I play my musical instruments, and that is how sound is produced through this medium. Likewise, an artist uses his painting brushes to produce an artwork on a large canvas filled with vivid oil color. Medieval art, renaissance, baroque, impressionism and expressionism are art movements defined by the Western art; there are analogous with different genres in music.

‘Likings’ is the rudiment for every artist’s hope to achieve in an art exhibit with invited friends and guests. It is a simple gesture and compliments, beside trying hard to understand and breaking the ‘da Vinci’ code from the hanging art frame. Abstract art does not necessary have to translate into words.

Even famous quote from the great painter, Claude Monet, once said:

“People discuss my art and pretend to understand as if it were necessary to understand, when it’s simply necessary to love.”

Here are a few reasons why visiting an art gallery is more relaxing, as compared to listening to music:

1. Viewers share and discuss about the oil painting art that is hanging on the wall, without the constraint to sit silently listening music in a concert hall.
2. Before an audience is able to listen to audio music, one need to take a step further to press the ‘play’ button. Visual art is mainly for the eye only.
3. Its healthier to keep our body moving and walking around in the art gallery. Listening is merely an exercise of your ears, while siting restlessly in a cushion chair.
4. There isn’t a need to pay a high entrance fee to view a masterpiece in an art museum; most displaying less than 3 meters from your naked eye. Conversly, one need a bionic eye to see the musician playing in a stage, with at least 15 meters away from the chair you are sitting.
5. Scan your paintings or take a snapshot with your iPhone, and upload it to Facebook. It is much faster and less tedious than recording music.
6. Your Mom will love your paintings, even she is busying cooking for your dinner. A glimpse of your mini Picasso’s art is what she have to do. Same support goes to your good friends who is an artist.

Related posts:

1. A Short Post on the Art Auction for Claude Monet’s Nymphéas
2. Welcome to Color Painting Art
3. Water Lilies Painted by Claude Monet

In about less than 2 weeks, one of the best oil paintings by Claude Monet will finalize the auctioned price at Christie’s. The paintings entitled, “Nymphéas” or Water Lilies, painted in 1906.

This set is just one out of the 250 oil paintings in his life time. Every artwork on the water lilies is rendered with rich colors, expressing his most accomplished skill in alla prima technique, aka “direct painting” or “wet on wet”.

Less of describing the paintings, but to learn more about art auction at Christie’s.

Estimated price is ($43,350,000 – $57,800,000). This magnificent artwork will be offered in the Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale in London on 23 June. What will be the price realized?

Nympheas, Water Lilies, Claude Monet, 1906, Oil Paintings, Auction

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Most gifted painting master forgers of 20^th century. To say it lamely, he was a master of copycats in paintings. However, his artwork was well-respected, in term of painting skill.

Till today, many Chinese artists and painting amateurs have approached to his sought-after copying technique for learning art. Best example is oil painting reproductions.

To his exceptionally skillful technique, his forgeries are difficult to detect for many reasons.

1. Using only medium of Chinese ink, he has proven in many artwork of capable to imitate the great Chinese masters. His believes of emulating from great masters is presented as a necessary stage in artistic development.
2. His sharp-minded knowledge to the specific material he used. This is visible in his paintings writing in small Chinese characters, such as type of paper and ink.
3. He often forged paintings based on descriptions in catalogues of lost paintings; his forgeries came with ready-made provenance.

Back in 1956, a much-heralded summit between the Eastern and Western world of art masters; Zhang Daqian met Pablo Picasso in Antibes.

Both artists worked in different genres, but that have not deterred them from exchanging of artwork and culture.

Their profound influence and artistic genius have kept them united for common purpose in art.

I hope to source for some photos of his paintings on my next post. Below showing a video of Chang Dai-chien gesturing in a cypress.

Flickr: SFSU Fine Arts

His recent artwork was auction at Christie’s late May 2010. Paintings entitled: “Lady Scroll”, mounted and framed, ink on paper.

Price realized was ($35,591), approx 10% higher than estimated value of US$32,000. View here.

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A simple question. Yet, my reply can be paralyzed by how I should answer in a comprehensive manner.

To reply a single answer “Yes” or “No” is too straightforward. Basically, as good as showing ignorance and unimportance to the concern of potential buyers. Or by not replying will eventually turn away a new hope of success.

I have encountered quite frequently as an online seller. Usually, there are the new buyers who worry about receiving a poster print, instead of expecting an actual oil painting reproductions.

Now, I have just mentioned another word “reproduction”. To put it in my words relevant to this post, I would explain, “it is the process of generating duplicate copies from the original production”.

