Artist Alphabet Day 12: (L)arsson, Carl

 

Carl Larsson was a Swedish painter born in 1853. He always considered his oil paintings to be amongst his best work, yet it was first when he started with watercolors that his carrier started taking off. Carl Larsson married Karin Bergöö, an excellent painter, crafter and designer. Together they had 8 children. Karin's artistic taste and bold design played a central role in Carl's work. The sense of partnership they seemed to have both in life as well as their creative work is what truly inspires me - in addition to beautiful illustrations of course. I also love that Carl Larssons work make me feel so at home - very Scandinavian.

http://www.clg.se/encarl.aspx

Artist Alphabet Day 11: (K)iki Smith

Kiki Smith is an American artist born in 1954 Germany. Her work has been represented in galleries across the globe and includes sculpture, illustration, printmaking, textile and installation. What I really love about Kiki Smith's artwork is how she incorporates a variety of medium and both piece together and layer different elements within the specter of a room. She takes space.

See more of her beautiful work here: http://www.pacegallery.com/artists/442/kiki-smith

Artist Alphabet Day 10: (J)ean-Michel Basquiat

Jean-Michel Basquiat was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1960. He was an incredibly talented artist who challenged and questioned with his art work. Heavily influenced by the ongoing graffiti movement as well as an active participant, he drew, wrote and painted on anything he could get his hands on - refrigerators, lab coats, walls, cardboard-boxes... Jean-Michel Basquiat tragically past away only 27 years old in his apartment from a drug overdose.

"Jean-Michel lived like a flame. He burned really bright. Then the fire went out. But the embers are still hot." - Fred Braithwaite

For more information about Jean-Michel Basquiat, go to:

http://basquiat.com/

Artist Alphabet Day 8: H...

Henri Matisse was born in a textile-town in France, in 1869. I wonder if the textile town held such a powerful influence over Matisse that they made a way into his paintings. His work can be parted into several periods that where stylistically different from one another, yet his goal remained the same: to discover "the essential character of things" and to produce an art "of balance, purity, and serenity." For as long as I can remember I have seen Henri Matisse's paintings and admired his clean and daring color pallets along with his variety of patterns.

Check him out: http://www.henri-matisse.net/biography.html

 

Artist Alphabet Day 7: G...

Gustav Klimt was born in Austria in 1862. His paintings was not well accepted by the public during his lifetime. After his death, however - the paintings have been celebrated and counted as some of the most influential and important paintings to come out of Austria. Gustav Klimt inspired me from an early age. I was drawn to his intricate patterns as well as the elegance and simplicity in his human figures.  

To learn more about Klimt, follow the link:

http://www.gustav-klimt.com/