Tim Huhn's Masterpiece VI Guggenheim

In Tim Huhn’s latest painting ‘Masterpiece VI Guggenheim Self-Portrait,’ Tim depicts a mid-century style couple walking around the Guggenheim Museum during a Roy Lichtenstein Exhibition. In the background, Tim has incorporated a number of Masterpieces by both Alexander Calder and Roy Lichtenstein. These masterpieces include a red, yellow and black mobile hanging in the center area of the Guggenheim Museum by Alexander Calder as well as Roy Lichtenstein’s paintings of 'In the Car' (seen on the top level), 'Whaam!' (seen on the main depicted level far right), 'Yellow and Red Brushstrokes', 'Female Head', 'Crying Girl', and lastly 'Self-Portrait.'

The woman is holding a brochure, referenced from a Lichtenstein Exhibition Poster for the Guggenheim Museum in 1969; coupled with the man, who is pointing over his shoulder realizing that the figure looking at the 'Self-Portrait' painting is Roy Lichtenstein himself!

Tim Huhn’s oil painting on canvas ‘Masterpiece VI Guggenheim’ measures 24”x40”, is also available as a limited edition canvas print that can be purchased in two sizes.

New Mad Men Inspired Art By Tim Huhn

Tim Huhn was raised in the Seattle area, he graduated from the prestigious California college of arts and crafts in 1977. Tim has a long history as a commercial artist working with companies such as Disney, Universal Studios, and Sony Pictures. After retiring to the central coast, he began to develop a body of fine art depicting the Golden Age of Art Deco as his paintings embody the strength and achievements of the 1930’s era. Tim’s extraordinary ability and meticulous attention to detail have moved him to the forefront as a premier 21st century Art Deco painter.

Featured here are Tim Huhn’s latest works inspired by the 50’s and 60’s with Roy Lichtenstein’s famous pop art pieces telling a story that relates to the piece that Tim has created. Look closely at each piece there are easter eggs that connect the pop art to the individual piece created by Tim Huhn.

Todd Goldman Teams Up with Ashlan and Philippe Cousteau For Earth Day NFT Drop

Todd Goldman may be one of the most successful pop artists you don’t think you know, but I’d wager you know his work. Between his brand David & Goliath and other projects, merchandise featuring Goldman’s pop-art has generated over $1 billion dollars globally. He sold 20 million units of his irreverent tee shirt, emboldened with “Boys Are Stupid, Throw Rocks At Them!” and his art has been name dropped numerous times by by Rhianna; you can’t make this stuff up. 

With lots of artists getting into the NFT game, Goldman has chosen Earth Day to enter the space, as it’s an opportunity to both spread awareness of environmental issues and raise money for a good cause.

The numerous, goofy NFTs dropping tomorrow on MakersPlace will generate money to be donated to EarthEcho International. Founded in 2005 by siblings Philippe and Alexandra Cousteau in honor of their father Philippe Cousteau Sr., son of the legendary explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, EarthEco collaborates with youth around the world to provide knowledge and tools to drive meaningful environmental action to protect and restore our ocean planet. Reaching more than 2 million people in 146 countries, Phillipe and his wife Ashlan activate the next generation to become environmental leaders who will transform the future. Thus, Goldman’s cheeky designs were a perfect opportunity for collaboration with the non profit.

This drop demonstrates another way NFT technology can be utilized for good; although the pandemic has prevented a lot of traditional fundraising events, NFT drops are an avenue for artists to raise money for a good cause. Earth Day is the perfect opportunity to both drive more awareness to the burgeoning NFT space and raise money for organizations fighting climate change.

The drop goes live on MakersPlace tomorrow, April 22nd at 12pm EST.

Bovano of Cheshire, Coming Soon!

 Bovano of Cheshire began in 1952, when working alone in the basement of his home in Cheshire, Connecticut, whenartist Jim Bower began experimenting with powdered glass fused to small copper plates. His playful approach resulted in early designs applied to small glass enamel plates, which were sold under the name Bower Enamels.

It wasn't long before Jim met John Bonsignor who realized the potential of developing a much wider array of glass-enameled products. John moved the studio to the upper floor of an old foundry building in Cheshire Connecticut and began a passionate pursuit of copper enameling. The name "Bovano" was coined from the first two letters of the last name of each of the three original owners: Bonsignor, Van Leight and Noden.

