Fine Art Blog

Category: Art Styles

  • Old Slang and Colloquialisms – Govinder Nazran sculptures remind us

    UK artist Govinder Nazran has produced 4 very cute Cat and Dog art sculptures for the hungry collectors of his work. Here’s a picture of Nitty Nora by Govinder Nazran:

    Nitty Nora - Sculpture by artist Govinder Nazran

    But I actually find some of the names of the sculptures as interesting as the actual look of the pieces themselves, many of them just tickle me!

    The four pieces are ‘Happy Larry,’ ‘Nitty Nora,’ ‘Sigmund Squelch’ & a very long one: ‘Just Because I Rock Doesn’t Mean I’m Made Of Stone.’ II thought it would be fun to delve in and find out where these names may originate from.

    Happy Larry – sculpture

    Seems to be a number of suggestions about this one and the origin of the much used phrase: ‘Happy As Larry’ and it perhaps originates from a nineteenth century writer G L Meredith from new Zealand.
    www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-lar1.htm

    (Here is an image of the sculpture:)

    Happy Larry - Sculpture by artist Govinder Nazran

    Nitty Nora – Sculpture

    Seems to be the nick name for the ladies that came into British schools and clean Nits from children hair, although I personally can’t remember the name!

    http://www.wiganworld.co.uk/stuff/irem22.php?opt=irem
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1934763,00.html

    Just Because I Rock Doesn’t Mean I’m Made Of Stone – Sculpture

    (Here is an image of the sculpture:)

    Just Because I Rock Doesn't Mean Im Made Of Stone - Sculpture by artist Govinder Nazran

    I’m not sure if this is a lyric from a rock song but certainly it’s a quote from a film “Me Myself and Irene” with Jim Carrey, who has a split personality and plays the demented Hank Evans in parts of the movie.

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0183505/quotes

    Sigmund Squelch – Sculpture

    I think this is probably a pun on the Name of Sigmund Freud, the world famous pioneering Austrian psychiatrist

    (Here is an image of the sculpture:)

    Sigmund Squelch - Sculpture by artist Govinder Nazran

    These stunning sculptures are a great addition to Govinder’s range and yet again allow us to delve into the imagination of the man. The finish on these pieces is always very clean and the colours are always vibrant.

    thank you

    Russell

  • Nigel Hemming & Steven Townsend appearance – 5 days left to go

    Picture of artists Nigel Hemming & Steven Townsend

    The excitement is now building as we are only 5 days away from one of the biggest Dog Art events of the year.

    For the first time ever UK artists Nigel Hemming and Steven Townsend will be appearing together in the same venue for a 2 man exhibition and appearance.

    ‘Picture Perfect Gallery’ of London are organising the event in Birmingham UK and is being held at: Claire Galleries, 7 The Orb, Tenby Street, The Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, B1 3EL

    On Saturday 1st & Sunday 2nd December 2007
    From 10.00 am to 5.00 pm, both days

    Nigel Hemming’s very latest release: Just Dogs – Brown Roan Italian Spinone 2

    Just Dogs - Brown Roan Italian Spinone 2 by Nigel Hemming

    I will personally be at the event and will publish a report soon after. Although I have been lucky enough to be in the company of Nigel Hemming several times, I have never met Steven Townsend and am very much looking forward to it.

    Steven Townsend’s very latest release: Striding Stones – Porth Nanven, Cornwall

    Striding Stones - Porth Nanven, Cornwall by Steven Townsend

    I’m sure this event will prove hugely successful, Nigel Hemming and Steven Townsend are arguably the most famous published canine artists in the UK and possibly the world.

    Out of interest, Nigel has become best known for his gun dog Limited Edition prints and Steven for both his border collie and wildlife Limited Edition prints. As you can see by the image in this blog post, Steven is also an accomplished landscape and seascape artist.

