Margret E Short Fine Arts Blog

Chinese New Year at the Governor's Mansion

Dave and I enjoyed a lovely evening reception at Mahonia Hall hosted by Governor John Kitzhaber and First Lady Cylvia Hayes, given in appreciation of Oregon Winegrowers and Artists. Several artists from the Rental Sales Gallery were chosen to exhibit work in the mansion. The three pieces below are hanging in a delightful round breakfast room. Touring the 1920s style house, it was easy to see the superb craftsmanship of the period. Directly above the breakfast room is another round room identical to the one on the main floor.

Shelf Life, 8x10 O/P Margret E. Short 2011

 

Vermilion and Dogwood, 6x6, O/P Margret E. Short 2011

Fancy Radish, 8x8 O/P Margret E. Short, 2011
 

The Great Girl Jazz Singers

For as long as I can remember, I have been crazy for the music of the Great Girl Jazz Singers of the past. When I was a little girl, my gramma and I would often snuggle up to the radio to listen to singers such as Jo Stafford. Some performed at the legendary Mount Hood Jazz Festival which I attended many years. Stars like Anita O'Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Cleo Laine, and Betty Carter, Sarah Vaughn, Carmen McRae, and Nancy Wilson graced the stage at Mt. Community College at that outdoor music fest, stars twinkling above and moon listening through the treetops.

Many of those greats are now gone, but lucky for us, Christa Wessel at KMHD is keeping the music alive on her weekly Divaville radio show right here in the Portland area at 89.1 on your FM dial. Every week you can hear music by Nina Simone, Shirley Horn, Rosemary Clooney, Billie Holiday, Julie London, and Peggy Lee along with so many other unforgettable voices.

The "Flowers for" paintings is a new series I created to honor the "Girl Jazz Singers" from the Golden Age of Jazz. It was common for the singers to tuck a flower behind one ear during their performance. Perhaps the most famous was Billie Holiday, honored here in my painting called, Flowers for Billie's Hair.

Sold, Highlands Gallery

© Margret E. Short 2011, OPA. AWA

The paintings shown below in the previous posts represent the ever funny and entertaining Pearl Baily, Blossom Dearie who was once a librarian, and the sultry Keely Smith. All three paintings are on display at the Gallery 903 in Portland, Oregon.

I invite you to cuddle up to your computer or wrap your arms around your radio any Wednesday evening at 7 and enjoy both male and female voices from the past. You can even send or call in requests. Stir up some martinis and kick back the rug to enjoy two hours of nostalgic music from the 1920's to the '60s.

If you have any suggestions for my "Flowers for" series, I would love to hear from you.

 

Flowers for Blossom's Hair

Flowers for Blossom's Hair

8x8  Oil on Linen Panel

© Margret E. Short 2011, OPA. AWA

Gallery 903, 903 NW Davis, Portland, Oregon, 503-248-0903

Flowers for Pearl's Hair

Flowers for Pearl's Hair

8x8  oil on linen panel

© Margret E. Short 2011, OPA. AWA

Gallery 903, 903 NW Davis, Portland, Oregon 97209, 503-248--0903

Flowers for Keely's Hair

Flowers for Keely's Hair

8x8  Oil on Linen Panel

© Margret E. Short 2011, OPA. AWA

Gallery 903, 903 NW Davis, Portland, OR, 97209, 503-248-0903 

First Thursday

 

I am happy to announce new gallery representation in Portland

Gallery 903

Please join us 

 First Thursday

December 1, 5:30 to 8:00

It's the Journey 12x10 Oil on Linen   Copyright Margret E. Short 2011

Sold 

903 NW Davis

Portland, Oregon 97209

Gallery 903  503-248-0903

Winter Group Exhibit, Realism to the Abstracted, New Work from 30 Gallery Artists

Easel Origins

Early Italian Renaissance painters were extremely popular in their time, but not much is known about how they worked. There is no evidence that they used any sort of device for holding a canvas while they worked. 

Then along came the seventeenth century and the rise of the Dutch Masters who were very astute and methodical in their working practises. They liked working with their canvases in a vertical position so they invented the three legged contraption.

This holding device bore some resemblance to the chief beast of burden, the donkey. After this, painters adopted the Dutch word for "little donkey" to their canvas bearing invention. This word sounded and looked like our modern word, easel.

Source:What's in a Word by Webb Garrison

Festival of Panathenaea

Well, here is the great unveiling. For the past many months, this 30x30 stretch of canvas has been my labor of love.  After much research into topics for use as a theme, the Festival of Panathenaea became an easy choice because the possibilities for subject matter were so colorful, plentiful, and titillating. 

 

Festival of Panathenaea, 30x30, oil on Linen

Margret E. Short, © 2011

As mentioned before,  the hemlock blossom is suggested on the surface of the cloth and is brilliant white and replicates the dazzling light of the Greek sun. All subject matter is from 5th century BCE, the Golden Age of Greek history. Pomegranates, olives and branches, grapes, figs, marble tabletop, Socrates, and poppies are all included. Shown on the white ground vase at the right is a figure of a man playing the kithara, an ancient instrument of the lyre family.

In the background is a tapestry-like replica of the magnificent scene painted by John Singer Sargent in his rotunda murals at the Boston Museum of Fine Art called Architecture, Painting, and Sculpture Protected by Athena from the Ravages of Time. 

So, do you agree that many more paintings could be created using this theme? What would you like to explore from this time in Ancient Greece? I am itching to go there someday to study the culture and pigments and just keep painting forever.

Athena's Festival

In ancient Greek mythology, Athena was the goddess and protector of all the arts including painting, sculpture, and literature. A celebration of her birthday was held every year (a grand event every 4 years) which was called the Festival of Panathenaea during a month that corresponded with our July. All Greeks attended including, men, women, children, freed slaves, and non-Greeks.

Paul Cartledge tells us in his enlightening book, Ancient Greece, that this was a majestic event that encompassed feasts, music, athletic competitions, parades, performances, theater, boat races, equestrian contests, and religious ceremonies. These festivities were favorite subjects for the vase painters during the height of popularity of these vessels. Hundreds and hundreds of scenes were depicted showing all varieties of these activities. Amphorae containing oil were given as prizes for the winners of the athletic events such as the one shown on this vase.

 

You can see why I chose this topic for my painting. The subject matter is endless and endlessly interesting. Undoubtedly, many paintings could be created surrounding this ancient festival.

 

Cinnabar

 

My favorite red pigment used by ancient Greeks is cinnabar. It was a perfect hue to use on these poppies. I used burnt umber and madder for the shadow tones, and heightened the lights with yellow ochre and white. A very similar hue can be attained by using vermilion, a much more intense in color. Just calm the heat with a nice earthy green. By doing this, it becomes a lovely subtle tone. Natural cinnabar can be quite gritty which is a desirable quality for me.