"River Wash", 16x20 Oil on Canvas, by Rog Lyngaas, 31mar08 & 15jul08.

This is my second painting that is a rework of a scrapped alla prima painting. In the rework, as before, it is done all at once -- so you could call this a double alla prima painting; eh, maybe not.

Every year, during the spring, creeks of Idaho swell with snow melt. This natural flooding is normal and necessary for all sorts of river habitat, as scientists downstream from flood-sucking dams have come to realize. In this natural flooding there undoubtedly is created slow moving pools. As the flooding subsides these pools expose the river banks where vegetation is stifled. I do not know what you call it where you are at; however this in Idahoan vernacular is a wash. In a wash exists settled debris and silt from the flooding; hence the stifled banks. So the creek/river banks of a wash are dirty. What a freaking English language anamoly!

Silence on Lake Nero (Boris Shcherbakov, 1973)

Well, if we've met Uncle Shura and ate at table with him, what is the view outside his window...

Still Life with Bread (Vladimir Stozharov, 1959)

Here is what is at table at Uncle Shura's house. Good, hearty, dependable Russian food. Black bread, scallions, a pot of shchi, tea, sugar, and salt... what else does one need?

A Girl (Vasili Maksimov, 1866)

Maksimov was one of the early Peredvizhniki, but, he was the archetypical starving artist. Apparently, he had a nasty personality, and that was that.

Dreaming of the Future [Vasili Maksimov, 1868]

A mother prepares for the coming birth of her child. Look at this painting, and reflect on one of the most inane beliefs about today, "people have changed". I think not, and those who say so wish to destroy everything that is good amongst us. Mankind has not changed in the least, save for superficial things, which is no change at all, I say. Not only are the good things still living, the same as before, I say that humanity is still the same lot of "sinful-ginfuls" as in the first century AD (I take that back! Since the Garden!). Even the excuses are the same, they come dressed in "psychobabble", that is all.

Honour the good, watch out for the bad, nothing has changed... nor shall it. Let's raise a glass to the human race, it shall outlast the PC punks, as it has outlasted all other such novelties. Na stroviya! 

An Old Man (Vasili Maksimov, 1881)

Again, look at the eyes in this portrait. They have seen and experienced much, there is a wisdom that is palpable, quite unlike the eyes of contemporary American suburbanites, which are vacuous in the extreme.

An Old Peasant (Vasili Maksimov, 1890s)

I was looking for a painting similar in theme to the art photograph Uncle Shura below. This appears to fill the bill nicely.

"Bench At Katheryn's", 11x14 Oil on Canvas Board, by Rog Lyngaas, 15Jul08 & 18jun08.

If you recall, I reported I scraped a plein air painting completely on the 18th of June. I have never done this before where I scraped and then repainted it; in this case a month later. This is the repainting result. I am happy now that I can say that there is enough red in it this time. I cannot call this a plein air painting or even an alla prima painting, but it was fun to do.

Bench at Katheryn's, refers to the benches in Katheryn Albertson's park in downtown Boise. This park is part of the enormous green belt along the river in Boise. This was the first painting I did with my new Open Box M panel holder - Pochade Box... my birthday present to myself. Here I am [below] painting on location this very painting.

I would like to remind everyone that there is a painting in this blog that has a naked pregnant woman hidden in it. The title of this post should give you a good clue. There is a prize, if you figure out which painting has this figure in it. You win my smile.

If you asked me about my influences, I'd say,

"Influences? Please. I do the influencing."

Just kidding. But, I'd name drop this guy. Straight Outta Mira Mesa, but currently residing in Los Angeles is Rovic Federico. You see, back in high school, there was this one poster contest at the library, and I had this idea…ummm.

I'll leave it at that. If you wanna hear his version, you can hit him up through his website.

Tell him, "Books can take you places."

See his work here.

*Actual phone number and email address on card may vary.

One of the biggest problems with an art market that is growing at such a rapid rate is that the massive demand for fresh talent and new works has catapulted many artist’s to the dizzying heights of art market stardom without the level of critical, institutional and curatorial recognition that one would expect from an artist achieving such high prices. What many people don’t seem to realise is that a desire for works by an artist at the present time does not guarantee a market for the artist’s work in one years time or in ten years time. Neither is there any guarantee that the artist’s work will demand the same prices in the future that they are achieving at the present time.

