I have loved Sanna Annukka 's work for so long, so I am very overdue to add her to our Art Obsession series. Her work is greatly influenced...
I was very sad to learn that San Francisco-based contemporary artist Rex Ray (aka Michael Patterson) passed away today following a b...
Since most attitude filled Chelsea galleries are now closed on the weekends, yes times in the Art world are just THAT Good.. and since the NYC museums are completely overrun with tourists... It's time for a fun art road trip. We took the editorial staff of MAO this Saturtday up to Mountainville, New York.. aka.. the Art World Hinterlands.. about a 90 minute drive from Midtown. Where we spent an entire day at The Storm King Arts Center. It is possibly the most impressive collection of outdoor art in the NYC area.. There is over 100 sculptures all situated on...
Whether you have short, long, or square nails, there are so many different ideas and designs for ombre nail art. Here are our favorites!
A blog about teaching children the basics of art and crafting.
Here, how to master the shell manicure at home.
Art Nouveau's Obsession with the Peacock - Inspiration Vault - Messy Nessy Chic
The Best Kept Secret in the Art Photography Auction World.. www.iGavel.com OK.. so promise to please keep this just between us MAO readers. MAO is not sure if he's the only smart awake one who's noticed, but we've found that most of the big greedy auction houses have been stupid slow at reducing reserve levels, and the presale price estimates. So the big art and photography auctions are doing very poorly, and not selling many of their auction lots cause the minimums are unrealistic too high (think very 2007). But here is your chance to get some amazing art photography...
Transform any room into a stylish and unique space with wall art! Choose from canvas artwork, framed prints & posters for stunning interiors.
Around the world, self-taught builders have been inspired by dreams and daydreams to decorate their homes and yards with elaborate sculptures and artwork....
Retro Colorplay No. 2 - 16"h x 8"w - merribeth Materials - smalti, mosaic golds Retro Colorplay No. 2 was inspired by my love for all things mid-century (forward-thinking design from the late 1940s and 1950s). I attempted to evoke that period with the composition and execution of this piece. Mid-century décor often featured mosaics,…
Few tourists think to visit Groningen, the northernmost capital of the Netherlands. My tattered copy of Lonely Planet lists the main local activity in the sparsely populated region as wadlopen or mud-walking out in the open flats of the North Sea. They also mention something about pig farms. From what I saw, they're missing out. Because Groningen also happens to be an ideal base from which to explore an alternate universe of garden design. And that's exactly what we set out to do last July on the 'Gardens Illustrated Tour of the Dutch Northern provinces ' led by English garden writer, Noel Kingsbury and his wife, Jo Elliott.
Commercial art from Japan’s video game boom is ridiculously cool and endlessly inspiring — and it might just be the next big thing in design.
A web of blood red yarns, knotted together in a mesmerising net, are drawing the Instagram crowd. It's the Chiharu Shiota exhibit, and it's gorgeous.
