unexpected inspiration from Hieronymous Bosch: The Garden of Eartly Delights

Hieronymous Bosch, Dutch, The Garden of Earthly Delights, 1504

Okay I’m going to be completely honest with you, I’m not a huge Hieronymous Bosch fan. Actually, when I saw his work in art history, I wasn’t overly excited about it.  But here is the thing: when I went to the Prado and saw this piece in person. I cried. Seriously, it brought me to tears.  

So this was very odd to me, I had just seen a number of other pieces in the museum including works by Goya (whose work I admire), but here I was crying in front of a piece I didn’t think meant anything to me.  I still don’t know exactly what it was about this piece, but I think that’s the allure it has on me.

So, I’m just wondering. Is there any work (fine art, music, movie, book etc) that you did not think you’d be interested in and when you saw, read, or listened to it, you were so blown away that you couldn’t control your emotions?

If you would like to see more pieces by Bosch, click here. 

If you would like to go to the Prado's website visit here.

Name my art Friday: Untitled No. 64

copyright elisa ann lindstrom

Untitled No. 64
is now:
Contemplating the Storm
titled by: C.C. Smith

size of canvas: 24 x 20 (61 x 50.8 cm)
depth of canvas: 7/8" (less than 2.5 cm)
colors used: blue (sky blue), brown, amber, sienna, white, black
medium used: mixed media (acrylic paint, matte medium, conte crayon, soft pastels, & gouache)

The salty air
The sound of waves
A peaceful moment

Contemplating the Storm is an original landscape painting on 24” x 20” canvas. I was inspired to create this art piece after spending a weekend in Montauck, NY (on Long Island). You can read more about the inspiration for this piece here.

For more information on this painting, click here.


 For more information on Name my art Friday,

see the sidebar to the right

Have a great weekend!

behind the painting: Contemplating the Storm

Untitled no. 64 (aka Contemplating the Storm) copyright elisa ann lindstrom

The image:

I chose this image because I love lighthouses. I like the symbolism of them as beacons for the tired and weary and I think it’s a good fit for what my paintings are all about (being a reminder for all of us to take a moment, breathe and appreciate the world around us. Essentially giving us a sense of peace when we’re under stress, if only for a few minutes).

The story behind the image:

A few years back, a good friend of mine and I decided we wanted to see the seals at Montauk. If you don’t know where Montauk is, it’s at the very end of Long Island. In fact, there is a bumper sticker that reads “Montauk: The End”. The seals are around only for the winter/early spring months (and then head back north for the summer). Even though we knew it would be a couple of hours outside in the cold, we were determined and made a weekend of it.  This image was taken on the day of our Guided Seal Hike coming back from the hike.

For more information on Montauk, NY and the seal hike, visit:

http://www.hike-li.org/sealhike.htm

http://www.onmontauk.com/

http://www.montauklighthouse.com/

Name My Art Friday for this piece 
will be held this Friday, August 12

inspiration from Edward Hopper: The Lighthouse at Two Lights

Edward Hopper, American, The Lighthouse at Two Lights, 1929

I think I’ve known Edward Hopper’s work since I was a little girl. My mom really likes his paintings of people. I like those as well, but I find his landscapes to be what inspires me the most.  I love the clean, basic feeling of his work. The lines and colors are almost bare bones at first glance and then you look and notice all of the details he has put in (the molding on the house, the walkway along the lighthouse).  I also really appreciate Hopper’s understanding and use of light and shadows.

What do you like about this painting? Do you have a favorite Hopper?

On a total side note:  When I was getting my Masters of Social Work at NYU (which is a whole other story for another time), one of the school’s buildings, 3 Washington Square North, was where Hopper’s apartment & studio was. They have kept it almost exactly as it was left. So I got to see it. It was one of those speechless moments for me.  I tried to go back with my parents to show them when they were in town but either that room or the room leading to the studio is used as offices for faculty and …well, I’ll just say that we weren’t welcomed nicely by one of the faculty so we never got to really look at it together.

To more information on this piece: click here

Have you seen...

The final version of Winter Pond & Reunion?

.

Winter Pond copyright elisa ann lindstrom 24" x 20"

Reunion copyright elisa ann lindstrom 24" x 30"

I don't know if this has happened to you, but sometimes I finish something and then realize that I wasn't finished with it at all. That's what happened to me with four landscapes. The first one was "Under A Western Sky" which I finished in 2010. I have since re-worked "Winter Pond" and "Reunion" and wanted to share the final paintings with you.  I am still in the process of revisiting "Passage" and hopefully can show you the final for that soon.

You can see what I changed in "Under A Western Sky" in the post here.

To view the transformation of "Winter Pond", visit the posts here,  here & here.

You can see the transformation of "Reunion" in the post here.