Michelangelo Architectural Design Butterfly

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Some of my paintings and even sculpture have involved doing some research on my basic idea. Sometimes that is because I do not remember details or want to get a related quote exactly right, but often I know that when I am trying to clarify an idea growing in my brain, researching often leads me to a stronger way to express the idea.

Such is the case with my newest painting in the works now. I do not want to give too much away, but like many of my works in the last several years, the basic idea is about transitions. As in my painting "Le Scale dell'Eros", my new work includes the shape of an animal; in this case, I am using a butterfly to symbolize a metamorphosis type of transition.

I first came to Italy in 2004 with a desire simply to touch the work of one of my first sculpture teachers, the great (and very late) Michelangelo. Since that wonderful experience, I had a desire to live with more art around me on a daily basis and thus Italy, especially Florence, was a strong pull. Can you imagine my delight that my research on the Greek myth that accompanies the butterfly idea led me to a butterfly shape designed by Michelangelo? It is an architectural idea he had for the Porta al Prato in Florence. I do not believe it was ever realized… but still. Here is what I found . . .

Add to this that I am trying to push myself in a slightly new direction. I do not really know exactly where I am going, but having created art for many years now, I trust the process to bring me to places that I had not really thought of, but will be appropriate for where I am in my life in the time of the painting’s creation. That sounds a bit “foo-foo” to even me, but … do what you like with it.

That said, one thing that I have struggled with since I was ten years old is the fear of losing things (people really). But for this painting, I want the butterfly form to be more subtle than most things I have painted before. In an attempt to let go without fear of losing the communication of my idea, I sketched the architectural design of Michelangelo on my canvas in charcoal until I was satisfied with the proportions. [(I prepped the 90 x 130 cm canvas with a blue campitura).] I then painted the lines loosely in a blue-umber color. [See the lower left section of the butterfly.]

After letting that be for a small time, I then went in with a blending brush and mushed all of the edges. I tried to loosen up and let the brush strokes soften everything. I want to build from this basic shape and create a composition that I find mysterious, intriguing, and expressing an emotion… in all honestly, I am not sure what. This is a painting idea from something I have felt for many years now, having spent my life in my recent past going back and forth from Texas to Italia. Would you like to follow the journey with me? Or maybe it would be best for me to wait to see if I am successful in this endeavor?

There is still time to sign-up for the workshop that I will be teaching in central Florida this May. I hope you join me and let us make some art and work with designing a portrait!

"Portrait Painting with Artist Kelly Borsheim"

2013 Art Workshop Dates:
Friday, May 17 from 6-9 pm;
Saturday, May 18, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (lunch is from 1 to 2 p.m.) and
Sunday, May 19 from noon to 5 p.m., 2013
(14 hours in total)

Location: Private historic Victorian estate in Sanford, Florida (central Florida). Paid attendees will be given the address before the workshop begins, but the location is near Country Club Road on Highway 46A.

In this hands-on introductory weekend portrait workshop, you will learn how to improve your drawing and observation skills for creating a portrait and how to achieve a more 3-dimensional effect in your art using pastels and charcoal. Or you may prefer to work with oil paint.

Happy Liberation Day, Italia!

Basilica di Santo Spirito Florence Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

One of the most interesting and certainly lively squares in Florence, Italy, is Piazza Santo Spirito. She thrives on the Oltrarno “other side” of the Arno River from Florence’s famous Duomo (in the background right of my first image). There is a market every morning and a different one all day on Sundays. I ended up randomly meeting several friends here recently as we shopped all of the eye candy and also bought some local organically grown foods (a bit of a redundant phrase for these parts).

The Basilica di Santo Spirito is a distinctive church that resides on the end of the piazza that is closest to the River Arno. It is not often that it is open to visitors, but today I wanted to share some of the art and architecture of the inside of this amazing place. Of special note is that two of the first sculptures that you will see (one on each side of the doors) are very good copies of Michelangelo’s compositions, the “Pietà” and “St. John the Baptist.” I believe the artist was Giovanni Lippi, an architect who worked under the name Nanni di Baccio Bigio (1510-1568) and a contemporary of the great Michelangelo. I hope you get the chance to visit the Basilica di Santo Spirito and the piazza with the same name. So much art is INSIDE the churches in Italy!

