Water: Tide Comes In, Tide Goes Out

Subject:  Seashore and black cliffs

Title:  Unknown

Artist:  A.K.O , signed lower right

Date:  unknown

Media:  Oil on canvas

Size:  48″ x 24″

Frame:  Carved wood painted black

This is a favorite of mine. The restless ocean meets the impassive cliffs on the water-swept beach. The tide comes in, and the tide goes out.

The waves are thick impasto. Their impact stands out. Some places show ocean spray against the rocks. The cliffs continue into the out-of-focus distance.

The verdant green grass inland is inviting. The sand and seaweed make moist beach colors, and you realize this artist has seen this with true eyes.

I don’t know the artist. I don’t know if it is a “starving artist.” I do know this is a fine work of art, and I love to look into it.

Is this location the black cliffs of Cornwell?

water: the view from my boat

Subject: Boathouse

Title: unknown

Artist: Louis H. Priddy

Date: 1979

Size: 24″ x 11 3/4″

Media: acrylic paint on canvas board

Frame: rough brown stained wood scraps

Value: purchased for $3.93 at a thrift store

Painting by Louis H. Priddy, 1979.

The artist has a family boathouse on the river. Or so I imagine. The loved ones have many memories of good times escaping to the cabin on the water, fishing, floating.

The artist is sitting in the boat, painting the beloved boathouse. Remember the thick forest all around? The boulders on the shore. The blue sky reflected in the azure river.

I say river because there’s a bridge. The structure almost blocks the flow. It is the path back to civilization. The bridge over water was built by men for their purposes. You can’t just float in a boat all the time. You must tame the river and overcome nature.

But now is not the time for that. Enjoy today. Laze in the boat and soak up the lovely summer day on the water.

At night, a sheltered cove with an open boat slip is waiting for your return.

water: imagine the other side

Subject: aquarium

Title: unknown

Artist: Andrew Paavola

Date: unknown, c. 2000s 

Size: 6 5/8″ x 7 3/8″

Media: color print on paper

Frame: blue thrift store wooden frame added by me, 11″ x 14″

I was at a suburban art fair in the park.  One of the booths had art by Andrew Paavola, and I purchased this, because I like swimming and tentacles.  And cartoons.  So, this does not actually qualify as a second-hand thrift store find, except for the frame. 

Paavola is the cartoonist of the comic strips, Bully, at GoComics.com, and Daisy.  He also wrote wordless books, My Ball of Goo and Zeke. (1)   Paavola is a freelance cartoonist and illustrator, and he attended Columbus College of Art and Design in Ohio. (2) It is entirely possible that I met the artist at the booth that day, but I don’t recall. The business card along with this print says, Art With Character, Huntsville, Ohio.  In 2021, he travels with Carisa to art shows with an art booth, Otter Be Happy.  They have a website and a Facebook page. (3) 

This has three panels and two insets.  The middle panel depicts reality, and has the largest area.  Small round inserts bridge to the top and bottom panels.  Initially, I read it as a comic strip from top to bottom.  Panel:  Kid is swimming with a friendly octopus.  Inset: Happy kid is thinking.  Panel:  Amazed kid is looking at an aquarium.  Inset:  Octopus is thinking.  Panel:  Excited octopus is riding a motorbike with kid. 

When you get to the lower inset and panel, you realize the octopus’ thought and desires mirror the kid’s.  You reevaluate the center panel to see there are two equal characters, not just a viewing kid and subject octopus.  Both have dreams and desires.  Both imagine living in an impossible place where basic breathing would be a problem.  Both wish to be friends sharing an adventure. 

The kid and the octopus don’t seem to be named characters in Paavola’s other works.  The kid works as a stand-in for me, or maybe the artist as a youth.  In the end, I also identify with the octopus. 

This artwork obviously is within the tradition of cartoons and comics.  Black inked line drawings are filled with bright colors.  Humorous exaggeration makes it very compelling to enter the fantastic imaginary world of these two. 

I don’t remember what I paid for this.  A 2012 picture from Otter Be Happy shows a larger framed version for over one-hundred dollars. (4)  This print has the artist’s signature in the center panel and also under the bottom panel.   

It seems like many of Paavola’s art works compare and contrast the elements of water and air.  Here the denizens each press against the glass separating their dreams of camaraderie. 

