Ernie Barns

Many people may know his work from the TV series Good Times. His name was Ernie Barns and he was the artist behind the actor JJ Evans on the TV show.

Barnes came to painting after a career in professional football, as an offensive lineman with the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos. Teammates called him "Big Rembrandt."
He could take on a defensive lineman, then commit the encounter to canvas.

I found it interesting that he never painted his subjects with there eyes open.
"We don't see each other," he said once in an interview. "We are blind to each other's humanity."

I came across this beautiful tribute to the late Ernie Barns by J Ivy, the music is from the Marvin Gaye song I Want You.

I think the words of this song say it all, Ernie Barns was an amazing man who's work inspired so many. He will be truly missed.

Art therapy reduces anxiety in kids with asthma

By Rachael Myers Lowe
NEW YORK | Fri May 21, 2010 3:19pm EDT

(Reuters Health) - Draw your own conclusions: Researchers suggest in a small new study that art therapy makes kids less anxious about their condition.

The results provide "encouraging initial data" that art therapy can help improve the emotional health of chronically ill children, the authors write in the May issue of the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 7 million American children, or nearly one in 10, have asthma. The breathing disorder is a leading cause of school absences.

For children, "simply thinking about past asthma attacks can bring on feelings of anxiety," the authors write, and anxiety can either precipitate an episode or worsen an otherwise mild one.

In art therapy, children work with crayons, paints, and other materials, guided by a therapist to express feelings that they may have trouble communicating in words.

"It's not about painting pretty pictures," Anya Beebe, an art therapist at the National Jewish Health in Denver who led the study, told Reuters Health. "It's about helping people go deeper, and using art as a process to express and release their feelings."

Although art therapy has become more common in hospitals to help children cope with the distress of their illness and hospital stays, researchers haven't yet rigorously studied whether it works in asthma.

Beebe and colleagues enrolled 22 children between the ages of 7 and 14 with persistent asthma. The children were students at a school on the campus of National Jewish Health in Denver; 11 were randomly assigned to have art therapy along with their usual asthma treatments for 7 weeks, and the others had usual asthma treatment but not art therapy.

The children were tested using several standardized measures for coping skills, anxiety, worry, self-concept, and quality of life before the first therapy session, at the end of the last session and six months later.

At the end of seven weeks, the art therapy group had lower anxiety and higher quality-of-life and self-concept scores than the group that didn't have art therapy. The improvements persisted, although they were not as pronounced, six months later.

Calling the results "striking," Beebe and her colleagues write that "the use of art therapy for children with severe, chronic asthma is clearly of benefit."

Beebe said the results were gratifying but not surprising. "Kids tend to feel better after doing art therapy," she said.

The researchers did not study whether less anxiety would decrease the number of asthma episodes, nor decrease the amount of medications children need. But "physical health and psychological health are often linked, and we do see that link in children with asthma," Beebe said.

The cost of art therapy varies depending on the institution, and some hospitals offer it free. According to the American Association of Art Therapy, it is difficult to put an exact price tag on it because it may be billed as part of other services.

Wednesday night oil painting classes

Wednesday night oil painting classes started up yesterday and it was nice to see all my artsy friends again.
It was interesting to find out that I wasn’t the only one feeling a little guilty for slacking over the summer. But all and all the group was eager to paint and happy to be back in the structure of a class room. I find when it comes to oil painting, watching other people working hard is contagious. We started with a simple still life to shake off the rust!

So..... how do people stay motivated to oil paint in the summer ?

That’s the million dollar question. I have a job that keeps me cooped up indoors all day, so when the whistle blows on a beautiful summer day ,the last thing I want to do is stay inside and work some more. Even if it’s doing something I enjoy like oil painting. I always feel like I’m missing out on something when I paint in the summer.

Convincing myself to work on a painting for several hours in the summer is a tough sell when I could be outside mountain biking , trail running, kayaking, fishing, barbequing or on the beach.

To get back on track I signed up for oil painting classes at the Arts Guild of New Jersey again. Classes start on September 29th and I can’t wait to get back into pushing the paint around. Hopefully I can pick up where I left off.