linen table runner by Carolina d'Ayala Valva for Nina's Home Artists for Textiles recent designs from Nina's Home Artists for Textiles For more than 20 years, Carolina d’Ayala Valva and her partner Walter Cipriani have been decorating interiors from their atelier in the historical center of Rome. Carolina has become known as a modern-day champion of Grottesca (also called grotesque), a style of ornament first made popular by the Renaissance artist Raphael, and literally wrote the book on the techniques and use of this historic form. Walter excels at the important and age-old techniques of scagliola, and this talented couple are highly in-demand for decorating prestigious interiors from Rome to Paris to St. Petersburg. I met them at the Salon, an international gathering of decorative artists who meet in a different city each year. What impressed me most wasn't just the mastery of historic techniques, but the fresh and relevant way these techniques are being used in their work. Recently, the famous French wallpaper manufacture Zuber commissioned new wallpaper designs from each of them, which has in turn led to the creation of a new line of fabrics and accessories for interiors, cushions, lampshades, and table linens are printed on natural fibres, entirely made in Italy. Carolina in her studio Grottesca candelabra panel Carolina d’Ayala Valva is also a highly skilled and sought-after teacher of painted ornament, and I have invited her to my studio in San Francisco for a week-long workshop on the art of Grottesca later this year. Here she is interviewed for The Ornamentalist. Get to know the work of this exceptional decorative artist! Please tell me about your education and training. How did you learn to paint like this? I did not start my professional career as a decorative painter, but as an architect. Architecture was not my first choice, but an alternative to my desire to attend the Academy of Fine Arts. However, it is thanks to the long university studies that I have design discipline, which is also very useful in my work as a decorator. So in the end, I'm a self-taught. Was there any one person or place that inspired you to become a decorative artist? Living in Rome, surrounded by a unique artistic context in the world, inspired me deeply. It’s especially here that I could cultivate my passion for the “Grotesque” design. Our Atelier (L’Artelier-Roma) was two steps from the Vatican City and, in the past, I have often had the chance to see up close the Grotesque decorations in the halls of the Vatican Museums and the loggia of Raphael, which are the first and most famous in the world. I have been able to admire the beauty, the harmony of the colors and the fast but masterful brushstrokes of the artist. For all this I consider myself lucky. Over time, though I was immersed in a wonderful classical context, I tried to develop a very personal style, both in the use of the color and in the design’s style. I also love to try more contemporary sources of inspiration that can be anywhere in the life of every day, inserting modern elements in the classic structures. ~ Carolina d'Ayala Valva set of doors ornamented with figures in a grottesca style by Carolina d'Ayala Valva work in progress on a Grottesca element Which are your favorite materials/medium for painting? favorite brushes or tools? My favorite technique for painting, is the egg tempera. I also use it for painting more contemporary subjects, in fact, is my personal opinion, that the egg tempera has no equal for beauty, brilliance and color depth. The egg yolk binder gives a softness and a flexibility to the brushstroke, truly unique. The binder allows the use of pure powdered pigments, these offer the possibility of having an infinite palette, rich in nuances that gives to the work so realized, the sumptuousness of the paintings of the ancient masters, performed with the same technique. Of great importance in the use of this type of tempera is the choice of right brush, the right brush, leads to having an elegant pictorial gesture, soft and sinuous. I use round synthetic brushes, very flexible and highly accurate. custom ceiling featuring Grottesche painted by Carolina d'Ayala Valva Some of Carolina's fabric designs made into tote bags! What's new? favorite recent projects? I worked for years painting Grotesque decoration work on ceilings, furniture and panels for important clients in several countries. So much work and experience led me to publish a book: "Art et Techniques de la Grotesque" (Editions Vial, 2009) and this made my work widely known around the world, encouraging also my activity as a teacher in Italy, France, Belgium and the U.S. In 2013, as a result of the popularity of the book, Zuber, the famous producer of papier peint, contacted me in order to create a new collection of wallpapers inspired by my Grotesques. And this was the impetus to start building my collection of printed digital fabrics with the brand: Nina’s Home~ Artists for Textiles. Please tell us a bit about the process of designing for textiles. Each design is first painted by hand as a work of art in a single original water-colored model. Then, the quality of the digital printing process allows us to reproduce the slightest nuances and brushstroke on the fabric, preserving the charm and originality of our hand-painted model. As mentioned above, modernity and tradition, this is the right mix today to further our art. Grottesca 5 day ornament class at Lynne Rutter Studio October 18-22, 2016 Art and Techniques of Grotesque by Carolina d’Ayala Valva painted ceiling with modern Grottesche by Carolina d'Ayala Valva Lynne Rutter Studio
At Lafayette Anticipations, Paris, ‘anti-fashion’ designer Martin Margiela unveils his first show as an artist; It’s radical, renegade and revelatory.
Although we've long been fans of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, now in her nineties, we had no idea of the power of her influence, dedication and work until we saw this remarkable 7-minute video interview (which flies by). She shows how two maligned concepts — obsession and accumulation — have been the means of transformation and healing for her.
Sotheby’s will auction off 380 pieces from Bowie’s collection later this year. The collection is “eclectic, unscripted, [and] understated,” according to Sotheby’s European chairman Oliver Barker.
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