June, 2006

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PAINTING WATER: THE MARRIAGE OF FREEDOM AND CONTROL

Illustration Art

Sometimes it takes the greatest amount of self-discipline to capture the things that are most free and elusive. You might think that painting water-- that most fluid, shimmering substance-- would permit an illustrator to indulge in the wildest excesses. But I was surprised to discover that some of the painters who are best at capturing the freedom of water can only do so using the most exacting self-discipline and control.

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ARTISTS IN LOVE, part one

Illustration Art

George Nathan once wrote, "art is the sex of the imagination." That may seem like a pretty dumb thing to say but it serves as a good springboard for my series of posts discussing the relationship between art and love. Maxfield Parrish was 33, a successful illustrator living on a grand country estate in New Hampshire when he first met Sue Lewin. She was a 16 year old girl from a nearby farm town hired to help Parrish and his wife Lydia care for their two young children.

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