Zatista The premier source for original art online

Mattise | Image: http://www.pebblebeachartheist.com

It’s gotta sting just a little bit to find out that the local sheriff is closing your case when $27 million worth of art from your art collection is still missing. That just happened recently in the exclusive California coastal enclave of Pebble Beach. As is often the case, the theft proved to be a dramatic one, full of intrigue, twists and turns – what is it with drama and stolen art?

Pollock | Image: www.pebblebeachartheist.com

The very valuable collection in this case belonged to a retired Harvard Medical School physician and his associate, and included “substantial works” by Jackson Pollock, Vermeer, van Gogh, Rembrandt, Renoir, and Miro, among other artists. At one point, the owners themselves were considered suspects, which complicated their somewhat significant insurance claim.

Miro | Image: www.pebblebeachartheist.com

Now, in the wake of an election of a new sheriff in Monterey County, the investigation has been closed due to a lack of physical evidence. Apparently, the owners are still hoping their art comes home. They have set up a website dedicated to the crime, where you can browse through the missing works and bone up on the details of the case. A $5 million reward is up for grabs if you’re inclined to do a little art sleuthing on your own.

Renoir | Image: www.pebblebeachartheist.com

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Dreamer by April Henderlong on Zatista.com

There is no shortage of high quality original art on Zatista. Behind each piece, there is an artist with a unique story. In this installment of Artist Glimpse, I had the pleasure to speak with Indiana artist, April Henderlong, who has been a Zatista member since 2010.

BS: Tell me a little about your background in the arts.
AH: I’ve been drawing since I could hold a pencil. Never a day in my life did I not know I wanted to be an artist. Upon graduating high school in Indiana, I immediately moved to downtown Chicago to attend the American Academy of Art. After my second year there, I transferred to the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, where I went on to receive a bachelors degree in traditional illustration. I’ve stuck to private sales and commissions. I draw because it makes my heart sing, and working for myself feels like the best way to tap into my individuality.

BS: Why do you like painting on wood?
AH: Wood grains are beautiful! There are so many different types of wood, all of which uniquely possess an organically delightful design. My companion is a carpenter. He cuts, sands, and brings me pieces he thinks I’d like. Since I started working with wood panels, I’ve been enamored with how I feel they add to what I draw or paint.

That Girl and Her Dog by April Henderlong

BS: What is the inspiration to keep you going?
AH: Everything above and under the sun is my inspiration to draw. I can’t think of anything that isn’t. I suppose existence is my ultimate inspiration, and ’til death do us part.

BS: Where do you see your work going next?
AH: My work has arrived at the point where it is, simply by my choice of letting it wander. I guess I’ll have to see where freedom takes my creative moods next.

Sincere by April Henderlong on Zatista.com

BS: What are your ideal working conditions?
AH: Solitude, along with hours of music, and/or alternative talk radio.

BS: How is business?
AH: I have zero complaints about business. I love being able to exhibit in galleries on the net. It gives the world a chance to see my work without me having to travel. Technology is really helping artists get their work out there, and business has been a blast!

Innocence by April Henderlong on Zatista.com

BS: What other art medium would you like to attempt or not attempt?
AH: Right now I’ve been using oils, acrylics, colored pencils, watercolors, and inks. It’s more likely that I’ll press forward with my favorites, rather than brush up on my Photoshopping skills.

Resonate by April Henderlong

BS: Do you have any advice for someone just getting started?
AH: Follow your heart!

Brian Sylvester is a guest blogger on WallSpin, and an artist on Zatista.

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If there’s a topic you can count on to get a group of people talking around a dinner table, it’s the age old favorite, “What good movies have you seen?” Since we’re not spending a leisurely evening dining together, but rather grabbing a few minutes on the Internet here and there , I thought I’d narrow the field and ask, “What good films about artists have you seen?” Indeed, there are a lot of them out there but I’d love to hear what you’ve enjoyed watching. Feel free to add your favorites in the comments section below. If you’re like me and are trying come up with new ways to dodge the spring rain and thunder storms, here are a few favorites I’d offer up for discussion if we were sitting around a table together:

Still from the movie Wasteland

Wasteland: A 2011 documentary about Brazilian contemporary artist Vik Muniz who collaborates with the ‘pickers’ of recyclable materials who live and work in the garbage from Jardim Gramacho, the world’s largest landfill on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro.

