Impressionism....Paul cezanne

Paul Cezanne

Well ahead of his time in the arts.

I have been reading about Paul Cezanne life. Why does art cause so my depression???

He was one of the first in the Impressionists movement, but still had no real success until after years of painting and again once he died.

Why does art create a temperament in painters that they become emotional and filled with self doubt?

It made me sad to read that his life was filled with such despair and sadness.

He is one of my favorite painters.

Here is a gallery of his paintings.

Please enjoy

 

http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=yfp-t-701-1&va=paul+cezanne+paintings

 

Today would be a good day to do a still life painting.

Pick one of Cezanne's or create your own set up.

Be Inspired,

~Jean

www.zazzle.com/jeanhar1*



Art for the Heart....Jackson Pollock

Art for the Heart.......

Red and Black Hearts, Jean Hart, www.zazzle.com/jeanhar1*

It's about this time of year I start to think I should be paintings hearts for Valentines.

I gave myself a little challenge to paint for an exhibit called,

"I'm a Fool for Love"

It will be full of hearts and love and lots of emotion.

I came across this painting I did some years ago. It must have been during my Jackson Pollock period.

Viewing Jackson Pollock paintings you would think that he just leaves the paint to fly across the canvas with no real thought to where its going to land.

But, no, he paints with intention and his works are filled with cathartic emotions energy.

His techniques are from dripping, to splattering and pour paint onto the canvas. Sometimes he uses sand or glass to add texture to his paintings. Later his technique came to be known as Action Painting.

For me this technique was very hard. My mind would not let me be that free and my paintings ended up with recognizable shapes.

So today's challenge is to let yourself be free to drip, splatter, and pour.

It is lots of fun.

Be Inspired,
~Jean

P.S. Some of Jackson Pollocks most famous paintings are: The key, 1946, Number One, 1950 Greyed Rainbow, 1953
 

Blue Monday

Blue Monday

Hearts Wish, Jean Hart

Midnight souls, Jean Hart
All the Christmas decoration have been put away with care for next year.
All the reflections on last year were looked at and a list made for the coming year.
Yet, something feels undone.
Something feels just a bit empty, even though I have great plans for the coming year. I have wonderful plans for new paintings. I just feel a little sad today.
Blue Monday really isn't about being sad. It's a display of blue things, paintings and now I guess feelings.
I have set my timer to only write for 30min today....since the only way I know how to get out of a blue mood is by moving. I will have to get to my feet soon.
Picasso had a blue mood period.
"The Blue Period of Picasso is the period between 1900 and 1904, when he painted essentially monochromatic paintings in shades of blue and blue-green, only occasionally warmed by other colors. "
Please enjoy his website to learn more.
http://www.pablopicasso.org/blue-period.jsp
 

Within life lies a chance to adapt..

Within life lies a chance to adapt..

With a New Year I always look to the past to see how I did last year and what I can do better this year.

Many things have change in my life in the last 12 years. I have had to adapt over and over again.

I am reminded of a quote I read from Don Bania, Jr.

"life is a precious gift..within every tragedy lies an opportunity".

It is so true, if I had not hurt my back and was forced to quit a job I loved, I would never have become an artist.

Over the years my artwork has taken on different styles, strokes, mediums and expressions.

I have no doubt that as I grow as an artist my artwork will expand and grow too.

When I first started I wanted to do portraits. I loved people and used my children as models.

I thought that I would be come a portrait artist.

As my interest in art grew I moved on the landscapes and birds..

After so many years of painting I'm still trying to decide what kind of artist I am.

My mediums change, my prospectives have changed and my responsibility to art has changed.

Being a self taught artist means that I am constantly reading new books on art technique and art history. 

What will I be doing this year, 2013?

I'm not sure......And that's what today's blog is about.

I will be adapting to a life of working full time as an artist. Up to now I have only seen myself as someone who likes art, plays around with paint, and has been pretty lucky to have a following of people like my art.

I have been given this chance to paint, once again because of recovery, and, I now must adapt again.

So to all the new friends I've made and people watching me, I say.

Sometimes change is a good thing.

