Saturday, 13 October 2012

Quilts from Art Auctions




I’ve been traveling throughout California attending art auctions looking for unique quilts. I have had a lot of success. I have found so many quilts that you could tell were filled with thousands of hours of careful planning and stitching.





I was attending at art auction in Orange and found a wonderful quilt. The quilt was from the Civil War era and was made in the design of Blazing Stars. There was a wonderful appliqued red and green swag-like border. The center of the quilt has a feathered heart hand quilted.





The art auction that I went to in San Bruno had a fabulous quilt that was made in the 1860s. The quilt was hand appliqued using cheddar, red and green cotton solid fabrics. The background was white and the border has a meandering flowering vine. It was truly special.





I found a great quilt that was made in 1894 while I was at an art auction in Rancho Cucamonga. The style of the quilt was really fun. It was called a Victorian Crazy Quilt. There was so much elaborate hand embroidery over every seam and within the blocks, it was magnificent.





I was on vacation in Napa and attended an art auction that had several really nice quilts. The one that I won was made in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and was completed in the 1870s. I like the design called Ocean Waves. The chain had earth green and chocolate brown triangles that were pieced with exceedingly fine skill and precision. The border and background color was warm, cadmium orange.





The quilt I found at an art auction in Paradise was an 1840's thin, cotton Quaker quilt, which measures 108" x 88" and had 10 stitches per inch. It was a Quaker cotton wedding quilt. The top border, near the pillows, had a blue print and each side and the bottom had wide borders with North Carolina Quilt blocks in each corner. There were two rows of North Carolina Lilies in the center, and one row on each side facing outward.





The quilt made its way into the art auction because someone made the decision to sell some of the great historic heirlooms that were passed down through her family to her. I was very fortunate to acquire this heirloom that had passed through the many generations of Quaker families. Now I own one of the great Pennsylvania Quaker masterpieces.





Log cabin quilts are a design that I have always liked. My grandmother made a quilt using this design for me when I was twelve. I found one made in a similar fashion at an art auction Los Gatos. The quilt was made in the 1870s and was made by Mennonites.





I was lucky to find the art auction, it was difficult to find. The quilt is just fantastic. The light and dark design of this quilt has a red center on one side with two green bars, two cinnamon bars and two blue bars and then two red bars and on the other side of the red square in the center are two yellows, two black and white stripe, two lovely Lancaster blue bars, and two peppermint stripe bars.





There was an art auction in Huntington Beach that advertised quilts and I was really happy with the pieces that I found there. The quilt that I bought had a pictorial motif, like an album quilt, with a lot of interesting designs. Each block was quite different and special.


Art Auctions: Grotesque Art




That there is an overwhelming number of pieces that represent this particular grouping of artwork seems false to believe, but this is happens to be on the rise as we get further into the new millennium, and realize the shedding of our culture’s skins time and again. Grotesque artwork pulls us back into the human forms we have been born into, and truly seems to give us a reaffirming sense of who we are. There are many artists, though part of other artistic movements, which have proven to fill the criteria for this grouping of concepts.





Grotesque art from the past ranges from varying degrees of mood and theme, but always seem to draw from those factors that are widely considered by most to be taboo or dark in nature, adhering to some of the most brutal and thought-provoking events in history. All these things have come together to create a body of works that jump between particular eras, but seem interrelated in the subject matter that they portray, creating works that define the morbid attentions that we seem to take from our history as a whole.





Through the works of such famed artists as Picasso and Goya, the light within the darkness of our own human condition can be revealed to us, and these reflections of our culture are seeds to the future as the culture has evolved. Many differing movements each seem to donate their own unique spin when considering these peculiar models of work, and the theme of horror and terror can be interpreted by my different people many differing ways, no matter whether today or some era further behind us. For some cultures, it is a way to evacuate fear, and express it without harm to one’s emotional health.





Though morals may seem to be too constrictive today, there are still points where society converges on points that break past the emotional barriers that many people construct, and this art is very much a mirror for evoking an honest reaction at the reflection that stares back, a response that cannot be replicated any other way. These images more than affect the rest of the present day world, as can be heard in many recent dimensions in music, and related themes can even be found in today’s popular attraction towards the horror films and novels which sell more than ever now.





It is when you consider the works of artists possessed by a certain vision, one that evokes pain as well as passion along with the other contradictions in life, and it is then that historic works like those of Hieronymus Bosch and even modern designs of H. R. Giger can be learned in equal measure of value. Their predilections towards breaking the taboos enforced by their surroundings, has helped to guide us steps into the future of our own acceptance and appreciation for our world, and the layers of depth can be revealed when one takes the time to find those elements that appeal to the sense of artistic worth.





