Sir John Tenniel

Happy Birthday Sir John Tenniel!! Born in England, Tenniel studied for a time at the Royal Academy, but left dissatisfied with the teaching. He worked in painting, then turned to book illustration. Tenniel submitted cartoons to Punch Magazine, gradually became the political cartoonist for the publication. But the crowning achievement of Tenniel was to be the illustrator of Alice in Wonderland, originally to be illustrated by Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll). Dodgson eventually sought out Tenniel for the task, after rejection by the publisher for his own attempts. I have included the famed Cheshire Cat below. I just love the grin!


Punch Magazine-published in England, beginning in 1841, presented articles and cartoons in support of the downtrodden. The cause of supporting the oppressed gradually shifted to a more conservative view in the 1850s with some key changes in leadership. The magazine continued until 1992.

Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida

Happy Birthday Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida!! After deciding to become an artist at age 15, the Spanish painter, born in 1863, went to Madrid at age 18, copying Old Masters’ works. He won a grant to Rome four years later and studied painting. Sorolla is considered a Realist/Impressionist, and was expert at painting the effects of light. This expertise is evidenced in A Walk on the Beach; note the beautiful handling of sunlight on the women’s white garments and umbrellas. He was enamored with the sea and has many seascapes to his credit.

Honore Daumier

Happy Birthday Honore Daumier!! The Parisian lithographer and painter, born in 1808, created political commentaries for journals. He contributed over 4000 satirical lithographs as well as paintings. Daumier was an insightful draftsman into the human condition of the period. The work often raised the ire of the government he criticized. Consider the lithograph below, Rue Transnonain, which in graphic detail depicts fallen townspeople after soldiers have raided their quarters. Daumier keenly places us, the viewers of the horrific spectacle, on eye level, as if we are on the scene.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Happy Birthday to Pierre-Auguste Renoir!! Wow! How to write about such a master? I have been reading a book about Renoir (born 1841, in France) written by his son Jean Renoir. It is filled with wonderful anecdotes about Renoir’s life. One I particularly like is a quote about life, “You must let yourself go along in life like a cork in the current of a stream.” He did not believe in tempting fate. Renoir was known to walk extremely long distances; in fact he often walked with a fellow painter from Paris to a town 38 miles away, taking 2 days to do so. Renoir is known as an Impressionist painter of incredible talent. The painting I have chosen to include here, The Luncheon of the Boating Party (1880-81) is filled with friends and partners of Renoir, in fact Renoir himself. This painting is perhaps the last in his “Impressionistic” phase. Unlike typical Impressionist figures, these are clearer; the painting has more structure compositionally. The standing man on the left is Renoir with his future wife, Aline Charigot, in the foreground playing with the little dog. Well-known artist and patron Gustave Caillebotte is seated on the right with the straw hat. The women are painted in the style that Renoir was to become known for: plump, rosy faced, smiling and seemingly carefree. The friends party together, finding life and love. Following this painting, Renoir went through a dry spell, not painting for 4 years, then returned to paint, focusing on nudes. His son describes his technique of beginning with a white ground,  adding small curving strokes of pale blue and pink, gradually building up the figure, adding deep red madder and yellows last. Renoir was stricken with rheumatism in his later years, which horribly crippled his hands and fingers, but he painted until his last day in 1919, finally laying down his brush to say, “I think I am beginning to understand something about it”

While I am by no means famous, since it is my birthday today also, I thought I'd post some information about my art. I work in watercolor, collage, found object sculpture, ceramics and artist books. Currently I have been working on a series of garden scenes with portions of architecture. I have posted one below for your enjoyment!

Winslow Homer

Happy Birthday Winslow Homer!! American Realist painter, Winslow Homer was born on this day in 1836 began as an illustrator of the Civil War. He was born in Boston and was apprenticed to a lithographer. After abandoning his work as an illustrator in 1881, Homer began to paint his large paintings depicting man against the force of nature. Most are involved with fishermen and the sea. Breezing Up is one of these well-loved adventurous scenes. Homer took several trips throughout his career to the Caribbean, Canada, and the Adirondacks. While away he painted watercolors, establishing watercolor as a viable medium for American painters (rather than just a sketching method).

Tom Wesselman

Happy Birthday Tom Wesselman!! Born in 1931, Tom Wesselman was an American Pop artist although he did not care for the label claiming he made aesthetic use of everyday objects rather that satirizing them. He concentrated on painting, found object collage and sculpture. The collage below entitled Still Life #20 was created in 1962. Note the reproduction of a Piet Mondrian painting hanging on the kitchen wall behind the table.

Pop Art developed just after World War II, making use of commonplace objects and items from everyday life. The artifacts of the masses are just as valid, if not more so, as “Fine Art” subjects. The reproduction of the art (comic strips, soup cans, etc.) of the popular culture was a commentary on the taste and ideals of the public. Some artists used materials from the environment in assemblage and collage; others used bright, vibrant colors in their expression of the world in which we live.

Rembrandt Peale

Happy Birthday Rembrandt Peale!! We looked at this artists’ brother’s work a few days ago. Rembrandt Peale was born in 1774 to portrait artist Charles Peale. Rembrandt followed his father’s footsteps and became a portrait painter as well. In the portrait of Thomas Jefferson, we see a precursor of Romanticism in the gentle pose, even tone quality and expressive brushstrokes.