June 2024 Mailbag No 2
NOTICE OF INTENTION: CHANGES TO THE ANART4LIFE BLOG FORMAT
Since the birth of the AnArt4Life blog back in November 2017 we have uploaded to our website and sent out to our subscribers and social media followers a daily, or in later years, a nearly daily post, about the art that is all around us.
I am sure you have noticed that the number of No Post Days have increased due to the changing nature of the lives of the AnArt4Life team. Going forward you won't be informed of a No Post Day but rather no email will arrive into your inbox.
I have also found it necessary to reduce the number of posts you receive each week and therefore there may often be longer gaps between the posts. We all want to keep the AnArt4Life blog in operation but to do this we will reduce the number of posts you see each month.
And so, if you are one of our loyal supporters please check your emails each day and we will continue to keep you informed and entertained about the world of art in the broadest of definition as often as we can.
Note 1: It will be a few days before you start to have "gaps" between the email you receive from AnArt4Life. And don't forget you can always go directly to the website to catch up on our latest post and save the URL as a favourite.
Note 2: I will be away from the blog desk from 1 July until 3 September and during this time you will notice more "gaps" in the daily posts and no monthly mailbag.
And now back to art. Today in the mailbag from Monica in Tanzania there is a recommendation to look at the work of Paul Klee.
Monica subscribes to Delanceyplace.com which sends out daily eclectic news snipets and the one Monica wants to draw to our attention is a book: Paul Klee: Life and Work by Michael Baumgartner, Christine Hopfengart, Fabienne Eggelhöfer, Osamu Okuda, and Paul Klee. The book examines the relationship between the artist Paul Klee -- the early 20th-century Swiss artist whose style reflected the influence of Surrealism, Cubism, and Expressionism -- and his father, Hans Klee:
"Klee's father Hans was an idiosyncratic personality. Patriarchal even in appearance, in his demeanor he was a powerful figure and a man of incontrovertible opinions. His full beard was unmistakable, and throughout their entire lives his children probably never saw his face without its luxuriant covering.1
"Hans Klee was a German who had settled in Switzerland through his marriage to Ida Frick, a woman from Basel. Due to his father's citizenship, Paul too was registered as a German, a fact that in later years would have far-reaching consequences. Although Hans Klee was a foreigner, over the course of his life he developed into an archetypical Bernese. Professionally, he served as an instructor at the teachers' college at Hofwil near Bern, where he taught piano and organ as well as singing and violin. His pupils both venerated and feared him; his pedagogical enthusiasm was prized, but his methods of discipline remained painfully memorable for many of his students. 1
Below is the Red Balloon by Paul Klee - an oil painting on muslin primed with chalk.
And whilst we are on the subject of comments and contributions from our readers, we would like to thank all our subscribers and social media followers who take the time to comment on our posts either directly in the Post Comments box, via the email which is attached to each post, or through Facebook and X. It is always wonderful to know that a post has been meaningful to someone for some reason, perhaps spiritually, or awakening childhood memories, or love of a particular art style or medium.
Artists draw inspiration from all sorts of sources, and so we are always pleased to hear when a particular subject strikes a chord. A great example of this is Monica from Tanzania. Her comments are always articulate and insightful, and help to draw together our little art community.
In recognition of this, Blog team member and friend Rowdy Wylie has completed a painting of a typical wildlife scene in Africa. Isn’t it lovely! We hope you like it too, Monica!
And a very special thanks to the talented and devoted AnArt4Life team for the contribution they make to sharing a love of art.