• art zone,  artists

    Joaquin Sorolla – The Master of Light

    Today I present to you an exceptional Spanish artist whose work I first saw a few years ago in his hometown of Valencia. In fact, one of the main reasons I chose Madrid for our nomadic month was my desire to visit the Museo Sorolla in the Spanish capital. Therefore, on a hot June day, we walk to the wonderful house with a garden and with great pleasure immerse ourselves in its world, in search of inspiration, charging and enrichment. Who is Joaquin Sorolla Born in 1863 in Valencia, Joaquin Sorolla lost his parents as a child and together with his sister were raised by his aunt and uncle. His…

  • art zone,  artists

    “Great Art Explained”

    The art world is full of clich?s, but it’s never too late to learn something new. The YouTube channel Great Art Explained is proof of that and is a precious art find. In general, I am not a huge fan of “explained” series, but this one turned out to be very different. In it, curator and gallerist James Payne focuses on a particular famous painting or artist and makes an in-depth analysis of the work / artist, placing them in the context of the times in which they were created / worked, the family they grew up in, the political and social environment. The analyzes are interesting, sometimes unexpected, informative…

  • art zone,  artists,  pastels

    Harley Brown – soft pastel artist

    Those of you who follow my work may know, that this March marks 20 years since I created the website acrista.com and the Acrista Art brand was born. The first half of this period I spent mastering the soft pastels as a material and the artist who greatly influenced me during this time and was a sort of virtual mentor for me, was the pastelist Harley Brown. I came across him after subscribing to International Artist magazine, where Harley had regular articles, sharing wisdom on the artist’s life and priceless practical advices on the creative process. During this period, I acquired his two books: “Eternal Truths for Every Artist” and…

  • art zone,  artists,  books and quotes

    Quotes from “Alla Prima”, Richard Schmid

    “The thing we label as talent is not a single ability. It is a complex mixture of motive, curiosity, receptivity, intelligence, sensitivity, good teaching, perseverance, timing, sheer luck, and countless other things.” “Serious painting is not something that can be learned casually. You must be willing to sacrifice many other things.” “I regard my disasters as invitations to learn more.” “Art happens in the mind of the person seeing them.” “Don’t reject difficult ideas simply because you fail to grasp them immediately. Put them on hold until you do, then decide. Many things in painting become clear only after considerable experience, and that takes time.” “The reason why painting remains…

  • art zone,  artists

    Swarez Art

    It’s been a while since I have been impressed so thoroughly by an artist – from the chosen medium (enamel paint), from developing technique by trial and error, combining several working places with a gallery, to market positioning, scope (huge canvases delivered worldwide), personal approach (he hand delivers all of his art in the UK) and experimenting with different mediums in addition to paintings – aluminum sculptures, art with cast resin blocks, enamel paint on carbon fiber… Ed, who creates under the label Swarez, is absolutely self-thought and although he’s often told that ‘this can be painted by my five year old child too’ and ‘he’s not an artist’ with…