I was reading Don's story, and at first you think how sad a young boy has a devastating motorcycle accident that leaves him paralyzed from the shoulders down. He goes into deep depression, and than comes out of it  saying."My brokenness made me aware of my desperate need for God."

He starts drawing, with using only his mouth to hold the pencil. Teaches himself to draw, he spends over 100 hours on one painting.

Well, I say, bravo, the human spirit will pull you through.

Accept the changes in your life, after you have fight against them and let your spirit shine.

Do you have a story that you would like to share?

Has something happened to you that made you adapt to a different life style?

Be Inspired,

~Jean

www.zazzle.com/jeanhar1*

 

Sometimes a Pear is just a Pear

Happy New Year 2013

Abundance, mixed med. Jean Hart

 

I'm looking forward to a great year of love, luck, prosperity and, good health.

But just in case here is how I will be signing the date this year.

The number 4 is considered unlucky in Chinese Feng Shui because the number sounds like the word for “death”. To avoid the number 4 don't write a two digit year because 13 adds up to 4 (1+3=4). Instead write 2013 as the number 6 is good for family harmony, prosperity and joy.

Traveling is always on my list of things to do and just last November I went to Santa Fe, New Mexico. It took me four years to get there. I kept making plans and it just didn't work out. Finally, on the Universes time, not my time, I got there.

I loved it, the sights, the sounds, the food, all of it.

We took a day to walk around the town and visit museums and missions.

One of the best places I visited was Georgia O'Keeffe Museum.

When I went I was not so interested in her. But after an afternoon spent in her Museum I am now her biggest fan. It's not so much her artwork but it's her attitude I admire.

She is a Master of abstraction art, starting as a modern artist.

Everyone knows her for her big flowers. Few know that she spent time in Texas to teach elementary school art classes.

When she felt people were reading too much into her flowers and made her out to be more sexual then she had in mind when painting her flowers, she started painting pears.....because she said,"no one can read anything into a pear. Sometimes a pear is just a pear."

I connected to her paintings of the land and her simple lines.

If you are in Santa Fe I recommend that you visit her museum, it is well worth the time.

 The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum is located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at 217 Johnson Street.

www.okeeffemuseum.org

Pear, acrylic, Jean Hart
Be Inspired,
~Jean
www.zazzle.com/jeanhar1*

 



A sea shell by the sea shore

A sea shell by the sea shore, Jean Hart

The Golden Ratio

"If there is a God, he's a great mathematician." Paul Dirac

You see this pattern everywhere in nature.

You see this pattern in art too.

What makes one painting more beautiful than another?

The answer may surprise you.

It's Math!!!

Getting a painting to hold the right proportions is what has inspired artists for centuries.

Proportions is what holds a painting together to create the beauty and balance of a master piece.

The Golden Ratio

as quoted from CKG

"One of the easiest ways to define the Golden Ratio is through the famous sequence of numbers named after the mathematician Fibonacci. See if you you can identify the pattern in the following set of numbers: 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34....

Each number is the sum of the previous two numbers. When you divide any of the numbers by the one before it, you get roughly the same number, , and the value becomes increasingly refined as the numbers get larger."

Well there you have it.

Here is my challenge for today.

See how many things in nature you can find that has this pattern and ratio in it.

Start by really looking at flowers, shells, cones, the most common is the spiral itself.

 We have talked about symbols and so it is the spiral too has a meaning.

Spiral: A symbol of change and forward motion. It means growth and progress.

So as the New Year arrives, 2013 will begin and on this New Years Eve day I'm going to make a spiral in honor of bring in the New Year.

2013 the year of the water snake
digital artwork by
Jean Hart

 

Be Inspired,

~Jean

www.zazzle.com/jeanhar1*

Fauvism (wild beast)

Fauvism (Wild Beast)

Paris, France

1905-1908

I can only image what it would be like to be an artist at this time in history.

To be able to sit with these great artists and listen to their conversation.

Fauvism was the first major Avant-Garde art movement. From this short lived expression came the more modern art and developed into the Cubist art.

The Fauves created traditional art subjects by painting them in a nontraditional way. They used bright colors to express emotions. They were inspired by Van Gogh, Gauguin and Cezanne.

