ABS May Challenge

Italian's House at Monmarte by Maurice Utrillo

Oil on panel, 53 x 76 cm

About the Art

Maurice Utrillo painted Post-Impressionism cityscapes and was attracted by ordinary houses and suburban churches. These themes, associated with painters such as Daumier, Pissaro and Caillebotte, became Utrillo's chief source of inspiration, but he soon turned to a more ambitious subject—cathedrals. He was concerned with the development of an ordered composition and a flattened treatment of space that suggested the artificial appearance of theatre. During World War I he found that such subjects allowed him to project strong emotions.

From 1909 until 1914 Utrillo mixed glue, plaster or cement with his paint to obtain the whites for which he became famous. His paintings of buildings show a striking contrast between the boldness of his color and his painstaking draughtsmanship (traces of his having used a ruler and compass are often noticeable). Carried to their logical conclusion, these experiments led him to produce austere monochrome paintings in beige and grey.

When I saw this picture, I couldn't really think of anything. It seemed like colors we have used before, BUT, I went thrift shop hopping and found a bag of beads. Of course I didn't connect the two until I got them home and cleaned them up. Once cleaned up the connection was made and the designed just unfolded.  I used every bead except 2 or 3.  The pendant part has a house painted on it. And the colors just seem to really match. I had so much fun with this design.  Don't know who made the beads, they were just in a bag at the thrift store. 

On the necklace I created the connection for the top of the three beaded wires out of eye pins with the beads. 

I had so much fun, I can hardly wait til next month. 

Check out more at :Art Bead Scene May Challenge

Art Bead Scene April Challenge

We are certainly a windswept bunch this month with our Waterhouse painting of the north wind blowing to get us inspired. Grays and blues with a hint of yellow and pink and green was on most of our palettes this month. It certainly looked like that to me outside where I am! Enjoy this blog tour as we honor Boreas, the North Wind (and wish thatZephyros, the Greek god of the calm spring breezes, would come quickly in its place!).

I had this blue scarf and when I saw the picture, I knew I had to use it.  There are two birds in the pic so I added birds with a white background, reminiscent of clouds. The dangle part has lavender, green and silver colors on it with brown.  I really enjoyed doing this.

March ABS Necklace

My Necklace based on the colors from the Street Scene picture for the ABS monthly contest.

Street Scene in Montmartre: Le Moulin a Poivre by Vincent Van Gogh

Oil on canvas

34.5 x 64.5 cm.

Paris: February-March, 1887

About the Art

Montmartre was still semi-rural when lived Vincent there with his brother Theo. There was farmland and allotment gardens; three of the celebrated windmills were still standing. The latter were a favorite destination for day-trippers from the city. The largest mill in the painting, Le Blute-Fin, had a pavement café affording a magnificent view over Paris; at the top of the mill, there was a viewing platform. Round the mills there were also various catering establishments and dance halls.
Here Van Gogh stresses the rustic charm of the area, showing people working in their allotments. Nonetheless, modern development looms: to the left of the smaller mill, a large apartment building rises above the fields. 

About the Artist

The two years Van Gogh spent in Paris were arguably the most pivotal of his career as an artist. Van Gogh went to Paris as a means of saving money (by living with his brother, Theo) and also to explore the radically new approach to art which had been ushered in by the Impressionists. Vincent encountered many of the giants of Impressionism during his time in Paris: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Emile Bernard, Camille Pissarro, Georges Seurat and, of course, Paul Gauguin. While Vincent didn't fully accept many of the theories put forth by the Impressionists (on many occasions he would passionately argue with his contemporaries late into the night in the cafes of Montmartre), he nevertheless adapted some of their techniques in a manner that would further define his own unique style. In Paris, Van Gogh's palette came alive.