My First Art Class
Childhood Memory: My First Art School Class
My profile says I am an artist and it's true! I still have fond memories of my first art school class from my childhood. My Grandmother (whom I'll call Nannie from now on) saw one of my early sketches and knew that I had at least a small modicum of talent. Nannie was always my inspiration, she had her own restaurant and catering service in Point Pleasant New Jersy, and she was a good gramma. She found an art school and took me there to enroll me in classes so I could start formal art training...

Ball-jointed Enchanted Dolls by doll artist Marina Bychkova
What are Enchanted Dolls?
The Enchanted Dolls are 13.5 inch tall fully-articulated dolls created by Russian artist Marina Bychkova. Most of them are porcelain, but Marina has recently begun to create a line of resin dolls as well. The porcelain dolls are available as nudes, but special costumed dolls are created on occasion (usually for a particular show). While there is a standard line of limited edition nudes, Marina can customise the dolls to some degree to suit the buyers' preferences. To acquire one of these rar...

The Amazing World of Pop Artists
The Popular Art Movement
Pop Art started as a reaction to the impersonal and too elite form of abstract art. British and American artists of the mid 20th century felt it was time to take art to the ordinary people. Andy Warhol is considered to have started the Pop Art movement and serigraphy or screen printing was his tool of choice. Andy Warhol used everyday images of kitchen items, or movie stars faces to bring this movement to life. Comic books, advertisements, and album covers boasted pop art. The idea behind the...

Hudson River Artists - Classic American Paintings
Hudson River School Artists - American Paintings by Frederic Edwin Church, Albert Bierstadt, and Tho
The Hudson River School of Artists, which was at its peak between 1855-1875, created some of America's most beloved paintings. The scenery focused on landscapes and seascapes, with famous paintings of Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Andes, the Rockies, the Everglades, and the Hudson River Valley itself. Some of the most famous artists of this era were Thomas Cole, his pupil Frederic Edwin Church, Albert Bierstadt, and Thomas Moran. Together, along with many other painters, they created a body of ...

Watercolor Artists
My Passion Studying watercolor art is a passion of mine. I enjoy observing the many techniques, colors, styles, details and subjects of artist's paintings. The way the water and paint flow together, the way they bring light and shadow together and add layers to create depth, it all looks so beautiful and artful, but it also looks difficult to me. I know that with one wrong stroke a painting can become totally different, (perhaps not what one had 'planned') and yet the challenge of it is excit...

Alice Neel - American Artist
Alice Neel
Born in 1900, Alice Neel was an American portrait artist. Neel's difficult and unconventional life mimicked the approach she took towards her paintings. Although her early work received limited attention, Neel would enjoy great success and the recognition she so richly deserved during the last two decades of her life. Here is Alice Neel's bio and some examples of her unusual artwork. I hope you enjoy them!

The Surreal World Of Salvador Dali The Artist
Salvador Dali is the Daddy of Surrealism!
My first encounter with a Salvador Dali Limited Edition Lithograph was back in 1979 when I was shown a framed edition and told by it owner that it was worth $500. I could not believe a picture that was signed by an artist and looked like an expensive poster could be worth that kind of money. Little did I know then that I would become a collector and an admirer of his work. Dali's work as an artist stretches from the 1920's to the 1980's, he is a renowned painter, filmaker, photographer, scul...

Art by Patricia Jedrick
Enjoy This Gallery of Her Art Work
I first met Patricia Jedrick in Maryland, back in the 1980s. She had been painting for many years and it was a treat to just walk around her home looking at her art on the walls. She has since moved to South Carolina. In her new home, she set up her studio again and continues to paint in water color, oils, pastels and mixed media. Patricia, Pat, Trish... no matter what name you know her by, this accomplished artist stays in your mind.

Spotlight on Vietnamese-American Artists
VAALA is the Vietnamese American Arts & Letters Association
The Vietnamese American Arts & Letters Association (VAALA) is as its names suggests an organization that has the following mission: "to connect and enrich communities through Vietnamese art and culture". The image credit is an announcement for a free and open art exhibit which began March 17th and will continue through April 1st, 2012 at the VAALA Cultural Center in Santa Ana, CA. The exhibit's theme is "Cycles of Life" and features fine art by artists of Vietnamese descent from multiple gen...

Artists of North San Luis Obispo County
A lot of Talented Artists Live in Paso Robles, Templeton, Atascadero, and San Miguel
When I moved to Templeton, I was aware of the vineyards and wine tasting rooms all around me. I suppose that's the first thing most people who have been in North San Luis Obispo County think of. Lovely vineyards set the background for each season of the year on any country highway or back road. You will see grapes growing from San Miguel in the North to Templeton in the South. You will see them if you approach Paso Robles from Fresno to the East or if you come West Cambria to Templeton and Pa...