RECOMMENDED SITES

Current, Upcoming and Recent Exhibitions, Films

April 28 - May 20, 2007 The California Art Club  96TH ANNUAL GOLD MEDAL JURIED EXHIBITION at the Pasadena Museum of California Art
Juried Artists (listed in alphabetical order).  The exhibition is accompanied by a full-color 174-page catalogue.

Legacy: A Tradition Lives On
2005 through 12/2007: The exhibition, and companion book with the same name, tells the story of an artistic legacy handed down through four generations of painters and sculptors who evolved from the Maroger Group and the continued influences of Joseph Sheppard. Exhibition Schedule and Locations: http://www.traditionliveson.com/scheduleabout.html

Return to Florence
Award winning documentary produced by Swiss filmmaker Nick Brandestini focusing on the students and faculty at Charles H. Cecil Studios. This film takes an honest peek into the unique environment of one atelier in Italy.
"Grand Festival Award - Documentary": Berkeley Video & Film Festival 2006
"1st Place Short Documentary": ReelHeART International Film Festival 2006 Additional Information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0807762/

Of Interest

Adrian Gottlieb, Fine Art & Commissioned Portraiture
Personal website of contemporary realist painter Adrian Gottlieb.  Site includes online gallery including some example commissioned portraits, bio including education, exhibitions, scholarships, awards and recognition, and publications.  Essays on Materials and Techniques and a useful links page.

Ecorche' with Rey Bustos
Ages old study of human anatomy through sculpture. His students are required to construct their own ecorche as an indepth, hands on, 3D study of human anatomy. Models are constructed in 1/4 scale from clay with a wire armature.  Rey teaches ecorche' at  Disney Feature Animation, Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, and California State University at Los Angeles and more. Contact Rey for further linformaton.

Marshall Vandruff
Marshall Vandruff thoroughly demystifies the elements of composition and design, as well as opening an entirely new realm of consideration in the planning of one's art.  Check on his seminar schedule for his intensive composition workshops.

Charles H. Cecil Studios - A School of Fine Art in the Naturalist Tradition
A studio school located in Florence Italy. American painter and art historian Charles H. Cecil offers instruction in the near lost Naturalist methods of drawing, oil painting and sculpture. Classes are taught in English.  “The aim of the Studios is to teach the perception of nature in light of the masters.”

The Florence Academy of Art
The FAA is located in Florence, Italy. Classes are taught in English. Training is based on the techniques developed from the Renaissance through the 19th century French Academic tradition. Curriculum inspired by Jean-Léon Gérôme and the educational background and influences of founder and director, Daniel Graves.

Daan Hoekstra's Studio School in Sonora Mexico
Atelier Sonorense is a studio-school of fine art in Navojoa, Sonora, Mexico, specializing in traditional methods of oil painting and Fresco taught by Daan Hoekstra.  Atelier Sonorense offers art instruction and adheres to a time-tested method of training that gets proven results, all based in an intense study of nature--the world of visual appearances.


Artist's Pigments, Paints, Mediums, and Tools of the Trade

Robert Doak & Associates Inc.
Specialized Artists' Materials
89 Bridge St., Brooklyn, NY 
(No website)
Tel: (718) 237-1210 or (718) 237-0146
Email: rdoakociatesinc@msn.com

Williamsburg Handmade Oil Colors

I've found that Williamsburg is another option for clean and dependable paints with good Color properties.

Zecchi Colori Belle Arti Restauro - Fine Arts and Conservation Materials
"Zecchi is an important reference for artists, iconists, and restorers worldwide. Materials developed from The Craftsman's Handbook: "Il Libro dell'arte,"  a Treatise on Painting by Cennino Cennini (1400?). Some of the major masterpieces of Florence; paintings, frescoes etc., have been restored with materials provided by Zecchi." 

Green and Stone of Chelsea
Suppliers of specialist Art Materials and handmade frames  One of the largest retailers of Fine Art Materials in Europe. including Jaques Blockx and  Micheal Harding oil paints, ground slowly and  on traditional stone mills to prevent pigment burning and achieve consistency .  Website provides only a sample of all the products stocked.
Tel: 0044 (0)20 7352 0837
Fax: 0044 (0)20 7351 1098
Email : mail@greenandstone.com 
 
Windsor & Newton brand "Rathbone" Hog Bristle Brushes have been my preference for years.  However,  they are no longer being manufactured. I purchased a lot of Rathbones just after they were discontinued, so I have some backups, but the new brushes I purchase are Escoda's 4729 line. 

Kolinsky Sable brushes for fine detailing (S2510-2 and S2510-4) can be purchased at The Italian Art Store online.

Escoda Artists Brushes
Official website of ESCODA SABATÉS handmade artist's brushes,  Barcelona, Spain. 

Escoda brushes can be purchased in the United States  through Continental Art Supply, 7041 Reseda Blvd. Reseda, 91335. CA.  Escoda provides a list of additional US suppliers at: http://www.escoda.com/scripts/cat/distribuidorsUSA.asp 
 
Notebook on Oil Painting Brushes

Holt Anatomical
The website to find both Holt anatomical skull with facial muscle casts, and Somso Anatomical Models.

Giust Gallery
Exclusive replicas of classical sculpture from major European museums. Source of  very high quality casts for sight-size cast drawing an painting. 

Discussion Forums

Cowdisley
A moderated forum, "the Cowdisley Group...are successful professionals who share a common desire to add to the techniques, lift the skill level and promote the appreciation of the fine arts.  Subscribe: cowdisley-subscribe@yahoogroups.com  Unsubscribe:  cowdisley-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

A Stroke of Genius Portrait Artist's Forum
A forum for professional painters and serious students designed by Cynthia Daniel of PortraitArtist.com.  "A Forum only for those who are serious about portrait painting as a career. There is an approval process for full Forum privileges."

