Author: cparker
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Holman Hunt’s The Lady of Shalott
The Lady of Shalott, William Holman Hunt, oil on canvas, roughly 74 x 58 inches ( 188 x 146 cm), in the collection of the Wadsworth Atheneum, in Hartford, CT. Link is to image file page on Wikipedia. In Alfred Tennyson’s early 19th century poem of the same name, in a reference to the Arthurian…
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Eye Candy for Today: Francis Hopkinson Smith’s In the Woods
In the Woods, Francis Hopkinson Smith, watercolor and gouache on board, roughly 26 x 16″ ( 67 x 41 cm); in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum. Smith was an American painter, author and engineer, whose accomplishments included the design and engineering for the base of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. In…
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The Artist’s Guide to Sketching
Most of us, artists or not, have some idea of what sketching is. Sketching is a term associated with quickly realized, often rough and “unfinished” drawings (or paintings) that are meant to catch the essence of something without any unnecessary frills. That simplistic explanation, however, doesn’t convey the unexpected effects of a regular sketching practice:…
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Eye Candy for today: Virgil Finlay illustration for Lovecraft
\ Illustration for H.P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness, Virgil Finlay. The image is sourced from the MonsterBrains blog. It’s part of an extensive article with many more images. Though not currently being updated, MonsterBrains is a treasure trove for lovers of fantasy, science fiction, horror and related illustration and artwork. American illustrator Virgil…
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Eye Candy for Today: early paleo illustration by Henry De la Beche
Duria Antiquior by Henry De la Beche, watercolor. Link is to Wikimedia Commons page from which you can access a larger image. Very often, scientists have had a secondary role as illustrators, enabling them to visualize the subjects of their investigations. In this watercolor, early 19th century geologist Henry De la Beche paints his interpretations…
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Ferdinand Keller
When I first came across the work of German painter Fredinand Keller, who was active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, I was immediately struck by the obvious influence of Swiss Symbolist Arnold Böcklin. Oddly, in what scant biographical information I can find on Keller, there is rarely mention of his overt admiration…