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Category: Art

Surreal: Remedios Varo, painter

In undergrad 20some years ago I took a class focused on female artists of the 19th and 20th centuries. I think it was called Her-Story. I found the course challenging and I don’t think the professor liked me but I left with favorite artist.

Remedios Varo was a Spanish surrealist. The European Surrealist scene was a boy’s club, but there were standout women as well, including Leonora Carrington and of course Frida Kahlo. But I was drawn to Varo’s style: lonely, beautiful, otherworldly but familiar, immensely personal, and she explored feminism long before is was cool (is it cool now?). She lived in Spain and Paris but was eventually exiled to Mexico due to the rise of the Nazis. Her artistic interests included alchemy, magic, self-exploration and analytic psychology.

Here are a few of my favorites of her works:

Embroidering the Earth’s Mantel
Vegetarian Vampires
Alchemy of Useless Science
Disturbing Presence

Find: Game of Shrooms

On June 15th artists worldwide will hide mushroom paintings and sculptures for you to find. To join the hunt, follow hashtags #gameofshrooms and #shroomdrop on Instagram, check out the artists in your area and follow Attaboy for updates. If you are an artist and Artists who would like to participate, explore the How To /Guidelines.

Shroom Ahoy Illustration
Shroom by Jim McKenzie
Shroom by Dave Correia
Shrooms by Attamyumfactory

Synonyms: Bob Ross and Tranquility

For many (regardless of if they realize it), watching a PBS Joy of Painting with Bob Ross episode is akin to ego loss — an individual who during each “class” seemed utterly selfless, calming, soothingly optimistic, brilliant without needing credit, purely present with each moment.

Now that Ross has passed, his family and friends manage his estate. Their inventory includes 1000s of his paintings worth probably millions. Interestingly and anti-capitalistically, they don’t sell his work because, “that isn’t what Bob would want” (they do sell art supplies and classes). In fact, the employees claim selling his works hasn’t even crossed their minds. This short New York Times documentary is compelling:

via BoingBoing

A few interesting Bob Ross facts, via Biography.com:

  • Ross was in the Air Force. While stationed in Alaska the majestic mountains became inspiration for his paintings. Postcards also proved inspirational, as his later home on Florida offered very different scenery than Ross’s artistic focus.
  • Artist William Alexander had a painting show before Ross. The two eventually worked together and Ross became the heir apparent. Ross describes Alexander as a mentor/teacher, and at one point Alexander was filmed symbolically handing his brush to Ross. Reportedly, the two had a falling out as Ross became successful.
  • Ross’s popularity can perhaps be primarily attributed to his pleasant voice, at least more so shan his artistic teaching. Few viewers actually paint along with Ross (although some do).
  • His line of paints has proved financially successful, even today, twenty years afters his passing. The provide the primary revenue stream for his legacy company, Bob Ross Inc.
  • Ross was missing a finger, from a woodworking accident in his youth.
  • Ross’s afro-ish-hairstyle had its roots in fiscal-responsibility — it was originally a perm so as to require fewer haircuts. As his show became popular and his hairstyle became his signature, he grew to dislike it but kept it due to its marketability. In his later years, he wore a Ross-style wig as he went through cancer treatment.

Symbolic: Weasels in art

If you enjoy TripOut, the blog, The Museum of Ridiculously Interesting Things is also worth your while. In this important post they explore the use of weasels, ferrets and minks in 16th century portraits:

In the 16th century, weasels were a catch-all category for many of the furry, long-bodied carnivorous creatures in the mustelid family, such as ermine, sables, martens, ferrets, stoats and mink. These creatures often appear in Renaissance portraits of high-ranking noblewomen, and represent a fascinating language of sexual symbolism. Explore some of the hidden meanings of weasels below!

By Chelsea Nicholsridiculouslyinteresting.com
Portrait of a lady (1520-25) by Bernardino Luini. Oil on panel, 770 x 575 mm. National Gallery of Art, Washington.
‘The Ermine Portrait of Elizabeth I of England (circa 1585), attributed to William Segar. Oil on canvas. Collection of Hatfield House, Hertfordshire.
‘Lady with an Ermine’ (circa 1490) by Leonardo da Vinci. Also known as ‘Portrait of Cecilia Gallerani’. Oil and tempera on wood panel, 548 x 403 mm. Collection of Czartoryski Museum, Krakow.

Biz: High creationism

Come prepared to smoke, paint, chat, indulge, and probably laugh harder than you ever had before.

puff, pass and paint website

The advent of legal recreational weed has seen a refreshing sidecar of accompanying experiential business models, from marijuana tours to professional ThC infused dinner parties to weed-oil massage therapy. In my quick search for what’s out there I discovered Puff, Pass and Paint which describes itself as “Canvas and Cocktails with a Cannabis Twist”. The painting events aren’t “about making the perfect piece of art. It’s about being part of an atmosphere that is relaxed, comfortable, open-minded, and allowing yourself to freely create your own original masterpiece.” They offer classes like X-Rated Los Angeles (nudes), abstract fluid painting, and Puff, Pass & POTtery. Currently there are class offering in big cities: DC, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, Vegas, Detroit, SF. It is HQ’d in Denver.

Identity: Photography without a face

Ben Zank is a NYC-based photographer who captures mostly-faceless subjects buried, disappearing, laying surreal in isolated nature. I hoped the artist had a shop with prints, but no such luck that I’ve found.

About the facelessness, Zank says, “Some people are really good at getting a certain emotion of people when photographing them. I’ve found that I can create the same effect without showing someone’s face. The image itself is the emotion. I have nothing against showing my face, I’ve done it before. I just don’t want it to take away from the important bit. I’ve got a pretty distracting face, you know.

I Don’t Know Anymore, 2017
Dirt, 2018
Hollow, 2016
Daily Commute, 2017