amo

February 29, 2008

A Boat (and an idea or two . . . or a few)

When you look at a painting across a room, or even from just a few feet away, you get a different perspective than you do when you look at it on a monitor. It’s smaller in your field of vision.
Boat 2 by A.M. Otwell, 2008
And I’m starting to wonder why people take their artwork outside to photograph it. No one buys a painting and hangs it up outside!
Boat 3 by A.M. Otwell, 2008
However, I dutifully took this one outside and took the photo, then spent a lot of time correcting the color back to what it looks like hanging on a wall inside.
Boat 4 by A.M. Otwell, 2008
And here it is in the size I normally would have plopped into a blog entry without a second thought. See those warts? The roughness? The imperfections? You can’t see this much detail in person unless you get really close. . . closer than you’d get to anyone’s art but your own, probably.

(Of course, that doesn’t explain why the other artists I showcase here don’t HAVE any warts on their paintings, but I’m not famous or dead yet. Lord willing, I’ll have plenty of time to improve.)

This one (Boat, A.M. Otwell, 2008, Acrylic on Canvas, 11 x 14) is spoken for, but just in case you wanted to buy Pacific Fireworks for exterior use, here’s a photo for you.
paintings outside
(Email for pricing if you’re interested. Paintings stored outdoors will deteriorate significantly faster than paintings stored indoors. Pine needles not included.)

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention this was part of a “Different Strokes” challenge at WetCanvas, where a bunch of artists painted from the same reference photo. I chose to participate because I was drawn to the photo; it reminds me of the fishing trips I used to take with my grandfather, even though the boat really isn’t all that much like his.

February 19, 2008

Margaritte in the Cathedral

Filed under: Art and Design — amo @ 8:00 am

Margaritte in the Cathedral by Thomas Jones Barker
Margaritte in the Cathedral
Thomas Jones Barker (1813-1882)
Oil on canvas
41 x 39 inches

February 18, 2008

The Gondola Ride

Filed under: Art and Design — amo @ 8:00 am

The Gondola Ride by Salvador Sanchez Barbudo
The Gondola Ride
Salvador Sanchez Barbudo (1858-1917)
Oil on canvas
27-1/8 x 16-3/8 inches

February 17, 2008

A Special Pleader

Filed under: Animals, Art and Design — amo @ 8:00 am

A Special Pleader by Charles Burton Barber
A Special Pleader
Charles Burton Barber (1845-1894)
Oil on canvas
18 x 23-1/2 inches

February 16, 2008

The Pottery Sellers

Filed under: Art and Design — amo @ 8:00 am

The Pottery Sellers by Francesco Ballesio
The Pottery Sellers
Francesco Ballesio (1860-1923)
Watercolor and pencil on paper
20-7/8 x 29-1/2 inches

February 15, 2008

The Entombment of Christ

Filed under: Art and Design — amo @ 8:00 am

The Entombment of Christ by Sisto Badalocchio
The Entombment of Christ
Sisto Badalocchio (1585-1619)
Oil on canvas, 1610

February 12, 2008

Chesterton on Darwinism

DARWINISM can be used to back up two mad moralities, but it cannot be used to back up a single sane one. The kinship and competition of all living creatures can be used as a reason for being insanely cruel or insanely sentimental; but not for a healthy love of animals. On the evolutionary basis you may be inhumane, or you may be absurdly humane; but you cannot be human. That you and a tiger are one may be a reason for being tender to a tiger. Or it may be a reason for being as cruel as the tiger. It is one way to train the tiger to imitate you; it is a shorter way to imitate the tiger. But in neither case does evolution tell you how to treat a tiger reasonably — that is, to admire his stripes while avoiding his claws. If you want to treat a tiger reasonably, you must go back to the garden of Eden.

From Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton

(G.K. Chesterton on Amazon)

February 11, 2008

The Picture Seller

Filed under: Art and Design — amo @ 8:00 am

The Picture Seller by Jose Antolinez
The Picture Seller
Jose Antolinez (1635-1675)
Oil on canvas
79-1/4 x 49-3/8

February 10, 2008

Pacific Fireworks

Filed under: Art and Design, California, My Creations — amo @ 5:31 pm

Pacific Fireworks, A.M. Otwell, 2008
Pacific Fireworks
A.M. Otwell, 2008
Acrylic on Canvas
16 x 20 inches

Thanks to: God for everything, Jefferson for his encouragement and support, my parents who, among other things, drove me to Goat Rock and watched the sunset with me, Reba, Herb, and all the folks at WetCanvas for advice, comments, and criticism, Elizabeth for the canvas, Nora, Steve, and the kids for some of the paint, and all of you for stopping by!

Interior

Filed under: Art and Design — amo @ 8:00 am

Interior by Georg Nicolaj Achen
Interior
Georg Nicolaj Achen
Oil on Canvas, 1901
25-3/4 x 19 inches

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