In oil paintings, a manufacturer can also reproduced into a poster print using press machines. To certain extend, there can even be mass produced.

So the foremost is to have an understanding of how to differentiate between a poster print and an oil painting reproduction? Below sharing some key factors to identify them.

1. Paintings done with oils require the colors mixed as the artists work & the colors are never the same, whereas, a poster print rely on the mix of color dye and the precision of the press machines.
2. A poster print will have perfectly smooth and lustrous surface, similar to a photograph. Oil paintings will show up some relief on texture, such as impasto paintings. You will see blobs of paint and the brush-strokes.
3. Prints are run on a press on different weights of paper and they can easily reproduce for mass quantity. Oil paintings require an artist to manually hand paint on the canvas, mass production will be too laborious.
4. Oil paintings, generally fetch a higher price, since it require a skilled artist to reproduce. Poster prints using press will rely on mechanical equipments to duplicate the product. The rate to produce prints are much faster than handmade oil paintings.

Back to the questions of “Will the oil paintings look exactly the same as the picture posted in your store?” With the common understandings listed, I will be able to answer more correctly.

Oil paintings will never be the same as a poster prints. However, experienced artists will try to reproduce as close as the picture posted in their online store.

A slight variant may be visible in contrast with the posted picture. This is typically true, and every online buyers should view and appreciate it as the creativity aspect from artists.

Do you view hand-painted oil painting reproduction as poster print?

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3. Frequently Ask Questions (FAQs) Preloaded

I began to googled and thought of writing chopsticks related to Chinese food culture. To my surprise, most websites have already covered on this topic.

Interesting topics ranging from chopsticks history to different types of chopsticks from China, Vietnam, Korea and Japan. And from table etiquette in Chinese restaurant to videos showing how-to-use-chopsticks.

So, why not blog about what the types of food not possible to use by chopsticks?

Below are the 10 different types of foods commonly found in modern Eastern Asia, including Western food.

1. Soup of the day. From the Western’s recipient of tastiest pumpkin-mushroom soup, to the expensive Chinese delicacy of bird nest and shark fin’s soup. Always better to use a tablespoon, instead
2. Watermelon. Alright! You are so thirsty and craving for some fresh fruit in a hot-summer to quench your thirst. Using chopsticks will definitely get you more impatience to finish up a juicy slice. After all, its tastier with every refreshing bites.
3. Pizza. Beside slicing the pie with a roller-slice into quarters, what other table utensil can be used without using hand? It strange if pizza were to pick up by chopsticks.
4. A Big Mac or a Double Cheese Burger. Since when fast-food restaurant offer chopsticks for burgers? It would be tedious and painstaking to enjoy a meal like this.
5. Jelly, a soft sweet food made from fruit juice and gelatin. Unlike Chinese Tofu, jelly is more slippery and soft-bodied, which most youngster love to indulge in.
6. Grilled loin steak on a hot pan. Doesn’t matter if its half done, well done or boneless. It is still a big chuck of tender delicious piece of beef steak.
7. Half-boil eggs. No, I’m not referring to hard-boiled eggs. This kind of food is a traditional breakfast in Asia. Usually, served with toasted bread. Commonly seen in old coffee shops in central Laos and Malaysia. It looks soft and slimy. A few drops of soya sauce and a pinch of pepper will enhance the taste.
8. Ice-cream. It may take slightly more skill to pick up by chopsticks. However, it would not last long, if you are enjoying it under a hot weather. It melts!
9. Congee. As comparison with porridge, congee is much more watery and fairly viscous. Rice is boiled in many times its weight of water for a long time until the rice breaks down. In Chinese food culture, congee is eaten primarily as a breakfast food or late supper.
10. Mashed potato. Its a pasty food to Western food culture. I would recommend using a spoon is much appropriate than chopsticks.

Has any one use chopsticks for spaghetti? It does looks like the Chinese noodles though.

