From the Artist's Eye

Interview: Joseph Ravens, Part 2 of 2

Hollye Davidson — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 11:47:44 -0400

Joseph Ravens is an exciting performance artist who creates moving, beautiful and entertaining works. He's a wonderful person, and I'm thrilled to bring you this opportunity to get to know him better. His works redefine the genre, and shouldn't be missed. But how did he get his start in this highly creative genre, and where's he going next? Join us for a while, and imagine yourself creating or being involved in such innovative performances. This show is available as a vidcast at www.hollyedavidson.com/v24

Interview: Joseph Ravens, Part 1 of 2

Hollye Davidson — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 18:39:07 -0500

An Artist's Quest

Hollye Davidson — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 14:20:09 -0500

There is pressure on artists to create works with an edge, a modern twist that can grab the attention of today's art consumers. This isn't a uniquely modern situation--it's been the case throughout history. This isn't always easy for artists, who may already be struggling to artistically produce their own particular vision, which may or may not fit the modern paradigm of what art should be. I've begun to get a much better understanding of what it is that I want to say with my art, and what my personal quest is artistically. The challenge, then, is to remain true to one's own artistic quest, yet try to present the work in such a way as to make it available to those who might enjoy it.

Dogs in Art

Hollye Davidson — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 06:14:45 -0500

[This show is available as a vidcast at www.hollyedavidson.com/v22] Dogs are a common and welcome site in art, particularly in Western art, but in art from many cultures. Why is that? Sometimes, dogs are used to represent certain traits, like loyalty or fidelity, but just as often, it is for the joy that dogs bring to the canvas, or work. It's fun to see how dogs reflect their owners in certain works; or is it the other way around? Some of the greatest artists of our time have painted dogs, and these works capture the quintessential nature of the dog: loyal, pure of spirit, loving, and exuberant.

Mystique

Hollye Davidson — Sat, 14 Oct 2006 16:21:05 -0400

[This podcast is additionally available as a vidcast, at www.hollyedavidson.com/v21] The Mona Lisa, and The Girl with a Pearl Earing, justifiably end up the subject of popular culture and the movies. Some works simply have such a powerful mystique, that we find ourselves wanting to know more about them, to understand them better. Fra Angelico's works also qualify; they represent an evolutionary leap forward for their time, and still captivate us today.

Erotic Art

Hollye Davidson — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 19:43:07 -0400

[This podcast is available as a vidcast at www.hollyedavidson.com/v20] An article in Art News inspires Hollye to think about what erotic art means to her. She notes that erotic art is prevalent in art from all cultures, including wonderful examples in indian, african, and japanese art. As base components of the nature of humankind, we would expect passion and love to be reflected in art, and it is, with inspiring results.

Color

Hollye Davidson — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 17:43:19 -0400

[This show is available as a video 'vidcast', at www.hollyedavidson.com/v19] Hollye discusses ways of viewing and using color, including the use of contrasting colors to produce darkness and light. She mentions, as examples of great colorists, Vuillard, Matisse, Seurat, Monet, Mondrian, Miro, and Bonnard, although there are, of course, so many more. She also notes an exhibit of an elephant self portrait. While there is some controversy over the painting, the idea that animals, such as humans and elephants, can express themselves through the use of color is clear, and is an inate gift that we all can enjoy.

Matisse

Hollye Davidson — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 17:45:33 -0400

Hollye draws parallels between the elemental shapes and colors of African art, and the work of Henri Matisse. An innovator with a powerful sense of color and shape, Matisse was and remains a strong influence on many artists, but he too was influenced by discoveries of his day. Another of those influences was Japanese art.

Rembrandt [2/2]

Hollye Davidson — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 14:15:33 -0400

In this second part of a two part series on Rembrandt, Hollye discusses Rembrandt's personal relationships, with his wife who passed away, and his mistress. He treated his mistress cruelly, squandered his money, and found himself in a very dark period near the end of his life. He lived with his son, who also passed away, and then lived with his daughter until he died, buried in an unmarked grave. Through it all, he continued to paint the wonderful, expressive paintings we know and love today.

Rembrandt [1/2]

Hollye Davidson — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 12:35:36 -0400

This is the first of a two part series on Rembrandt. In this first part, Hollye notes that Rembrandt was originally trained as an historical painter, but he branches out into many forms of painting. He emphasized the Chiaroscuro method, developed by Caravaggio and others, wherein a strong, narrowly defined light source is used to enhance the three dimensional aspect of the work. Hollye notes that Rembrandts characters possess a unique level of emotion and personality, making the works more intense and interesting. Rembrandt`s life was not without sadness, however, and Hollye reflects on this aspect of the artist, as well.