The early summer work I did at Kean College certainly didn’t hurt as well as the life drawing classes I took this summer, but I didn’t do much oil painting on my own and I’m hoping I didn’t loose a step. Anyway ....we’ll see soon enough. I’ll post my work from class as usual, the good the bad and the ugly !!!

Picasso a behind-the-scenes tour with the Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs returns to NYC after more than 30 years!

Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs returns to NYC after more than 30 years!

Behold the legendary treasures of King Tut. For the first time in a generation, revel in the splendor of the ancient Egyptian world as you view a dazzling array of possessions unearthed from his tomb, along with antiquities representing his family and contemporaries. Through 10 galleries and 130 artifacts, New York City will experience the world of the pharaohs like never before…

King Tut's chariot has arrived at Discovery TSX. In it's first appearance outside of Egypt, see the chariot that may have caused the death of King Tutankhamen.
See the boy king’s golden canopic coffinette and the crown found on his head when the tomb was discovered
Learn about the extraordinary discovery of Tut’s tomb and the beliefs and funerary processes of ancient Egypt
New scientific findings about King Tut will go on display for the first time in a gallery devoted to the latest DNA studies and other forensic information about his life and death. Read more from the New York Times and USA Today.

Robert Simmons Signet Oil Brushes

Signet leads the Robert Simmons tradition in manufacturing the finest quality brushes since its introduction forty five years ago. The brush is made of the finest quality Chungking bristles. Resilient natural flags hold and spread the maximum amount of color. Signet features interlocked construction so that each bristle curves inward resulting in a brush that gives a completely controlled stroke and retains its shape under all conditions of painting over years of rigorous use. Use these brushes with either acrylic or oil painting, and they can handle the heaviest paint with ease. Metallic tan handles are painted with a gold ring and a green tip.

Flat: Bold strokes and blending free-flowing color, glazing

Bright: Short strokes, blending heavy-bodied color

Round: Bold strokes and blending free-flowing color, glazing

Filbert: Soft-edged, controlled strokes

Egbert: Extra long white bristle for special blending techniques

Broad: Extra-wide size for backgrounds and murals

Fan: Softening and blending applied color, stippling, dry brush effects

Art study of a kitten

I was working on this little guy for 2 days with Gamblin oil paints and no mediums. I got the chance to use my new Robert Simmons Signet Round and Egbert brushes.

Painted in Less Than Two Hours

Art instructor Ray Horner was kind enough to put together a video of me at work in his class at the Arts Guild of New Jersey. Titled “Painted in Less Than Two Hours” the short clip is an example of the results of alla prima painting. Where subject matter isn’t as important as the quick and spontaneous brush strokes of painting wet on wet in rendering a fresh interpretation of the subject, in this case Ray’s Jacket.

Thank you Ray for taking the time to put this video together. Once again you have demonstrated your generosity in supporting your students far above and beyond the call of duty.

Kinnelon book sale

My art library just keeps getting bigger and better thanks to all the local book sales. I got this stack of art books for only $25 bucks at the Kinnelon book sale yesterday.

Referance Casts for art study

These partial male and female figures from PCF Studios Inc. sculpted by Philippe Faraut cast in high quality plaster are designed to help the art student understand the anatomy of the visible bones and muscles of the torso. A useful reference piece for painters as well as sculptors. Check out there web page as they offer many other individual body parts as well as skulls and heads.

House rules are when it rains you paint

When I woke up this morning it was raining, house rules are when it rains you paint. So I grabbed an old canvas that’s been giving me dirty looks ever since I used it for a palette in art class. ( had to do it forgot my palette that day). Anyway .....It had thick globs of paint all over it which I though would add nice texture to a painting . So without procrastinating to much I quickly grabbed some random stuff from around the room and went at it.

Abbott Handerson Thayer study

One of my favorite artists is without a doubt Abbott Handerson Thayer. While viewing his work I’m absorbed by the purity of his subject matter with there serious facial expressions . I find his subtle palette soothing to the eye and I feel an underlining sadness from his own personal loss coming through into his work.

Today after viewing some of his work at the Smithsonian American Art Museum on line. I decided to do a quick 18" x 24"sketch of one of my favorites called the virgin. I would like to try my hand at an oil painting one day. Perhaps over the winter I’ll give it a shot .

