Spotlight on Piet Mondrian

Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan was born on March 7th, 1872 in Amersfoort, The Netherlands. The son of a Headmaster of a primary school, as well as an acclaimed drawing teacher, it was no wonder that little Piet became interested in the arts at an early age. The first exhibition of his work was in 1890 and by 1892 he was enrolled at the Rijksacademie in Amsterdam. While his artwork at this point was indicative of the times, representing impressionistic landscapes, mostly of windmills, rivers and fields, there was an inkling of some of the changes to come.

Windmill in Sunlight - 1908

These changes would become a regular occurrence throughout Mondriaan's lifetime. The naturalistic style that he originally developed while at school, soon morphed into a brighter palette more akin to Fauvism, with definite nods to pointillism. In 1908, Mondriaan embraced the Theosophical movement, led by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, which in turn saw his paintings begin to lean more towards Cubism. By 1911, he moved to Paris, dropped an "a" from Mondriaan to become Mondrian and embraced the new Cubist artists Picasso and Georges Braque full-heartedly.

Grey Tree - 1912

Mondrian spent the next four years in Paris actively exploring Cubism in his art. While the process was a gradual one, geometric shapes and patterns emerged in his artwork and his colour palette became increasingly simple and abstract. In 1914, he returned to Amsterdam to visit his ailing father, but the outbreak of World War I forced him to remain in country for the remainder of the war. Paris's influence stayed with him though and his paintings became even more abstract, with the focus on lines and blocks of colours. Gone were any traces of the impressionism that he started with.

Composition A: 
Composition with Black, Red, Gray, Yellow & Blue - 1920

While Mondrian returned to Paris as soon as the war was over, an important milestone was marked during his stay in The Netherlands; that of founding De Stijl (The Style) with Theo van Doesburg. It was through the essays that he wrote for De Stijl that he shared his vision of a new style of art called neoplasticism. This new non-representational style that Mondrian developed is nowadays seen as the beginning of abstract art. Ultimately what it looked like was a white background with a dark grid set upon it and the addition of primary colour blocks to represent the beauty and awareness of nature from the artist's eye.

New York City II - 1942

When World War II broke out Mondrian left Paris for England. He spent two years there, before leaving for the United States, where another change in his artistic style took place. Where his grid lines had originally been gray and thin, gradually getting thicker and darker, with fewer colour blocks apparent, now the grid itself became the colour. While still exploring this vibrant turn in his neoplasticism, Mondrian fell ill and died on February 1st, 1944. The art and fresh look at what it could be left a huge mark on the world though, that is still felt today.

This weekend, Budding Artists will take an in depth look at Piet Mondrian in the Master Series children's art workshop at the London Farmer's Market. Join us on Saturday February 18th at 10am and 1pm for 90 minutes of art history, games, and creation in the style of this abstract painter. Register today!

Mondigliani Portraits

This past Saturday, under the supervision of Paddy, the kids in our "Crafting the Masters"  workshop created their own self-portraits using oil pastels and blue construction paper in the style of Amedeo Mondigliani. Turned out fantastic!

Spotlight on Amedeo Modigliani

This week's Artist spotlight is on the tragic figure of Amedeo Modigliani. His short life spanned the years from July 12th, 1884 through January 24th, 1920. Born in Livorno, Italy, he was the son of Sephardic Jews and came from a long line of intellectual scholars. Often sickly as a child, his mother tutored him at home for much of his younger years. It wasn't until 1898 that he began his formal training with Guglielmo Micheli, under which his interest and skill flourished.

Reclining Nude

Modigliani spent two years studying the Macchiaioli style (Italian landscape movement that pre-dated the French Impressionist movement) with Micheli, before taking ill with typhoid fever, which only got worse when he developed tuberculosis. During this time he lamented the thought that he would not get the chance to see the works of the master Renaissance artists in person. His mother promised that upon his recovery she would fulfill his dreams and to her word she was good. When he sufficiently recovered, they toured through Naples, Capri, Rome, Amalfi, Florence and Venice, where young Modigliani got a new artistic lease on life. By 1902, he enrolled in the Scuola Libera di Nudo in Florence, where his real artistic passion lay - portraiture, more specifically nude portraits. After a year, he transferred to Venice, where he continued his studies, but was introduced to a life that ultimately would be his demise, that of drugs and alcohol. It seemed a natural step at that point for him to make the move to Paris and in 1906 he arrived in Montmartre.

