EXTRA, EXTRA: Readers’ Responses!

As I promised, the readers’ responses post is here. Last week I asked all readers to share their favorite artist(s)/art history period(s)- you can find the post here. I’ll admit now that it was not my greatest idea to date. I had wanted some sort of group feedback from readers for a while now, but this was clearly not the best way to go about it, as it is clearly impossible to have a few favorites out of all the wonderful artists there are and that have been.

Regardless, there were 9 responses, so I will list all responses by reader names and share their favorites.

Joel Bruce Wallach: When the work touches my soul, that is my favorite period. Wander through a museum, and you will find your soul being activated by many styles, with each one touching a different facet of your inner being. In that moment, that is your favorite historical period. Never limit your definition of yourself by naming any one favorite anything– you are an infinite multi-dimensional being, with infinite potential.

Marilyn: I love John Singer Sargent and Renoir because of the delicacy with which they do portraits. I have yet to attempt portraiture, but it will happen. In the meantime, I absolutely love anything organic and colorful, and I also relish the fact that art can now be anything! What a freeing experience! I just get excited even thinking of all the possibilities!!!

Venetian Interior
John Singer Sargent; 1880-82; Oil on canvas
Image source: LINK
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Muddy Alligators
John Singer Sargent; 1917; Watercolor over graphite on paper
Image source: LINK
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A Girl With a Watering Can
Pierre-Auguste Renoir; 1876; Oil on canvas
Image source: LINK
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Near the Lake
Pierre-Auguste Renoir; 1880; Oil on canvas
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Nezka: Since each one is so different it’s hard to pick one out. I like a variety.

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Iva: Have you ever thought about how to transform a painted artwork into unique knitting? The motif has to be simple enough to be used as a knitting pattern. Like needle point stitching. Well, my searching brought me in my early years to the masters of cubism and surrealism (Picasso, Dali, Miro). Their conceptual figures in which I was always looking for the meaning, seemed attractive enough to me, to keep me studying them in books, and thinking about them, one after another. During my travels to large cities I always used to leave the group and to do my own research in museums and admire the originals of masterpieces. That’s how I became close to some most important art pieces and gained understanding and admiration although they seemed somewhat “crazy” at first.
And if you ask me today which art period is my favorite, I prefer contemporary art and Spanish painters.

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Horse, Pipe, and Red Flower (Cavall, pipa i flor vermella)
Joan Miró; 1920; Oil on canvas
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Personage Throwing a Stone at a Bird
Joan Miró; 1926; Oil on canvas
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Guernica
Pablo Picasso; 1937; Oil on canvas
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The Old Guitarist
Pablo Picasso; 1905; Oil on canvas
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Milena: I like Leonardo da Vinci and Monet, Slovenian artists Dora Plestenjak, Ivana Kobilica and Bozidar Jakac. And the most beautiful art piece is the nature itself, expecially in spring and fall and people, their cultures, habits and variety.

Dora Plestenjak painting
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Auto-portrait in White (Avtoportret v belem)
Ivana Kobilca; Oil on canvas
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Rose Sinatra: To answer your question regarding my favorite artist is like taking me into an Italian pastry shop and saying choose one! The artist I love are light pastries. Each has is own quality and eye appeal, plus there are times I enjoy the dark paintings for Rembrandt or the passionate colors of Van Gogh or the way Joseph Zbukvic handles atmosphere and mood in watercolor and let’s not forget how David Curtis handles light and mood in watercolor. You get the message…the list goes on.

Place d’ Opera, Paris
Joseph Zbukvic; Watercolor
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Joseph Zbukvic; Watercolor
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Winter Moorings, Staithes Beck
David Curtis; Watercolor
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A High Point above Dalehouse
David Curtis; Oil on canvas
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Jim Bocash: I love your analogy. Art is not only so personal, but that taste can also vary with your mood. It is so nice to have an artist with great talent like you be so humble on a subject like this. I agree across most of the arts it would be hard to choose 1 favorite.

And so, we’ve come to the end. Except that I would like to take a moment and share a few of the artists that stand out in my mind right now- two painters and a sculptor. First, Samuel Bak, who was born in 1933 in Poland and who was fortunate enough to have survived WWII and the Holocaust, though most of his family did not. He expresses these experiences in his paintings through symbolism and visual language. I was lucky enough to have seen his work on display at the St. Petersburg Holocaust Museum in Florida. The detail, symbolism, and composition of his work truly captivated and astounded me. Look carefully.

Targets Revisited
Samuel Bak; 1996; Oil on canvas
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Elegy III
Samuel Bak; 1997; Oil on canvas
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Second is Salvador Dalí. Others have also mentioned him and though most of you have heard of him and seen his work, I still must include a piece here. I saw his work at the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. Seeing his work (some of which is around 20 feet tall) in person was an unforgettable experience. The man was a master painter in more ways than one.

Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War)
Salvador Dalí; 1936; Oil on canvas
Image source: LINK
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Mistakes are almost always of a sacred nature. Never try to correct them. On the contrary: rationalize them, understand them thoroughly. After that, it will be possible for you to sublimate them. -Salvador Dalí

My third artist is a contemporary American abstract sculptor by the name of Damon Hildreth. His work consists of different types of steel and bronze. I found him by accident while I was reading “how I became an artist” stories. I read his (you can find it here), looked up his work, and fell in love with it.

Knot #24
Damon Hildreth; 2009; Steel
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Knot #10
Damon Hildreth; 2008; Steel
Image source: LINK
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And now we truly have come to the end of this adventure. A big thank-you! goes out to all the readers who contributed favorites and comments on the post. It’s easier to write a post if you have something to put in it.

I may do this again sometime, so for those of you who didn’t get to voice your opinions- stick around.

Related articles

• Renoir’s Passion, on Display at the Prado (intransit.blogs.nytimes.com)
• Matisse and Renoir meet (paulocoelhoblog.com)
• Bibliophilia: The Best Art Books of 2010 (bigthink.com)

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Tagged as: art, art history, Art Impressions, Art News, damon hildreth, david curtis, dora plestenjak, ivana kobilca, joan miro, john singer sargent, joseph zbukvic, opinions, pablo picasso, pierre auguste renoir, readers, Renoir, samuel bak, Visual Arts