections across Canada and the United Kingdom.

He has also published a handful of books, where he recognizes emerging artist’s need for a place that they can devote to making ‘art and only art.'

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February 1, 2012

Painted Pixels: Modern Art by South Korean Artist Sea Hoon

by Lindsay Shapka in Art, Travel, Artists

One by Sea Hoon            Insa Art Centre, Seoul — *One by Sea Hoon Insa Art Centre, Seoul*

Jeoung, Sea Hoon, an amazing artist from South Korea, paints in a remarkable style called pointillism. Pointillism is a term that was derived in the 1880s to ridicule the artists who were using the new technique at the time (Seurat, Van Gogh and Pissarro to name a few).

It describes a specific style of brushwork that involves small, distinct dots of pure color applied in patterns to form an image.

ellow by Sea Hoon            Insa Art Centre, Seoul — *ellow by Sea Hoon Insa Art Centre, Seoul*

Resembling modern day pixels on a computer screen, this technique relies on the viewer’s ability to blend the spots together in their mind in order to see a fuller range of tones.

This way of applying paint is in sharp contrast to the more traditional method of blending pigments with fluid brushstrokes and, even today, there are few artists that use this technique.

Sea Hoon uses pointillism masterfully, creating works that are vibrant, alive, full of energy, and look like painted pixels.

Blue by Sea Hoon            Insa Art Centre, Seoul — *Blue by Sea Hoon Insa Art Centre, Seoul*

Art History: The Birth of the Impressionist Revolution In Paris

by Lindsay Shapka in Art History, Art, Artists

In April of 1874, a group of 30 French artists (including Degas, Monet, and Renoir) agreed not to submit anything to the annual Salon exhibition and to create their own exhibit together in Paris.

In France at the time, the French Academy had complete control over the display of art and artistic standards and until 1874 the Salon had been the only place to show art that would garner any respect or influence.

The French Academy had strict standards on what was considered ‘art’ and rejected works that weren’t done in classical or approved styles (portraits of famous historical figures, biblical stories etc...). The work of artists like Degas, Monet and Renoir had been rejected by the Salon numerous times because, to them, it looked unfinished and haphazard.

The exhibition outside of the Salon, called the Corporation of Artists Painters, Sculptors, Engravers, etc., was a declaration of independence from the academy and was the beginning of the end of the Salon’s hold over the French art world.

At this first exhibition, a writer from a comic journal took the title of one of Monet’s paintings, Impression, Sunrise (1873) and dubbed the entire exhibition “impressionist”. The artists were thrilled with the label because it represented how they captured an instantaneous impression of a scene from nature in their art.

At that moment, Impressionism was born, and Monet, Degas, and Renoir would go down in history as famous art revolutionaries.