To take control of your knowledge of this kind of artwork can better equip you for finding the particular works that you would be most enthusiastic to own, and though most of the more famous works can only be bought as prints, there are still many artists today who practice a style that intrudes upon that thin layer on the surface that reveals the most visceral layers underneath that. When looking for the right work to suit your tastes, a good deal respect must be given to those that attempt to translate their thoughts onto canvas, and you can come to better understand this category of art when approached with an open mind.





Today, some works by the artist Joe Coleman have more recently pushed the boundaries further back, and smashed a lot of preconceptions of artistic will. His approach includes the use a single horse hair brush, and detailing so fine that many layers can be found after viewing the paintings and prints dozens of times over, creating a new perspective on it with each consecutive viewing of the work. It is these layered degrees that artists strive for time and again to reveal insights into the nature of what it is to be human, and allow us to get in touch with sides of ourselves previously unknown or held back.


Friday, 12 October 2012

Stained Glass Art Auctions




I have found some really beautiful pieces of artistic stained glass at art auctions. The worship committee at my church asked me to find some church window stained glass when I went to an art auction last fall. I found an excellent piece for them that was framed and 73” X 38.5”. The congregation loved it.





I found some wonderful stained glass at an art auction for a client that was trying to complete his new kitchen. The three windows I won were exactly right for him. The stained glass had a Victorian star design in shades of blue. The borders were all beveled and the piece was hand cut and soldered.





The modern stained glass windows sometimes come sandwiched between two pieces of tempered glass to protect them for years of use. The windows I bought at the art auction were framed in vinyl. Each of the stained glass windows was 30” X 30”.





Stained glass art auctions always include lampshades. I went through a period of time where I purchased every stained glass lampshade I would find at an art auction. I am a little more discerning, now. I found a stained glass lampshade not long ago that I purchased for my mother.





My mother just redecorated her bedroom in green and mauve. The stained glass lampshade that I found for her only had variations of those two colors running through it. It was perfect for her and she really liked it when I gave it to her.





I had a call from a client last week that asked me to find a piece of stained glass to hang in a picture window. She always had a curtain hanging over that window, so I had trouble picturing what it looked like. I stopped by her house and chatted with her before I went to the art auction so that I could get better idea of what would delight her.





I talked with this client for awhile and found out that she used to grow roses competitively, but that since her arthritis had gotten worse, she was no longer able to garden. She had a curtain hanging over that window so that she wouldn’t have to look into her bare backyard. I instantly knew exactly what kind of stained glass art piece she needed.





The art auction was a lot of fun and I found a large oval stained glass piece to hang over the picture window for my client. It was almost three feet tall and just under two feet wide. The red roses done in stained glass were just magnificent. She was so happy after the stained glass was delivered; she thanked me with coffee and bagels.





She hired me again to find a special piece for her bedroom window. She liked the idea of replacing the curtains in her home with stained glass pieces of art that I could find for her at art auctions. I looked at the way her bedroom was decorated taking special notice of the colors she used.





I found a fantastic stained glass piece for her at the art auction of a peacock with lavender in the background. It fit really well with her existing decorating. She hired my son to hang this piece for her. She was pleased with his work and has promised him future jobs that require more strength than she possesses.





I was asked by a friend of mine to find a special piece of stained glass for his office. I went to three art auctions before I could find something that felt right. His taste and furnishings run the direction of more contemporary than most pieces of stained glass usually represent.





The third art auction I attended had a contemporary piece of stained glass art that depicted a landmark in Anchorage, Alaska. I did not know it at the time, but my friend had family in Alaska and was actually familiar with this landmark. I purchased it because I liked the style and the coloring, but it turned out to be an even better choice because of its subject matter.


Thursday, 11 October 2012

Art auctions: Art Deco



Within the contemporary art plays a role of sumptuous grand and impressive art deco. The bright colours and of scanning curves audacity of the trademark art deco of the loan which expresses much of the progress made and the modern advancements of the 20th century. Auctions of art from around the world still move several pieces of art deco of different kinds. If you are interested in the art deco, many auctions of art, collection online and off that deal mainly art deco style.




In the 20th century converged the Arts Décoratifs in what is called the art deco movement, which has grown to influence the architecture, fashion, design and Visual Arts. The term "art deco" was derived from a universal exhibition held in Paris in France, called international Decorative Arts and modern industrial exhibition in 1925.




Although the movement and the term comes from the international exhibition of Decorative Arts and modern industry, the term was not widely used until the end of the 1960s. Especially before the first world war the European art deco influence, although many cultures have influenced and was influenced by this artistic movement. A large part of the world has experienced similar shifts in technological advances modern.




Most of the art deco movement was led and inspired by the rapid advances in the technological and social aspects of the beginning of the twentieth century. As culture answered that these change over time, art deco movement was a consequence of these modern phenomena.




