Oil Painting for the Serious Beginner - Take II

I finished the book. It's more than what I expected. Well written, to-the-point, compact, and definitely not just for a beginner! It has everything a serious beginner would like to know. Aptly titled, it's a great resource for the novice and experienced alike.

I almost fell in love with this one and wasn't surprised when I received my own copy as a mother's day gift.

I will recommend this book to anyone who has interest and asks for a reference. I also have thanked the author for this one and yet to hear back from him. In the meantime, I am working on the advice I received in the book about practice, experimentation and the sincerity of effort.

"The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have." --Ari Berstein

Oil Painting for the Serious Beginner

I had been thinking about taking some formal painting lessons lately. To warm up, I checked out a few painting books from the local library. They seemed well-written but could not hold my interest for long as they seem to cover a vast topic in just one book, an attempt that leaves many key issued unattended. Such as covering all media reflects author's wide knowledge-base but was of little practical use for me as I am seeking help in getting the fundamentals of oil painting in terms of the role of value and composition. I am a beginner who seem to have a grasp on drawing the correct proportions effortlessly. So, I read and returned a few without having much impact until I found this one by Steve Allrich.

It has pretty much everything I was looking for. And I am not even finished with the first chapter! I am sure this book would be an excellent resource for all my art-questions.

Here is his blog.

And here is the Artist's Statement from his blog.

Frida Kahlo Mexican Painter

I am stunned by the work of Frida everytime I look at it. She is one of the artists who is a genuine representative of painting. She is so honest with her work that it hurts. Had she been a writer her writing would make you rethink about the autobiographies that you've ever read. The heart-wrenching bare realities told with tearing truth would have made you shocked and sad at the same time. Such is her style. I have never seen an artist's work so flawless, intriguing and compelling as of her.

She was born and raised in Mexico and was way ahead of her times in everything she pursued. No wonder her work seem so contemporary that you'd wonder why she is placed in history! She mostly painted her own portraits and every single one has a story to tell.




Frida's Biography

Here is the biography of her which is not from this book but good to know just in case you'd like to know.
[Source: http://www.leninimports.com/frida_kahlo_bio.html]
Frida's life began and ended in Mexico City, in her home known as the Blue House. She gave her birthdate as July 7, 1910, but her birth certificate shows July 6, 1907. Frida claimed this so because she wanted the year of her birth to cooincide with the year of the outbreak of the Mexican revolution, because her life would begin with the birth of modern Mexico.

At age 6, Frida was stricken with polio, which caused her right leg to appear much thinner than the other. It was to remain that way permanently.

When Frida entered high school she was a tomboy full of mischief who became the ringleader of a rebellious group of mainly boys that continually caused trouble in the National Preparatory School. This group pulled many pranks, mainly on professors. It was also in the National Preparitory School that Frida first came in contact with her future husband, the famous Mexican muralist, Diego Rivera. He was commissioned to paint a mural in the school's auditorium.

On September 17, 1925, when she was 18, she was riding a bus in Mexico City when it was struck by a trolley car. A metal handrail pierced her abdomen, exiting through her vagina. Her spinal column was broken in three places. Her collarbone, some ribs, and her pelvis were broken, and her right leg was fractured in 11 places. Her foot was dislocated and crushed. No one thought she would live, much less walk again, but, after a month in the hospital, she went home. Encased for months in plaster body casts, Kahlo began to paint lying in bed with a special easel rigged up by her mother. With the help of a mirror, Kahlo began painting her trademark subject: herself. Of the 150 or so of her works that have survived, most are self-portraits. As she later said, "I paint myself because I am so often alone, because I am the subject I know best."

Although Frida's recovery was miraculous (she regained her ability to walk), she did have relapses of tremendous pain and fatigue all throughout her life, which caused her to be hospitalized for long periods of time, bedridden at times, and also caused her to undergo numerous operations. She once joked that she held the record for the most operations. Frida underwent about 30 in her lifetime. She also turned to alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes to ease the pain of her physical suffering.

Once she was out and about after her accident, a close friend introduced Frida to the artistic crowd of Mexico, which included Tina Modotti (well known photographer, actress, and communist) and Diego Rivera.