    The Exhibition is free to attend.

    thank you

    Russell

    Links:

    Full details: Nigel Hemming & Steven Townsend exhibition
    Free Invitation Front – View or Download
    Free Invitation Reverse – View or Download
    If you don’t have Acrobat Reader (for .pdf files), please download here:
    Adobe Acrobat Reader

  • Lord Of The Rings – What’s Gandalf upto nowadays? – artist Paul Horton

    I recently saw some great pieces of artwork and they made me think of Gandalf from Lord Of The Rings!…
    ‘The Secret Path’ by artist Paul Horton:

    ‘The Secret Path' by artist Paul Horton

    Well take a look at these pictures and tell me what you think the story is behind each? What’s Gandalf up to nowadays?

    Well ‘The Secret Path’ is obvious…it’s late at night and Gandalf was indoors watching X-factor on TV and realized he was all out of Coca Cola and Pringles and he decided to nip to the 24 hour garage for some supplies.

    He lives in a nice part of town but it’s very cold and they get a lot of snow….oh yes and his torch (flash light) ran out of batteries so he had to take a lantern!

    ‘When Magic Calls’ by artist Paul Horton:

    ‘When Magic Calls’ by artist Paul Horton

    Oh my god this is so obvious….the family at No.10 are throwing a birthday party for there 7 year old and they have hired a children’s entertainer…little did they know that they hired someone who does real magic!…That’s Gandalf there, he’s just arrived but unfortunately even he is not powerful enough to know which house is No.10, there’s no door numbers!

    ‘Shadowlands – Resin Sculpture’ by artist Paul Horton:

    ‘Shadowlands – Resin Sculpture’ by artist Paul Horton

    Ok well again I know straight away what happened. Gandalf arrived at the 24 hour garage but decided to rush the attendant too much to get his Pringles…little he did he know that the guy was the evil lord Sauron in disguise or was he a Nazgul? I can’t quite remember…anyway basically Gandalf was rude to him and he got turned into stone…only the lantern remained.

    I wonder if the artist Paul Horton, who created these pictures and sculptures, knows the story behind them as well as me? lol

    This is my favourite, I think it’s taken from Gandalf’s driving license!
    ‘The Wizard’ by artist Paul Horton:

    ‘The Wizard' by artist Paul Horton

    thank you

    Russell

  • Here Fishy Wishy Wishy! help me count the fishes please?

    Thought id post this great pic as I really love Koi carp fish and I found this very, very relaxing to look at.

    (‘On Golden Pond’ by artist Michael Jackson, this is a painting and not a photo!)

    'On Golden Pond' by artist Michael Jackson

    Ok the quiz is as follows: how many fish are in the picture? lol it’s actually not as easy as it looks, this artist has done such a great job of painting that its hard to tell what’s a ripple of water, a fish or a light reflection. It’s so photo realistic it’s amazing.

    Apparently there is a ‘limitless variations’ on possible colours of Koi carp, wow! I’m interested in buying some already. It’s actually a very popular hobby in the UK to keep or breed Koi carp and they can live up to 30 or 40 years old; apparently one lived to be 200 years old! (See link below) Must have been all the oily fish he was eating lol

    (‘Like Fish That Pass In Night’ by artist Nicola Read)

    'Like Fish That Pass In Night' by artist Nicola Read

    Anyway, I love fish and the fact in art terms you could paint them in so many different ways, photo realistic like artist Michael Jackson has done….in a contemporary style with big splashes of bold colours, look at artist Nicola Read’s pieces or even in a cartoon/naive style, such as artist Linda Jane Smith’s work….the different ways are limitless.

    (‘The Fisherman’s Arms’ by artist Linda Jane Smith)

    'The Fisherman's Arms' by artist Linda Jane Smith

    Anyway if you want to read about this Koi Carp that allegedly lived to be 200…use the link below..in the meantime I just thought id post a random photo of a large Koi carp…enjoy!

    Take a look at this guy, he is big (Photo of a Koi carp)

    Photo of a Koi carp

    thank you

    Russell

    Further Reading:

    Japanese guy talks about various Carps – Some lived to over 200 years old!