Collectors such as Charles Saatchi may well be doing graduating artists a disservice when they waltz into graduate shows and do a spot of shopping which gives a select few artists almost instant fame and desirability. Saatchi isn’t the most discreet of collectors and is watched like a hawk by the media who are always at the ready to report on which young artists are being targeted by the super collector. What the media don’t tell you is that the artists that Charles Saatchi chooses to purchase works by, are by no means guaranteed to be the next big thing or even worthy of being invested in, or collected, in the first place. Just like everyone else, even the most savvy and experienced art collectors have personal tastes and make subjective purchases that do not always mean that the artist whose work was purchased is destined for success. Unfortunately, regardless of whether or not the artist is worthy of being collected or invested in, the demand for an artist’s work and the value of the artist’s work are bound to increase when reported as having been purchased by an influential collector or famous person.

There is a reason that you never see things such as “work purchased for $40,000 in 2006” or “work purchased by Charles Saatchi from 2005 graduate show” in an artist’s cv or bio and that reason is that events such as these are not indicative of the value of an artist’s work. Although I have great respect for Saatchi and his commitment to promoting young artists, I do think that he should be a lot more discreet with some of the purchases he makes to prevent the value of an emerging artist’s work from being grossly over estimated. If you are thinking that being catapulted to the heights of art world stardom is a good thing for a newly graduated artist then think again. To find out why, stay tuned for the next post.

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications

Barbara Hashimoto: Junk Mail exhibition, sponsored by the Chicago Art District & Podmajersky, Inc.,  has landed on Whatever Land. Thanks to photographer Archie Florcruz, a guest at the 2nd Friday Gallery Walk (2003 S. Halsted Street, East Pilsen, Chicago,) Hashimoto’s junk mail creations landed on his popular photo sharing site Whatever Land.

Florcruz posted “Junk Mail Landscapes” and “White Trash: Available” plus guest artists Michael Kozien’s suite of video and sound junk mail explorations. He also clicked away as guests sat in front of the mounds of hand shredded junk mail while being taped making “true” Junk Mail Confessions. Here was a chance for the photojournalist to document over a year’s worth of hand-shredded junk mail by fine artist Barbara Hashimoto.

“Advertisers need to be more conscious of people’s right to quality of life,” says Hashimoto from a packed gallery opening this past Friday, “Junk mail is an intrusion into that right.”

Other special events throughout the year include Junk Mail Landscapes, Junk Mail Interiors, and Junk Mail Christmas where trees will be decorated using hand shredded Catalogues and other Holiday related Junk mail.

JUNK MAIL FACTS: 100 million trees are cut down to produce junk mail annually. The majority of junk mail is produced from natural forests. In 2006, Americans received 77 billion pieces of junk mail. In 2006, more than 15 million trees were cut down to produce the 1.8 billion pounds of undeliverable junk mail. (That’s above and beyond what was delivered.) 44% of the junk mail received goes unopened into the landfill.

Born in New Jersey and educated at Yale, Hashimoto’s work has been exhibited throughout Japan, The U.S. and The Middle East and is in more than 250 public and private collections including The Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of American Art, The Museum of Arts and Design (New York) and The National Museum of Women in the Arts.

> Whateverland Hashimoto: Junk Mail Photos

> Barbara Hashimoto Website

I am currently producing "The Zeitgeist: Spirit of the Age” demonstrating the dissonance between spirituality and materialism in the style of religious art.

The Zeitgeist study was inspired by Wassily Kandinsky’s book “Concerning the spiritual in art”. In the opening chapter he writes:

“This all-important spark of inner life today is at present only a spark. Our minds, which are even now only just awakening after years of materialism, are infected with the despair of unbelief, of lack of purpose and ideal. The nightmare of materialism, which has turned the life of the universe into an evil, useless game, is not yet past; it holds the awakening gulf of darkness.”

25th July – 9th August
Preview 25th July 7pm

At this time of year graduating students are asking themselves who, where and what they are; deciding what to do after education and searching for their entry into the world. A new generation of lawyers, journalists and artists are born.

