The Art Inquirer is your source of news for the artist and the Art appreciator
Established in 2008

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Surrealist Manifesto by André Breton Sold at Sotheby's



A set of nine surrealist writings by André Breton (1896-1966), among which the well known Surrealist Manifesto (1924), were bought at Sotheby's for 3.2 million Euro (3.6 with taxes) .

Géard Lhéritier, of the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts of Paris offered 3,626,250 Euro (taxes included) for the set of nine manuscripts.

Lhéritier resorted to the faculty of reunion option to keep the whole set, former property of Simone Collinet (1897-1980) . Sotheby's pretension was to auction the manuscripts separately.

In the manuscript, comprising 21 pages ( 20 of them writen in fine blue caligraphy), Breton writes about one of the most important art movements of the 20th century.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Roman Abramovich snatches a Bacon and a Freud


According with The Art Newspaper and based on close sources, Roman Abramovich is the buyer of two paintings that were recently sold.

The Triptych (1976) from Francis Bacon auctioned at Sotheby's, sold for $86.3 million and Lucien Freud's Benefits Supervisor Sleeping (1995), sold at Christie's for $33.6 million.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Fiction Made of Wood


Sculptures made out of wood, things that could be and some that are.

These are the creations of Michael T. Rea, owner of a MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

His works have been exhibited in several states and his name is mentioned in some publications and on a podcast from Bad At Sports.

Michael also shares his knowledge and talent by teaching.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Benefits Supervisor Sleeping sets record


The portrait Benefits Supervisor Sleeping (1995) by Lucian Freud (b. 1922), sold at Christie's N.Y. for $33.6 million, has set a new world record for a painting by a living artist.
The painting depicts the naked portrait of Sue Tilley lying on a sofa.
German-born and grandson of Sigmund Freud, british painter Lucian Freud is known for his sincere and revealing naked portraits.


Monday, May 12, 2008

The Creation of the Colour Wheel


The colour wheel as a way of displaying colours as we use today, is attributed to Isaac Newton.

Newton used the colours resulting from the passage of light through a prism and distributed them in segmented circle.

The size of each segment differed according to his calculations of wavelength and corresponding width in the spectrum.

To know more about this interesting theme, read this article at the Colourlovers blog.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

May's Watercolour Winner






Today was the day !

The lucky winner has been found and is from UK.

You too can win a free painting.

More details about our winner comming soon.




Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Interview with Melanie Cossey





Melanie Cossey is a british columbian artist and writer who has achieved a well deserved recognition for the quality of her works in several media.


She was kind to accede to an interview :




José - With what age did you discover your interest for drawing and painting ?

Melanie - From very early on I loved to paint and draw. I come from a very artistically inclined family, my father, his mother and her uncle were all artists. When I was in kindergarten I won first place in a hobby contest the school had. In later school years I was asked to display my work in the shopping mall as part of a district wide student art show.

J - Did you have support and if so, how was or continues to be important to you ?

M - I remember year after year receiving art supplies for birthday and christmas presents. Many of them were "how to draw" "how to paint" books and kits. When I wasn't painting I was writing stories, sometimes illustrating the stories. My dad did a lot of art work with us. We made all sorts of things. My dad built a potter's wheel out of a discarded man hole cover and bought a kiln and we made pottery in the basement. My life was surrounded in art. Now my support comes not only through my parents, but also my husband and those in the galleries who believe in me and my work. I have a lot of people helping me and guiding me along (sometimes pulling me) and it helps keep me motivated and believing in myself.

J - When and why did you decide to take a more serious approach toward Art ?

M - In the fall of 2005. Something changed. After highschool I didn't pursue art. I went to school and became a dog groomer and then I started writing professionally. My art time was reduced to a hobby I did once a year or two. One day I was showing some work to a friend online and he thought it was fantastic and wanted to hook me up with a print company. Around that same time some other friends were encouraging me with my work.

J - What made you think that you were ready ?

M - My sister, my hubby and I were at an art show and looking around at the art they said to me, "you know, your work is every bit as good as this." From there I decided to enter a show , my first, unjuried. I sold my first painting there.

J - How did that changed your relation toward Art ?

M - It gave me a lot of confidence in my ability to do anything I put my mind to. Right away I got two commissions and then I was on a roll. What are your favourite subjects ?
I love to paint still life objects, things with shine and reflection and things that have an emotional connection to them, such as food. Food has it all, emotion, shine, reflection, colour. Its the perfect subject.

J - Do you prefer a certain medium for a certain subject ?

M - Aside from flowers being done in pastel, no I don't. I like the different effects one gets from the various mediums. A candy apple looks different in pastel than it does in acrylic. Different aspects are highlighted.

J - What advices do you give to those who desire to pursue a more professinal approach to Art, namely how to get into exhibitions ?

M - Its all about networking. Get yourself out there in the public eye. If you are exceptional as an artist you will get noticed in short order, but those artists are rare. It takes lots of leg work and marketing yourself. Hook up with a group of artists and find out where they exhibit. Attend their shows and get known in the art world. The art business is up and down all the time. You have to develop a tough skin and keep at it!

J - Thank you for sharing your time with us and we hope to see more works from you soon

Melanie's work can be seen at her website.

This is the start of a line of interviews with artists and people related to art.


By becomming a subscriber to this blog you will be one of the first to know about them as about other interesting articles.
Subscribers also have the chance to win a free original painting every month.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Linda Brunker Irish Sculptor



Linda Brunker was born in Dublin, Ireland.

She studied at the National College of Art & Design in Dublin and received a degree in Fine Art.

Her bronze sculptures have been exhibited in Ireland and abroad and are present in several private and corporate collections, such as : TEAM Aer Lingus, AIB Bank (N.Y.) and Aer Rianta.

Linda has received several awards as the AIB Export Awards and the National Entertainment Awards.

You may visit her site here.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

May's Free Watercolour



Hi,

Finally the original postcard size original watercolour for the month of May is here.
Don't forget that by being a subscriber to The Art Inquirer, you will receive important updates and may win a free original painting every month.
And because of this delay, this time I will be offering shipping.
Read about it here.

Kind regards,

José