In 1964 David Flood partnered with John to continue the growth of Bovano of Cheshire. Dave and John collaborated together through the 1960's. It was also during this time that the company made a dramatic change away from copper enameled plates and trays turning instead to the creation of simple little copper enameled flowers. Later designs were extended to larger tabletop flowers, with a growing choice of flowers, bonsai and maple trees, birds and butterflies.

In 1975, David became owner of Bovano of Cheshire. Hotel based trade-shows became his regular destinations he carried products and displays to markets in the New York, Boston and Chicago circuit. Growth of the company continued beyond three decades as an ever-widening range of high quality wall and table sculptures were crafted by hand.

Today, at the start of the new millennium, Bovano artisans continue to use many of the techniques developed from the early days of the company. Combining modern technology and old world craftsmanship, highly skilled Bovano artisans continue creating quality sculptures using the knowledge through decades of experience.

The old foundry building still houses the enameling studio and Bovano Home Gallery. Dave's son Jim Flood, who has been President since 1987, continues to carry forth the Bovano of Cheshire tradition of bringing fine artistic sculptures to you.

The Frogman Tim Cotterill

Tim Cotterill, the world famous Frogman

Tim Cotterill has become the biggest selling bronze artist in the world today with his elegant, stylized, whimsical bronze frogs and his passionate collectors span the globe.

Tim was born in Leicester, England, in 1950. He Left school at the age of 15 and began a 6 year electrical engineering apprenticeship , moving onto landscape design, construction and stone masonry after completing his apprenticeship.

Intrigued with metalworking and fast machines Tim started designing and building radical wheeled vehicles in his spare time. He found his peak interest in the design of welded steel animals and birds during the 1970’s. Tim’s work was well received through private commission, exhibits, galleries and Sotheby’s world renowned auction house in London.

Tim’s curiosity of the diverse lifestyles in California led to many trips to the USA, where his life sized one off welded steel owls, parrots, eagles and hawks were an instant hit at street art shows coast to coast. Over 380 original welded steel sculptures were created from 1972-1990.

Emigrating to California, USA in 1990 and living in a rented 4 car garage in Venice Beach he started designing his now famous bronze frogs. He quickly discovered everyone loved them. Now years later and proudly an American citizen Tim resides in PARADISE, his own funky structure in an industrial area of Venice Beach, California, USA.

With over 200 limited edition bronze frog designs under his belt, Tim thought it was time to go back to his roots by introducing bird sculptures. The Aviary Collection is now available featuring Tim’s favorite birds: Owls, Parrots and King Fishers.

The Foundry represents and manufactures exclusive designs for several world-class bronze artisans, including Tim Cotterill, The Frogman! It is located in Southern California and continues to grow and develop by pioneering innovative color patina applications and cutting edge metalwork techniques coupled with impeccable attention to quality control and finish detail.

About The Foundry

Once Tim has created the master, the sculptures are then all made using the Lost Wax Casting process. This is a process that goes back over thousands of years and the sculptures can take up to 8 weeks to produce. All are created from top quality silicone for the molds and the bronze is hand finished by patina experts, with many years of training and experience.

Each Frogman sculpture is created as a limited edition and an edition number is engraved on every sculpture. Each sculpture will be accompanied with a Certificate of Authenticity, signed by Studio Seven Arts which is an authorized gallery for Frogman sculptures..

How Do You Interpret A Painting?

Artist Leonardo da Vinci, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh are names of master painters we are quite familiar with. But are we familiar with their work? Can we interpret their work or understand what their paintings are about? Probably not.

In the past art is something that has always been for the wealthy and affluent class, to be educated about, to seek out and collect, some wealthy patrons funded an artist buying their supplies and providing them with a studio to work in. The middle class has been left out when it comes to education and being able to comprehend the art of the masters. Art is a great source of pleasure to many and it also helps to deepen our perspective towards life and death. Learning about and observing art is a passion for some people. They delve into the works of a particular artist and use different perspectives to interpret it.

It is not a difficult process to interpret art and a novice can start with these simple steps-

1) Observe
Art has many aspects that are appealing to our senses. A work might hold your attention due to its subtle nature, subject matter, its beauty, its color, its realistic appearance or many other factors that are of personal taste. Take your time and after having a good look, ask yourself what is it about? Understanding the subject on which it is based is very crucial. It might be a landscape, object or an abstract work.

2) Symbols
Look for symbols. One example, would be the presence of a skull in the picture, the wealthy interpreted that wealth was only worldly, which pointed that their lives were meaningless. Keep in mind that this might not be the artist interpretation of the work. Every individual has a different perspective when they are looking at things. It is best to focus on what the work means and says to you, that is really what art is all about, how do you feel when you look at the work?

