Zorn Day

"Reveil,  Boulevard Clichy," Anders Zorn, 1892, watercolor. Private collection. On view at the National Academy Museum, NYC through May 18, 2014

One of Zorn's early oils, of his wife, Emma. Love that newspaper/composition!

Yesterday was spent on a bus to NYC to see the Anders Zorn (1860-1920) exhibit at the National Academy Museum the day before it closed (Sunday, May 18), taking in the beauty and inspiration of many of his masterpieces on view ... and riding the bus back home again. A full day ... but well worth it.

Plus there was a little bit of wandering around Central Park thrown in. Thinking about what I might paint on another day-or-two trip.

Inspiration was found aplenty.

Zorn IS a master ... too little known among his contemporaries of John Singer Sargent and Joaquin Sorolla. All three were so ridiculously amazing.

At the National Academy

Anders Zorn's oil painting, "Margit"

Museum were 90 Zorn originals including oils, extraordinary watercolors, etchings and even a couple of sculptures.

His watercolors were unbelievable ... as in, I can't imagine a human being able to paint them in this fairly unforgiving medium. Large, saturated, complex, complicated subjects and compositions ... incredible.

He's also a master at placing the figure in space. Then you'll look at his backgrounds, and there's seemingly nothing to it. I LOVE that when it happens. And when you recognize that almost nothing is better than sweating the small stuff for a week.

Pretty amazing, right?

Right around the corner is the Great Falls Studio Art on the Green, an outdoor arts festival on May 31 and June 1 in Great Falls, VA ... and Mountain Maryland Plein Air. Lots to look forward to!


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May 27-May 31: Mountain Maryland Plein Air I join 29 other artists juried from around the country to capture Cumberland MD and surrounding areas in this plein air competition and exhibition. Second time around.

May 31 & June 1: Great Falls Studios Spring Outdoor Art on the Green Festival  Two days with my work under a tent in the Great Falls Village Centre, corner of Georgetown Pike and Walker Road,  Great Falls, VA. Husband Randy will hold down “the Fort” on Saturday while I finish up at Mountain Maryland and then I hope to see you on Sunday, June 1!
 
March 5 - December: Richeson75 Still Life and Floral 2014  Two of my paintings: "Honey Bunny" and "Garden Girl" were chosen as finalists in this online competition and exhibition. 75 total works were selected for this exhibition from entries/artists worldwide. See the exhibit at http://richeson75.com/stilllife/index.html

Paint with Me in Italy: August 3 to 10, 2014. For more info, itinerary and links to register, see the classes page on my web site. Great folks are signing up to join me on this wonderful adventure. I hope you can, too!