Symbolism in True Form is meant to Jar

India Rising Series -- "The Lost" acrylic on canvas

Definition: Symbolism was a late nineteenth-century art movement of French, Russian and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts. In literature, the style originates with the 1857 publication of Charles Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du mal.

“Symbolism developed new and often abstract means to express psychological truth and the idea that behind the physical world lay a spiritual reality. The emphasis is on expressing emotions, feelings, ideas, and subjectivity rather than realism.

“The work of symbolists is personal and expresses their own ideologies, particularly the belief in the artist's power to reveal truth. Symbolists take the ineffable, such as dreams and visions, and give it form.”

Michelangelo's "Finger of God"

In her book “Experimental Painting; Inspirational approaches to mixed media art” Lisa L. Cyr writes: “When one is free from inhibitions and preset expectations, the door opens for that spark of brilliance and magic to come through. Spontaneously and without effort, a highly imaginative world known only to the artist begins to reveal itself.”

Many symbolists combine "religious mysticism, the perverse, the erotic, and the decadent. Their subject matter is typically characterized by an interest in the occult, the morbid, the dream world, melancholy, evil, and death.”

Thanks to http://www.theartstory.org/movement-symbolism.htm

 

Here are a few recognized symbolist painters and visual artists, which include Gustave Moreau, Gustav Klimt, Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, Jacek Malczewski, Odilon Redon, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, Henri Fantin-Latour, Gaston Bussière, Edvard Munch, Félicien Rops, and Jan Toorop.

Color and the way it affects mood is often used to create a message or sharp response in the viewer, but we’ll discuss color in another blog. Today artists are free to use alternative styles by combining conventional approaches with innovation. There has been a modern day revolution of sorts in the way art is created and presented.

The artist Cyr, quoted earlier, calls this inventive approach “reinterpret, reinvent, and redefine.”

Below are some helpful Youtube videos.

 Jake Baddeley - Symbolist painter  

 The Symbolist Paintings

Sometimes Impressionism and Symbolism overlap

Locusts Inspire more than the Latest Painting

You may have noticed a headline in Sunday’s paper that blew your mind the way it did mine. “Researchers think bugs could help find bombs,” News-Press, FL July 17, 2016.

Of course, the article didn’t mention just any old insect. The “bug” in question is a locust, long-held to be an enemy of man and is known to have destroyed thousands of acres of crops in a matter of hours or days resulting in famines worldwide.

The fascinating article noted that “Locust antennae act as a nose, with sensors more complex than any clinical sensor an engineer could make” (Oh, the wisdom and knowledge of God!) “A group of researchers at Washington University hopes to hijack that sense of smell using bioengineering to create the ultimate smelling machine.” If you ask me, bioengineering is the next greatest go-to career.

What’s the big deal? “First researchers will implant sensors in locust brains to understand neural activity when the bugs smell different things. They’ll use algorithm to interpret brain patterns, allowing them to decode what the locusts smell.

“Raman, head researcher on the project, has found that locusts can quickly be trained to recognize different scents. Taking a page from Pavlov, Raman and his team hit locusts with a puff of a smell, and then reward them with a grass pellet. Within five or six trials, a locust learns to associate that specific smell with food.”

Fair game, I suppose since people also eat locusts and other insects. Yum! Not for me. I saw silkworms roasted and eaten when I was in Korea. That seems tame now that I think of people munching on a large crunchy grasshopper or locust.

Currently a tiny backpack is in a prototype stage and the energy is powered by the locusts’ own movements. Even steering the locusts has been successfully tested, but researchers are trying to figure out which is more effective: “steering the locusts toward a potential threat or allowing them to sniff it out themselves. For now, the focus is on the technology.”

This whole thing reminds me of an old carnival act called the “Flea Circus.” Here tiny fleas are taught to play on minuscule equipment. The show is then viewed via magnification. Is the show a mirage of trickery or are the fleas actually trained? You’d have to ask the trainer. At any rate, people have always been intrigued by the natural world and the miraculous creations that abound in the universe.

“In Chinese “cricket” culture, the cricket-related business is highly seasonal. Trapping crickets in the fields peaks in August and extends into September. 

The crickets soon end up at the markets of Shanghai and other major cities. Cricket fighting season extends until the end of autumn, overlapping with the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day. 

Chinese breeders are striving to make cricket fighting a year-round pastime, but the seasonal tradition prevails.”

