Fra Bartolomeo | Florentine Renaissance Painter

Fra Bartolomeo was born in Florence, Italy on 28 March 1472 and died on 31 October 1517.

A leading artist of the Italian Renaissance, he initially trained under Cosimo Rosselli, and opened a worshop with a fellow pupil, Mariotto Albertinelli.

He entered the Dominican Order in 1500, reportedly due to the influence of Savronela's preaching, and from that point on restricted his painting to religious subjects only.

Fra Bartolomeo's contemporaries included Leonardo, Raphael, and Bellini, and their artistic influences appear in his use of sfumato, composition, and the way he addressed landscapes in his paintings.

His work is characterized by a reserved approach to the thematic content, and solidly painted forms.

You can read more about his work and biography at The Oxford Dictionary of Art  and The Web Gallery of Art.

A few of his monumental works are displayed below:

The Adoration of the Christ Child  c. 1499 
Tempera on wood, diameter 89 cm 
Galleria Borghese, Rome

Prophet Isaiah   c. 1516  
Panel, 168 x 108 cm  
Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence  

The Marriage of St Catherine of Siena 1511 
Wood panel, 257 x 228 cm 
Musée du Louvre, Paris

First God created time; then God created man that man might, in the course of time, perfect himself; then God decided that He'd better create eternity. (Robert Brault)

SIMON RENARD DE SAINT-ANDRÉ   Vanitas   c. 1650   Oil on canvas

You're Going to Get Rejected



Wm. Mulready - The Sonnet - 1839
Oil on canvas, 36 x 31 cm
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Galleries are going to reject you, people are going to say insensitive things about your work, critics are going to ignore you and family members are going to plot to steal your painting time but you have to pick yourself up and go back at it.

(Cathie Harrison)

Today I got rejected.

Well, I knew I had a slimmer chance of acceptance,

but it,s still difficult to read the rejection letter.

Do you think rejection is a necessary part of an art career?

The Role of Anxiety in Making Art

Anxiety is the hand maiden of creativity. (T. S. Eliot)

REMBRANDT - Portrait of a Young Woman
  1632-   Oil on canvas, 92 x 71 cm

So this week I am taking a painting workshop with my former teacher.
Of course, I am a little anxious about it.
I have prepared all my materials, and packed my bag.
But the anxiety is still there.
I really don't know why, because I have taken classes with him before.
I guess it's just the fear of the unknown.
And, like most artists, I am worried about my skill level.
I am sure everything will turn out well.
But anxiety keeps me focused, alert, and ready to act.

How does anxiety factor into your work?

Jane Austen on Charm

Jacob Cuyp -  Portrait of a Child  -   1628?

There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart.
Jane Austen

Never miss a good chance to shut up. (Will Rogers)

At first thought, this quote seems to refer to conversation between individuals.

But what if we thought about its meaning in a different way?

Don't we also need to "shut up" and listen to ourselves?

REMBRANDT - The Mennonite Minister Cornelis Claesz. Anslo
 in Conversation with his Wife, Aaltje (detail) - 1641 
Oil on canvas

Daily Motivation

Albrecht Durer -  Portrait of a Young Venetian Woman
   1505  -   Oil on elm panel, 32.5 x 24.5 cm

People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing – that's why we recommend it daily. (Zig Ziglar)

What can you come up with as a daily motivator?

Hidden Treasures

 Annibale Fontana   Lidded Goblet
   before 1569  
Rock crystal, enamelled gold setting  
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

The human heart has hidden treasures, / In secret kept, in silence sealed; / The thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures, / Whose charms were broken if revealed.
(Charlotte Bronte)

What "treasures" are you hiding, and why?

Can you express any of these treasures through art, music, writing?

October Newsletter

Here is the freshly released October Newsletter!

How High is Your Learning Curve?

I don't always have a five-year plan. One thing you must do in life is keep your learning curve as high as possible. (Yo-Yo Ma)

Yo-Yo is speaking about challenges, and keep one's skills on a continual quest for improvement.

What skills do you need to reconsider and improve?

What learning curve do you need to expand higher?

PARMIGIANINO - Portrait of a Young Lady   c. 1535 -  Oil on canvas, 139 x 88 cm  
Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples

Art is Risky Business

Art is, from any point of view, the greatest of risks. (Jean Helion)

Why is it so risky to be an artist?

Is it because, as artists, we wear our hearts on our sleeves?

Is it because we cannot separate ourselves from our work?

Is it because we fear rejection and criticism?

But what do we gain if we never put brush to canvas?

 John Singleton Copley - Brook Watson and the Shark - 1778  
Oil on canvas, 182 x 230 cm - National Gallery of Art, Washington

Where is fantasy bred, in the heart or in the head? (Willy Wonka)

DOMENICHINO - The Cumaean Sibyl - c. 1610  
Oil on canvas - Pinacoteca Capitolina, Rome

In one ear...

-ca. 1385...
Oon ere it herde, at tother out it wente. [trans. in one ear and out the other] (Geoffrey Chaucer)

The phrase "in one ear and out the other" rings true for parents of teenagers.

 Quiringh van Brekelenkam 
  Confidental Conversation - 1661  
Oil on panel, 47 x 36 cm  
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam  

We scold, suggest, hint, and demand, yet the words have no effect on them.

We want to help them avoid danger, be healthy and have opportunities.