Diego and Frida were married on August 21,1929. Their marriage consisted of love, affairs with other people, creative bonding, hate, and a divorce in 1940 that lasted only for one year. Their marriage has been called the union between an elephant and a dove, because Diego was huge and very fat, and Frida was small (a little over 5 feet) and slender.

Despite Diego's affairs with other women (one was with Frida's sister), he helped in many ways. Kahlo shared Rivera's faith in communism and passionate interest in the indigenous cultures of Mexico. Rivera encouraged Kahlo in her work, extolling her as authentic, unspoiled and primitive, and stressing the Indian aspects of her heritage. During this period "Mexicanidad," the fervent embrace of pre-Hispanic Mexican history and culture, gave great currency to the notion of native roots. At the same time, being seen as a primitive provided an avenue for recognition for a few women artists. Kahlo, who had Indian blood on her mother’s side, was of Hungarian-Jewish descent on her father’s side. Although initially a self-taught painter, she was, through her relationship with Rivera, soon travelling in the most sophisticated artistic circles. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine that anyone who shared Rivera’s life could have remained artistically naive.

Presumably because it generated respect and imparted credibility in the art world, Kahlo encouraged the myth of her own primitiveness—in part by adopting traditional Mexican dress—and it stayed with her throughout her career.

During her lifetime, Kahlo did not enjoy the same level of recognition as the great artists of Mexican muralism, Rivera, Orozco, and Siqueiros. However, over the last two decades that has changed and today Kahlo’ s idiosyncratic, intensely autobiographical work is critically and monetarily as prized as that of her male peers, sometimes more so.

Her paintings, rooted in 19th-century Mexican portraiture, ingeniously incorporated elements of Mexican pop culture and pre-Columbian primitivism that, in the 1930s, had never been done before. Usually small, intimate paintings that contrasted with the grand mural tradition of her time, her work was often done on sheet metal rather than canvas, in the style of Mexican street artists who painted retablos, or small votive paintings that offer thanks to the Virgin Mary or a saint for a miraculous deliverance from misfortune.

Frida let out all of her emotions on a canvas. She painted her anger and hurt over her stormy marriage, the painful miscarriages, and the physical suffering she underwent because of the accident.

Kahlo who was so proud of her luxurious facial hair that she painted it right on to her self-portraits.

Frida, despite all of the hurt in her life, was an outgoing person whose vocabulary was filled with 4 letter words. She loved to drink tequila and sing off color songs to guests at the crazy parties she hosted. She loved telling dirty jokes and shocking everyone around her. Frida amazed people with her beauty and everywhere she went, people stopped in their tracks to stare in wonder.

Rivera, a dedicated Trotskyite, used his clout to petition the Mexican government to give Trotsky and his wife asylum after they were forced out of Norway. Rivera and Kahlo put up the Trotskys in Kahlo's family home. (She painted a self-portrait dedicated to him that now hangs in Washington's NMWA.)

After Trotsky was assassinated, however, Kahlo turned on her old lover with a vengeance, claiming in an interview that Trotsky was a coward and had stolen from her while he stayed in her house (which wasn't true). "He irritated me from the time that he arrived with his pretentiousness, his pedantry because he thought he was a big deal," she said. . Frida was later arrested for his murder, but was let go. Diego was also under suspicion for the murder, but he was let go as well. Several years after Trotsky's death, Diego and Frida enjoyed telling people that they invited him to Mexico just to get him killed, but no one knows if they were telling the truth or not. They were fantastic story tellers.

The fact is that Kahlo turned on Trotsky because she had become a devout Stalinist. Kahlo continued to worship Stalin even after it had become common knowledge that he was responsible for the deaths of millions of people, not to mention Trotsky himself. One of Kahlo's last paintings was called Stalin and I, and her diary is full of her adolescent scribblings ("Viva Stalin!") about Stalin and her desire to meet him.

All over the world, people loved Frida. When she went to France, she was wined and dined by Picasso, and appeared on the cover of the French Vogue. In America, people loved her beauty and her work. In Mexico, her homeland, she had many great admirers.