1.  My Ball of Goo, by Andrew Paavola, Jan. 2019, Issue 01., Silent Gem Comics.
2. Comixology.  https://www.comixology.com/Andrew-T-Paavola/comics-creator/198888
3.  Otter Be Happy.  https://otterbehappy.com, https://www.facebook.com/Otter-Be-Happy-Studio-213500368754237/
4. Otter Be Happy.  https://www.facebook.com/213500368754237/photos/a.265038323600441/265043240266616/?type=3&theater

water: under the surface

Subject: sea life

Title: unknown

Artist: unknown

Date: unknown

Size: 24″ x 36″

Media: paint on canvas

Frame: blue and silver, made in Mexico

This thrift store find was not cheap. The tag is marked $39.99, but I may have received a discount. It has wear marks on the frame and the canvas. The standard size frame has the unusual colors of silver and blue, and this painting is the one which should be in that frame.

The scene is underwater. Lots of little fish swim among the corals and seaweed. Closer to the surface, and closer to the sun are a pair of orcas. The killer whales are over and above the others. This couple is ruling the domain.

When I see this picture, I think of the popular images by Sherry Vintson and others. You’ve probably seen this style of design used in fine art prints, puzzles and shower curtains.

Orca Cove by Sherry Vintson

Close Encounter by Sherry Vintson

But this painting is not up to those standards. The composition is loose and inactive. Much more tranquil, I suppose. Nice, but not puzzle quality.

How come it’s divided in half, instead of the recommended thirds?

Still, you could do worse than have a painted aquarium still life in your living room.

water: a boy and his dog

Subject:  Boy and Dog Looking Out to Sea

Title:  Unknown

Artist:  D. Gillander

Date:  Unknown, c. mid to late 20^th century

Size: 20″ x 24″

Media:  Paint on canvas

A boy and his dog is a classic theme.  A dog is man’s best friend.  This duo touches the memory and emotions.

I can’t quite remember why this painting clicks in my head.  It seems familiar.  I think it is using the style and colors of an illustrator from the 1960s or 70s.  Maybe it’s Joan Walsh Anglund, b. 1926.

Another possibility might be the illustrator Susan Perl, 1922-1983.

It is not hard to find results for an internet search for, “painting boy dog sea.”  Turns out to be a popular subject, and the styles are quite diverse.  There is also a webpage, wallpaperboat.com/sad-boy-wallpapers.

The oldest one I found is “Outward Bound (The Stay at Homes/Looking Out to Sea),” a story illustration for Ladies’ Home Journal, by Norman Rockwell in October 1927.  According to the Norman Rockwell Museum, “In the summer of 1912, Rockwell spent three months studying painting with Charles Hawthorne in Provinctown, Massachusettes. Hawthorne had studied plein air painting (painting out-of-doors) with William Merritt Chase. In Rockwell’s painterly treatment of the roofs, waves, trees, grass and man’s trousers, we see the influence of Chase’s impressionistic style.” (1)

This painting is signed D. Gillander in the lower right corner.  I am confident that this is not the Canadian artist David Gillanders, b. 1968.  I think the artist could be a local hobbyist, since the painting was purchased at a thrift store for less than $10 and is unframed.

This is a baby blue painting of a boy and his dog at the end of the pier.  They are looking into the distance, into the sea and sky, into the horizon.  Are they longing to leave?  Are they waiting for someone to return?  A young person might stare into the future with wistful hope.  Men sail the wide ocean for fortune and adventure. To test themselves and to make their reputations.  A young person might wish to escape his dull village.  This boy is ready with his sailor’s uniform.

He faces more than water.  The fishing boat is headed away.  It’s nets are poised to capture fish.  On the far distant shore, a building points into the sky.  Is it a lighthouse or a church?  It points up to a single bird in heaven.  Most of this painting is a troubled cloudy sky.

Could this sea bird refer to older paintings of the dove of the Holy Ghost descending to bless the young Son beginning His earthly ministry?  The bird is certainly in the center of the composition.  It flies over the cross-shaped mast of the fishing boat.  These symbols are not unknown to the Christian eye.

The writing on the back of this stretched canvas says, “FLS 1143,” and “HOB $75.”

If you would like to own a custom painting of you and your dog on a dock, it costs $55 from unifury.com.  (2)

Sources:

1. Rockwell’s Outward Bound.  https://prints.nrm.org/detail/281623/rockwell-outward-bound-the-stay-at-homes-looking-out-to-sea-1927
2. Unifury custom art. https://unifury.com/products/dog-2271

water: tall ship, tall tale

Subject:  Sailing Ship on the Sea

Title:  Unknown

Artist:  Norman Walker, signed lower right

Date:  possibly c. 1970s

Media:  Oil on board

Size:  8” x 10”

Frame:  Black and Gold, marked Hecho En Mexico

This ship is sailing the ocean blue.  It leans into the white capped waves. It’s so tall we can’t see the top.  We can’t see the flags.  It is armed with cannon along the white stripe on the black hull.  No land is in sight.