Conceptart.org Forums
Mission Statement: "a web community of artists here for one purpose, to help each other learn about art, provide the best place to showcase work, further our art educations, and to meet other artists from around the world -- a community funded from within and with the support of our sponsors and professionals on the site.

SOFA - The Society of Figurative Arts Forum
The Society of Figurative Arts is a privately funded organization. The forum is intelligently managed and draws serious students, and also professionals from the fine arts, and commercial arts.

Brick and Mortar Museum Websites:

Bert Christensen's Museums and Art Galleries on the Web
Links to a long list of fine art museums worldwide,  from Bert Christensen's Cyberspace Home http://bertc.com

Norton Simon Museum - Pasadena, California
A beautiful collection of European, American and Asian Art.

Pasadena Museum of California Art
Works representing the evolution of California art and design through exhibitions that explore the cultural dynamics and influences that are unique to California.

The Getty
The official Web site of the J. Paul Getty Trust in Los Angeles, California.  Collection of Western art from the Middle Ages to the present against a backdrop of dramatic architecture, tranquil gardens, and breathtaking views.  Photos of the Getty:  http://photo.net/ca/getty

National Portrait Gallery, London
A truly amazing experience.

Musée du Louvre
The official site of the Louvre Museum (Paris, France) : Collection & Departments, Exhibitions, Guided Tours, Virtual Tours, Calendar, History of the Louvre and more. 

Metropolitan Museum of Art
The collection  contains more than two million works of art from all points of the compass, ancient through modern times.

The Panorama Museum
“The small town of Bad Frankenhausen, over a thousand years old, is the home of the Panorama Museum. Dedicated to realist art of the past and the current Contemporary Realist movement.  Exhibition: Realism Revisited. Current and previous exhibition catalogs available.

Rijksmuseum Amersterdam - National Gallery of Art and History
Features a magnificent selection of Dutch paintings from the Golden Age. 

The Mauritshuis
In the centre of The Hague, the collection of the Mauritshuis offers a survey of Dutch and Flemish art from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century.

The Frick Collection
Housed in the New York City mansion built by Henry Clay Frick…are masterpieces of western painting, sculpture, and decorative art, displayed in a serene and intimate setting. 

Virtual Museum Websites

Rembrandt at the Web Gallery of Art 
Paintings, etchings, drawings and engravings of Rembrandt van Rijn.

Anders Zorn
“Anders Zorn (1860-1920) is the most well-known Swedish painter and famous for his paintings of the people of Dalarna, the area of Sweden where he was born. He earned a worldwide reputation as a portraitist. Zorn made seven journeys to the US and his models included three American presidents.”

John Singer Sargent
The JSS Virtual Gallery is the passion and brainchild of Natasha Wallace, who with the support of volunteers worldwide has created the definitive artist monograph with essays and links to over 1,000 paintings by John Singer Sargent.  Also includes an open discussion forum including topics such as Sargent's use of the sight-size drawing method and his painting techniques.

ARC - The Art Renewal Center
Realism in paintings and sculpture beginning predominately with the Late Gothic and Early Renaissance. Of interest to painters and art historians are thousands of professional, genealogical, and institutional relationships between artists compiled by art historian Iian Neill (creator of the excellent but never-completed Renaissance Café website).  In some cases it is possible to trace a painter's artistic lineage (master-pupil relationship) back to the Baroque. Also exhibited is an extensive collection of photographs or portraits of artists.
http://www.artrenewal.org/asp/database/contents.asp

The Web Gallery of Art
A virtual museum and searchable database of European painting and sculpture from 12th to mid-19th centuries.


Fellowships / Residencies

The Civitella Ranieri Center
The Civitella Ranieri Center is a workplace for gifted artists from different disciplines and countries, located in the 15th century Civitella Ranieri castle in the Umbria region of Italy. In keeping with the spirit of its founder, Ursula Corning, and the tradition of hospitality and support for the arts that she established at the castle, the Center seeks to enable its Fellows to pursue their work and to exchange ideas in this unique and inspiring setting.  The Center is funded by the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, Inc., a non-profit corporation with offices in New York City.   Please note: The Civitella Ranieri Center does not accept unsolicited applications. Read about their selection process at their Home page.

Reference Sites

Cameo Conservation and Art Materials Encyclopedia Online
A searchable encyclopedia developed at the Conservation and Collections Management Department at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Resource Library Magazine
Thousands of illustrated articles and scholarly essays on American art, including exhibitions and art related subjects from over 600 associations, organizations, clubs, studio school programs, ateliers and museums.  Translate Magazine pages to French, German, Italian and Portuguese.

Trueart 
Steven Saitzyk's Artist Materials Information website.

ARTcyclopedia
 "…Index of artists" who are "represented at hundreds of museum sites, image archives, and other online resources” ARTcyclopedia policy: : “if an artist is in an arts museum collection, then he or she is qualified to be listed." 

Artlex Art Dictionary
Definitions for over 3,000 terms...thousands of images, pronunciation notes, quotations and cross-references. Useful art information search engine but does not include much of the traditional and historic vocabulary of classical Realist / Naturalist painting and drawing methods and instruction.

TrueFresco.Org
A non-profit webspace established in for hosting the ArtWorld community and outreach programs. TrueFresco is targeted to develop a foundation for the Fresco Painting Society. Check out their links page at http://www.topsitelists.com/start/fresco/.