Frida only had one exhibition in Mexico and it was in the spring of 1953. Frida's health was very bad at this time and doctors told her not to attend. Minutes after guests were allowed into the gallery, sirens were heard outside. The crowd went crazy, for outside there was an ambulance accompanied by a motorcycle escort. Frida Kahlo was being carried from it into her exhibition on a hospital stretcher! The photographers and reporters were shocked. She was placed in her bed in the middle of the gallery. The mob of people went to greet her. Frida told jokes, entertained the crowd, sang, and drank the whole evening. The exhibition was an amazing success.

During the same year as her exhibition, Frida had to have her right leg amputated below the knee due to a gangrene infection. This caused her to become deeply depressed and suicidal.

She attempted suicide a couple of times. In 1954, suffering from pneumonia, Kahlo went to a Communist march to protest the U.S. subversion of the left-wing Guatemalan government. Four days later, she died in what may or may not have been a suicide. No official autopsy was done.

Her last words in her diary read "I hope the leaving is joyful and I hope never to return".

Counting in the Garden

I have this awesome book again but for a short period of time. I loved it the first time I saw and have fallen for it since. Rightly said in the introduction of the book that it's a feast for the eyes while learning a bit of counting. I agree with the first part but kind of disagree on the learning part.

It's a painting book through and through and so beautiful that it gets the reader distracted from the counting. The creatures to be counted are so colorful (imagine a dotted red turtle hiding in the bushes full of red flowers) that they are hard to distinguish for a toddler.

But for the mommy, the book is a godsend. I can go through the book over and over again without tiring myself.

A must have for any artsy mom or parent.

Vogue International Winter Issue

I could not believe my local library is going to have this on their shelf. This is the first issue here.

The focus is on super-chunky yarns. I am relieved my recently knitted pieces are still in! *phew* But on the flop-side, I won't be making any of this soon for two reasons I just finished a lot of chunky yarn, one and two, Winter is almost over!

I think everyone can enjoy little bit of eyecandy. So sharing some pics.




Now I sit and wait for the next issue.

Modular Knits

Modular Knits: New Techniques for Today's Knitters
Author: Iris Schreier
Price: $17 (check price)

This book has a novel approach to make the knits in modular formats. When I first read this book, I wasn't very confident about the modular knitting and didn't quite understand the technique. So I gave this book a 2 star rating.

I guess, I would revisit it sometime soon and will post updated review.

Book of Yarn: The Encyclopedia of Yarn

The Knitter's Book of Yarn: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn
Author:Clara Parkes
Price: $20

The best yarn book you'd ever read. This is not a typical knitting book with info about yarns and patterns (well it has that too) but it deals with origin, treatment, and final outcome of the yarn when it appears on the shop-shelves. It's more of reference book but very readable. I am sure you won't be able to put it down until you have finished the last page.
Well written, very explanatory and worth reading.

Bottomline
If you are a not just a knitter but a complete knitting lover, you may definitely consider buying this book. Two thumbs way up!

Stitionary Series

Stitionary 1

Vogue Knitting Stitchionary Volume One: Knit & Purl: The Ultimate Stitch Dictionary from the Editors of Vogue Knitting Magazine (Vogue Knitting Stitchionary Series) (Hardcover)
Trisha Malcolm (Editor)
Price: $19.77 (Check for deals for all books)

This book has a good number of stitches to learn from, all using knit and purl skills. I have had almost all of these but what I like about this series is the layout and the presentation. They chose very nice colored swatches to go with each stitch type. That instantly hooks you up. The swatches also are not very crowded, just two per pages. So the roomy look of every page is visually very inviting. You would want to duplicate it right away.

Stitionary 2


The Vogue Knitting Stitchionary Volume Two: Cables: The Ultimate Stitch Dictionary from the Editors of Vogue Knitting Magazine (Vogue Knitting Stitchionary Series)
Author: Vogue Knitting Magazine
Price: $23.48

What can be better than Stitionary for a knitter? Stitionary 2 ofcourse! This one has all the cable pattens all over. Starting from an easy cables to very complicated cables, they have it all.

Stitionary 3


The Vogue Knitting Stitchionary Volume Three: Color Knitting: The Ultimate Stitch Dictionary from the Editors of Vogue Knitting Magazine (Vogue Knitting Stitchionary Series)
Author: Vogue Knitting Magazine
Price: $19.77

This book is a total color blast. The layout is more or less same as the last two books on this series. But it has some interesting color combinations for knits.

Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Knitting Book

Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Knitting Book
Vogue Knitting Magazine Editors (Author)
Price: $25 (check the site for deals)

I had seen this reference book in the bookstore and liked it. When I finally got a better look later at the local library I loved the description, detail and the lucidity of the instructions in it. So, I asked my husband to buy this for me. He ordered it online and had it delivered a couple of days prior to Mother's Day! So this is my official gift :-)

I opened it like a treasure and turned the pages with utmost care. The smell of a new book is as pleasing to a reader as a well-done pizza to a food-lover!

I am enjoying this book ever since. Being the first and the only knitting book that I own this book has topped the list of books to be reviewed.

The Review

As I said before, this book has everything in very clear detail. It can very well be used and appreciated by a new or an experienced knitter. The book has knitting instructions from simple cast-on, binding off and everything in between.

There are multiple techniques explained with example and the format is easy to follow. So if you are a beginner, all you have to do is, understand the terminology and walk along the steps mentioned and in no time, you would be able to knit a simple scarf. When you gain some confidence in holding the needles and ready for something more challenging, there are patterns and samples that you can refer to. For an experienced knitter, there are the advanced techniques elaborated.

The most important thing that I loved about the book is that it teaches you how to have an estimate of the yarn you would need for some project. That's something I hardly found in any other book. Another nice thing is the special section devoted to the designing of a knitwear. Right from the basic guidelines to intricate patterns and their desired effects, the book has it all.

I will surely recommend this book to anyone who has interest in knitting and would want to experiment with style. There are many new things one can learn at any experience level.

Bottom line

If you are a knitter, want to learn to knit, or just looking for a reference book to give to someone who loves to knit, yes, go ahead, buy this book. It's worth it.

The Fun of Frills

These are written by Nicky Epstein, a genius knitting artist. She has great taste and I am glad she shared her wealth of knowledge. Many of my pieces has her influence.

Here are three of her books that I have read. I will post the detailed review shortly.








This book is a total visual feast!

Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Knitting Book

I will soon post the review of this excellent knitting book I own.

Another catagory coming up in Creativity Corner

Hola! It's a beautiful sunny day in Fremont and what can be cozier than sitting down with your laptop, nibbling on buttered sweetpotato cubes and enjoying the new ideas floating around. One such cool idea I just had is to arrange the book-list I regularly refer to as part of my creativity mission.

Details of the cool idea

I am talking about the books I have read, consulted, or taken inspiration from, mainly for the purpose of creating art, crafts and other stuff in life.

Then, if time permits, I will also try to put a few words about the non-arts books I would read along the way. I will compile a list of the books I have read or have been meaning to read under separate sections. I guess that will bring back memories of near and far; about people I think about and also things that shaped the 'present me' of my personality.

What do I usually read

I love to read non-fiction. I strongly feel that life is the best thing to write about and the next best thing is to know and learn from the experiences of others. Have you seen Sideways? There is a character in the movie who bumps into a novel-writer (a manuscript actually and is waiting to hear from the publishers) and asks him why is he even bothered about the fiction, there is so much more in real life than making up a story about people who don't even exist! He completely reflects the thoughts I have about fiction. The writer can make the character do impossible things, can make people have change of heart any time and the topper is that the end can be altered at any point!

People have been the greatest source of inspiration to me. And that's the reason why biographies interest me so much. I think, the list will be dominated by them, but we will see what other contenders would be.

My strong bond with libraries

I could not thank my stars enough when we moved to California where we went to one of the best libraries of the world - Santa Clara Central Park Library.

http://library.santaclaraca.gov/about-the-library/locations.html

It has amazing collection of biographies! You name it, they have it (well, almost!) They also have an immense collection of pretty much everything else.

I have been a member of all the main libraries of Bay Area. Besides above mentioned, I would rate Sunnyvale, San Jose, Cupertino, Mountain View, and Alameda libraries in my spare time. So let me close this posting with a thread for the next one - The new category would be called Book Reviews.

Thanks for reading and feel free to recommend the books you liked. That might jump on this list.