The artists of Fauvism were, George Braque, Andre Derain, Georges Rouault, Kees van Dongen, Maurice de Vlaminch, but the most famous was Henri Matisse.

Even when Fauvism went out Henri stayed true to it believing the his paintings were able to project passion and pure emotion through color.
With the new year ahead of me, and, my desire to go the Pairs. I will take a virtual tour of the Louve and seek out a Henri Matisse painting and reproduce one of his paintings. As a lesson as I go through my art history course.
Be Inpsired,
~Jean
www.zazzle.com/jeanhar1*
 

 http://www.henrimatisse.org/
http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A0S00MrteNxQZVMA4nT7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTBrc3VyamVwBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQD?p=henri+matisse&vid=8a724e7304a97296e3e70300b98d0d37&l=00%3A36&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts2.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DV.4855092013760529%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DMiEIeitUNFs&tit=Henri+Matisse+speaking+about+drawing+and+painting&c=1&sigr=11ah4q0tu&&tt=b

ALIEN ART-CROP CIRLES

CROP CIRCLES

12/21/12 HAS COME AND GONE AND LOOK WE ARE STILL HERE!!

However, it did make me think about many things and strange things that take place in our world.

ALIEN ART

If you are one of the people who look for extraterrestrial answers to these beautiful artwork marks left on the farm lands around the world, you may have been waiting for your spaceship to come in.

But what if these are really HUMAN MASTERPIECES?
My own artwork involves circles, although mine come from a more symbolic nature then alien design

 

 The theories of the origin of crop circles have been swirling around for years.

Whether they are man made or extraterrestrial is a question for the more serious scientist. I'm an artist and I see them as amazing pieces of artwork!!!

Over the years, man has learned to create them in their own fields. Some groups create them as competitions to see how intricate a pattern they can make. Of course, the advertising companies, not being left out of any ad campaign will want to place a logo in the field so it can be seen from the sky.

I have read, that the first crop circle to show up was in the 17th century England.

One thing is fore sure about these crop circles is, they generally appear in a field without warning, and they are mostly without a signature of the creator.

VERY MYSTERIES!!!

They do their work at night, work secretly, and never tell anyone what they have done, letting the stories of alien art fill in the mysteries around their work of art.

Like all good mysteries, there seems to be enough unknown about the crop circles to make humans think they are the works of Aliens creators.

So here are a few questions for the deep thinking art viewers.

 What if aliens really are creating art in our fields-

1. Do you think we should meet with them and charge them for the privilege of using our fields?

2. Should we pay them for expanding our view of art?

 

I invite you to check this crop circles out, they are really very interesting.

These are the crop circles found in 2012

 http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=yfp-t-701-1-s&va=crop+circles+2012

Be Inspired,

~Jean

www.zazzle.com/jeanhar1*



Symbolism....What is it?

SYMBOLISM....IN ART.....WHAT IS IT?

Art books have whole chapters on this subject.

Can you see the symbolism in this painting of Jean Hart's?

 

Symbolism.

First, a symbol is anything that, over time, human beings have decided is a representation of some thing. They must be agreed about and people must recognize them as meaning one thing.  Some artist will make up a symbol that means something important them but has no meaning to a viewer.  When doing abstract artwork you may see a symbol just to give you an idea of what the painting is about. It's a way for the artist to let you know what this painting is about, ...peace, love, rage, etc.  It's helpful for the viewier to have help translating the artwork.

Symbolism is not only seen in artwork, but, in theater, literature, and music.

Almost anywhere where the artist wants the viewer to go beyond the singular dimension of the artwork. The Art Movements that used symbolism best were Modernist, Expressionism, and Symbolism

Some of the more famous artist are;

Paul Gauguin, Gustav Klimt, Edvard Munch, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes

http://www.artmagick.com/pictures/artist.aspx?artist=pierre-puvis-de-chavannes

Here are some common symbols and their meanings

Circle, represents eternity.

Chain, connection that exists between every living thing on the planet.

Figure 8, infinity, balance of power between the sun and the moon.

Square, foundation upon which everthing else is built

Spiral, change and forward motion.

Triangle, creative focus of mind, body and spirit.