Now, on the other side of that Atlantic Ocean, I will be teaching a Portrait Painting Workshop in central Florida. I will focus on how to create a likeness and go for a three-dimensional look. You will see some of the techniques and concepts that I have learned over the many years of creating, from sculpture to painting to street painting! The dates are May 17-19, 2013, and there is an EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION low price of $220 if you register by the first of April. [After 1 April 2013, the price is $290 for the 14-hour weekend workshop.] To learn more, please visit: www.borsheimarts.com/art-workshops/2013ArtPortraitWorkshopFlorida.htm Thank you for your interest!

Basilica della Santissima Annunziata - Firenze, Italia

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Back in May, I visited again the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata - Firenze, Italia for a Pentecostal mass. Anyone who knows me well knows that the likelihood of my attending such a service on my own is quite small. However, one of my Catholic artist colleagues invited me to come hear her sing. A sucker is born every minute. Thus, I invited another and so on, but still that evening involved a charming demonstration of hara-kiri by my guest, followed by an early escape and port wine (once outside the basilica). There is only so much of “you are a giant loser who must suffer while you depend on some amazing entity to take pity on you and save your miserable life” talk that we could listen to. Perhaps if my other friend and her colleagues in the chorus had sung it instead, we might have been able to stay longer for the two-HOUR ordeal.

Ok, now that THAT is off my chest, I will admit that I rather enjoy visiting churches, especially in Italy. After all, those buildings contain much of the art in this country. This particular basilica is located on one end of the Piazza della Santissima Annunziata in Florence, Italy, and has always intrigued me. [Incidentally, this piazza hosts the two of the coolest sculpted fountains in Firenze.]

Another problem with me is editing. I like too many of the images I take. So, I decided to turn this post into a two-part goodie. Here are some images of the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata. I hope you feel what I feel when I say that this place is darker in emotion than most others. And stay tuned for more images the next time . . .

I wish a huge happy birthday to my adorable singing niece Alexis Seiler, who turns 18 years old today! Look her up on youtube.com if you like.

Robert Rauschenberg Darryl Pottorf artist

Cari Amici (dear friends),

I have been sleeping in Robert Rauschenberg’s former bedroom on Captiva Island, Florida, since Sunday night. Even better: I wake to the art of Darryl Pottorf. I wrote about Darryl when I visited him at his solo exhibition titled Links at Brenau University in October 2010. I had met Darryl and his partner Mark in Florence, Italy, in June 2010 with my friends Johnny and Simon on Via Calimala where Johnny and I created large pastel and chalk street paintings. We all clicked right away and have been friends ever since.

I wanted to share with you Darryl’s art because in truth, I had never seen anything like it before and did not know what to make of it. Sometimes I just did not get it. But when I asked Mark if I had permission to write about how I have been “converted” and share images of the beach house that Simon and I are staying in now, Mark responded that it was little surprise that I would be drawn to Darryl’s work since Darryl had been classically trained. Ah, so yes, a possible connection! Darryl Pottorf is wonderful with composition and it is the mathematics of good design that draws me in, for starters. Many times in the past, I have made the point to many emerging artists that classical training teaches you not only nature’s proportions, which sit well with our brains, but also improves the communication between your eye, your brain, and your hands. You will gain the skills to create a mark you intended, not just happen into (all “happy accidents” aside). Then you can make any style of art you wish and communicate skillfully with a visual and tactile language.

Also, there is no substitute for seeing art in a livable space. There is an amazingly enticing large red, black, and brown composition featured on the main floor of Robert Rauschenberg’s former beach house (Bob died on May 12, 2008). One evening Darryl explained to me that this work is all about Darryl and Bob. These two artists were close friends and collaborators for over 25 years. Each part of the composition refers to some memory that Darryl shared with Bob. While I was drawn to the work as I entered the room, learning about the symbolism in the shapes and objects makes it all the more enchanting. For example, the clock on the upper left is set to the exact time that Robert Rauschenberg died. The huge black circle of lace behind the bicycle is from Venice – a personal memory of the two artists who appreciated the handiwork from Italy during their many visits there.
I do not know if I will ever attach large physical objects into my own created wall art as Darryl sometimes does, but I must say that living with this art is so much easier and joyful than I ever imagined. And as I discover more and more of Darryl’s art (we will be working in his studio today), I find myself enjoying the tactile qualities of his various textures and colors and movement.
I hope you enjoy this little peek into another world. I must get back to the beach now . . . what a vacation Darryl and Mark have made possible for me!