Vincent Van Gogh, the Tragic Story of a Brilliant Painter

Twelve years after his tragic suicide, Vincent's work was discovered by a Parisian art dealer. Until then, no one, except for those who knew him personally, had ever even heard the name. Today, large sums of money are exchanged for his work.

Vincent was born in the Dutch village of Zundert, in the south of the Netherlands. He studied theology and became a preacher in the Methodist Church. He also worked for several different art dealers in The Hague, London and Paris. Only in 1880 does he start painting, first traditional and very "Dutch", reflecting the Dutch rainy climate with many dark brown colors.

In 1886 Vincent moves to Paris, and two years later to Arles, on the Mediterranean, near Marseille. On the 20th of October of that year, Vincent's friend Gauguin joins him in Arles. Vincent's art becomes lighter in color, showing the Mediterranean sunlight in it.

Two months after Gauguin comes to Arles, Vincent has a schizophrenic episode and cuts a piece of his own ear off. The years following, Vincent starts to get very sick, and he eventually kills himself in 1890. His brother, Theo van Gogh, who had supported Vincent all of his life, dies seven months after Vincent, possibly from grief.

Van Gogh never sold a painting in his life. Today, his paintings are the most expensively sold in the world, and are admired around the globe in many museums and private collections. He also is celebrated as the forerunner of the expressionist movement.

Acrylic Paints are Different From Oil Painting

Acrylic paint comes in a tube, just like oil paint. However, since acrylic paint is water-based meaning it dissolves in water instead of oil-based meaning you need to dissolve it in oil or turpentine, it's much easier to clean up after. You can soak your brushes and clean your hands in plain tap water, instead of smelly and flammable chemicals.

Another advantage to acrylic paint is that it dries much faster than oil paint usually overnight. If you're working on a painting that needs to be done on time, that's important. Acrylic paint was developed as a water-based alternative to traditional oil paints.

Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry. Depending on how much the paint is diluted with water, the finished painting can resemble a watercolor or an oil painting.

Acrylic paint is a fast-drying paint containing pigment suspended in an acrylic polymer resin. Different from oil painting as watercolor is different from oil painting. There are techniques, which are available only to acrylic painters, and there are also restrictions, which are unique to acrylic painting.

Acrylic paints can achieve an oil-paint-like effect, and do so in much less time. Applied to look like oil paints, acrylics are somewhat limited due to the superior color range of oil paints, and the fact that acrylic dry to a shiny, smooth.

Acrylics paints are sometimes used in place of watercolors because acrylics dry closer to the desired color slightly darker, usually, while watercolors dry lighter and often unpredictably, especially for beginning artists.

Acrylic Paints are Different From Oil Painting

Acrylic paint comes in a tube, just like oil paint. However, since acrylic paint is water-based meaning it dissolves in water instead of oil-based meaning you need to dissolve it in oil or turpentine, it's much easier to clean up after. You can soak your brushes and clean your hands in plain tap water, instead of smelly and flammable chemicals.

Another advantage to acrylic paint is that it dries much faster than oil paint usually overnight. If you're working on a painting that needs to be done on time, that's important. Acrylic paint was developed as a water-based alternative to traditional oil paints.

Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry. Depending on how much the paint is diluted with water, the finished painting can resemble a watercolor or an oil painting.

Acrylic paint is a fast-drying paint containing pigment suspended in an acrylic polymer resin. Different from oil painting as watercolor is different from oil painting. There are techniques, which are available only to acrylic painters, and there are also restrictions, which are unique to acrylic painting.

Acrylic paints can achieve an oil-paint-like effect, and do so in much less time. Applied to look like oil paints, acrylics are somewhat limited due to the superior color range of oil paints, and the fact that acrylic dry to a shiny, smooth.

Acrylics paints are sometimes used in place of watercolors because acrylics dry closer to the desired color slightly darker, usually, while watercolors dry lighter and often unpredictably, especially for beginning artists.

Things You Should Know About Pop Art Paintings History

Pop art was an artistic movement that represented a strong shift from the influence of the abstract expressionism. Pop art paintings brought an original form of making art by introducing techniques of commercial art and everyday life illustrations.

This movement first occurred in Great Britain in the late 1950s and it was meant to be a redefinition of the metaphysical gravity of the abstract expressionism. Pop art paintings were mainly characterized by the insertion of everyday life images of soup cans, comic strips, Coke bottles or even stuffed animals into the artistic expression. The expressed aim of the pop art paintings was to provide a meeting point for artists and public. Inserting commercial art symbols in their work, the artists intended to blur the boundaries between art and common people in order to make art ideas accessible for everyone.