This brings to mind the romance and danger of the sailing age.  Are there pirates?  Is the cargo gold?  Passengers, troops, convicts, or slaves?

This tall ship could be a clipper (1775-1880s), or it could be a Blackwall frigate (1830-1870s). Not being a nautical expert, I’ll wait for someone else to tell.  Blackwall frigates had black hulls with a white stripe (1).  Frigates are built for speed and maneuverability, and clippers are even faster.  They could have more than 28 cannons for defense.   English frigates brought trade and tea from India and China by way of the Cape of Good Hope.

The Madagascar, the second Blackwall frigate, went missing in 1853.  It was transporting cargo from Australia to London.  It was loaded with wool, rice, 110 passengers and two tonnes of gold. Before the ship left the dock, Melborne police boarded and arrested several escaped convicts–bushrangers.  The Madagascar left port and was never seen again.  This mystery is behind many sea stories and tall tales. One-eighth share in the Madagascar was held by William Harrison Walker (2).

This oil painting is signed by Norman Walker.  He is a mystery to internet searches.  Who is he?  When did he paint?  Where?  Why did he disappear?

It is not hard to find maritime paintings by Norman Walker.  Many of them are versions of this very ship.  Many of them are larger, and can be sold for up to $300.00.

This painting is decorative wall art from the 1970s, said art expert Nora (3.)  “Most were sold through ‘starving artist’ shows held in motels at that time and through furniture stores. The marine tall ship painting is signed Norman Walker. These are not highly listed artists.” (3)

Gaze at this art on your wall and imagine the spray of salt sea air and the wind in your hair.  Be transported, but don’t get lost.

Sources:

1. Blackwall frigate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwall_frigate
2. Madagascar frigate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar_(1837_ship)
3. Just Answer Antiques. https://www.justanswer.com/antiques/as0bi-oil-paintings-know.html

people: blue girl

This unsigned painting came from a thrift store.   Since I know nothing, I’ll guess this is student art, and really good.

The colors are bounded by black lines.  It’s like a drawing filled in.  Is there a cartoon connection?

But it’s not flat.  The blue face reaches out to me.  The arresting eyes stare beyond, not bored, not excited.  These eyes are resting on something, but the mind is not resting.

Those are real eyelids and real brows.  The anatomy is right.  Except the ear.  I don’t believe the inside of the ear came from a sitting model.  Maybe the artist was working from a photograph.

I think the artist would not compose the head out of the frame, except if working from a photograph.

The colors are complex and complementary.  Cool on the inside and warm all around.  The subject is primary:  blue, yellow, red, and the extremities are secondary:  orange, green, purple.

What is that fluffy blanket at the bottom?  A nearby item out of focus?  A misty cloud of smoke?  It has no black line keeping it from flowing and rolling up and around.  It is a comfort or a danger?

This is a painting I can look at for a long time.

people: green man

Title:  unknown

Artist:  Bevin Chikodzi, 1966-2006, Zimbabwe

Style:  Shona sculpture

Medium:  green serpentine (?) stone

Measurements:

height: 27 cm

width: 9 cm

depth: 4 cm

Condition:  a few scratches

Signed:  By B Chikodzi

This abstracted figure was released from the stone by Zimbabwean sculptor Bevin Chikodzi.  Carvers in the Shona tribe contemplate the piece of rock in order to expose the spirit it contains. The figure revealed here has a large right hand, and a serene face reminiscent of traditional African masks.  I don’t know the title.

Bevin Chikodzi was born in Mrewa, Zimbabwe in 1966, and was an artist in Chitungwiza.  According to Efka, “The development of his talent is related to his uncle Wellington Mudhokwani, a local sculptor in Seke. Under his wings Bevin at the age of 16 dedicated almost his entire time to sculpturing. He sculptured for hours with passion often neglecting his school and later work. Next to his uncle also ‘Mr. Mdokwani’, probably sculptor Farai Mdokwani, taught him to carve in 1987.” (1.)  He set out on his own the next year.  Bevin worked as a full-time sculptor. (2.)

Bevin said, “When I sculpt I have to do it with spirit in my work. You can not just sculpt. According to some method or some book. You must place your whole emphasis on the spiritual content.” (1.)   He believed that, “nothing which exists naturally is inanimate” –it has a spirit of its own.  You must be aware of the stone’s contribution to the finished artwork.  (2.)

Bevin was a gentle man of good humor, respected in his community.  His art has been exhibited in Africa, UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, USA, Australia, Spain, Singapore, Japan and Belgium. Bevin represented Zimbabwe at the Expo 2000 Germany and the Expo 2004 in Japan. (1.)  His country’s name, Zimbabwe, means, “house of stone.”

