Florence Accademia Lorenzo Bartolini

Dear Art Lover,

    

     Having lived for many years in Firenze, Italia (translated to Florence, Italy), I have passed many a time and admired the Demidoff Monument by sculptor Lorenzo Bartolini.  My favorite of the marble allegorical sculptures is a mother holding her sick or perhaps dead child across her lap, in a not unlike the famous Pietà pose by Michelangelo.

     My brother Steve was recently visiting me here in Italia for the first time and we traveled around quite a lot to give him a brief taste of this country.  Naturally, while in Firenze, we went to the Medici Chapel (my favorite place) and the Accademia. 

     Besides housing Michelangelo’s famous “David,” the Accademia also houses his marvelous unfinished slaves, many more paintings and then..the gesso museum… a true delight.  This is where many of the plaster sculptures used to create a copy or copies into marble (with a point-up system) are stored.  Many will still contain the little black dots on the surface of the plaster.  These mark the high points in an area of each sculpture and help in the roughing out of the stone, so as not to remove too much material from any given area. 

“Love, Vice, and Wisdom” by Bartolini

      Lorenzo Bartolini (Prato 1777 - Firenze 1850) is one of the artist with many sculptures here to admire.  One of my favorites is a composition of three children.  It is unusual in that it is mostly horizontal.  Sculptors often create vertical compositions that read well from a distance.  “L’Amore, Il Vizio e la Saggezza” (“Love, Vice, and Wisdom”) is dated as “before 1845,” five years at least before the artist died. The three children are arranged in overlapping reclining poses, a bit triangular on a round base.  It reminds me of Giambologna’s “Il Ratto delle Sabine” {“The Abduction of the Sabine Women”) in which the sculptor was seeking a perfect composition that enticed the viewer to walk around to see all sides.  [Note that the title of Giambologna’s composition was given by someone else AFTER the work was done, based on a popular theme in art at the time.]

     Shown here is the plaster model from which was carved the marble sculpture for the Metropolitan Museum.  I apologize that my images are not so clear nor show all the views.  My main camera died in my second fall where I reinjured my knee back in March.  Then this smaller camera I bought from a friend years ago and only used for backups died during my brother’s vacation.  My neighbors were probably relieved that I was not sporting a camera during our recent dinners together.  Another one has been ordered in anticipation of my first trip to Sicily soon.  Enjoy… and see the Accademia when in Firenze.  There is also a small set of rooms for the study of music.  They have many unique and/or antique musical instruments there, as well as a handful of research computers.

For more information on sculptor Lorenzo Bartolini, click here:

https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_Bartolini

http://www.scultura-italiana.com/Biografie/Bartolini.htm

http://www.uffizi.firenze.it/bartolini/

Peace,

Kelly

http://BorsheimArts.com

P.S.  Welcome Home, little Levi! 

“Love, Vice, and Wisdom” by Bartolini

Gesso Museo - Plaster Sculpture Museum-Accademia

Dave with Janet and SkySeries Tryptich Paintings

Dear Art Lover,     

     Today’s August offerings are two… but one is actually a combination of three small paintings.  Both artworks are from various life drawing sessions I attended in Austin, Texas, with great models.

     In case you missed yesterday’s post:     I would like to offer, for the month of August 2015 only, selected paintings and drawings for about half the price as my going rate these days.  These are older works, but ones that for one reason or several others, I cannot stand the idea of destroying.  Please contact me directly if you see something you love and would like to add to your art collection.  Here goes the first one for today … 

 "Dave with Janet" AVAILABLE ORIGINAL ART
22" X 28" Oil on Canvas  [framed]
2001 by Kelly Borsheim
[juxtaposed from two different live model painting sessions]
http://www.borsheimarts.com/painting/room04.htm

August 2015 Price:  $400  [plus any Texas sales tax and/or shipping]

     Dave and Janet were/are very well-known and often hired models during many of my formative years in Austin, Texas.  It is likely that every figurative artist in the past 20 years has drawn or painted them at least once.  Dave always likes to push himself, in his running and in his modeling.  He worked to make his poses interesting from many angles.  Even at his older age (from most of my colleagues and me), he designed poses that were difficult to hold.  The pose you see here of Dave is one that I have painted many times, from many angles.  He said he was inspired by Michelangelo.

     Janet is a lovely person.  I have painted her less often, but always enjoyed the experience.  I think that I painted at her session first.  I was in a stage of my artistic journey in which I felt overwhelmed having only three hours with a model and was still doing body parts and using them to find interesting compositions.  I often compose  triangles in my work.

     These two wonderful models, real people and real friends, also posed together for me for the bronze sculpture titled, “I am You.”  They taught me so much during that project!

http://www.borsheimarts.com/sculpture/2004/I_Am_You.htm

____

 

Now, here is some more of Dave:

Sky Series Triptych
EACH painting is 4 x 4 inches - 3 framed together
mixed media on boards
2006 by Kelly Borsheim
http://www.borsheimarts.com/painting.htm

I offer this set of three 4x4 inch original paintings [framed as shown here] to you for only $200 US.  Texas state sales tax (6.75%) may apply.  There is also a $9.50 packaging and shipping fee.