Below is a link to Wikipedia if you want to learn more about having a cricket for a pet.

Wikipedia Crickets as pets

There is an amazing array of artwork online that is inspired by locusts. Here is one by Katie Hoffman called “Locusts and Honey” that is both representational and abstract.

If you would like to see more of Hoffman’s unusual work go to Katie Hoffman's Web Address

More artwork using locusts as part of a theme is shown below.

Moving on to today’s technology, I’ve noticed that computer generated artwork seems to be more popular than traditional artwork and sells at a cheaper price. This future trend still requires the skill of an artist, but the materials and the end product are much different than the nuts and bolts of stinky turps and paints of the past. Will technology supersede and outpace the old style of doing business in the art world? 

Many said this about libraries when Kindle came along, but Public Libraries have actually incorporated this new technology into their game plan. Today they are busier than ever because society continues to crave information and entertainment.

How will you adapt your artistic repertoire into this new world? Many older artists are not even computer literate. I get asked to help others build an artist’s web site or help them learn how to photograph and upload their paintings (for free, of course!). I not only can’t spread myself that thin, but I find it almost impossible to teach these “old dog’s new tricks.” They simply can’t grasp the technology, and they forget our first lesson as soon as they leave requiring follow up calls.

The only way to be successful in the future is to keep up with the latest and greatest and learn how to bend your skills to take advantage of what’s trending. Good luck!

Here is the best web side to differentiate between a locust, a grasshopper, a katydid, and a cricket:  Locust Grasshopper Cricket Katydid

And thanks to the Agriculture department and .gov:

Locusts and grasshoppers are the same in appearance - how they differ is largely in their behavior. Locusts can exist in two different behavioral states (solitary and gregarious) whereas grasshoppers generally do not. When the population density is low, locusts behave as individuals, much like grasshoppers.  www.agriculture.gov.au/pests-diseases-weeds/locusts/about/about_locusts

Artists Copy from Nature Either Intentionally or Unawares

Nine-Banded Armadillo -- a small knight in protective armor

Many artists pride themselves on their own ingenuity believing that what they create is unique or has never been done before. But the facts are that styles and designs repeat themselves over the centuries. Artists only do a variation on what has been done before.

Nature provides us with countless designs and shapes. Unconsciously we bring them into our work and they become a part of whatever we create. The saying: “There is nothing new under the sun” was spoken (or written) for a reason. It is true. Conjure, if you will, the varied shapes and intricacies of a flower or a leaf; an insect, the odd shapes on a giraffe, the stripes of a zebra, a caterpillar’s fuzzy or lined patterns.

"Namesake" 24 x 18 acrylic on canvas

The things that surround us find their way into our art. We manipulate them. We re-color them. We may even change their shape, but the origins of idea are still formed from that which we recall. Even abstract forms are reborn on canvas maintaining a semblance of the original nugget of thought. Scientists also admit that they create and change those things that already exist. They may duplicate life, but they cannot create it without using parts of that which already exists in nature.

I’ve drawn many simple creatures of nature simply because their intricate outer covering intrigued me. Usually I do some research to discover how unique and independent these magnificent insects or animals are in the scheme of things.

A quick sketch of an armadillo I saw while out walking.

Yesterday morning my husband discovered two young armadillos foraging in our back yard. I snapped a photo hoping to capture them in the early light. 

Normally, armadillos sleep during the day; but these two were still in the throes of youth, and were perhaps more daring than their parents. These were “nine-banded” armadillos protected by a hard, scaled shell that some playfully call “armor.”

Two nine-banded armadillos in our back yard.

Armadillos have poor eyesight which explains why I was able to stand fairly close without getting them overly excited. They can’t hear very well either, but if attacked or fearful, they will roll into a tough, round ball.

How do they eat? They are expert at burrowing and can smell insects nestled in the ground. They make three to five inch circular holes boring for a meal. Usually we don’t see them, but we know that they have been in our yard by these small holes placed at intervals in the soft earth of our flower beds.

"Nine-banded armadillos do not have any front teeth; they have rows of 28-32 peg-like teeth in the back of the mouth. Their diet consists mostly of insects and invertebrates but on occasion they will eat a small vertebrate, berries, or mushrooms. They burrow to find insects and other invertebrates. They also will root around ground litter to find their food.

"Armadillos breed in July, but the embryo is dormant until November. In March the females give birth to four young which are always the same gender because they are identical quadruplets. The armor of armadillo young is soft and leathery, becoming firmer with age.

