A Day With No Crayons by Elizabeth Rusch

A Day With No Crayons, by Elizabeth Rusch, is a beautifully illustrated picture book for ages 4-8.

When Liza colors on her bedroom wall, her mother takes away her crayons for a whole day! At first Liza fears that her day will be colorless and artless. As she pouts and stomps around, Liza discovers that there is color all around her—in the sink, in the trees, on the ground. She finds that she can create her own masterpieces without her crayons.

The illustrations by Chad Cameron are perfect. I especially like the reference to van Gogh in the bathroom sink. Check out the book for yourself to see what I mean.

This book is great for kids who love to color. They will easily relate to Liza’s disappointment at losing her crayons.

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Gettysburg

On Saturday I visited Gettysburg. The battle of Gettysburg was a very important battle of the Civil War (U.S.). For three days, July 1, 2, and 3, 1863, the union army (the north) and the confederate army (the south) fought in the fields and mountains of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle wore out the confederates and was the last huge battle that General Lee would ever attempt.
Today, the Gettysburg National Military Park is laid out over 18 miles. In your car you can visit many monuments, battle fields, and places that were important during the battle. You can also walk through the cemetery where 6000 people, including veterans of the Civil War, have been laid to rest. It was in the cemetery that Abraham Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg Address.
The fields are peaceful today. Even beautiful. Nothing like the scene in Peter Frederick Rothermel’s Pickett’s Charge (shown below).
Notice the canon in the bottom left corner. There are many canons on display in the cemetery and throughout the driving tour, like the one shown below.
Also look at the rock wall stretching from the bottom center of the painting. Those rock walls were still scattered through the fields. The soldiers used them to protect themselves from gun fire.

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Quick Update

Just a quick post today. I'm off to Ohio to visit the couple I told you about yesterday (with the baby on the way). I'll post on Monday but it will be a bit a later in the day than usual.

Before I leave, though, I want to draw your attention to the new links I've added to the side bar. Gurney Journey and Lines and Colors are both great blogs about art and artists. Also, please note that Peter has begun a new blog that allows him to post his fantastic photos in a larger format.

Check out these blogs and I'll be back on Monday. Have a great weekend!

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Book Review: Windows to Color by Julie Aigner-Clark

A couple that I’m friends with is getting ready for the arrival of their first child. You’ve probably noticed that I like art and that I think it’s important for kids to learn about art so, me being me, I set out to create the perfect gift basket of art for this baby-to-be. In my search, I came across a fantastic board book that I thought might be of interest to some of you readers.

If you’ve had a baby recently, are preparing to have a child, are an older brother or sister to a baby, or know someone with a young child, you’ve probably seen the “Baby Einstein” products put out by Disney. For that matter, if you’ve watched T.V. lately you’re probably seen commercials for “Baby Einstein” products. I am very impressed. I must tell you about this book I found called Windows to Color written by Julie Aigner-Clark and illustrated by Nadeem Zaidi. It introduces kids 9 months and older to color, using master works of art as examples.

First you see the painting, then you turn the page and find the name of the color written in large letters with examples of objects that are that color. There is a little window (the shape of which varies throughout the book—a star, a heart, a circle, etc.) through which you can see where the featured color is used in the painting.

Van Gogh’s fields of yellow wheat are shown opposite yellow ducklings. A Degas painting, along with a basketball, illustrate orange. Many of the most known and loved artists, from Marc Chagall to Gustave Klimt, are represented in this fantastic board book.

When I was shopping at the book store (where I bought a few more artsy board books that I’ll tell you about next week), the woman who helped me said that a lot of people seemed to be buying books as baby shower gifts. That comment was very uplifting. After all, what is more important than mind and spirit? Just a thought…

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Ancient Egyptian Art, Part 5- Fayum Portraits

In 30 BC the Romans took over Egypt. Of course, this affected Egyptians in many important ways, but I will only talk about how it changed Egyptian art. You have already read that Egyptians used art (paintings, carvings,and sculpture) to help them in the afterlife. You know that the art was not realistic but idealized and showed perfect bodies in perfect proportion. You have also read about how Akhenaten created his own art movement, called Amarna Art, which featured more realistic portraits.

When the Romans took over, they brought a classical style of art with them. This can be seen in the mummy portraits that were found in the Fayum (notice the map) and, to a lesser degree, throughout Egypt.
At first portraits were painted during a person’s life and then, after death, attached to the mummy. Later portraits were only created after a person died.

The portraits showed only the face and possibly the shoulders. The person always faced forward, which is different from other Egyptian art in which people always faced sideways. You’ll notice the big, open eyes and the fancy clothes worn in the portraits. Many even showed jewelry and flowers.
A portrait was painted on a wood panel and tucked into the wrappings of the mummy. The portrait’s face was lined up with where the person’s real face was.

If you compare the Fayum Portraits with artwork from earlier Egypt, I think you’ll see a huge difference. There’s not much more I can say that you won’t notice by looking at the two paintings below.
That’s it for Egyptian art (for now, anyway). Check back tomorrow for something new.

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