Please contact me for more information.    http://www.borsheimarts.com/contact.htm

Thank you and as always…

Peace,

Kelly

~ Kelly Borsheim, sculptor and painter

http://BorsheimArts.com

Sea Shell Hunting

Dear Art lover,

     I find it interesting what one learns about another in simple shared experiences, such as collecting sea shells by the sea shore.  I have at least two friends that I have had the pleasure of doing that with over recent years.  Funny, they both prefer the perfect shells.  While I find the perfect ones beautiful and amazing in design and execution, I tend to adore the ones in which the broken exteriors reveal some of the beautiful forms inside.  The good news, of course, is that we will never “fight” over the choices the other one desires.  That is always a relief… as when in high school:  you were glad when your best mate had different tastes for dating.  If not, things could get ugly. Ha.

     So, along this rocky beach I found north of Umag, I was enchanted to find these tiny shells.  Because one of the friends referenced to above, Kumiko, cherishes the tiny beauts.  She likes them perfectly formed still.  I picked some up for her, as well as lots of tiny broken ones for me. 

     My friend Ruth pointed out to me many years ago that perhaps the reason I can so easily recognize fear in others is because I am consciously grappling with my own fears.  On my day sifting through shells recently, I wondered if the reason I want to hang onto my friends who like perfect is so that I reach just a little bit higher.

     You know, perhaps, the famous quote by Michelangelo:  The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.

     Oh, enough philosophy.  I am getting closer to having a place in which to carve stone.  You cannot believe my excitement!  I have much to do before my sun sets!  Enjoy my little self portrait in the setting sun on the Adriatic Sea.

Like nature images?  Check out Tantalizing Tasmania:

http://www.borsheimarts.com/news/2015_02_ArtNews-TasmaniaLandscapePainting.htm

Please share this with anyone you think might appreciate it!  Thank you.

Kelly

~ Kelly Borsheim, sculptor, painter, writer, teacher

http://BorsheimArts.com

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!

Birthplace of Michelangelo

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Recently I returned to the birthplace of Michelangelo Buonarroti for a party that one of my collectors held in their home there. The morning after the party, I revisited the renovated Museo Michelangiolesco that celebrates the life and work of the famous artist and architect.

One of my first and most important teachers, Michelangelo was probably born in the Palazzo del Podestà, the home of his parents Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti di Simoni and Francesca di Neri del Miniato di Siena. At the time of his birth (6 March 1475), babies were born at home and not in a hospital.

Podestà is the title for a delegate from the Florentine government who worked this area. Michelangelo’s father held this political post for six months during this time. Palazzo is the Italian word for “palace” but this stone house looks quite simple by today’s standards. I included a detail shot of the stairs leading to the upper floor where the living quarters were, but you may see a better image of the (left) building on the museum’s site.




Some of the furniture in the home is contemporary with Michelangelo’s time, but are not original to this space. Other furniture, such as the bed, is a reproduction in a Renaissance style from the 1900s. Also in the home are reproductions of works of art in which Michelangelo was a subject, including my two favorites: monochromatic sketches by Francescho Furini titled “Michelangelo sul letto di Morte / Michelangelo on his death bed” 1627-28 and “La Madre di Michelangelo incinta cade da cavallo / The pregnant mother of Michelangelo falls from her horse” created in 1628.

The name “Michelangelo” was added to “Caprese” in 1911 and this charming little town is north and east of Arezzo. When I was there, the Michelangiolesco Museum and its lovely grounds on the hilltop were open Monday through Friday 10:30 am to 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, Sunday, and holidays from 10 am to 7 p.m. Tickets are four euros each, with discounts for groups and children.

P.S. I hope that you enjoy my little self-portrait with Michelangelo! Ha.

Viewing Art

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I have had the topic of “Viewing Distance in Art” on my mind for quite some time now. Perhaps it started a couple of years ago as I learned the Sight-Size Method of Drawing in Florence, Italy. In that method, the artist draws from one point of observation and is precise to the point of marking the viewing position on the studio floor and even wearing the same shoes throughout the process so as not to change the height of one’s eyes.

In another example, unless we are creating a 3-D street painting, we madonnari generally ignore the precision of the concept of “Viewing Distance.” That said, we are very aware of where our audience will be standing while we create our horizontal artworks. We also know that because of the perspective that we have chosen to draw from, our street art is best photographed from above.

There seems to be a position in which each artwork is best viewed. Many things factor into this, but I wonder if it boils down to the idea that the viewer can best take in the entire composition from the same vantage point in which the artist used during the creation of the original work. Even as I say that, exceptions come to mind (such as Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling). The size and style no doubt also figure in – but I still believe this to be intentional.

As an artist I often hear that gallery staff always know how to tell whether a visitor is an artist or a collector. (Yes, sometimes we are both, but …) Collectors, the rule says, generally enter and look around the room before approaching the one or two pieces that interest them. Artists, on the other hand, methodically look at each work on exhibit and usually, at some point or another, will walk up close to see each brush stroke or detail in the sculpture. It makes sense that collectors are seeking the emotional experience and artists also want to learn more about the technique.

