The Great Wave, Hokusai

Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), also known as The Great Wave, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei), by Katsushika Hokusai , Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, 10 x 15″ ( 26 x 38 cm), from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

This is one of the most famous art images in the world.

For some reason, I was particularly in the mood to enjoy this today.

For more of my comments about this print, see my post on Katsushika Hokusai from 2006, in which I suggest why...

Voting for the Arts?

If you care about federal funding for museums, libraries, cultural institutions in general, funding for arts education, funding for the insurance that makes inter-museum loans for shows possible, or funding for the arts in general, you should make sure to go to your local polling place on election day and vote in favor of those things.

I don’t think I need to mention any party names.

Images above: America at the Polls, (alternately: Voting Day), Norman Rockwell

Michael Cheval (update)

Michael Cheval, who I first featured back in 2014, is a contemporaty painter, born in Russia, raised in Germany and who studied at the Ashgabad school of Fine Art in Turkmenistan.

I often look sideways at contemporaty artists who call entmselves “Surrealists”, without adhearing to the Surrealist doctrine of unconscious or dream based imagery. Refreshingly, Cheval recognizes that and instead refers to his approach as “Absurdist” painting.

He is obviously influenced by the Surrealist painters, in particular Magritte and Dalí, sometimes refering to them directly in his paintings. He also features other notable figures like Steve Jobs and...

Eye Candy for Today: Edith Hayllar’s Five o’clock tea

Five o’clock tea, Edith Hayllar (1860–1948), oil on canvas, 18 x 14 in. (46 x 35 cm). Image is from a 2011 Christie’s auction. I assume the original is in a private collection.

My eye imediately goes to the the almost sihlouetted woman sitting at the top of a small flight of stairs, her arm around a curled up dog (who I presume is waiting for her tea companion). I’m drawn by the contrast between her shadowed face and the brighter ground, as well as the contrast of the white flowers on her hat against the darker foliage behind.

Lines and Color

Posted at 2026-10-23 01:58:45 | Illustrations | read on

Eye Candy for Today: Andrew Wyeth’s Flat Boat

Flat Boat, Andrew Wyeth, watercolor, drybrush on paper; 22 x 29 inches (56 x 74 cm). Image is from Sotheby’s past auction. Original is likely in a private collection.

Another of Andrew Wyeth’s deceptively simple drybrush watercolors, singing with texture, harmonized with muted browns and grays, sharpened with striking value contrasts.

Just wonderful.

NOON by Alex Andreev

Concept art for the TV series "Noon," based on the Strugatsky brothers' novella
"The Beetle in the Anthill"

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NOON

Concept art for the TV series "Noon," based on the Strugatsky brothers' novella "The Beetle in the Anthill"

Eye Candy for Today: Rembrandt’s Sleeping Puppy etching

Sleeping Puppy, Rembrandt van Rijn, etching and drypoint, 1 1/2″ x 3″ (4 x 8 cm). This print is in the collection of the Morgan Library and Museum, NY. From their page, you can zoom or download the large image.

This tiny etching of a sleeping puppy, hardly the expected subject for a Rembrandt etching, has an intamacy and warm feeling, leaving me to wonder if it was actually Rembrandt’s own dog.

Look at how Rembrandt’s seemingly casual hatching and cross hatching follows the contour of the dog’s body, and particularly the more sharply defined elements of the head.

The Village

Concept art for the TV series "The Village" based on the story by Kir Bulychev

Concept art for the TV series "The Village" based on the story by Kir Bulychev by Alex Andreev

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