Butterfly, represents the soul and transformation.

Cat, good luck and a deep love of all things beautiful in the world.

Coyote, cleverness

Deer, maternal love.

That should get you started on your next painting,

Be Inspired,

~Jean

www.zazzle.com/jeanhar1*

Paintbrushes

Paintbrushes.................................

 

Paint brushes are the basic tools to have when stocking your tool kit.

I think there has not been enough said about the picking and use of the paintbrush.

When you go to the art store there are rows and rows of paint brushes and it can be overwhelming.

I have used cheap brushes only to have them fall apart and leave hairs on my canvas to be permanently part of my painting.

Brushes come in three basic hair types. Soft natural hair bristles are made up of the hair of an animal. these bristles, which are very resilient and hold a good amount of moisture, are an excellent choice for watercolor.

soft synthetic hair bristles are made up of man made fibers and are recommended for acrylic paints. Bristle brushes, which have thick, coarse hair, are best for oil painting and can be either natural or synthetic.

Shapes;

the most common brush shapes, fan, flat, round, and rigger.

For a  beginner you don't need more than these.

try starting with

l. two flats, small and large,

2. three rounds, small, medium, and large

3. fan brush, medium

4. rigger.

Something to think about,

"Use the largest brush you are comfortable with while painting a particular area. This will help you stay loose and avoid painting too much detail."

Joseph Stoddard

Be Inspired,

~Jean

www.zazzle.com/jeanhar1*

Receive

Receive, acrylic, 16"x 24"

Receive
http://www.zazzle.com/recieve_magnet-147784211840667698

Receive, to be open to what comes your way.

Too often we are giving, giving so often and so much that we are left empty. We are not taught to receive gifts or compliments. Loosen up your tight grip on what you feel is right or wrong or even polite.

Let yourself receive the rewards or gifts that come your way. There is no shame in doing so. Of course with all gifts there are the Thanks Yous and gratitude's. Learn to be gracious in your receiving and let others have a turn at giving.

Be Inspired,

~Jean

www.zazzle.com/jeanhar1

100 Slips of Good Intentions....Stop with the lables!!

100 Slips of Good Intentions by Jean Hart

100 Slips of Good Intentions.......

"If you want to grow beyond yourself you must take action in those things that motivate you."

It's so easy to say I don't have time to do something. I say it all the time to myself. I don't want to of course is a whole other issue.

I'm watching the TED Lectures now. I love them. I find them to be interesting and encouraging and inspiring. Many of these people come to be successful because something in their life has changed or ended and they must now make a new direction for themselves.

Defining myself is tough. How do I want to be seen. Both answers have limits I put on myself. Asking others to define me is even worse.

I read many things that say "Believe in yourself". Even that statement confuses me. So this year I have gone on a hunt to see what is it that I do believe. How do I define myself. And sadly to say what labels do I want to be associated with me. "Stop with the labels"......I find it hard to believe that you can define anything without putting a label on it.

Believe. It's a powerful word. Mostly I want to believe  I have choices. I want to also believe that I can make wise choices. 

In my recovery I have a lot of down time. I read a lot. So here is an interesting thing that has happened to me. I went to the library and started to browse through children's books.  Yes, even though I have no small children at home any longer, I went to the children's library.

FASCINATING BOOKS!!!

These books are full of adventures, and heroes and really can do people.

Can I really be reading these fun and simple books and be learning life lessons that I must have missed in my adult life???

Believe in fairy tales for what the can teach you about real life. Believe in happy ends. All ends are truly what you think they are, happy or sad, you choose.

Believe in something,  anything that gives you hope and inspiration to keep going.

So even though I'm watching TED Lectures with the most brilliant minds and creative encouragements, I'm reading children's literature so I can come back to believing, I can be strong, healthy, happy and wise.

Happy Reading.

Be Inspired,

~Jean

www.zazzle.com/jeanhar1

Keep Calm and have a Macaron, Happy Pink Saturday

Happy Pink Saturday......

Spring is here and I'm loving it.

I love the cool mornings and the long days.

Ive been looking for some light desserts.

Macarons!!

The French Macarons. Light and crisp, and melty.