Surrounding them at this time of change are bigger changes; Stoke on Trent is undergoing a massive regeneration, looking to move forward to find a new beginning and future. And within that AirSpace is trying to establish as a permanent gallery, bringing national and international artists to the city; widening AirSpace’s and the City’s audiences. These new beginnings are happening all around us and as the world evolves it is easy to find yourself asking similar questions; who, where and what am I? The changes that we see lead us through doubt and excitement to a re evaluation of our place as individuals and groups in society. The artists in ‘Who are we? Who am I?’ all graduated from Fine Art courses this year, they each delve deep into their own concerns with this evaluation; some look to the past for reassurance and comfort and others take the future by the horns ready to run with it with eagerness and excitement.

The opening of ‘Who are we? Who am I?’ sees a dual celebration; the introduction of five Fine Art graduates to the world of Post Education and the 2nd Birthday of the AirSpace Gallery. For the celebrations we will be showing examples of past exhibitions, sharing cakes. We hope that by giving graduates from different universities the chance to exhibit together we will help to forge relationships and introduce artists from outside of the city to what Stoke on Trent has to offer.

Last Saturday Andrea Pollen, owner of the Curator's Office  on 14th Street NW in DC hosted a wonderful show titled Mixology I, featured an amazing number or works on paper.  The proceeds benefited Doctors without Borders.  Andrea was able to raise a significant amount to support this worthy endeavor.

I really enjoyed the show and was amazed at the variety of work on display.  Matt Sesow and Leslie Holt, two artists whose work I enjoy were in the show. 

A friend of mine purchased paintings by Matt  and Leslie Holt's Hello David.  What I love about this painting is that Ms. Kitty is holding a rubber ducky.  Not sure if this means she wants to dive in and bathe with poor Mr. Marat or simply if Leslie found the humor in juxtaposing the sweet Ms. Kitty at the scene of Marat's assassination.  

In case you were wondering, the original was painted by Jacques Louis David and is titled The Death of Marat.  Mr. Marat was one of the architects of the French Revolution.  He has a physical debility which was relieved only by soaking in a tub and he was known for having meetings while he was soaking.  Marat was known for making lists of whom to arrest and send to the guillotin for execution.  He was assassinated while soaking in his tub and you can see a list he was making in his hand. His murderer was a peasant girl named Charlotte Corday, she stabbed Marat with a knife while he was in the bath,in David's painting Marat is dying.

Leslie Holt attended but I just missed her.  It made me a sad panda since I am a huge fan of her work.  Leslie dropped off a commission for me, say hello to Hello Starry Night.  Isn't it adorable?

I also ran into a lady who I first meet (briefly) at ArtDC-she bought Leslies's Hello Guernica as well as several business card sized works by Andy Moon Wilson.   We chatted for a few moments and she said she'd purchased several of Leslie's paintings. I showed her the Sesow and found out that she's a huge fan of Matt as well!

I found Matt Sesow's work at Artomaticheld last month.  I purchased several paintings by Matt as well as a gorgeous painting  by Gennara Moore A Murder of Crows.

I prefer representational work for the most part, but something about this painting really attracted me.  So I bought it along with these two little works by Matt as well.

Matt had a fairly traumatic childhood and it's shaped his work. I believe he is considered an 'outsider' artist because he's had no formal art training.  I showed a friend of mine this painting (she's a rabid republican btw so it's not because she's pro Hillary) she said she though he was disturbed or had some issues.  That made me smile because it confirmed that its one powerful painting. As for the disturbed part he seems very well adjusted jsut working through issues like most of us are. 

[caption id="attachment_354" align="alignright" width="229" caption="Untitled by Matt Sesow"][/caption]

This is one of the tiny paintings I also bought from Matt at Artorama. I don't think it had a title, this picture is just a tad smaller than the actual painting.  The colors are a little brighter in real life.

Andy Moon Wilson, also had several works on display.  I really drooled over one and seriously considered it for a bit, but decided to wait since I am going on vacation next month and should be a tad conservative.  I have several of his small business card works and they are hysterical but these were larger (the biggest one was gorgeous!) and the mid-sized ones were on color fields so the drawing really popped out.

