Galerie Verdun Art News

Issue for April 23, 2005

Like it or Not, We are immersed in Art!

Everything around us these days seems to be made by human beings and since the choice of shape, color and texture has an effect on how we feel - it's art.

I know it sounds a bit facetious and perhaps that statement would give rise to a rather fierce debate, but the reality is that art, using its very basic definition, has a very pervasive presence in our lives, whether we realize it or not. We have been taught that art is something you hang on the wall and that's that, but it's simply not true.

The definition of art bears out the full impact it has on our lives. Art is a skillfully crafted image or object through which we communicate and express thoughts and emotions. So, in that respect, we could ask a few questions. Does driving a Corvette make you feel different than driving a Porsche? The style, the lines, the curves, the color - it all effects how you feel, right? The designer's intentions exactly! He skillfully and artistically crafted a shape that makes you feel differently with that particular car than you would with another. It's not the price; it's not the features. First and foremost, you are affected by the art!

The same is true with so many other things around us. Don't we often buy appliances because of how they look and "feel" different than others? It's not always a utilitarian matter; it's often a matter of art!

Art is not only what's on the wall. Look around and consider how our surroundings effect how we feel - they change our mood.

That's how abstract art can be better understood and validated. It simply does what the image of our car does for us and how all of our other possessions and surroundings make us feel. It's not always what they do for us. What they simply look like is a big part of it. So it is with abstract art. Without representing objects, it simply serves to move us emotionally - to change our mood; to present to us images that don't exist in the natural world, images that we could not enjoy until it was created by the artist.

So, look around and enjoy the art!

Oil Paintings: The Gold Standard for Fine Framed Art?

With a long and rich history, oil paintings have been held up as the epitome of fine art.

Even today a genuine original oil painting created by a skilled artist is considered of great value and irreplaceable and they've been treasured as heirlooms from generation to generation.

For decades, acrylic paints have been available and they've been used by many notable painters, but contrary to what some might have expected, acrylic paints have not replaced oils because of differences in handling, textures and drying time. There are enough differences between the two mediums to cause most artists to predominantly work in one or the other. There have been bitter debates between artists and critics as to the value of acrylics and how it measures up against oils.

As a collector though, you needn't consider either one inferior to the other. The value of a work has so many factors with medium far from being the most important.

Still, in the hands of a master, oil paints provide such a wide range of tonal, chromatic and textural qualities difficult to achieve with acrylics.

On average, oil paintings still demand higher prices, of course not without exceptions.

This may simply be a product of general public perception of the superiority of oil or the perpetual (and ridiculous) idea that acrylics are for students and amateurs.

In reality, acrylics have long been accepted as a perfectly viable medium with its own unique qualities and it has definitely gained a strong foothold in the fine art market.

So, next time you're in the market for some original paintings, put the acrylic/oil controversy on the shelf and buy what suits you. In the world of framed art, even though oil paintings have reigned supreme for centuries, today there definitely are other mediums offering additional choices.