Not the heavy ones made with coconuts.

Keep Calm and Have a Macaron!!

Nothing makes me happier then baking in the kitchen.

Or what makes me happy is baking in the kitchen.

These are tricky little cookies to make. Everything is done to a science.

When they come out prefect I feel accomplished....

Here is a recipe I found,

http://www.marthastewart.com/318387/french-macaroons

Enjoy!!!

These are worth inviting friends over for.

Be Inspired,

~Jean

www.zazzle.com/jeanhar1

Mail art project, Plant

Plant/ Patience

Mail Art Project
Today and Tomorrow
postcard
created by artist
Jean Hart

Patience/ Plant
Plant your seeds in fertile ground and then have faith that they will grow.
When you plant your seeds whether they are for the garden or for your life's garden, know that with every seed planted you must have patience. The seeds need time to grow on their own, so when the conditions are right they will sprout and grow in the warmth of the sun. Give the seeds what they need, no more no less. Then let them go. Have faith that whether it is a tomato or an idea, if it is right for you it will flower and grow. Plant, plant, plant. You must plant in order to receive the harvest.

100 Slips of Good Intentions

100 Slips of Good Intentions,

"People will repeat what they think they heard"......
Oh, yes they will. If you ever have to start a conversation with,"Don't tell anyone..." than you should think about not telling anyone yourself.


Twin Wishes, Acrylic, by Jean Hart

 As much as you would like to reveal yourself to the world. Be just a little shy. Revealing too much too soon is risky. Reveal only as much of the story as you are comfortable having the whole world to know. For as much as you wish people could keep your secrets, they don't.
Let your life reveal your truth, let your actions speak loudly and Reveal no secrets you were asked to keep.

That's what journals are for:

Those wonderful secrets that lay deep in my hearts, or those desires and dreams that have not yet come to light.



I start every journal with the first page I write.

"I must have died and passed on to the next life. If I haven't. You are trespassing into my inner most thoughts and I'm owe no one apologies for anything written here that might upset or hurt anyone's feelings"

You have a right to your feelings, your words, whether they are kind and loving or painful. These pages are moments in time when you are at your most authentic. I need that, and I need to know that I don't have to explain them to anyone. They are true to me at that time.

Journaling has helped me work out projects in my life, in creativity, in my space and health. Often I have reread them and felt they were truly a gift to myself.

Out of chaos digital art by Jean Hart

 There are other times when I write with such force and determination and in need of help or guidance. When I write about things that may just be too strong. I will burn these pages and offer them up to the heavens for help. This secures me that I can be as honest and open in my writing and have no fear that someone will come along and read these pages. This too is necessary sometimes.

Reveal yourself to yourself. Be open and honest and forgiving.

Then Release It.

Be Inspired,

~Jean

365 ways to energize your life

365 ways to energize your life......

My Chinese reading said that I would be in the new life transformation from now until 2023!!!! I can look forward to many shifts and changes and challenges!!!!! Transformation does not happen quickly I'm guessing, or maybe I'm just a little stubborn.
My project for this week is to make a collage or artwork, pictures and paintings and  words and anything that I would like to see and embrace for this year.
Those that have worked with me in workshops and art classes know I do not like collages. They overlaps images and confuse my minds eye, they truly make me dizzy. But for the sake of staying on track I will not skip important lessons.
This project as I understand is not about the images so much as about the words. I am creating a "word for the year" it is to be my "sacred word for 2012"
This is your power word, a visual affirmation of what you'd like to experience this year. It's the focus of your energy for 2012. Place this poster somewhere in your home where you will see it everyday and can meditate on the images and words for a short while each day.
I have bought a poster board of only 8" x 10. I figure for me that's enough space to fill with drawing, images, words and doodles. I'm thinking this is where that alphabet list comes in again. :-))
My word is Cycle.
Happy Creating.


Where imagination begins



Be Inspired,

~Jean

www.zazzle.com/jeanhar1

Butterfly Effect, Mail Ait Project

Butterfly Effect

Postcard, Three
mixed med.

