Fine Art Blog

www.figurines-ornaments.com - 1st Review of New Sculpture Buying Website

Never to be pigeon-holed, Fineartblog likes to broaden its horizons and recently we came across a beautifully looking shopping site that wet our artistic taste buds: www.figurines-ornaments.com

Figurines and Ornaments is a comprehensive and lovingly put together website that, at the moment, sells 3 of the UK’s & indeed Europe’s most collectable brands of: High Porcelain, Sculptures, bangles and trinkets; those brands are: Lladro, Nao & Halcyon Days respectively.

Top 5 things we like about this new site:

1) Really competitive prices

2) Easy to use

3) Lots of categories & ways to search

4) Good looking website

5) Easy to contact them

Some of the many ways to search:

We contacted the website and asked them to say a few words for our blog:

‘There is a huge demand in the UK and abroad for Lladro & Halcyon Days, & particularly Lladro is one of the worlds biggest brands & we are proud to officially retail them…we hope coming to our site is an enriching experience for you, gazing in delight at our products and the immense dedication it has taken to create them’

We have bookmarked the site and have asked them to keep us abreast of any new developments.

So for all you lovers of Figurines and Ornaments we recommend them and give it a rating of 8.5/10.

Well keep you posted

Thank you

James

Do you know any new art related websites out there? Have you got a review? Contact us

Artist Lorenzo Quinn Must be very ‘handy’ to have around!

European sculptor Lorenzo Quinn is currently one of the nation’s most popular sculpture artists. His latest releases, simply called the ‘Resin Collection,’ feature the theme of hands. Lorenzo’s decision on this was based on his belief that sculptures are made to be ‘touched’ & hands are very emotive & can represent many different and opposing emotions.

‘I Give You My Soul’ by Lorenzo Quinn
(Limited edition bronze resin sculpture)

The sculpture above is very emotive, the butterfly represents the soul being given away, the hands are releasing it, or gently capturing it. The hands are so well sculpted they look almost real, and I could imagine having this piece on a windowsill where light would shine through and make the colours on the butterfly change as you pass by.

‘First Love by’ Lorenzo Quinn
(Limited edition bronze resin sculpture)

‘First Love’ reminds us simply of our first love. Lorenzo created this to show the delicate balance of emotions and how easily one could topple the rest. I think it is brilliant how he has made the sculpture look so poised and balanced.

‘Creation’ by Lorenzo Quinn
(Limited edition bronze resin sculpture)

I love this piece because the egg is something very symbolic. To some it may represent fertility, or of the age old question of which came first: the chicken or the egg? The hands inside make me think of the first contact of parent and child & there are so many other different meanings a viewer could conjure up while admiring this piece. This is such an emotive piece and the idea of it is beautiful.

A little known fact aboue Lorenzo Quinn is that his collector base is not exclusive to the UK or Europe, as he exhibits his art in 5 different continents, which shows his exceptional talent to break into so many markets.

The other pieces not featured that are also in the collection are: ‘Eternum’ ‘Give & Take III’ (Bronze and Silver plated versions) ‘Decisions’ & ‘Trust’

Links:

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
How to sculpt hands

Thanks

Vicki

John Wilson – Naive UK artist? We think he paints extraordinarily clever art!

John Wilson is best known for his unique take on art; painting childlike pictures of people, set in places such as art galleries or on a street full of shops & astoundingly in the background he often paints realistic miniatures of old art masters.

It would be easy to dismiss his paintings at first glance as just ‘childish’ or ‘so easy anyone could do them’ but you must scrutinize them to appreciate the true genius behind them.

‘The Lowry’ limited edition print by John Wilson

Using bright colours which accentuate the naivety of parts of his art is his trademark & preferring slightly more subdued colours in many of his backgrounds. I find it amazing how he blends the aforementioned ‘art masterpieces’ and integrates them into his backgrounds, which often makes people do a double-take & demands several views to appreciate – it’s so subtle that in some instances you totally overlook they are even there!

‘A Day In Provence’ limited edition print by John Wilson

John Wilson also makes 3D wall sculptures, which look brilliant because, firstly they are so boldly shaped & because the finished product often contains optical illusions within them – with the figures & objects moving as you view the piece from different angles.

In the 3D piece ‘Mind Games’ it’s as though you are looking down several corridors in an art gallery and the characters appear to move before your eyes!. It is ‘mind’ boggling how he is able to achieve this unique finish.

‘Mind Games’ limited edition wall sculpture by John Wilson
(seen from 2 angles)

John also released two sculptures featuring the child-like figures within his paintings. Named ‘Boisterous Boys’ and ‘Gorgeous Girls,’ they are brightly coloured & vivid recreations, as though they have stepped off the canvas! I find it exciting to see his characters brought to life in sculpture, they immediately make you smile and think of your own childhood or perhaps your first painting lesson?

‘Boisterous Boy’ limited edition sculpture by John Wilson

The artist also paints in a yet another very different style. Using more ‘reserved’ colouring, he paints towns & streets with houses & concrete pavements but normally with beautiful blue or yellow skies & a splash of colour on some of the houses! They are much more non-descript in comparison to his other naive art but wonderful in their own right - ‘Underneath The Arches’ & ‘Timeless Town’ are 2 such pieces that spring to mind.

‘The Corner Shop’ limited edition print by John Wilson

It is interesting to juxtapose the artist’s two very distinct & almost opposing styles & the two mediums: paintings & sculptures; perhaps as a result, this is why he has such a large fan base. I believe his second style (see ‘The Corner Shop’ above) shares certain similarities with Paul Horton’s artwork, because they paint similar people & houses in similar styles in similar colours but both amazingly uplifting images as well.

Thank you

Vicki

Links
3D Sculptures
Naive Art Movement
Discussion on naive art

Artist Alexander Millar - what inspires him to paint?

A number of weeks we wrote a blog about newly published artist George Somerville and compared his work to that of Alexander Millar’s, today the blog will focus on Alexander.

Young at Heart by Alexander Millar

A professional artist for some 21 years, Alexander Millar was born and raised in a small mining village in 1960 near Glasgow called Springside & in his own words it felt more like growing up in the 1940s than the 1960s! He spent a lot of his youth around the older generation of Scots: men dressed in dark suits, smoking pipes, and burly women in aprons and headscarves.

His dad worked for British Rail & as a child accompanying him to work, Alexander gained more inspiration for his future paintings as he found the old Railway stations to be very Romantic. Of course the architecture of these stations would have been nostalgic & a throw back to Scotland’s industrial past - this influence is seen throughout Alex’s paintings.

My Family & Other Animals by Alexander Millar

Moving to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne after finishing school aged 16, he tried several jobs before becoming a professional artist in 1988. He claims that it was quite a culture shock to move from the sleepy village he grew up in, to the hustle and bustle of the city, as you can imagine! But the city also had its own share of ‘Gadgies’ - (a northern Scottish term for an older generation man) to inspire his paintings.

Fuelled by his extensive Childhood memories, he had a huge source of inspiration to work from, what is more astonishing is that Alexander is a self taught artist, which is an amazing achievement for any commercial artist.

Keepy Uppy sculpture by Alexander Millar

Thanks,

Vicki

Links
www.scottish-memories.co.uk/
www.accessingscotlandspast.org.uk/
1960s Scotland