Stone Head

Life in Paris was nothing, if not exciting. Modigliani threw himself into his art, sometimes producing upwards of a hundred sketches per day. He was heavily into drugs, alcohol and whatever other excesses he could get into, in part to mask the symptoms of his tuberculosis. After returning home in 1909 for a brief respite from his life of excess, he returned to Paris and settled in Montparnasse. It was at this point that his main focus turned to sculpture and he spent the next five years creating art out of whatever materials he could get, namely scavenged building materials from Paris's building boom. He continued to live a bohemian existence that saw him usually intoxicated and/or in the company of the women he loved to depict so often. The outbreak of World War I made building materials harder to come by though and with his worsening physical state, Modigliani returned to painting as his medium.

Jeanne Hbuterne, Left Arm Behind her Head 

During the last years of his life, Modigliani created some of his most remarkable paintings. His life of excess continued, but so too did his creativity. He created distinctive paintings of children, in part due to the fact that he had become a father himself. Jeanne Hbuterne, the mother of his daughter, moved with him to Nice, when wartime made life in Paris too difficult . They returned to Paris in 1919, but by that point Modigliani's health had deteriorated to dangerous levels. He continued to drink, do drugs and paint, but there was little to conceal his ill health. In early January 1920, Modigliani took to his bed and the doctors announced there was nothing to be done. His tuberculosis finally caught up to him, and on January 24th, 1920, the young artist died. Sadly, Hbuterne was so distraught by his death that she took her own life, and in the process, the life of her unborn child.

On Saturday February 11th, Budding Artists will take a look at this Master Artist in our Children's Art Workshops at the London Farmer's Market. Join us at 10am and 1pm, as we look at this talented artist who created incredible portraits, sculptures and more in his few short years. There will be 90 minutes of art history, games, creativity and fun, as we explore this next artist in our Masters Series - Amedeo Modigliani.

Spotlight on Henri Rousseau

Self Portrait Of The Artist With A Lamp

Today, Budding Artists is thrilled to introduce Henri Rousseau. This French Post-Impressionist painter was born May 21st, 1844 in Laval, France. He was the son of a tinsmith and familiar with hard economic times during his early years. After the death of his father in 1868, he moved to Paris and became a government official. His position as tax collector enabled him to support his widowed mother,wife, family of six children and himself, although it left little time for artistic endeavors. In fact, it wasn't until he was in his forties that he turned to painting as a form of expression.

Sleeping Gypsy

So when Rousseau did finally embrace the life of a painter at the turn of the twentieth century, he came to it without any of the formal training that so many of his peers enjoyed at that time.  Hence, while he displayed many of his paintings in the Salon des Independants, he was often the focus of regular criticisms from the artists of the day. There were many that considered his artwork primitive and naive, but that did not prevent him from creating over 100 paintings, as well as influencing a whole new generation of artists.

The Snake Charmer

In fact, Pablo Picasso was said to have come across some of Rousseau's paintings being sold on the street, only to seek out the artist to meet with the genius behind them. Rousseau was also commissioned by artist Robert Delaunay's mother to paint "The Snake Charmer". And it seemed more than chance that his paintings were displayed near Matisse in what has since become known as the first showing of the "Fauves".

Tiger in a Tropical Storm Surprised

Throughout Rousseau's career, jungle scenes often dominated his canvases. This coming Saturday, February 4th Budding Artists will look at these scenes and many others to get a better look at the style and skill of this Post-Impressionistic painter. Through 90 minutes of games, art history and hands on practice, we will be running the next in our Masters Series of Kids Art Workshops at the Western Fair Farmer's Market at 10am and 1pm. Contact us today to book a space for your child to explore this vanguard artist.

Group of Seven Artwork

During our Crafting the Masters workshop this past weekend, our young artists created artwork in the style of the Group of Seven. We focussed on landscapes and we used coloured tape to create masterpieces. We didn't have all the colours needed so we used sharpies and coloured regular masking tape. I think the kids did an awesome job!

Spotlight on The Group Of Seven

Algoma Sketch II - Lawren Harris

It is almost impossible to think of the Canadian art scene and not immediately have the Group Of Seven come to mind. Iconic images of the Canadian landscape form the backdrop to this incredibly successful group of artists that changed the face of art and Canadian's place in it. In fact, the Group of Seven heralded Canada's first National art scene via the creativity from seven Canadian painters that are still cherished to this day. And who were the first members of this distinguished group? None other than Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Franz Johnston, J.E.H. MacDonald, Arthur Lismer and Frederick Varley.

Autumn Foliage - Tom Thomson

The founding gentlemen of the Group of Seven began to meet around 1913 in Toronto, Ontario. Another artist by the name of Tom Thomson joined these original members in discussing their painting and art theories. They began to meet at a studio in Rosedale and travelled throughout Ontario sketching landscapes. Algonquin Park, Algoma and the Muskoka region were favourite locations and inspired the vast majority of the artist's brushes. Sadly in 1917, Thomson died in a mysterious accident doing one of the things that he loved best: canoeing in Algonquin Park.