But we are also susceptible to having words travel through our own heads,  in a meaningless torrent.

What words might you make more of an effort to listen to?

A Yogi-ism for Artists

You can observe a lot by just watching. (Yogi Berra)

The other morning I hunted high and low throughout the house for my favorite coffee mug.

I checked the car, the studio, and the dishwasher.

As I closed the dishwasher, I looked up at the counter and noticed my freshly washed mug serenely sitting there.

I had looked, but I did not see.

As artists, we learn to see, to acutely observe.

It does not suffice to just "look."

My art took a giant leap forward when I was finally able to focus on fully observing my subject.

To do this, I narrow my field of vision.

I observe all the details of the one section of the subject.

The whole is divided into parts.

What do you need to focus on to really see?

 Willem Claesz Heda   Still-Life with Gilt Goblet   1635  
Oil on panel, 88 x 113 cm  
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Art will never exist without...

Art will never be able to exist without nature. (Pierre Bonnard)

Let's really stop and think about this.

Without nature, there is no art.

Nature is inherent in almost every piece of art, whether it is the subject matter, the materials, or the emotion conveyed through the artwork.

It's a gorgeous morning here in New Hampshire.

The leaves are turning, the sky is a deep cerulean blue, and the grass glistens with the morning dew.

It's a work of art.

I hope you enjoy the artful side of nature today.

Richard Wilson   View of Syon House across the Thames near Kew Gardens  
c. 1760       Oil on canvas, 104 x 139 cm

Missed Opportunity

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. (Thomas Edison)

Hmmm, Edison implies that opportunity is work.

Sometimes it seems as though others get all the "breaks," or opportunities.

But is that really what is happening? Sometimes, it may be a "lucky break."

I think it has more to do with working on a daily basis.

How have you met your opportunities? Did you have to roll up your sleeves and get to work?

Georges de La Tour   The Newborn   1640s  
Oil on canvas, 76 x 91 cm

Art and Technology | A Tango of Tension

Technology, like art, is a soaring exercise of the human imagination. (Daniel Bell)

Art dances with technology in a tango of tension.

Together they can appear as one, unified in a smooth blend of moves.

But in one quick turn, they pull apart.

Artists have resided along the continuum of technology - some embracing it fully, others decrying its fast and finicky nature.

How has technology impacted your art?

 Jacob van, the Elder Oost   The Artist's Studio   1666  
Oil on canvas, 111,5 x 150,5 cm

Beauty and Grace

Beauty and grace command the world.

(Park Benjamin)

 Jean-Honoré Fragonard 
  A Young Girl Reading
  c. 1770  
Oil on canvas, 81 x 65 cm  
National Gallery of Art, Washington  

Beauty and grace are two traits which rarely appear in their purest form in one individual.

People who have shown true beauty and grace have captured our hearts and minds.

They are the legends, the shining stars, the unforgettable.

They have been poor people, princesses, volunteers and saints, and have commanded our world, and our attention.

But sometimes, they have been the quiet ones, silent in deed and in voice, yet still full of beauty and grace.

Whom do you see as full of beauty and true grace?

The St. Francis Mural | A Visual Prayer

   Today is the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, the environment, and Italy.

  Francis began his life as Giovanni Francesco di Bernardone, in the year 1181/1182, in the small Italian town of Assisi. He was born into a relatively wealthy family of cloth merchants, and lived a spirited life of luxury and pleasure until about the age of twenty.

Enlisting as a soldier with the local army, Francis fought in a skirmish with a neighboring city state (a frequent political occurrence during the time period), and was taken captive by the opposing army. Imprisonment, two illnesses, and two dreams or visions effected a change of heart in the young man, who returned to the town of Assisi with a more solemn outlook on life.

   A chance encounter with a leper, and his ability to overcome his own fears and revulsion of the disease, allowed him to physically embrace the leprous man. This was a turning point for Francis, who then entered a life of prayer and service to the poor, renouncing all his worldly wealth and pleasures.

He went on to become the founder of the Franciscan Order, and The Order of the Poor Clares. He is credited with creating the first live Christmas manger scene, a tradition still performed today.


   Francis' love for nature and animals is legendary and he is often portrayed with images of birds, a wolf or a dog, and other small forest creatures.


 So why am I telling you all about St. Francis?

In the summer of 2008, I volunteered my time and talent to paint a mural of St. Francis in the reading room of the children's library at the Villa Augustina School. The mural covered one entire wall, about 12'hx14'w, and portrayed St. Francis in his native countryside, surrounded by woodland creatures, a wolf, and the tiny church of Portiuncula.

Here are some photos of the mural in progress:

Kelly working on the mural.

A closer view of Kelly painting.

Detail of face in progress.

Detail of the dove.

View of the scaffolding needed to reach the higher sections.

Kelly, and members of the Villa community, with the Franciscan priest who performed the Blessing of the Animals on the feast day mass. Photo courtesy of the Goffstown EDGE.

The Spirituality of Art

First, one seeks to become an artist by training the hand.

Then one finds it is the eye that needs improving.

Later one learns it is the mind that wants developing,

only to find that the ultimate quest of the artist is in the spirit.

(Larry Brullo)

How have you experienced the spirituality of art?

 Lorenzo Lotto   Madonna and Child with Saints and an Angel (detail)  
1527-28  
Oil on canvas