Art deco is considered as being generally a type eclectic decorative modernism, which was influenced by a number of artists and art in particular forms. Art deco include furniture, sculptures, clocks, glassware and monitors as well as paintings and other works of art.




Art deco style is known for its industry of luxury and Epicurean flairs, attributed to the culture of sobriety the war-induced world i. patterns and 'BOLD' colors and shapes have been used, have been many special designs are applied universally.




Artist: Sunburst, for example, used in all areas of Radio City Music Hall auditorium, images ladies Shoes, the arrow of the Chrysler Building and several other pieces of art, architecture and design. Other ubiquitous motifs in the art deco style has been stepped shapes, zig - zag, herringbone and curves.




In the West, art deco has lost its steam around the second world war, but continued to be used in the 1960s in developing colonies such as the India, where he served as a bridge to modernism. In art deco of the 1980s then made a comeback in graphic design. Association Art deco and the 1930s film noir has led to its use in advertisements of fashion and jewellery.




Today, art deco is revered by many and dismissed as old news and too flashy by others. Although he undoubtedly played a major role in the history of art, as in most arts, individual tastes encloses the individual interpretation and similar or analogous non-art deco styles.




Art deco is one of the best-known art movements. It is mainly because of its wide range of influences and influenced art forms and cultures. Since a large part of the world know good number same advances in technology and mass production, had the same ideas and relevant symbols in different parts of the world.


Wednesday, 10 October 2012

Art Auctions: Greco-Roman Statuary




The ancient civilizations that have come before this present period of time have always left behind some truly unique pieces to others after them to gain some insight as to what that society may have been like. We learn much from the artifacts collected by archeologists, and their attempts throughout the Mediterranean region of the world, where the peoples of Greece and Rome had originally found their home. Though much of these items are priceless works that cannot be just bought and sold, there are versions of some famous works that can be much cheaper for the casual shopper to purchase.





Many pieces of the genuine article are sometimes found wherever the Greco-Roman styling of things has been prominently featured in architecture or artwork, and there are very many varieties that you might consider as being included in the category with statuary, such as ornately crafted vases and busts. Some of these aspects are certainly more common than many other varieties of this kind of work, with replicas of all of these items is much more common then one may think before coming to understand the rarity of these things, and that genuine articles will be priceless artifacts in some cases.





With the auctioning of statuary from an era previous, though, you can expect the pricing to be an obvious obstacle. Unless adequate replicas can be found in someone’s catalog for a much cheaper price, then the buying of these curious grouping of items should be left to those with skill to know what they are getting. Though this opinion may seem conceited, a person determined to find and retain a piece of Greek statuary should never feel as though it is out of their grasp to do so, and one should always know the rules when coming to realize what it can take to get such a wonderfully preserved piece of work.





In this light, replicas can be a much cheaper and functional means of finding the many differently appealing styled pieces to complete your collection of Greco Roman objects, and there are many prints of Greco Roman artwork for sale to be had for those art collectors thinking within a budget. The actual pieces can be too much for any collector to reasonably purchase, as many pieces of that nature are housed within established places like museums, and exclusively linked to one association or another of experts that collectively buys and cares for the pieces.





For some of the smaller pieces from the age have been passed between collectors for many, many years, and still retain some hint of the past that created them. Art auctioning has the flavor for some peoples’ tastes in the expensive, but the point of an art auction does not have to exclude anyone excited by the items put up for sale, anyone that feels an urge to acquire pieces from an ancient past should be able to participate with a little research into auctioning. Though it may seem overwhelming at first, the experience of an art auction can be a truly special event, and the pricing should never spoil an art auction for those new to it.





With statuary of as historic a nature as the Greco-Roman period, and you consider the history behind some of the pieces, you will better understand somewhat the reminders that float through to us from history’s fingers. Much of what know of their culture has been passed down for many thousands of years, and it is remarkable to see how the themes and subject matter has evolved as it relates to the centuries gone by, as all manner of time period has broken down into our own present day settings. Greco Roman statues give us a literal model of how they perceived the world around them, and though similar and plausible for making comparisons against our own culture, those cultures from a distant past can be great reminders for us to look to for inspiration.


Tuesday, 9 October 2012

Ventes aux enchères d'art : début art américain



There are many very good examples of what might be called early American work that has survived to our days, and as time past to create specific style movements all over the world, the basic ideas change with a change in regional settings and the time when it comes to individual artists and their vision bright. Each artist who no doubt contribute something to the overview of the world that he shapes and changes around them, it takes an artistic strong enough to transcend any particular era will communicate the feeling of the time in a compressed format, and the different forms that can take this illustration are many.




There are many styles and preservation of the environment from which to choose your vintage of the work piece, and when you do the appropriate amount of research on the subject, then you'll be better prepared to find the ideal painting or the work of an artist, you can easily relate to. American illustrations at the beginning, it can be much less time to find and acquire an engraving of the stone you want to possess, and this can also be a cost-effective way to get these works can best enjoy your taste in works of art and artist.