Colorful Sets Of Chinese Chopsticks From Hong Kong

Picture Source: jinn

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1. “People discuss my art and pretend to understand as if it were necessary to understand, when it’s simply necessary to love.”
2. “I would advise young artists . . . to paint as they can, as long as they can, without being afraid of painting badly . . . . If their painting doesn’t improve by itself, it means that nothing can be done – and I wouldn’t do anything!”
3. “It took me time to understand my water lilies. I had planted them for the pleasure of it; I grew them without ever thinking of painting them.”
4. “We’re having marvelous weather and I wish I could send you a little of the sunshine. I am slaving away on six paintings a day. I’m giving myself a hard time over it as I haven’t yet managed to capture the color of this landscape, there are moments when I’m appalled at the colors I’m having to use, I’m afraid what I’m doing is just dreadful and yet I really am understating it; the light is simply terrifying.”
5. “No one is an artist unless he carries his picture in his head before painting it, and is sure of his method and composition.”
6. “For me, a landscape does not exist in its own right, since its appearance changes at every moment; but the surrounding atmosphere brings it to life – the light and the air which vary continually. For me, it is only the surrounding atmosphere which gives subjects their true value.”
7. “I am completely absorbed by my work. These landscapes of water and reflections have become an obsession. They are beyond the strength of an old man, and yet I am determined to set down what I feel. I have destroyed some…I have begun others over again…and I hope that something will come of so much effort.”
8. “I know that to paint the sea really well, you need to look at it every hour of every day in the same place so that you can understand its way in that particular spot; and that is why I am working on the same motifs over and over again, four or six times even.”
9. “I am following Nature without being able to grasp her… I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.”
10. “It’s on the strength of observation and reflection that one finds a way. So we must dig and delve unceasingly.”

Related posts:

1. Water Lilies Painted by Claude Monet
2. A Brief Idea Of Impressionism Oil Paintings
3. A Short Post on the Art Auction for Claude Monet’s Nymphéas

Camille Pissarro (1830 – 1903), Claude Monet (1840 – 1926), Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841 – 1919), and Edgar Degas (1834 – 1917), organized the exhibit of independent artsits.

In a critic’s sarcastic reaction to Monet’s painting Impression, Sunrise, 1873.

The term “Impressionism” was born as a commentary on the artist’s loose paint application and ambiguous subject matter.

The Impressionists introduced the public to contemporary subjects drawn from a direct engagement with the urban world of boulevards, cafe, theathers, cabarets, racetracks, and train stations.

The revolution of French Impressionism unfolded in Paris in a series of eight exhibitions held between 1874 and 1886.

The works exhibited during these years represented original investigations into the science of light and color, a commitment to outdoor painting. New source of inspiration for both the formal language and subject matter of painting, challenges to technical conventions of painting, and the idea of finish.

In turn, the Impressionists opened the door for a generation of artists who extended the boundaries of painting even further.

In this regards, some of the artists briefly associated with Impressionism such as Paul Gauguin (1848 – 1903), Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890), Georges Seurat and Cezanne, later emerged as powerful voices for an even more dramatic shift in thinking about the nature of goals of art.

Thereafter, the term “Post-Impressionism” was first coined in 1910 by the English critic Roger Fry.

Impressionism conjures up a series of unifying aesthetic concepts, whereas Post-Impressionism refers less to a single style, and more to a generational gap.

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1. Van Gogh’s Most Expensive Oil Paintings, Plus 2 More..
2. Water Lilies Painted by Claude Monet
3. 10 Most Beautiful Quotes from Claude Monet

Similar to “The Night Cafe”, by the outbreak of World War I (1914–18), this work owned by Sergei Shchukin were nationalized by Bolsheviks, and now exhibiting in art museum.

As of today, at least 8 of his most expensive work has been sold since last 3 decades, either in auction or private sales. Below showcasing 8 most expensive oil paintings paid, plus 2 more potentially priced paintings. (Inflation adjusted)

1) Portrait of Dr. Gachet (June 1890) – US$138.4 million (Was $82.5 mil)

Vincent van Gogh painted this piece of his work during the last weeks of his life before his suicide. There are two versions of the portrait. Both painted in the same year.

One of the version was sold in May 1990, through an auction at Christie’s, New York, put up by the Siegfried Kramarsky family. The buyer was a Japanese businessman Ryoei Saito.

Since Ryoei Saito’s death in 1996 Reports in 2007 have claimed the painting was sold a decade earlier to the Austrian-born investment fund manager, in turn, had reportedly been forced by financial reversals to sell the painting to parties as yet unknown.

The second version of the portrait is currently in the possession of the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France.

Portrait of Dr. Gachet 1890, Van Gogh

2) Irises 1889 – US$101.2 million (Was $53.9 mil)

Van Gogh’s passion of painting flowers, has made this highly priced irises paintings sold at US$101.2 million. This brilliant artwork was painted while Vincent van Gogh was living at the asylum at Saint Paul-de-Mausole in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France in the last year before his death in 1890.

In 1987, put up in an auction (Sotheby’s, New York ). Sold by the son of Joan Whitney Payson to an Australian businessman, Alan Bond. Interestingly, buyer did not have enough money to pay for the bidden price. Eventually, the pieces was re-sold to J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles in 1990.

It is noticeably that the painting style used wasn’t as hash as the famous Starry Night. Back then, before inflicted by mental derangement, Van Gogh felt that he could keep himself from going insane by continuing to paint.

