m. p i l g r i m (art)

For painting III not only did I finish early, and do an extra painting, but it seems administration was not happy that the instructor was letting people go early, even though they were done for the day. So, he apologetically told us that he had to dock grades for people who didn't stay until the end of class, but he offered extra credit - a self portrait or an old master copy. I decided to do both. Artemisia Gentileschi  was a Baroque born in 1593, in Rome. She was the daughter of Orazio Gentileschi, a prominent painter in the traditio of Caravaggio. She trained in her father's studio - unusual for women back then, and was exceptionally gifted from a young age.   Self portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria, 1615 (age 22) In 1610, when she was 16, her father hired Agostino Tassi, his colleague, to train her. Instead, he raped her. Back then, it was hard for women to prove rape, and they would often be tortured to be certain they weren't making it up. Artemisia was subje...

In the community college where I am now, they share space with a nursing school and musical and theater arts, and there’s no ventilation, poor plumbing, so we have to use acrylic paint.   I dislike acrylics for a number of reasons , many of which are the same as why artistis switched from tempera to oils in the 1400s in the first place.  I’ve tried “Golden Open” to get some color that doesn’t dry quite so fast, but it is also runny. I hate the texture. It felt like using liquid acrylic, but it’s the best I could do for what’s required for this class. The class requirements are a series of at least 5 paintings, and Hubs came up with the brilliant idea of doing “ruined landscapes.”  I am a landscape artist, so I decided to do 18x24” paintings of local disasters.  “Le Vilain Paysage,” (The Ugly Landscape) 1. Abandoned textile mill, Cosmopolis Washington.  Title: “ Weyerhaeuser ” This mill, “Cosmo Specialty Fibers” processed wood pulp to create rayon and other wood-...