Amanti Art Blog

The Fog Warning

What is so engaging about the work of American painter Winslow Homer? At first glance it celebrates an idyllic version of life along the New England coastline, but dig deeper and each becomes a rorschach image of the artist’s and viewer’s hopes and fears.

Boy Fishing

Born February 24th, 1836 in Boston Massachusetts to a painter and entrepreneur, Homer had a comfortable yet chaotic upbringing, moving with his family to Europe  in his teens do to his father’s myriad business ventures.  The calming images of seaside recreation may have offered some escapism from the uncertainty of his family’s next residence and source of income during his younger years.

On the Beach

As a young man, Homer worked as a commercial illustrator, gaining notoriety for his gritty work documenting the sorrows of the frontlines during the American Civil War. Homer insisted on working freelance so that he could have greater control over his artwork. His desire to remain a free-spirit is reflected in the energy and movement visible in many of his marine paintings.  Sails thunder against their ropes as masts twist, and the clear coastal sun through sea spray dapples on the water in a wet blur to reference both impressionism and earlier classical schools.

Breezing Up

Beyond nostalgia for simpler times, Homer’s work is deeply connected to our shared American history.  Surviving our young country’s second challenge to its existence, Homer would have reflected on the coastal battles of New England that first birthed our independence.  No American can visit New England without thinking of what was sacrificed there in the name of a grander idea, and that patriotism is an silent but omnipresent entity.

Long Branch, New Jersey

The most visceral theme of Homer’s work is the element of dread and tension that many of his paintings evoke, whether through an ominous gathering of clouds, or the full gail and deluge of the storm.  Like the Old Man and the Sea, we struggle daily against forces we may not fully grasp, or do so knowing full well that we will not be victorious in the end. Homer captures the seasick feeling of gravity and wind shifting on the open water, where survival means pulling in a net of fish from the deep, and somehow remaining in your battered vessel. As hopeless as the situation may seem, a glimmer on the shore tells us there is a warm home waiting when we finally get back.

Today we celebrate the 100^th birthday of American abstract expressionist painter Jackson Pollock. Born January 28^th in 1912 in Cody, Wyoming, Pollock helped redefine contemporary art with his chaotic and colorful drip paintings, and forced viewers and critics to reexamine the relationship of the artist, work, and audience. Pollock struggled with alcoholism throughout his life and died tragically in 1956.

No. 4, 1949

Pollock was already well immersed in the 1940’s New York City scene when he created the revolutionary style for which he is best known.  He was living and working in a farmhouse and barn on Long Island with wife Lee Krasner when he began experimenting with dripping and splattering paint onto canvas, less concerned with a specific image than with the process of creating.

“I prefer sticks, trowels, knives and dripping fluid paint or a heavy impasto with sand, broken glass and other foreign matter added. When i am in my painting, I’m not aware of what I’m doing…I have no fears about making changes, destroying the image, and so forth, because the painting has a life of it’s own.”  -Pollock, 1944

Jackson Pollack at work with Lee Krasner

It is this attention to the process of painting rather than representing an image that led art critic Harold Rosenberg to laud Pollock as part of a new school of Action Painters.

“The painter no longer approached his easel with an image in mind, he went up to it with material in his hand to do something to that other piece of material in front of him. The image would be a result of this encounter.” – Rosenberg, 1952

Convergence

This view of Pollock’s work begs the question as to whether or not the finished image is truly important. Of course Pollock’s work stands on it’s own, many of his pieces are stunning in their intricate detail and vastness.  Viewers can appreciate the beauty and intensity of his paintings without knowledge of his technique or background.  Pollock’s work inspires not only visual artists but also filmmakers and musicians, who translate the same chaos and freedom into experimental film and jazz.

No. 18, 1950

In 2000, Jackson Pollock’s personal life and career made it’s way to the big screen with the Academy Award winning film Pollock starring Ed Harris and Marsha Gay Harden.

One of the more popular artists featured at Amanti Art is Howard Behrens, a landscape painter who primarily uses a palette knife technique to create gorgeous, sun-dappled images of some of the World’s most picturesque vacation locales.  Originally from Chicago, Behrens currently resides in Washington, DC, but travels the US, Europe, Central and South America to find inspiration.

Lago Bellagio by Howard Behrens available at AmantiArt.com

Behrens’ palette knife technique includes applying paint to a canvas with with a flat knife-like tool rather than a brush.  The end result is a thick, textured, painting that references the sun-worshipping Impressionist styles of artists like Claude Monet.  Sunlit landscapes are a common theme in Behrens’ work, although he has also used the technique to depict illuminated cityscapes at night.

Tuscany by Howard Behrens

Behrens began painting as a small child but developed his technique through years of experimentation, always attempting to reinvent his style.  Howard from his website howardbehrens.com: “It started out very fine and thin using very little paint.  Then, it got thicker and thicker and heavier and heavier. Finally, the most amazing thing happened–the act of painting became the subject matter.”

Palm Beach Flower Garden by Howard Behrens

Howard Behrens’ work has been featured on the cover of several art magazines including American Artist, and Fine Art, and he has been called “The Monet of the 21st Century”.  Harriet Rinehart calls Behrens “the Best colorist among a large group of post-Impressionist painters in the United States today.” He has been featured in more than 150 one-man shows and was a featured artist at the 2002 Winter Olympic games.

Splendor of Italy by Howard Behrens

These prints of Howard Behrens work and many more are available at AmantiArt.com