Shona sculpture is, “perhaps the most important new art form to emerge from Africa in the 20^th century,” according to Newsweek. (3.)  Picasso admired Shona sculpture, but modern cubism was not an influence on the African artists. (3.)  They began with traditional subjects, and worked with the stone’s spirit to discover the image within.

In this stone, Bevin found a human with right arm bending.  If you tried to pose this way, your palm might be out.

1.  “Bevin Chikodzi African Abstract Bird Stone Sculpture Zimbabwe 2nd Half of the 20th C,” c.2016-2019.  Efka in the Netherlands, of BrandNewVintageStore on Etsy.  https://www.etsy.com/listing/611234687/bevin-chikodzi-african-abstract-bird
2. “A Mothers Love,” by Unknown in Somerset West, Cape Town, South Africa, Stone Sculpture blog, April 9, 2013, http://artcreationsafrica.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-mothers-love.html
3. “SHONA MODERN | The Peggy Knowlton Collection of 20th Century Zimbabwean Art,” Press Release by Material Culture, May 23, 2017, https://materialculture.com/about_shona_modern/

people: green girl

Green girl has red hair.  She’s not a girl, but a woman with cheekbones.  A serious woman with something on her mind.  Her gaze is inscrutable.  Is she at ease or about to explode?

The twisting finger-paint tresses frame her cool face with fiery energy.  The red curls snake around the green head.  Is it a medusa?

Who is she?

envious lover

wicked witch

mermaid of the deep

alien dancer

marvel superhero

fey Irish lass

The background gives no clue.  Behind her is darkness.

This thrift store painting is unsigned.

 

 

 

 

 

animals: blue dragon

Braganza!  Two gold rings around a blue dragon—it’s a royal dish from Portugal.

This dish was purchased at the art museum during a designer showcase.  The shallow bowl is white faience ceramic with two gold rings and a blue coat of arms of Portugal.  It has the marking L & C Lisboa. (1)

The condition is nice, but there are several mistakes from manufacturing.  There are one or two spots of underglaze grit.  The transfer-printing of the dragon’s body has a mark on the body under the wing, which makes it appear to have a hole or a wound.  Transfer-printing on pottery was developed in 1750s. The dish looks good, but is not perfect.

The design features the “Armas Reais,” the coat of arms of the King of Portugal, in a fanciful way. The shield with the coat of arms seems to be shackled to the coils of a dragon. The flying wyvern supports the shield, a crown and the letter C.

A wyvern is the kind of European dragon with two limbs, wings and a long body ending in a barbed tail.  Usually there are two green wyverns, one on each side of the coat of arms of the House of Braganza, which is a symbol of the king of Portugal.  Green was their livery color, and became the national color of the country.  The crest of wyverns was removed in 1910 when Portugal was no longer a monarchy. (2)

Portugal’s coat of arms started with a blue cross on a white shield.  With battle damage the blue stripes became five escutcheons.  They recall the five wounds of Jesus Christ on the cross, or the five wounds of Afonso Henriques.  The spots may represent plates, coins, or merely the nails on the original shield.  After all these years, it’s hard to say.  This coat of arms is called the Quinas, since a quina is group of five things. (3)

Around the cross is a red border with seven castles.  These were added in the 1200s, and possibly are reference to the fall of Muslim strongholds to Christian forces.  Or maybe the heritage of the king at the time.

The crown above the coat of arms has also changed over the years, depending on the monarchy.  The circlet with leaves gained one arch, two, then four arches.  On top is a globe with a cross.  The crown was also removed in 1910, when Portugal became a constitutional republic.

The wyvern’s tail coils around the letter C.  I can’t be sure, but my guess is C is for Carlos.  Dom Carlos I was king from 1889 to 1908, when he was assassinated. He was of the House of Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

I only found one similar plate for sale online. It is listed at $104.06, plus shipping.   The date is listed as late 19^th or early 20^th century, which matches to the reign of Carlos.  It also says, “Similar examples are part of the collection of the Palácio da Pena – Pena Palace, Sintra, Portugal.” (4)

In this blank expanse, a blue wyvern, flying with crown and shield, has a wound, which I think is appropriate to King Carlos I, whose bankrupt reign ended with five shots by a sharpshooter.

 

 

Notes:

1. The backside marking says, “L & C LISBOA, FAIANÇA FINA, FABRICA D’ALCANTARA,” which translates as L & C Lisbon, Fine Faience, of Alcantara Factory.  Alcântara is a parish of Lisbon.

2. https://victorpicarra.wordpress.com/tag/portugal/
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Portugal
4. https://www.etsy.com/listing/683189005/antique-alcantara-factory-lisbon?ref=shop_home_active_27