Thanks to the University of Miami web site I learned a lot about these beautifully designed warriors."

Another shot of our back yard armadillos.

Somewhat alarming about this particular animal, known as the nine-banded armadillo, is that in rare occasions they have been known to spread leprosy. But according to the Smithsonian Institute, “leprosy is a wimp of a pathogen. It is so fragile that it dies quickly outside the body and is notoriously difficult to grow in lab conditions. But with a body temperature of just 90 degrees, the armadillo presents a kind of Goldilocks condition for the disease—not too hot, not too cold. Bacterial transmission to people can occur when we handle or eat the animal."

Yes, in some areas they do eat these small animals. According to connoisseurs, armadillos taste like chicken. If you're hungry for something outrageous, search for armadillo recipes. My own gut reaction is “Why would I want to eat a possible carrier of leprosy?” I’ll just leave it at that.

“Though Hansen’s disease effects 250,00 people worldwide, it only infects 150 to 250 Americans. Even more reassuring: up to 95 percent of the population is genetically unsusceptible to contracting it. And these days, it is highly treatable, and not nearly as contagious as once believe.

"And as for armadillos—the risk of transmission to humans is low, only the nine-banded armadillo is known to carry the disease. And most people in the U.S. who come down with the chronic bacterial disease get it from other people while traveling outside the country.

“Experts say the easiest way to avoid contagion is to simply avoid unnecessary contact with the critters. And, of course, they advise not to go hunting, skinning or eating them (which is a rule that the armadillos would probably appreciate, too)."
From the Smithsonian @ http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-armadillos-can-spread-leprosy-180954440/#Iy4eJTt55scIlMAW.99

It's Spring -- Bless the Baby Birds!

I couldn't resist sharing a childhood experience with you. The story probably accounts for why I love birds and delight in painting them.

******

He was pink, blind and featherless when I found him lying in the bright spring grass. His lifeless three-inch body brought back a rush of memory and I was eight years old again, looking down on another fragile baby bird.

"Tufted Titmouse" drawing

He had fallen so far from the nest that I convinced myself his mother would never miss him. Carefully, and with a modicum of shame, I scooped the tiny fledgling into my cupped hands. I would nurse him back to health and become his protector. In turn, he would be my friend, my pet. He could perch on my finger and I would teach him how to do tricks. He could sing for his supper. Surely mother would let me keep him.

"Courtship" pencil drawing

She shook her head when she saw him; a bad omen. But when she gave me an empty matchbox, I grew hopeful. We stuffed the matchbox with tissue and laid the bird gently on the soft white sheets. His head wobbled back and forth as his tiny body struggled to get up. The dark swollen eyes were closed, but the hungry beak gaped wide in a perpetual state of readiness.

My mother went for the “crumb jar;” the kind you fill up with leftover toast or stale bread until there are enough pieces for croutons or crumbs on a casserole.

We moistened a small chunk of bread in warm milk; and while mother left to prepare dinner, I dropped soggy snippets of bread into the bird’s open mouth. The feeding lasted until the tantalizing smells from the kitchen and the clatter of dishes distracted me.

"Berry Picking Time" 16 x 20 acrylic on panel

It was nearly bedtime before I remembered. I skipped to the back porch, half expecting birdsong to greet me. Instead, I slammed into a cold wall of silence. I held my breath and peered into the matchbox. The bird’s too-large head lay angled against the white tissue, his pale colored beak hung open. The bread I had pushed down his throat earlier was now stuck like a gummy wad of dough. I yelled for mother.

"Hut Two Three Four" drawing

She came quickly with tweezers in hand. “He’s too weak to swallow,” she said, making one final effort to remove the dough from the tiny gullet. “He’s not breathing,” she muttered to herself. And then seeing my tears, she added, “It’s not your fault. He’s too young, that’s all. His eyes aren’t open. He has no feathers.” In spite of her words, I cried. Sad lesson learned -- end of story, or was it?

Returning to the present and my adult moorings, I studied the baby bird at my feet. If I left him here, a neighbor’s cat or a hungry hawk would surely destroy him or a child’s bicycle could crush him unawares. Impulsively, I scooped him into my hands. I had to give him a second chance. Who knows? This time I might succeed; and, perhaps, redeem my childhood guilt in the bargain.

"Star Billing" mixed media on 14 x 18canvas