zEDz Online Digest

Issue # 45 ~ Thursday, 25 May, 2000

"We're all dyslexic through the looking-glass." --Zedwaldo

Zeditorial

"Old Paint"

This week I finally finished my first oil painting, a commissioned piece for a dear friend of mine. It was about time. I remember beginning my very first oil painting in the town of Salem, Oregon, while visiting my cousin and his artistic girlfriend. I did the layout of the piece then mixed up about a half cup of some horrible gray-green stuff with which to paint a family grouping of horned owls. Never mind that I did no research to establish that owls do or do not cluster together in family groups. I thought that the picture would look cute. I gritted my teeth and began to paint the basic shape of the bodies (after taking a plate and using it to mark the outline of the intended full moon). I decided that the painting would be one of great darkness. I decided that the owls would be silhouetted against the moon (made bigger moon with bigger plate, behind the owl sketches). I began. I stopped. I never finished. That was in 1970-something. The last I heard was that my cousin's girlfriend had found the unfinished painting and finished it. I heard that it turned out nice. Tragically, Nina (the girlfriend of my aforementioned cousin) died only a few years ago at a young age. An undetected health condition claimed her. I now wonder if "our" painting survived.

I now continue my exploration of famous artists with four really great ones who marked their birthdays earlier this week...

The first of my featured artists (check it out... "my featured artists") is the Renaissance artist from Germany, Albrecht Durer. Born 21st of May, 1471. On a scale of a DaVinci or a Michelangelo, he was up there. He was the German genius of the time, a true Renaissance Man. His works represented the mind of the people, during a time when the collective consciousness was waking up. A mouthful? ...yes. But then, his work truly stands the test of time.

Next I want to examine the art of Henri Rousseau, the Frenchman. Also born last Sunday, but in the year 1844, a little closer to our time. Can someone become famous for being technically incorrect? This guy's paintings look fantastic, like dreams, yet somehow real... until you look up close. Then you see the mistakes. Obviously, Henri never went to formal art school, or read book on how to paint, he taught himself. A person could spend a lifetime cataloging his mistakes. But I still appreciate that his work is internationally known and several very famous artists of his day admired his work. Surrealism? Henri almost invented it.

Are you old enough to remember 5¢ stamps? Then perhaps you will remember Mary Cassatt. She was a strong woman who trained as a professional artist, and worked as a professional artist. She was accepted into an exclusive men's club known as "The French Impressionists." And to top it all off, she was an American. Her parents, being of a traditional blue blood, resisted her ambitions as unworthy of a society woman. She broke the bonds in an era where women struggled for equal rights. She was perhaps the biggest influence in America at the time concerning Impressionist Art... A true ambassador.

The Artcyclopedia has an excellent launching point from where you can explore the American abstract artist Franz Kline. That's right, American... these days, you just can't tell by a person's name where they came from. While Mary Cassatt was an American artist who settled in France, Franz was born, and stayed in the good old USofA. Noted for his treatment of black & white (a man after my own heart), he got early inspiration from comic strips of all things. Check him out, along with the rest of this "Fantastic Four," at the bottom of my Links section.

Have a Wonderfilled Week!

;-)

Poetry

Live

As we live,
we get to know
things of beauty,
things that grow.

Sitting still,
they pass on by;
Do not worry,
or wonder why.

The thrill to live,
is the thrill to know
things of beauty,
things that grow.

Walking on,
we pass on by;
Do they scurry,
or do they cry?

Yes they live,
and now we know
things of beauty,
things that grow.

Copyright © 2000 E.D.Griswold (aka Zedwaldo), all rights reserved.

Check out my poetry connection:
Poetry House of Zedwaldo
[recently updated, with a great links section]

;-)

JOKES?

JOKE-LINK of the Month:

Heard a good one lately? Clue me in, throw me a bone. I'll take suggestions. Write one yourself and Email it to me. If I like it, I may feature it here.

Links and URL's

The Love Bug Mutates! http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2000/05/19/lovebug_sequel000519
What can you do about it? http://www.f-secure.com/virus-info/u-vbs/uninstall-vbs.html

Expose yourself to the short and weird: http://www.scifi.com/exposure/ Cool graphics and sound (short movies)

Coupon clipping a thing of the past? ...maybe not, but now you can download the coupons that you want and then print and clip them @ home: http://coolsavings.com/

ART ~ LINKS

Albrecht Durer
Web Museum: http://metalab.unc.edu/wm/paint/auth/durer/
Yes, there is a real hotel here... http://www.top-hotels.de/duerer/index-e.htm
An arrogant, but rich display of prints: http://camel2.conncoll.edu/visual/
A brief history, with illustrations: http://www.boglewood.com/cornaro/xdurer.html

Henri Rousseau
The Museum of Modern Art: http://www.moma.org/collection/paintsculpt/rousseau.dream.html
"Snakes"...a poem with an illustration: http://www.recursiveangel.com/kinsella3.htm
@ The Artchive: http://www.artchive.com/artchive/R/rousseau.html
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts: http://www.vmfa.state.va.us/TropicalLandscape.html
National Gallery of Art: http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/psearch?Request=A&Person=27200
Italian bibliographia: http://www.artonline.it/edicola/artdos/095/index095.html

Mary Cassatt
National Gallery of Art: http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/cassatt/cassatt-main1.html
Contrast & Compare (Cassatt alongside Renoir): http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/gg83/gg83-main1.html
Famous Woman Artists: http://www.webgalleries.com/pm/colors/palette.html
National Museum of Women in the Arts: http://www.nmwa.org/legacy/bios/bcassatt.htm
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: http://www.boston.com/mfa/cassatt/
National Woman's Hall of Fame: http://www.greatwomen.org/casstt.htm

Franz Kline
Artcyclopedia: http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/kline_franz.html
Art Masterpieces: http://www.spectrumvoice.com/art/artists/major/k/kline.htm
An American (with a German name) in America: http://poster.de/artist/kline.htm
American Museum of Beat Art: http://www.beatmuseum.org/index.html
Abstract Expressionism: http://www.encyclopedia.com/articles/00053.html

;-)

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