The Butterfly Effect, simply put. Everything you do effects everyone.
That's it.
Think about how many people have effected your life. Do you not think that what you do is not just as influential?
.. They say when a butterfly flaps her wings it is felt across the oceans.
Yes, that's huge.
Along with effectiveness comes the responsibility of Receptivity.
This life force is not assertive but more of a timely effect. A quiet contribution is more successful.

Pink Saturday

Welcome to Pink Saturday,

This is where we come together to celebrate Breast Cancer. Anyone who has gone through it, survived it or have had it touch their life's.

Reach...

Reach a little farther inside yourself each day. Try to find the innermost belief, your innate intelligence. Reach for the stars, sometimes you are spot on and sometimes you hit the moon. Reach out and  ask for help, yes, you would be surprise who will show up. Reach over and help others, women, men and children, especially when you are in need. Continue one foot in front of the other, even if you think you will never reach your dreams, stay in the moment and enjoy the walk about. When you think you've come to the end of one dream, reach out and start your trip on a new journey. Life has many beginnings and ends, just keep going. Life is hard, life is fair, life just is whatever you say it is......

• Live Well
• Be Inspired,
• Share your dreams
• Help others,
• Love, for love is all there  is               
• Happy Pink Saturday           

~Jean
www.zazzle.com/jeanhar1

Mail Art Project, Today and Tomorrw

Mail Art Project....

Today and Tomorrow

International Mail Art Exhibition in Bad Aibling (near Munich), Germany

To view this online catalogue exhibit visit,

http://today-and-tomorrow-mailart.blogspot.com/

Welcome, These are my entries for this exhibit. I'm not sure how many postcards I will paint, but there is no limit, and it is open from now until Oct. I am working with many subjects and ideas that interest me to create something meaningful for the refection of Today and Tomorrow. These are original artworks of mine drawn freehand. I have cut watercolor paper to be the correct size of a postcard.

This first postcard is called

Today and Tomorrow,

color pencil,

As I stand in today present in my life. I look forward to Tomorrow with an open heart and a welcoming wave. I see the future as being bright and beautiful. In my heart and mind I know that you get out of life  what you  project  into the world

2nd Postcard

The Beginning of Time

Mixed Med.

In the beginning there is imagination, inspiration and energy. All of  this energy coming together to create a life force. Living in today and in the present moment puts your goals in alignment with success for tomorrow. This postcard represents the beginning of time when you understand that you must,  " Believe in your dreams and persevere, and everything around you will flourish" . Good timing is often more important then just being present though. Look at the whole picture to understand where you can be of service because working together is more powerful then working alone.

 

 

Be Inspired,

~Jean

www.zazzle.com/jeanhar1

365 Days of living

365 Days of Living.......

Winter has returned just in time to still say its winter....Tomorrow is the first day of Spring~!~! But looking around my house all I see is snow.
Once when I was feeling really snowed in and depressed because winter was lasting much too long, I decided I needed to embrace the snow. So I went outside and made a snow labyrinth. This really was fun to do and  I challenge you to do something creative with the snow in your yard too. I don't see it melting away before spring gets here.

Winter can last until April where I live. Its a time for reading. Its a time to stimulate your brain. I like to check out new magazines that I don't usually read. Just so I don't become bored with the usually ideas.

Here's a magazine I picked up last week, "The Mental Floss, Where knowledge junkies get their fix". Well how could I resist!!! or you can go to mental floss.com for their online magazine.

One of the article's I will share is about Hallmarks best selling Mother's Day Card....this card has been a best seller since 1939!!!

Being an artists who turns her canvas artwork into note cards, I found this interesting. What are people buying and buying and buying for over 50 years???

It's the Pansy Card. A sweet little cart filled with pansy's, with a note that reads, "To Let You Know I'm Thinking Of You". What's on the inside , "Pansies always stand for thoughts-at least that's what folks say. So this just comes to show my thoughts are there with you today."

SWEET, SWEET, SWEET.

You can bet I will be painting pansies some time soon.

I would never have known this if I didn't pick up a unfamiliar magazine.

"Stimulate your brain. Don't allow  yourself to become bored with life."

this from the little book of 365 ways to energize your life.

Be Inspired,

~Jean

www.zazzle.com/jeanhar1