Early American art native American art to artists and modernist painters spectrum running, we see at the present time and their work all comes down in the category of the first of America art, creating a unique perspective on the American landscape. When you want to see a museum-quality piece in your own living room, there may be several ways to purchase ideal illustration that you find, and not all cost an arm or a leg. If you believe that the shopping experience must be animal and then you wrong wrong, but each piece of Museum can be considered to be invaluable in a few hands.




There are different ways to find compromises that responds to your needs, and it does not always affect you find a print and put a frame around it, worthy of many images may be a way around the Bill to try to buy one of these parts affordable constitutional tradition. If you happen to be careful about the purchase of a piece of dubious value, then maybe buy a poster of such works of art can make more value, and especially if you find yourself being a novice in the art scene. There are many places where you could find printed reproductions, and may have them purchased directly in the location space.




There is still much American illustrations are produced, which is quite relevant considerations on the State of things, because they are all the time, and regardless of the period, it certainly is a way to find an example of what you are looking for the artist happens to be involved in a particular gesture or otherwise at the time. There are many definitions, American art falls into depending on when the work was done, but only after the 19th century that the movements began to be launched at the United States, and it was then that artists like Jackson Pollack had the freedom to express themselves.




This leads to the expressionist abstract art, outgrowth COM devices of impacts between the illustrations Ashcan and European modernists like the Cubists and abstract painters's movement direction and appeared in the years following the second world war. In the spirit of this movement gave the discontinuation of the method of formal composition of programmes that focus on space and color to represent the physical act of painting on canvas and has created works based on instinct rather than the representation of real-world objects. These works would eventually affect the works of pop art that would come later in the century the reputation.


Folk Art Auctions




Folk art auctions feature a wide range of objects that reflect the artist’s craft traditions, and traditional social values. Folk art is generally produced by people who have little or no academic artistic training. Folk artists usually use established techniques and styles of a particular region or culture.





Folk art auctions include paintings, sculptures and other decorative art forms. Some artists also consider utilitarian objects such as tools and costumes as folk art. For the most part, the category of folk art auctions exclude works by professional artists.





It has been my experience that folk art auctions have something for just about anyone. I found a folk art painting of a cat in a peach tree that was done by the artist Tascha. The artist also noted on the folk art auction that they create unique ceramic tile art.





My mother purchased a blanket chest for me years ago that I listed recently in a folk art auction. The chest was made about two hundred hears ago and is very beautiful. The original painted decorations are still intact.





I found an interesting folk art auction for a carnival knock-down dummy in the shape of a large cat. It was made around 1930 and is twice the size of similar items. I researched the item on a non-auction site and found that it is worth a lot of money.





My heart is still swayed by Americana folk art auctions. I recently fell in love with a painting I found up for auction of Elvis on a Harley in front of a large American flag. It was spectacular! The stretched canvas was painted with acrylics.





I especially like the Halloween themed folk art auction I found that was offered by Sister Raya New Orleans Folk Art. The title of the painting was Little Spooky the Cat – Awaiting the Great Pumpkin. The painting was painted in classic vintage style and used gold maple, red sapphire, blue pearl, white, pumpkin orange, sable brown, amber rust and jet black. I would love to have this hanging on my wall all through the autumn months.





Another folk art auction that I found and was sad to bid up past my budget was a handmade set of miniature dominos. The set was in a folk art decorated maple case. The set dates from the mid to late 1800’s. It was really exquisite and I’m sorry that I missed out on it.





I really liked another folk art auction that I found for a modern fraktur. A fraktur is a specific kind of Pennsylvania German folk art. The fraktur I found was a watercolor of a marriage record. It was very colorful and looked like it held very special significance to its original owners.





I found a wood box from Maine in a folk art auction that really appealed to me. It was rather small, but was painted chrome yellow and was trimmed in forest green. The paint was crazed and worn and it was made in the late nineteenth century. There were no visible nails and the hardware was reported as looking original.





The folk art auction that I missed out on that was way out of my price range was for an Andrew Clemens sand bottle. The sand bottle was date 1887 and was covered in patriotic decorations. It was an apothecary style bottle with a stopper and it contained at least ten different colors of sand. The bottle ended up selling for eighty five hundred dollars. I’m sure that it has ended up in an excellent collection of folk art.





I found an amusing folk art auction for three wooden carvings. The name of the piece was Three Articulating Folk Art Whimseys and were all made by the same artist. The carvings were accented with sheet metal neckties. The first carving in the folk art auction was of a cobbler, a blacksmith and a gentleman with a donkey. The second carving was a diminutive soldier and the third was a cobbler smoking a pipe. I think that this piece of Americana was purchased at a low price of three thousand dollars and was worth much more.