Non Sequiter-- there was an interesting article on art collecting on the cheap in the Express today (July 18th). They had a picture of this amazing black baroque frame that had really depth and would make the right painting come alive

All Photos by Daniel W. Coburn

You are visiting the blog of Daniel W. Coburn. For more photos and information visit his official website.

New York photographer Sarah Wilmer creates dark, nightmare-inducing photographs that have a strange sense of innocence about them. They're like movie stills, a cross between Lost Highway and Pan’s Labyrinth. We interviewed her recently to get the inside word on the inspirations behind her work. Your photos have a cinematic quality to them. What films (or other medium) would you consider to be influences? 'I love the work of Dario Argento, Roman Polanski, David Lynch and Alejandro Jodorowsky. Their films are so beautiful and interesting, I would say all of them have influenced me in one way or another'. Where do most of your shoots take place? 'In and around New York City'. What is the most elaborate shoot you can recall and what did it entail? 'There isn't one shoot that stands out as being particularly elaborate. It's like you have an idea, and you make it happen. It's work and challenging and sure there are a lot of details to manage, but when you are excited and passionate. it's all just part of the process'. If you could photograph anyone, who would it be? And where? 'I'd like to do a series of photos with Joanna Newsom in Iceland with local animals and children'. Where has your work been seen? 'I have had solo shows in New York City, Washington D.C. and Portland Oregon. I have been in group shows in New York City, Los Angeles, Portland Oregon, Tokyo, St.Louis and Washington D.C. My work has been published in V Magazine, Korean Vogue, Vision, Surface, Rolling Stone, Spin, PDN, Billboard, Marie Claire, XLR8R, Tennis, Spex, and Nomenus Quarterly, among others'.

Available as Cards, Posters, Matted/Mounted, Framed or Canvas Prints.

Thanks for looking!

The below guide is provided courtesy of the U.S. Copyright office. I am posting this since many artists and photographers that use FinerWorks for their printing want to know the essentials of registering their artwork with the U.S. Copyright office.

Table of Contents

Format Note:This electronic version has been altered slightly from the original printed text for presentation on the World Wide Web. For a copy of the original circular, consult the PDF version or write to Copyright Office, 101 Independence Avenue S.E., Washington, D.C. 20559-6000.

Barbara Hashimoto: Junk Mail exhibition, sponsored by the Chicago Art District & Podmajersky, Inc.,  has landed on Whatever Land. Thanks to photographer Archie Florcruz, a guest at the 2nd Friday Gallery Walk (2003 S. Halsted Street, East Pilsen, Chicago,) Hashimoto's junk mail creations landed on his popular photo sharing site Whatever Land.

Florcruz posted “Junk Mail Landscapes” and “White Trash: Available” plus guest artists Michael Kozien’s suite of video and sound junk mail explorations. He also clicked away as guests sat in front of the mounds of hand shredded junk mail while being taped making “true" Junk Mail Confessions. Here was a chance for the photojournalist to document over a year’s worth of hand-shredded junk mail by fine artist Barbara Hashimoto.

“Advertisers need to be more conscious of people’s right to quality of life,” says Hashimoto from a packed gallery opening this past Friday, “Junk mail is an intrusion into that right.”

Other special events throughout the year include Junk Mail Landscapes, Junk Mail Interiors, and Junk Mail Christmas where trees will be decorated using hand shredded Catalogues and other Holiday related Junk mail.

JUNK MAIL FACTS: 100 million trees are cut down to produce junk mail annually. The majority of junk mail is produced from natural forests. In 2006, Americans received 77 billion pieces of junk mail. In 2006, more than 15 million trees were cut down to produce the 1.8 billion pounds of undeliverable junk mail. (That’s above and beyond what was delivered.) 44% of the junk mail received goes unopened into the landfill.

Born in New Jersey and educated at Yale, Hashimoto’s work has been exhibited throughout Japan, The U.S. and The Middle East and is in more than 250 public and private collections including The Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of American Art, The Museum of Arts and Design (New York) and The National Museum of Women in the Arts.

> Whateverland Hashimoto: Junk Mail Photos

> Barbara Hashimoto Website