3) Style
Style is a reference to the individual artists creativity on the canvas. Their creativity is in the closely detailed work,  controlled work, or the wild ecstatic effect of an abstract. Certain artistic style can also convey a message from that time period and is interpreted different in today’s world.

There are artist’s who will sometimes go out of their way by depicting strong emotions in their painting relating to anger, disgust, lust or even happiness. Art also has a deep emotional streak. Understand what feelings are evoked by seeing a painting and why does it happen? Keep in mind when observing any work of art its’s subject, symbolism, style and self examination that it might bring to you personally. All art does not have to be liked or loved, but finding something about it that you can relate too helps to understand the art.

Images from left to right: Bill Sala, Courtney Jacobs, Heather Edwards, Anne Packard, Charity Anderson, Irene Hardy, Susan Hoehn and Steven McDonald.

Oo-De-Lally by Disney artist Heather Edwards

Some stories begin on well-defined roads and some are off the beaten path. But the story of an artist usually begins somewhere less noticeable, perhaps even unrecognizable to most. It is just such a beginning that gave life to the art of creator, Heather Edwards. Paintings were envisioned from 5:45 a.m. mornings during summer breaks from school in Paradise, Utah, waking up to breathe in the crisp air and watch the sun rise and glow through the blades of grass in the fields. Ideas sprung from thunderstorms, the struggles of working on a small farm and from the loyal companionship of pets. Personal experiences combined to shape the narrative behind each forthcoming creation. Below is the story and the inspiration for Heather’s latest painting titled Oo-De-Lally, featuring all the Robin Hood characters.

Oo-De-Lally written by Heather Edwards

There is something catchy about that little ditty at the beginning of Disney’s 1973 version of Robin Hood. So catchy, in fact that it’s used for everything from phone ringtones to rambling whistling sessions when there’s nothing else to occupy your mind. I’ll admit I’ve done the latter more than a few times myself. The idea, too, of human characteristics being embodied so perfectly in some of our favorite untamed creatures is wildly entertaining. Who knew that a wily fox could be compassionate, a burly bear could have a sense of humor or that the stately lion could be pouty and such his thumb? These are the things about the film that captured me as a child and continues to enthrall me as an adult. So the challenge I gave myself in this painting was to bring that to life. Robin, here, is that compassionate wily fox; Little John, the comedic bear; Prince John is the absurd, self-centered pout, upset at losing his robes, jewels from the rings on his paws and watching his stripped carriage disappear into the distance. On the other hand, Skippy the young rabbit, is fascinated by his rogue hero and Mother Rabbit is filled with true gratitude for the act of benevolence bestowed upon her son. Alan-A-Dale is strumming his lute above them all and one can’t help but whistle out his cheery tune alongside him. Surrounding Prince John are a handful of his entourage - a newbie to his court, the Elephant, is aghast and repelled by his monarch’s sudden display of childish behavior; and two of his Rhino guards are both exasperated and disgusted by what they have to put up with. “Not again…,” one might think; or, “If I have to put up with this one more time…” Poor Sir Hiss, the snake, is annoyed at being stuck with the brunt of his leader’s antics and angrily plops his muddied hat back upon his head. Conveying all of these subtle expressions was the personal challenge I gave myself and the journey in creating them was an adventurous one! But that wasn’t all… No, once it gets started, it just keeps going. I decided to add a handful of hidden things in there as well. For every main character painted (10), there is a hidden Mickey (10), everything from simple circular silhouette to smiling impressions of the Mouse to the lifelike rendition of his role in the 1938 Brave Little Tailor. Also snuck in there off to the left of the Elephant is the Sword in the Stone.

You will find a wide variety of Disney artwork at Studio Seven Arts

Oo-De-Lally by Heather Edwards

What Is En Plein Air?

Charity Anderson is a En Plein Air painter, so what is En Plein Air, you ask? En plein air is a French expression meaning “in the open air”, and refers to the act of painting outdoors with the artist's subject in full view. This method contrasts with studio painting that might create a predetermined look. The Theory of ‘En plein air’ painting is credited to Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes (1750-1819) where he developed the concept of landscape portraiture by which the artist paints directly onto the canvas what they we’re seeing within the landscape. This enabled the artist to better capture the changing details of weather and light.

In the 1800’s when portable easels, paint in tubes and canvases that could be transported we’re created it allowed the practice to develop in France and in the early 1830’s the Barbizon school of painting in natural light was highly influential. They taught tonal qualities, color, lose brushwork and softness of form. Artist Charles-Francois Daubigny, and Theodore Rousseau we’re both students at Barbizon.

