Greece Clifftop Monasteries of Meteora

A friend told me of a "must see" place to visit in Greece.

Six monasteries are built on natural sandstone rock pillars, at the northwestern edge of the Plain of Thessaly near the Pineios river and Pindus Mountains, in central Greece. Metéora means "suspended rocks", "suspended in the air" or "in the heavens above" and is one of the largest and most important complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Greece.

Preview of my next adventure.....







Yes, I am heading off to explore Greece for the next month.

Also on my "must see" list.....

Oia, Santorini where I will be staying for five days.



And a week on Crete in Plakias as a base for further explorations.



Who knows where else I may go?

I will have photos and watercolor paintings to share when I return.

Stay tuned!

Young Artists

I came across two distinct young artists who happen to be sisters. Each one has a definite style of her own.
Victoria Yin
Zoe Yin
Victoria Yin is twelve years old and her sister Zoe is eight. Both girls at this young age have marketing directors and collectors. Victoria experiments with abstract and real forms to create a blend of real and surreal images which people tend to compare to Dali. Zoe's artwork draws comparisons to Matisse and Picasso with its dreamy interpretations of the human form. They both create from their imaginations.

Learn more about these fascination girls and view their art on their websites.

Artists On Reality TV

As I was reading the latest edition of Art Business News, I learned that there was a reality TV series on Bravo where 14 artists competed. "Work of Art: The Next Great Artist," shared the stories of the artists and their processes for creating art, along with insightful critiques from a panel of notable art-world insiders.

The judges for the Bravo show included art collector and series host China Chow; New York magazine art critic Jerry Saltz; and gallerists Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn and Bill Powers. Art auctioneer Simon de Pury participated as mentor to the contestants, and a different guest judge joined the panel each week. The Brooklyn Museum’s John and Barbara Vogelstein Curator of Contemporary Art, Eugenie Tsai, advised in the final selection of the winner.

I went to Art Business News blog and watched some of the videos.

After three months of creating works of art and beating out tough competition, Abdi Farah came through as the uncontested winner of “Work of Art.” Along with the $100,000 cash prize, he also earned a solo exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

Abdi Farah discusses his work in this video. The figurative paintings, sculpture, and drawings on view at the Brookly Museum reflect his investigation of the human body as a material entity that possesses the potential to transcend its physical being.

Libation
Abdi Farah
Resin, mixed media, spray paint
2010

Portraits

Did you know that all art galleries in the United Kingdom are FREE!?

Are you a fan of portrait art?

One of the most prestigious competitions of it's kind in the world in the category of portraiture is held annually at the National Portrait Gallery in London, England.

Shaun Downey's painting, "Blue Coco" was one of 58 paintings selected from a record 2,177 International entries . His painting was also chosen as the main image of the ad campaign for the exhibition, featured on posters around the UK, the exhibition catalogue, and a banner draping the front of the National Portrait Gallery.

"Blue Coco"
Shaun Downey
oil on canvas
17 x 20 inches
BP Portrait Award 2010

In this fun video, the Toronto based artist Shaun Downey visits the BP Portrait Award 2010 competition, and gives an excellent explanation from an artist's perspective on the other portraits in the exhibition.