Xia Xiaowan

Born and living in Beijing, Xia Xiaowan is currently a professor of the stagecraft department at the Central Academy of Drama. He is also a member of important artistic associations.

Xia Xiaowan who is also a graduate from the Third Studio of the oil painting department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, has seen his works exhibited internationaly.

His latest approach to Art has made quite an impact. The use of a special pencil to draw/paint on large glass panes that are spaced behind each other in order to achieve a 3D feeling in alliance with the excellent technique of the artist, result into what I would call an ectoplasmic show.

Painting Materials and Techniques

Norihiro Matsukawa is the author of the useful cad-red website.

If using the art materials is not enough for you and want to learn about pigments, resins, dryers and other ingredients, this is the place for you.

A Portuguese working for Marvel

The portuguese illustrator João Lemos was hired by Marvel to acomplish the drawings of the new series "Avengers Fairy Tales" that will go into the stands on March the 12th.This series makes the cross between the fairy tales and the Marvel's comic characters. In this case the cross is made between Peter Pan and the Avengers super-heroes.In this volume by C. B. Cebulski based upon the tale of J. M. Barrie, Captain America will be Peter Pan, Wasp will be Tinkerbell and Scarlet Witch will play Wendy's role.The super-heroes Iron Man, Thor, Hawkeye and Black Panther will be the Lost Boys of the Neverland.This first volume, from a set of four, will feature the draughtmanship of João Lemos, colouring by Christina Strain, Lettering by Dave Lanphear and coverwork by the french artist Claire Wendling.
More about Peter Pan at :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Pan

Doll Face by Andy Huang

Doll Face follows a machine's struggle to construct its own identity. The machine with a doll face mimics images presented on a television screen and ultimately self-destructs from its inability to adopt a satisfactory visage. Created in its entirety by Andy Huang, Doll Face presents a visual account of desires misplaced and identities fractured by our technological extension into the future.
Andrew Thomas Huang is currently a senior Fine Arts major and Animation minor at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Andy's past animated work has been showcased at the Smithsonian National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., and his latest independent short film "Doll Face" has been selected as part of the Official Selection at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France, as well as the Electronic Theater at SIGGRAPH 2006 in Boston . Since the completion of "Doll Face" in December 2005, Andy, now 22 years old, continues animation work for Root Films, a production company in Los Angeles.

Joconde - French Museum Collections

In the Joconde database, you will have access to great and unique french collections.

A true meca of information and culture that includes archeology, fine arts, decorative arts, ethnology, history, sciences and techniques.

Image above: Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. China X - XII, Guilded wood and polycrhome.

Art for After Hours

Art for After Hours is an art consulting company presided by Anthony Cappetto and having his side, Wendy Stum as marketing director. This company focus on providing the means for the professional street painters to participate in artistic events, namely festivals. It also serves as a link between the artists and corporate insitutions to perform either private or public events. As an apetizer, I will leave you a video. All the videos, images and links concerning this article are copyright Art for After Hours and are featured here after a written permission. Use them only for viewing. Thank you.

Turning the Pages of Famous Books

The British Library offers online the possibility to leaf through and magnify details of famous books.

Using the "Turning the Pages" system, readers have the chance to see the original version of "Alice's Adventures Underground", the Leonardo's "Notebook" and The Mercator Atlas of Europe, only to name a few.

Mona Lisa True Identity Unveiled

According to scientists of the german university of Heidelberg, the true identity of Mona Lisa was finally confirmed.

The woman who served as a model to Leonardo Da Vinci's painting "La Gioconda" also known as "Mona Lisa", was the fiorentine aristocrat Lisa Gherardini wife of a fabrics trader with the name of Francesco Del Giocondo.

A note that was found by Martin Schlechter in one of the first books printed with movable characters, confirms that Lisa Del Giocondo was the model for the most famous painting completed between 1503 and 1506.

Writen by Vespuci in 1503 and found on a work from 1477 by Cicerone, he states that Leonardo was working on the portrait of Lisa Del Giocondo.

José Carrilho

(according to news)

Wonderful Sculptures by Richard MacDonald

In the world of Arts there are great talents.
Richard MacDonald is one of them.
His sculptures, inspired by the well known Cirque du Soleil are of a unique beauty.
Other themes include Mythology, Ballet, Heroics and Monuments.

A Pastel on Pastelmat from Clairefontaine

This is a work that I am doing on Pastelmat from Clairefontaine.Its dimensions are 18 cm x 24 cm and the medium issoft pastels, including some pencils.Pastelmat is a sanded smooth paper, permiting good detail,vivid colours and a reasonable number of layers; not many though.On this paper, one has to carefuly plan ahead since layers influencethe upper ones (unless using a pastel with good covering power).This can be good or bad, depending on ones intentions.Blending with fingers is practically unobtainable on first layers. I advise not to start with the really soft ones, unless that is the colour to keep or that you won't add much more on top of it. Concluding I would say that this paper deserves a try.















Second stage and practically finished.
Now it's time to give it a rest and we'll see what
I may add in the future.















And after reading some opinions, I've finished it.
Now it's time to add it to my website.

About Anamorphic Perspective

According to a brief search, it seems that anamorphic perspective can be found as early as the 15th century.

When one observes the works of the old masters, it is not

rare to become astonished with their skills, not only in terms of drawing but also their knowledge of mathematics and other sciences. So it may not be a surprise to see fine examples of anamorphic perspective from centuries ago.

The image shown, Triumph of the name of Jesus, is from Giovanni Battista Gaulli and was executed from 1672 to 1685.

One of my favorite artists is Andrea Pozzo and his anamorphic perpective works are simply amazing.

Like in those times, its use is still seen on buildings and fortunately the less acquainted with the matter can enjoy it through art festivals and competitions, namely by seeing the works of great sidewalk artists such as Julian Beever.

And if you want to digg a bit more into it, here are two more links to explore :

http://www.generativeart.com/salgado/anamorphic.htm

http://users.physik.tu-muenchen.de/cucke/ftp/lectures/proceedguil.PDF

José

The Private Collection of Susan Dods

Susan Dods is a long time collector and dealer of antique jewelry.

Her private collection features unique objects of chinese jewelry.

Lines and Colors

I have found a blog that is worth exploring. The author is Charlie Parker and by the number and especially the quality of the articles, one can deduct that he sure has invested alot of his time on it.
The name of the blog is Lines and Colors

Jo Castillo

It's been some time since I've posted.
But today I bring you a link for a blog hosted by a
fine artist. Her name is Jo Castillo.
Her blog is easy to follow and filled with interesting and useful themes.
Make sure that you visit it :http://www.jocastilloartblog.blogspot.com/

Take care,

José

The Beggining of Things

This blog is about art and is a complement to my webpage.It is meant for you to share your articles and thoughts.You are welcome to post your source and/or webpage at the end of your articles.Please respect copyright issues and be courteous to everyone.In the case of a miss understanding with other users, be polite and try to express your ideasin a friendly manner and try to understand others'.Of course that I will moderate things.
José

Lorem Ipsum

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