In the early 1860s, four young painters: Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley and Frederic Bazille met whilst studying under the academic artist Charles Gleyre. They discovered that they shared an interest in painting landscape and contemporary life and they often ventured into the countryside together to paint in the open air, that is what Charity Anderson does she takes hikes into amazing scenery and looks for a view that inspires her.

Steven McDonald is also an En Plein Air artist and he faces the challenges of painting outdoors, they include the type of paint used to paint outdoors, animals, bugs, onlookers, and environmental conditions such as weather. Acrylic paint may harden and dry quickly in warm, sunny weather and it cannot be reused. On the opposite side of the spectrum is the challenge of painting in moist or damp conditions with precipitation. The advent of plein air painting predated the invention of acrylics. The traditional and well-established method of painting en plein air incorporates the use of oil paint.

The most common and traditional color palette for en plein air painters is one that consists of a warm and a cool of each primary color. Steven McDonald uses the primary colors are the three colors that can't be mixed from other colors and that create other colors when mixed. These primary colors are red, yellow, and blue.

Charity Anderson and Steven Mcdonald are both en plein air painters, featured here are four pieces that we carry at Studio Seven Arts. The paintings used in this post are from Charity Anderson and Steven McDonald.

Steve Thomas, Art With A Retro Feel

Here at Studio Seven Arts we are fortunate to feature artist Steve Thomas who is inspired by the National Park Posters and creates modern-day art with a retro feel. Steve’s pieces feature many well-known places in California, Utah, and other states here in the US. Steve’s latest piece is Pleasanton Downtown and is filled with nostalgia from the Hap’s sign to the Meadowlark Dairy.

In 1938 the very first National Park poster was the Grand Teton National Park and from 1938 to 1941 there were an estimated 1,400 National Park posters printed. Today, just 41 posters are accounted for of the 14 designs that we’re created by Park Service offices in Berkeley, California, and in the Western Museums Laboratories at the Berkeley University campus. Other parks included in the project were Yosemite, Zion, Grand Canyon, Lassen, Mount Rainer, Petrified Forest, Great Smoky Mountain’s, Glacier, Wind Cave, and Fort Marion, today known as Castillo de San Marcos. Steve Thomas has created Yosemite, Big Basin and Sequoia National Park with a vibrant style

At the time, the WPA (Work Progress Administration) National Park posters were not considered to have a great artistic value, so they were treated without particular care and few of them received attention. They were used as wall decorations in National Parks’ offices and gift shops. They were sold or given away, and often thrown into the garbage. The artists who created the posters were not given much credit either and most of their names are not known today. Only one artist is known and his name is Chester Don Powell who is attributed to creating the Yellowstone, Zion, and Yosemite serigraphs.

Take a look at all Steve Thomas has created and choose your favorite places that you have visited or places that hold a special place in your heart, build a wall of art that brings you memories and makes you smile. Check out this other article on Steve Thomas and learn more about this artist.

Downtown Pleasanton by Steve Thomas

Gary Johnson Clock Sold! Going To New York!

Gary Johnson’s newest clock has found a home. Take a look at the photos of him taking the clock apart and taking it away to crate it up and send it to New York.

Gary was born and raised in the Mojave Desert, where from an early age, he developed a fascination with figuring out how things worked.

After spending much time during his childhood taking things apart and putting them back together (with mixed results), Gary focused and excelled in shop classes through high school, and was honored with the Bank of America Outstanding Achievement Award in Industrial Arts. At 19, he built a Ford Model T hot rod from scratch.

His projects evolved over time in terms of detail and complexity, as he added to his collection of tools (a collection which still continues to grow). Making his own Christmas gifts for many years helped build his woodworking skill set.

He built his first clock 18 years ago, a project that took 3 years to perfect & still evolves today.

Gary's third clock won Best of Show in the Alameda County Fair, and his fourth clock took the same award at the California State Fair in 1994.

As interest grew in Gary's creations, people took note and he was invited to display his work in high-end galleries in such places as Carmel & Half Moon Bay, CA.

At the beginning of 2008, Gary has built a total of 49 clocks, some of which are owned and displayed across the country and as far away as Japan & South Korea.

Gary Johnson currently lives in the town of Coarsegold, in the Yosemite Sierra region of California.

Gary is working on a new clock for Studio Seven Arts, keep checking in with us to see when it arrives!