Big Art Show August Call for Artists

SHOW YOUR ART!
Basically, a BIG ART SHOW is a big art party where you get space to show your work in an unpretentious environment. It is one night, you set up and break down the day of. No judging, no applications, just tell us you're coming and as long as we have space, we give you space.

A few things:
-This is an art show, not a flea market, you must have made the things you're showing.
-You can sell your work if you want but you don't have to, and in fact you'll probablly have more fun if you don't.
-You can sell your original artwork, bring prints of your work and anything hand made is fine, just use your judgement and err on the side of arty. We have nothing to do with you selling your work. We do not act as your art dealers or brokers.
-It's free for you to be in the show, but if you sell something and want to donate Pterodactyl a few bucks nobody's going to turn you down
- We are not responsible in any way for lost, stolen or damaged artwork. We just supply the space and the fun. By being in this show you agree that we are not responsible.
- You'll get about 6 vertical feet of space to show work (make the best of it!).

Want in? Great! e-mail us: BIGARTSHOW@pterodactylphiladelphia.org
please include your: name / e-mail addy / phone number / and a link to your work (for the website and for logistics of where we put you in the room)

You can also e-mail BIGARTSHOW@pterodactylphiladelphia.com if you have any questions.

More info:
bigartshow.com
flickr

Dr Sketchy's Anti Art School North Jersey

Draw a burlesque queen at the Slipper Room
“Dr. Sketchy’s is what happens when cabaret meets art school,” says founder and artist Molly Crabapple. A boozy good time is what happens when you and your $10 meet free cupcakes, booze and prizes, say us. Various locations, visit drsketchy.com. Sat 4pm; $10.

The New Jersey Location is in Clifton NJ

Life Drawing Classes in New Jersey

Life Drawing Classes in New Jersey

Reasons to become an artist !

Life drawing class

Burn

With a couple of sketches from my life drawing class as reference, I put together this painting giving myself the latitude to have fun and do whatever came to mind.

Using a mixture of walnut oil and demar varnish mixed into the oil paints, I loosely painted the sketches onto the canvas. After the painting was complete I blotted the whole painting with crumpled up plastic wrap and sketch paper.

The title of this painting is inspired by the Missy Higgins cover of a Ray LaMontagne song called Burn.

Life Drawing Class

Life drawing class

Life drawing class

Life drawing sketches

I’ve been taking life drawing classes for a few weeks now, and I’m finding it fun but also quite labor intensive. From the moment the model sets the timer, I feel like I’m in a mad rush to render what I see before the time is up. We start with one minute poses to loosen up then on to five minutes, ten minutes and finely a couple twenty minute poses. The class of about twenty artists is professional and surprisingly quiet at times as we are all focused on the task at hand. I’m going to post some of my sketches from the class, not because I think there good but as a means to gauge my progress as I go along. When it comes to art I put the carriage before the horse so to speak by learning how to oil paint before learning how to draw well first. Inadequate drawing will always inhibit the oil painting progress. Taking these classes is my attempt to correct this imbalance as my true passion is to be the best oil painter I can.

Art Models 3: Life Nude Photos for the Visual Arts (Art Models series) [CD-ROM]

Along with signing up for life drawing classes ,I also picked up this CD Art Models 3Life nude Photos for the Visual Arts. Amazon.com gave this CD a 5 star rating so I thought it was worth a shot. I just got it a few days ago and pop it into my DVD player. I did a few sketches off the big screen TV in my livingroom and it was cool. The models are on a round table and there is a picture from every side. The thing I like the most is that the models don’t move. I’m glad I got this CD and I would recommend it as a good practice tool for use in between life drawing classes.

Product Description
While no book can replace a live model, this photographic guide to the human form provides a diverse selection of figures for those who do not have access to live models. Posed in a variety of classical and modern modes, the models are set in a clear, clean environment that is void of distractions and enhances the figure. All of the high-resolution photographs were painstakingly edited and adjusted to yield all the nuances of the figures. The companion disc contains 24 photographs per pose that, in totality, comprises a full 360 degree view. Each angle of every pose can be enlarged, enabling artists to zoom in on specific body parts to discover their intricate detail or project the photos to life-like proportions. The disc also offers the flexibility of numerous viewing options—on a computer screen, printed out, projected for a group, or via a high-definition television when connected through a computer.