Irises, 1889, Van Gogh

3) Portrait of Joseph Roulin 1889 – US$$100.9 ++ million (Was $58 mil plus exchange of works)

Sold by in a private sales via a Swiss art dealer and collector, Thomas Ammann, to the Museum of Modern Art new York.

Joseph Roulin was described as the typical bread-winner in the household, during the period of working class in 19^th century France. Working as a postman toiling for money to make ends meet. A father of three children, and a husband of a housewife, who care for home and children.

Van Gogh did different versions of this portrait. In fact, he told his brother Theo in a letter: “I have made portraits of a whole family, that of the postman whose head I had done previously – the man, his wife, the baby, the young boy, and the son of sixteen, all of them real characters and very French, though they look like Russians. ”

Portrait of Joseph Roulin 1889, Van Gogh

4) Portrait de l’artiste sans barbe 1889 – U$94.5 million (Was $71.5 mil)

Sold by the family of Jacques Koerfer, in late 1998, at an auction held in Christie’s, New York. Buyer remain anonymous till these days.

A self-portrait of artist without a beard. Leading fourth in the list of most expensive paintings. Among many with bearded portrait, this work is exceptionally unique and rare; clean-shaven, crispy-looking, hair gel and back-combing, self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh.

Van Gogh, Self-Portrait, without Beard

5) Self-portrait with bandaged ear 1889 – US$90 million (Was 71.5 mil)

This paintings sold in late 1998, at an auction in Chrisie’s, New York. Buyer remain suspected to be anonymous. Recently, reported by Forbes.com on 10^th March, Phlip Niarchos “Eldest son of late Greek shipping magnate, Stavros Niarchos, inherited father’s art collection of such masterpieces as Vincent van Gogh’s “Self-Portrait with a Bandaged Ear””

Again, another unique piece of Van Gogh’s paintings, with bandaged ear. Do you know that he actually presented his lower chopped-off part of his ear to a prostitute at his favorite brothel?

Van Gogh, Self-portrait with bandaged ear

6) A Wheatfield with Cypresses 1889 – U$85.7 million (Was $57 mil)

Sold by son of Emil Georg Bührle in a private sale via Steven Mazoh. Buyer was Walter Annenberg, a Jewish-born American publisher, diplomat, and a philanthropist.

Van Gogh painted this while he spend his life in a mental asylum at St. Remy in May 1889. In his written letter to Theo, “...the wheat field in the sun, which represents the extreme heat... “, describing one of his best sun-drenched landscape in summer canvases.

There are 2 variants of this paintings, the other owned by National Gallery, London.

Wheatfield with Cypresses, Van Gogh

7) Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers 1888 – U$76.7 million (Was $39.7 mil)

Yet another related paintings on flowers. Van Gogh’s sunflower paintings was auctioned in 1987, an event held at Christie’s London organized by the daughter in law of Chester Beatty. Buyer was described as a Japanese insurance magnate, by the name of Yasuo Goto. Little was known about the intention of this purchased. Neither was a self-interest in a private sales, nor buying it on the behalf of the company. The painting currently resides at Seiji Togo Yasuda Memorial Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo. After the purchase a controversy arose whether this is a genuine van Gogh or an Emile Schuffenecker forgery.

Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers, Van Gogh

8.) Peasant Woman Against a Background of Wheat 1890 – U$64.1 million (Was $47.5 mil)

Sold to Stephen Wynn, an American casino resort/real-estate developer. An unknown seller held a private sale via Acquavella Galleries Inc., New York.

Stephen Wynn has owned an extensive art collection, including Paul Gauguin and Pablo Picasso.

Peasant Woman Against a Background of Wheat, Van Gogh

Last but not least, below are my 2 guesses on the Van Gogh’s painting artwork, having the ever-potential to be priced highly. Despite the fact of every priceless work already in public domain, both are also well-known for oil painting reproductions.

9) “The Starry Night” – June, 1889. St-Rémy. Current Location: Museum of Modern Art, New York City

10) “The Night Café ” – September, 1888. Arles. Current Location: Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven

What will be your pick? I would be interested to hear your ideas and opinions for the next 2 to complete Van Gogh’s Top 10 most expensive paintings.

Pricing Source

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1. Starry Night, Van Gogh, Ranked #1 @ Bonanzle
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There are some basic rules; always get the basic stroke and directions correct. Generally, directions of basic strokes to make Chinese words are:-

• Left to right, top to bottom, sometime end with a vertical hook.
• Dash-dot in the directions from top to rightward or leftward.
• Descending strokes from top to diagonally left with a straight ending. And
• Trailing strokes from top to diagonally right with a slight curve ending.

