Scotland Bonny Scotland and the painting by Ian Morrison, Alberto Morrocco and David McClure This is the continuation of a story about a painting "Broughty Ferry, Dundee" 1964 painted by Ian Morrison, Alberto Morrocco and David McClure. A mystery which needed to be solved.
Narrative Let's Close the Gap with Tendai Makufa As I said recently to Tendai - his paintings bring joy to my heart and to the heart of others. Even though behind the images and messages are startling statistics of inequality Tendai is working with every inch of his body and mind to "make a difference". Please applaud this remarkable artist.
Africa Tendai Makufa: Great Future Tendai's latest painting has a most prophetic title - "Great Future" - which I am sure Tendai Makufa has as an artist and as an individual wanting to make a difference in our world. But this painting is about growing coloured cotton - genetically modified coloured cotton!!
Narrative "Together as One" by Tendai Makufa "Together as One" by South African narrative artist Tendai Makufa is startling in its symbolic language. Tendai confronts us today with his latest powerful message -
Outback The Daily Telegraph by Rowdy Wylie Before leaving Outback Australia I thought you would enjoy seeing Rowdy Wylie's latest painting which illustrates his great love of the Australian outback and of the historical narrative that literally weaves its way across this vast landscape - the building of The Daily Telegraph.
Narrative The Golden Years of Radio with John Pickup OAM A treat today with a video made by John Pickup OAM - artist and broadcaster explaining what it was like to be involved in The Golden Years of Radio. John's delivery and insights are informative and entertaining - as he remains very much a broadcaster.
Installation Art The evolution of fireworks: The Drone Show! Today we look at an innovative company combining new technical skills with event management to create spectacular shows in the sky. They use those same skills to also provide critical humanitarian support in times of disaster or conflict. Image: techau
Buildings and Structures Urban fences and their narratives I am taking the opportunity to share a few of my paintings with you that contain fences - in line with the theme that Rowdy Wylie and I have been presenting to you about "Posts, Fences and Gates". Fences are like the pages in a book.
Photography Steve McCurry - The Beauty of Imperfection by Hannah Starman The post today features an article by Hannah Starman where she interviews world famous photographer Steve McCurry whose iconic photograph of the Afghan girl with the piercing green eyes became the most recognised photographic portrait even taken.
Portraits Sir David Attenborough by Philip Johnson A wonderful pencil sketch portrait of the incredibly inspiring David Attenborough created by the incredibly talented English artist Philip Johnson.
Art Mysteries The Last "Vermeers": Part Two In the 2nd post on the greatest art crime of the C20th we learn how Dutch artist and forger Han van Meegeren duped Hermann Göring who purchased for 1.6 million guilders "Christ with the woman taken in adultery" believing it was by C17th painter Johannes Vermeer.
Ships and boats Going to sea with Rowdy Wylie and Nicolas Baudin on the S.S. Casuarina If you love sailing ships, as do I, this post is for you. Come aboard the SS Casuarina painted by Rowdy Wylie and also learn about Nicolas Baudin, French explorer.
Art Mysteries The World's Most Stolen Painting The Ghent Altarpiece is a large and complex polyptych altarpiece created in the C15th by Early Flemish painters and brothers - Hubert and Jan van Eyck. Read about the tumultuous and remarkable history of this famous art work.
Art Mysteries Looting of Art during WWII: Restitution Andrew and I are back with the next post in our series on Art Crimes. Today we begin to tackle the greatest crime involving works of art the world has ever seen. We refer to, of course, the Nazi plunder of art works and other precious items during WWII. Image: mirror.co.uk
Africa John Broom - The Accountant who wanted to be an Artist: Part Four In our final post on the wonderful sketches and paintings of John Broom we focus on the variety of subject matter he was interested in - from sketches of houses and flowers to a painting of a child asleep in a bed. I hope you enjoy our farewell to this remarkable man.
Narrative John Broom - The Accountant who wanted to be an Artist: Part Three Post Three on John Broom takes us inside into a Greek taverna in Harare, Zimbabwe where John has depicted in his paintings the "joie de vivre" which he so embraced. The rhythm of the dancers is also captured in John's still life paintings of flowers which dance within the composition.
Urban Landscape John Broom - The Accountant who wanted to be an Artist: Part Two The seond post on John Broom reveals more about this remarkable man who worked as an accountant while passionately honing his artistic skills. We see today John's series on "The Vanishing Church" which will give us all cause to think.
Landscapes John Broom - The Accountant who wanted to be an Artist: Part One Sometimes the AnArt4Life blog team get the opportunity to undertake a project that has extra special significance because we have been trusted to present art works from a very personal perspective. This is one such occasion. Meet John Broom - an accountant with a great passion to paint.
Africa We Become Gold by Tendai Makufa The latest painting by African artist Tendai Makufa illustrates powerfully how important it is to provide food for your people. This food is gold especially in hard times such as has occurred around the world as a result of the corona virus. There is much to think about in this painting.
Naive and Folk Art Responding to Henri Rousseau's Carnival Evening A very special post today as we have a personal response to a painting I showcased over a year ago. The painting is the enigmatic "Carnival Evening" by the French naive artist Henri Rousseau. Read on to see what "Christopher" says of a painting that he has loved since he was a teenager.
Urban Landscape Urban Landscapes by Robert Bissell Look around you and you will find the intricate weaving of narratives in the landscape around you. Discover some gems in the urban scenes we are all familar with - these have been created by the magical hand of Robert Bissell.
Narrative Landscapes by Robert Bissell Yesterday I showcased the anthropomorphic/zoomorphic paintings of Robert Bissell where animals take on human qualities. Today we look at the realistic landscapes of Bissell's which still contain a narrative thread and deep appreciation of the beauty the emanates from our familiar surroundings.
Animals Robert Bissell: "Bears" Thinking About! The world you will enter when you see a Robert Bissell painting will remind you of childhood picture books. But the imagined narrative is far more complicated than this.
Africa "It would be time we listen to them" by Tendai Makufa The latest painting by South African artist Tendai Makufa is gloriously alive in his usual vibrant colours and shapes. But his explanation that accompanies the painting is even more powerful.
Africa Tendai Makufa: Waiting for Bumper Harvest We have enjoyed looking at paintings by Tendai Makufa before and today's feature "Waiting for the Bumper Harvest" will not disappoint. Makufa's style involves masterly use of narrative, colour, shape and pattern.