The birth of this art movement during the 1950s-1960s wasn't a coincidence. Artists were getting tired of the inwardness and opacity of the abstract expressionism; the American society (and the British one, but on a less extent) was enjoying deep changes in terms of economic revival after the constraints of the Second World War. Therefore, the artist community mocked the shallowness and the materialism of the Americans, employing symbols of mass culture (Coke cans, magazines or comic strips) in their pop art paintings.

The artists who had embraced this art style used different symbols: American flags (Jasper Johns), comic strips (Roy Lichtenstein) and soup cans (Andy Warhol) or stuffed animals (Robert Rauschenberg).

Pop art paintings also represented icons of the artists' reaction against the dullness and complexity of the abstract expressionism. Abstract techniques were replaced with more accessible ones like humor or surface appearance. The central idea of this art movement was to express messages to the mass by transforming the ordinary things into art objects.

Although the pop art stream was very popular among the layman public, it was highly controversial among the art critics community. Some considered pop art paintings as cheap, tacky imitations of everyday life symbols; others regarded them as icons of the shallow American society at mid-century.

Nevertheless, this art movement represented a breath of vivid, fresh air in an art characterized until then by opacity and seriousness.

Vincent Van Gogh, the Tragic Story of a Brilliant Painter

Twelve years after his tragic suicide, Vincent's work was discovered by a Parisian art dealer. Until then, no one, except for those who knew him personally, had ever even heard the name. Today, large sums of money are exchanged for his work.

Vincent was born in the Dutch village of Zundert, in the south of the Netherlands. He studied theology and became a preacher in the Methodist Church. He also worked for several different art dealers in The Hague, London and Paris. Only in 1880 does he start painting, first traditional and very "Dutch", reflecting the Dutch rainy climate with many dark brown colors.

In 1886 Vincent moves to Paris, and two years later to Arles, on the Mediterranean, near Marseille. On the 20th of October of that year, Vincent's friend Gauguin joins him in Arles. Vincent's art becomes lighter in color, showing the Mediterranean sunlight in it.

Two months after Gauguin comes to Arles, Vincent has a schizophrenic episode and cuts a piece of his own ear off. The years following, Vincent starts to get very sick, and he eventually kills himself in 1890. His brother, Theo van Gogh, who had supported Vincent all of his life, dies seven months after Vincent, possibly from grief.

Van Gogh never sold a painting in his life. Today, his paintings are the most expensively sold in the world, and are admired around the globe in many museums and private collections. He also is celebrated as the forerunner of the expressionist movement.

Things You Should Know About Pop Art Paintings History

Pop art was an artistic movement that represented a strong shift from the influence of the abstract expressionism. Pop art paintings brought an original form of making art by introducing techniques of commercial art and everyday life illustrations.

This movement first occurred in Great Britain in the late 1950s and it was meant to be a redefinition of the metaphysical gravity of the abstract expressionism. Pop art paintings were mainly characterized by the insertion of everyday life images of soup cans, comic strips, Coke bottles or even stuffed animals into the artistic expression. The expressed aim of the pop art paintings was to provide a meeting point for artists and public. Inserting commercial art symbols in their work, the artists intended to blur the boundaries between art and common people in order to make art ideas accessible for everyone.

The birth of this art movement during the 1950s-1960s wasn't a coincidence. Artists were getting tired of the inwardness and opacity of the abstract expressionism; the American society (and the British one, but on a less extent) was enjoying deep changes in terms of economic revival after the constraints of the Second World War. Therefore, the artist community mocked the shallowness and the materialism of the Americans, employing symbols of mass culture (Coke cans, magazines or comic strips) in their pop art paintings.

The artists who had embraced this art style used different symbols: American flags (Jasper Johns), comic strips (Roy Lichtenstein) and soup cans (Andy Warhol) or stuffed animals (Robert Rauschenberg).

Pop art paintings also represented icons of the artists' reaction against the dullness and complexity of the abstract expressionism. Abstract techniques were replaced with more accessible ones like humor or surface appearance. The central idea of this art movement was to express messages to the mass by transforming the ordinary things into art objects.

Although the pop art stream was very popular among the layman public, it was highly controversial among the art critics community. Some considered pop art paintings as cheap, tacky imitations of everyday life symbols; others regarded them as icons of the shallow American society at mid-century.

Nevertheless, this art movement represented a breath of vivid, fresh air in an art characterized until then by opacity and seriousness.