Okay, straight to the point to learn how to write Chinese characters 1 to 10.

Learn to write Chinese Character 1 (One). The simplest of all. Consist of a horizontal strokes from left to right.

Chinese Character 1, One

Learn to write Chinese Character 2 (Two). A short and a longer strokes at the bottom. Both left to right direction.

Chinese Character, Two, 2

Learn to write Chinese Character 3 (Three). Quiet similar to Chinese character 2, but with a short middle strokes horizontally.

Chinese Character, Three, 3

Learn to write Chinese Character 4 (Four). Looks like a small square, and within consist of 2 dash-dots in opposite direction. Total five strokes to make a word.

Chinese Character, Four, 4

Learn to write Chinese Character 5 (Five). Try to maintain the horizontal strokes to be straight, and stroke with vertical direction to slightly lean towards right.

Chinese Character, Five, 5

Learn to write Chinese Character 6 (Six). Keep the dash strokes to be short.

Chinese Character, Six, 6

Learn to write Chinese Character 7 (Seven). There are only 2 strokes to make this word. Below is recognized as the simplified way of writing “seven”. To be precise, the horizontal stroke is written slanted slightly up, and the “L” strokes consist of a small hook at the lower ending.

Chinese Character, Seven, 7

Learn to write Chinese Character 8 (Eight). This is easy and the most auspicious character in Chinese culture. Quite similar to the 2 inner strokes in Chinese character four. This character word is more bold, bigger and widely spread out. Consist of 2 strokes writing in opposite directions; left stroke is shorter that the right.

Chinese Character, Eight, 8

Learn to write Chinese Character 9 (Nine). Only consist of 2 strokes. Second strokes has a right-angle bent and end with a hook in right direction.

Chinese Character, Nine, 9

Learn to write Chinese Character 10 (Ten). This is as good as the mathematical symbol “+” (plus). Definitely not the cross use in religious symbol.

Chinese Character, Ten, 10

Additional learning to describe hundredth, thousandth, and tenth thousand.

Learn to write Chinese Character 100th (Hundredth). This is a bad writings, especially stroke #2 and #3. It is still recognize as a Chinese character “100th”, but in an unrefined manner. It consist of 6 strokes, with 2 faults you should not follow. Strokes #2 should not budge out to the third strokes. And strokes #3 should have a nicer right turn, instead of the crooked corner.

Chinese Character, Hundredth, 100th

Learn to write Chinese Character 1000th (Thousandth). This is easy. Seems like just an additional strokes on top of the Chinese character “ten”. If you look closely, the order of writings this 3 strokes is not the same.

Chinese Character, Thousandth, 1000th

Learn to write Chinese Character 10,000th (Tenth Thousand). This is very unique for the Chinese to name tenth thousand in just a single character. Compare 13 English alphabets with only 3 simple Chinese writing strokes. Do you see the beauty in this word?

Chinese Character, Tenth Thousand, 10000th

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You would had been done your artwork with painstaking attention, yet drying is another pressing issues for beginners who uses oil color. Waiting time may take even weeks to dry. So what takes oil painting so long time to dry?

For simple fact that oil do not dry by evaporation. The drying of oils is the result of an oxidative reaction, chemically equivalent to slow, flameless combustion. The thicker the coat of paint, the longer the waiting time will be. Having said that, there are 3 basic methods to shorten drying process. Namely, paint with thin layers, use paints ground in linseed oil, and use drying additives.

1. Painting thin layers allows oxidation to permeate into oil layers easier, than thick or multiple layers on top of one another. Thus, shorter time is achieved and it also an added advantage for painting more layers on dryer oil surface.
2. Linseed oil is made from the seeds of the flax plant. It is available in refined and cold-pressed oil. Beside a better and faster drying oil, it also has adds gloss and transparency to paints. It dries very thoroughly, making it’s ideal for under-painting and initial layers in a painting.
3. Cobalt Driers are extremely powerful oxidizing agent. The adverse effect of using this addictive may affect the color of mixtures. So it is advisable to use it sparely. If used in excess they can ruin a painting. Most experienced painters would agree that not more than 5 drops of cobalt drier should be used per each 2 1/2 fluid Oz of any given medium. Basically Cobalt Driers are diluted in the oil painting medium if you are using one. It is harder to control the amount of drier, if directly into the blobs of paint on the palette. In short, Cobalt Driers are used to improve and speed the drying rate of oil colors.

Whatever the methods to increase the rate of drying oil painting, I would say having good patience is still the key factor in learning any art disciplines.

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