Still from the movie Pollock

Pollock: A 2000 biographical which tells the life story of influential American abstract painter Jackson Pollock. Ed Harris is Pollock and Jennifer Connelly as his artist wife, Lee Krasner.

Work by Andy Goldsworthy

Rivers & Tides: A 2001 documentary about the British artist Andy Goldsworthy who creates intricate and ephemeral sculptures from natural materials such as rocks, leaves, flowers, and icicles.

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Basquiat: a 1996 biopic/drama film directed by fellow painter Julian Schnabel which is based on the life of American postmodernist/neo expressionist artist Jean-Michel Basquiat who used his graffiti roots as a foundation to create collage-style paintings on canvas.

Sagrada Familia by Antonio Gaudi

Antonio Gaudi: A 1984 Japanese and Spanish documentary film by Hiroshi Teshigahara about the works of Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi. In this film with minimal narration, the director visits buildings and houses in Barcelona, and the Sagrada Família.

Eames: The Architect and The Painter

Eames: The Architect and The Painter: A 2011 documentary telling the story of the American husband-and-wife team of Charles and Ray Eames, widely considered America’s most important designers. Their creations include furniture, photography, interiors, and much more.

What films about artists do you recommend?

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The Mirror by Anita Clearfield on Zatista.com

In my last post, I talked about the different ways artists make use of shadows in their work, many examples of which could be found on a quick tour of the offerings of original art right here on Zatista. I found the same was true with artwork featuring mirrors – another way artists add depth and interest to a composition.

Still Life With Three Lemons and a Mirror by Lena Levin on Zatista.com

Mirrors are similar to shadows in that they extend or double the subject of a painting or photograph, providing an alternate or expanded reality. They can make an otherwise solitary figure less lonely because they at least have the company of their own reflection. Inanimate objects can seem more three dimensional, even more human when a mirror is present.

A Bar at the Folies-Bergere by Edouard Manet on Wikipedia.org

One of the most famous and controversial uses of mirrors in art is the 1882 painting by French Impressionist Edouard Manet in which a woman seems to be standing in front of her own reflection in a mirror behind a bar.  Critics have long debated whether this is actually a reflection or if there is simply another woman behind her facing in the opposite direction. Look carefully at the details. What do you think? Cast your vote in the comments section below. Whatever your opinion, it remains a compelling and beautiful painting.

Window Light by Blake Fisher on Zatista.com

Having a mirror nearby can add both intimacy and distortion to an image. We behave differently when we are alone with a mirror, perhaps dropping our guard and revealing our true selves. But mirrors are also in a sense optical illusions and can never present a fully accurate version of reality.

Spring Mirrored by Shawn Nelson Dahstrom on Zatista.com

Whether in polished glass or on the calm surface of water on a clear spring day, mirrored reflections will always be an appealing element in an artwork, drawing us in the way they do in our daily lives. Who can resist a mirror?

Brian Sylvester is a guest blogger on WallSpin, and an artist on Zatista.

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Last December, Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama created one seriously amazing installation at Australia’s Queensland Gallery of Modern Art.

image: thisiscolassal.com

After constructing a very buttoned up, pristine, white, shining beacon of IKEA-ness, the artist turned thousands of young museum visitors loose on her work with thousands upon thousands of colored stickers. No strings attached.

image: thisiscolassal.com

Can you imagine the fun? The result is nothing short of amazing – like an outward projection of the inner workings of a child’s mind itself.

image: thisiscolassal.com

The installation, aptly-named “Obliteration Room”, proved to be very popular with visitors both young and old before talking on a life of its own on the Internet.

image: thisiscolassal.com

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image: thisiscolassal.com

The rest of the exhibit was similarly whimsical and brilliant, which really isn’t much of a surprise given the fact that its creator dresses like this:

© Yayoi Kusama / Image courtesy: Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo

Read more about the artist and her work on the QAG website, where you can play Kusama’s World of Dots Kids Interative game and also view the online show catalog, which is pretty cool on its own.

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