The White Pine - A.J. Casson

While this loss, along with the disruption from World War I, temporarily prevented the group from moving forward, the artists were not deterred. They reunited after the war and by 1920 officially labelled themselves as the "Group of Seven" and launched their first public exhibition. With the unwavering support from the National Gallery, these fresh new artists challenged the art scene of the day, introducing hitherto unfashionable landscape scenes. It was also at this time that Frank Johnston left the group, to be replaced by A.J. Casson.

Northern Tundra - Franklin Carmichael

Over the next decade, the Group of Seven gained in strength and breadth. They expanded their inspiration area, moving into landscapes across Canada from British Columbia to Quebec, Nova Scotia and even the Arctic. Their influence permeated the Canadian art scene and drew attention from other artists such as Emily Carr, Edwin Holgate and LeMoine Fitzgerald. By 1932, the members felt that it was no longer necessary to continue as a group and formerly disbanded. A new group, called the Canadian Group of Painters, was formed encompassing a wider range of artists, but still maintained the Group of Seven's original appeal and skill.

The Red Maple - A.Y. Jackson

Over the 13 years that the Group of Seven existed, this collection of intrepid artists challenged a fledgling art scene of a new nation. Where landscapes had previously been disparaged by Canadians, these forward thinking painters rebelled against the conservative art scene that previously had its focus on imitating other art styles. They took the Canadian landscape and pushed it into a revered spot, where nature was the ultimate canvas. Their influence to the Canadian art scene was so complete, that today they are considered the pinnacle of the Canadian image and examples of their paintings can be found in almost every art gallery across the country.

A September Gale Georgian Bay - Arthur Lismur

This coming weekend, Budding Artists will be taking an indepth look at the style and colours that helped to define these landscape artists as distinctly Canadian. Join us Saturday January 28th at 10am or 1pm for 90 minutes of art history, games, and fun at the Western Fair Farmer's Market, as we focus on the distinctly Canadian style from our Master Artists of the week: the Group of Seven.

Call today to book your child's spot!

Spotlight on Emily Carr

Emily Carr was born in Victoria, British Columbia on December 13th, 1871. She grew up on beautiful Vancouver Island, on the Western edge of Canada, surrounded by mountains, the ocean, trees and a proper English upbringing by her parents Richard and Emily Saunders Carr. The second youngest of six children, she struggled to keep up with her parent's strict religious teachings, instead preferring to  dabble in her artistic interests.

Autumn Woods 1911

It wasn't until after Carr's parents passed away that she was able to truly delve into her artistic passion. She attended the San Francisco Art Institute from 1890-1892, then returned to her beloved Vancouver Island. The landscape around here and the native people who dwelt there would prove to be a powerful influence to her art from early on. It was not just simple landscape prints that she was creating though. She was drawn to the spirit of the peoples and the land that they shared. Her first trip up the Western coast would have a profound effect on her artwork for the rest of her life.

Skedans

In 1899, she travelled to London, England to attend the Westminster School of Art. She returned to Canada in 1904 a little wiser, but still feeling like there was something that she was missing in the watercolour paintings she was creating. By 1910, she returned to Europe, this time heading to Paris and an art scene that held the likes of Picasso, Braque, Cubism, Post Impressionism and Fauvism. She studied at the Académie Colarossi and met Harry Gibb, who had a large effect on her vision and style. She returned to British Columbia in 1912 with a new vision and a much brighter colour palette in her paintings.

Indian Church

Sadly, her vision and painting became dormant upon returning home. She spent the next 15 years running a boarding house and the lack of a modern art scene on the West Coast left her disillusioned. It wasn't until 1927, when she was contacted by the National Gallery of Canada to participate in an exhibit of West Coast Aboriginal art that her artistic career came to life again. She was introduced to members of the Group of Seven and quickly became an honorary member. In fact, Lawren Harris became a mentor, supporter and dear friend that reinvigorated her painting and spirit of life.

Odds & Ends

Carr's renewed interest in art spurred the vast majority of her recognized pieces today. Totem Poles, trees and Native scenes dominated her canvasses throughout her career, but never more prevalently than during this period. Her mediums spanned charcoal, watercolour, oils and even ran to the written word with several books published in the last few years of her life. On March  2nd, 1945 Carr passed away, but not before leaving her mark on the Canadian art scene, as well as on the world stage of post-impressionistic art.