Pop Goes the Artist!

Another small piece of exciting news (exciting to me, at least): I got a volunteer job at the Archives of American Art in downtown DC.  It’s part of the Smithsonian Institution and I pray every day that this volunteer job will give me a leg up in getting an internship next year, either at the Smithsonian or elsewhere.

Since I was downtown this morning anyway, I stopped by the Utrecht store and picked up a canvas and some newsprint, so by the end of the week, I’ll be able to start a new painting–a blue Lucy, perhaps, to complete (?) the series.  At some point I’d also like to paint my boyfriend’s dog, Sadie, but I don’t have any photos of her, so that project will have to wait until the next time I go see him, at the earliest.

Exciting news first: I turn 19 tomorrow and an easel for my room has been topping my wish list for months.  So imagine my surprise and delight when I got a package from Dick Blick yesterday, containing–you guessed it–the exact easel I’d had my eyes on.  I didn’t get to put it together until after 11 last night and it took me almost two hours–long after I should have been in bed.  It wasn’t a complex piece of construction and the only tool I needed was the little allen wrench that came with it–but it would have been a lot easier if I had four or five hands, instead of only two.  In lieu of an extra hand, I made use of my elbows, knees, feet, and chin, as well as a stepstool, my desk chair, a brick, a pair of shoes, a makeup brush, and a smattering of salty language.  It was a blast.  I was all fired up to go to downtown to Utrecht this afternoon to get some canvas, but then I realized that without paint, brushes, palettes, and possibly newsprint, a canvas sitting on that easel will do nothing but taunt me.  So that’ll have to wait until after the weekend, when I go home and can bring back some art supplies.

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In other news, I’m adding an art history minor to my medieval studies major, mostly in an effort to be practical.  I really enjoy the fact that my major is so impractical that almost anything–even art history, very impractical by most people’s standards–would improve my odds of finding employment after college.  But I realized that if I want to make a career in museums, then I need a stronger and more formal art history background than I have at the moment.  Which is why, next semester, I’ll be taking Art 212: History of Art, Renaissance to Modern Age.  I’ve met the professor who teaches the class and she seems pretty cool, so I’m looking forward to taking a class with her.

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I realized the other day, while looking at a Metro map, that Arlington Cemetary could be a great place to go sketch and take photos.  I just wish I’d thought of it before the season changed and it got so darn cold out.

You Are Pop Art

When it comes to art, you’re definitely not a snob. You can appreciate the mainstream aspects of culture, even if you need to twist them a bit to make them your own. Whether you’re into comics, retro pinups, or bold colors, you embrace what’s eye catching and simple. As far as most other art goes, you consider it a little too elitist and high brow for your tastes!

Well, I can’t say I didn’t expect this, although I don’t really feel that other, older art is “elitist.”

I got these shoes from Old Navy the other day and am somewhat in love with them. Plus, they make a more interesting sketch subject than, say, my bare feet or a mug or my printer. The sketch is far from perfect (I was a little confused about how the sole of the shoe worked–it was hard to tell it from the shadow on the carpet), but on the whole I’m extremely happy with this sketch–or drawing, really, since it has some degree of “finish.” I don’t use colored pencil a lot, which added another layer of challenge, on top of the shiny and the difficult angle. I do think I’ll be playing more with colored pencils, though. The ones I have with me at school are actually watercolor pencils–I almost never use them with water, but I feel like the color is more saturated in them. (Maybe just because I’ve never used quality colored pencils. I don’t know.)

I realized I haven’t talked about any sculpture yet, and since the Winged Victory of Samothrace is one of my favorite sculptures, I thought it would be a good place to start. I had the great privilege of seeing it in person at the Louvre when I went to Paris over spring break. They display it at the top of a large staircase, so you turn a corner, look up, and are rendered speechless. It’s a dramatic location for a very dramatic statue.

(I remember, in fact, the first time I saw a picture of the statue, in an art history book: a full-page, color photo that I opened to by chance and could not tear my eyes from. It’s a memorable piece of art.)

The sculpture is ancient Greek (about the 3rd century BC), so we don’t know much about who sculpted it or why, but one theory (according to Wikipedia) is that it was created to commemorate a naval victory, perhaps at Rhodes or Cyprus. It clearly presents a triumphant and powerful image; the sense of movement created by the anonymous artist is so masterful that the viewer can almost see the wind rippling through her garments. The head and arms, of course, have not been found, but it’s hard to imagine the statue with them. The arms, especially, might mar the gorgeous sweep of the lines. Then again, if what remains of the statue is so amazing, the sculptor probably did an equally good job with the head and arms.

(The photo is my own, which is why it’s rather mediocre.)