Realistic, Alteration or Distortion?

     Art has different forms: as likeness and as alteration or it can be a distortion. The art of realism simply means what you can see around- the surroundings, the people and the animals. It is a means of painting and drawing exactly what you see in your naked eye, may it be how people socializes, how spring blooms or how the antelopes run from the lions. Art as distortion is like an abstract and hard to recognize  Art as alteration is how the artist see it in his/her way-his/her feelings, masterpieces that includes deep meanings and symbolisms. It may be like a half rotten apple pierced by an arrow seeping with black ink- which may seem natural to viewers, but I actually meant it as a forbidden love pierced by the arrow of reality, and the black ink is a blood, the rotten side is how it became because of the sin and it caused tragedy. There you have it; you got a peek of how I visualize an altered art.

    

     I like drawing realism, especially if we’re talking about the nature. I’m not really good in animals, but with practice, it’s achievable. Drawing is all about practice, right? A bright idea, an imaginative mind and tons of practice, always like that. Anyway, as for people, my drawing may be heavily influenced by anime, or when I try 3D things, I like it to look like those Final Fantasy characters, but the point is I always like to draw them with good anatomy and proportion, and of course the colors. I don’t like having my drawing without colors or if it will appear a simply elegant monochrome, shadows and lighting will never leave it-may it be colored or colorless. Arts as alteration have influenced me too, for ideas for good stories rush within them. I love it when my drawings have a story behind it-for it fuels me and I have his passionate urge to make it alive-metaphorically speaking. Art as distortion though, or those abstract are not my types. I can draw it, but I don’t prefer it.

     

     So in conclusion, I barely like art as distortion. I always prefer realism for the nature and alteration as my expression and idea. I can’t seem to choose between the two for they always mixed in when I paint or draw or sketch.

Making an impromptu art

     What is impromptu? Impromptu refers to being offhand or doing something without having any extensive study on a given subject. It is doing something without any further ado, from mind, to hand towards applying it to a blank paper-ready to weave an unexpected masterpiece.

    An impromptu art sprung from an individual, may she/he is a beginner or someone doing for the sake of his/her skills. Most of them consist of abstract or it may have an amateur feel into it. Those works in this kind of style have a strong sense of imagination and emotion. When I do an impromptu art, I simply brainstorm on what functions I could find in the given subject. If I am not satisfied with what I have gathered, I look around my surroundings, trying to find an object or a behavior I might find interest in. And if none of these methods had succeeded, the multimedia is just a click away. I will find a notion in listening music-by listening to the lyrics or perhaps just feel the emotion in the way it is sung. A good movie or a short story or history book is a good provider to be able to make the gears inside of your head work.

    Doing impromptu art may give us nervousness, but in truth, it’s just the pressure. Thinking for a good idea to draw or to paint, one must be in their calm demeanor. For the hardest we try to force ourselves, the toughest it is to think and to draw. It’s like having an artist block; you need inspiration and motivation, not pressure.

Most Influential era in Arts

     The History of Arts has undergone a lot of progress, changes and had acquired lots of knowledge regarding the subject through different and passing eras. These are the Ancient art, Egyptian Art, Classical Greek and Roman Art, the Renaissance, the Baroque Era, Asian Art, The Early 20^th Century Art and Contemporary Art. But what is indeed the most influential era among these great periods?

     As for me, it is the Classical Greek and Roman era. Why? The Classical Greek and Roman art’s ideals about reaching perfection and using imitation of reality into art had influenced many realism styles into their canvasses and sculptures. Not only does it reach for humanity’s ideal profile, but it also developed the form, balance and proportion in various works (e.g. painting and architecture). Euclid’s ‘Golden section’ or “Divine Proportion”-as Leonardo da Vinci calls it-is a good evidence of it. The Classical Greek and Roman period has been also responsible for the ‘rebirth’ of Renaissance-an era wherein arts, literature and music had bloomed. It was when Latin scholars focused on studying Greek and Arabian works. They were fascinated and inspired by the Classical Greek/Roman era for their ideals, philosophies, inventions and many more that studying it was spread throughout times. From Renaissance, different styles of art had sprung: starting from realism towards abstractionism. The Ionic, Doric and Corinthian order have put a heavy contribution in architecture, even in modern times.

    
 I pointed out the aeon of Greek and Roman art as the most influential; not only for its addition to the art history but because it started the notions for the prized masterpieces of today.

The woman behind Mona Lisa

  

Mona Lisa, known as the most controversial painting, is created by Italian artist Leonardo Da Vinci. It was painted between years 1503 and 1506 in Florence. Italy and was inherited by his apprentice, Gian Giacom Caprotti (also known as Salai). It is currently residing in Musêe de Louvre, Paris.
     But who is the woman behind the mysterious smile, the sitter of a masterpiece largely appreciated by the world? Mona Lisa is traditionally known as Lisa de Gherardini del Giocando (according to Giorgio Visari) the wife of a wealthy Florentine silk merchant-Francesco del Giocondo, who was said to be 14 years her senior. Various researches have told that she was at least 24 years old when she was painted as Da Vinci’s commission to celebrate their new home and the birth of their second son, Andreâ. Italian scholar and the one who published the ‘Mona Lisa Revealed’, have supported Lisa del Giocondo as the model. According to him, she has five kids and it was Da Vici’s father-Sir Piero Da Vinci, who is a friend of Sir Del Giocondo, have likely proposed his son to paint Lady Lisa. There is also wherein Da Vinci has spoke of a portrait “of a certain Florentine lady done from life at the request of the magnificent Giuliano de Medici”, but no further evidence that they have a link to each other.

     There were many explanations of Mona Lisa’s identity possibilities. Some have claimed that it was Leonardo’s ideal woman, a portrait of his assistant Salai and some claiming it is his mother. Lilian Schwartz suggested that it was Leonardo’s self portrait; Maike Vogt-Luersen said that it was the Duchess of Milan, Isabella of Aragon, pointing out that the pattern on the dark green dress is an indication of a member of the house of Visconti Sforza. With the discovery of the University of Heidelberg, it seems that the identity had been confirmed. It was told that Roman philosopher Cicero, a Florentine official and Da Vinci’s friend-Agostino Vespucci, has wrote that Da Vinci has indeed worked on the portrait of Lisa del Giocondo during 1503.

Sources from: http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/mona-lisa-%E2%80%93-portrait-lisa-gherardini-wife-francesco-del-giocondo

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2012/oct/04/mona-lisa-leonardo-painting

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/01/080115-AP-monalisa.html