Anyway, I include three images here of me recreating one of Michelangelo’s Sibyls on Via Calimala in Florence, Italy, in a pastel street painting. Drawn from a viewing spot or perspective that is equivalent to a bird’s eye view, each of these images shows you that the photographer was not standing even close to an ideal viewing position for that artwork.


Of course, once artists began to think about this position, manipulating it to the extreme or unusual (such as those wonderful 3-D drawings you most certainly have seen floating around the Internet) became a matter of fun and creativity.

Since I have more I would like to share with you, I think I just came up with the topic for my next art newsletter. That is scheduled to come out in early March and is a different subscription list (sign up here if interested).


Do not forget the 9th anniversary special going on until 28 February. That includes the savings on portrait commissions AND Enjoy a 20% Savings on ALL Giclée orders taken before the 28th, so hurry and contact my studio now!

Happy Birthday, Lisa!

La Giostra Pastel Art

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Hello! I suspect you are busy like me, so I just want to spend a short amount of time introducing you to my newly completed pastel and charcoal drawing. She is one of the current Italy-inspired series, specifically of Florence (Firenze, as she is known in her own language). The title of this original artwork is “La Giostra” which means “Merry-Go-Round.”

One of my friends remarked that this is a cool merry-go-round because it invites all ages. The kids will enjoy riding on the horse while the grown-ups can snuggle up in the moon-shaped carriage. In reality, I first fell in love with this giostra in Piazza della Repubblica when I noticed that there was a painting of a bare-breasted woman on the inner wall, between the mirrors. I cannot imagine that even existing in America and I found that quite charming.

However, for various reasons, I decided to replace her with a male nude figure (except for his headband). I borrowed him from Michelangelo, as a nod to one of the most famous offspring from the Renaissance City.

“La Giostra” is 23 x 17 inches. The pastel and charcoal drawing was created on the Roma-brand paper that I brought back to Texas from Italy. She will debut this weekend at my Open Studio here in central Texas. So, please come on out!

Some people have commented that they thought the event was Saturday only, but no – it is both Saturday AND Sunday from noon to 5 pm or so.
More information: www.borsheimarts.com/exhibits.htm

You are Invited -- and Bring Your Friends!

Borsheim Arts Studio
223 Greystone Lane, Unit A, Cedar Creek, Texas 78612
Phone: 512-303-3929

6 & 7 February 2010, Saturday & Sunday
noon - 5:00 p.m. each day

NOTE: In effect now through 28 Feb 2010:

9-year Anniversary Celebration:

January 11 marks the 9th anniversary of when artist Kelly Borsheim sold her beeswax candle business and "took the plunge" to a life as a full-time artist. Here are the ways you can benefit:

• Enjoy a 20% Savings on ALL Giclée orders taken before 28 February 2010! Details: www.borsheimarts.com/giclee.htm
  
• FREE Giclée up to 18" long (up to a $200 value) or 20 FREE notecards with each painting commission received. (Your choice of available images.) Offer expires 28 February 2010. Information about how to commission a work of art, as well as some images of my past commissions, is online at:
  www.borsheimarts.com/commission.htm
  
• FREE shipping and handling on all art purchases (sculpture and 2-dimensional art) arranged from today through 28 February 2010.
  
• Interested in trying out my Layaway Plan? From now until 28 February, enjoy a reduced down payment of only one-third the full price instead of the normal half. As always, no finance charge if payments are made on time. For details, visit: www.borsheimarts.com/pricelist.htm
  

THANK YOU for your interest!

Happy Birthday, Great Aunt Lil!

Erotic Art

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

It is very frustrating, but sometimes my work is not permitted to be exhibited because of “rules” against nudity in art. This despite the fact that most people are extremely complimentary of the sensitivity in which I portray people in their most vulnerable state (or so they tell me).

So, if you cannot beat ‘em, . . . join ‘em.

And I actually feel a bit excited to be joining the ranks of many of my predecessors, including lots of the “Big Boys” such as Rembrandt, Leonardo da Vinci, Théodore Géricault, Rodin, Pablo Picasso, and my friend and mentor Vasily Fedorouk. Even Michelangelo painted quite a lascivious “Leda and the Swan” composition. I suspect that besides the Japanese, Egyptians, and the Greeks, every culture has birthed some form of erotic art.

While exploring various compositions, I was trying to think of a title to inspire me and keep me on track. I was seeking eroticism, not vulgarity. My ex-roommate Elena, from Italy, unknowingly named this pastel and charcoal drawing. She and I happened to be corresponding shortly after I began work on this piece. She often addresses me as “tesoro,” which is Italian for “treasure” and is a term of affection among the Italians.

Thus, I would be happy to introduce to you my first published work of intentionally erotic art.

”Tesoro!”
22” x 16”
Charcoal and Pastel Drawing
Roma-brand paper
$1800 (+ $20 shipping + applicable sales tax)
by Kelly Borsheim

And I wish you a sensuous and joyful 2010 full of passion and amore.