Stiletto

Today artist Jay Rolfe took 2 of his 3-D stiletto paintings to Stiletto in Bryn Mawr in preparation for the reception on Friday February 1, 2008. Please see my website for details, and you are invited. They look great - you can see them in the windows. One of the paintings is the photo of the day. This one is 4 feet high, 4 feet wide, and 6 inches deep, and is titled "Hot!, Hot! Hot!".

That's the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's Unique Artistic Idea, his Hyper Representational 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/. Artist Jay Rolfe uses vibrant color, 3-D, recognizable shape, and huge size to reveal beauty, touch emotion in a positive way, and create an Uplifting Conversation Piece.

Ferrari Rolling Sculpture

Again this Saturday morning artist Jay Rolfe viewed some exotic rolling sculpture at the local Starbucks in Dilworthtown PA. You may recall a large group of exotics last Saturday which was in the post on Sunday January 13, 2008. Although several car guys came out today, only one true exotic, a beautiful silver Ferrari 360 Modena, came out. The other guys came in BMW sedans, etc. I assume the reason is the snow we had on Thursday. You can see a pile of snow in the background of the photo of the day. While it had largely melted, there were some spots on the rural roads where snow melt had flowed across the road and frozen in the night. It was still below freezing this morning when the car guys met, so there was some risk to their cars.

That's the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's Unique Artistic Idea, his Hyper Representational 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/. Artist Jay Rolfe uses vibrant color, 3-D, recognizable shape, and huge size to reveal beauty, touch emotion in a positive way, and create an Uplifting Conversation Piece.

"The Red Studio" by Matisse at MoMA

The dramatic colors of Henri Matisse's "The Red Studio" struck artist Jay Rolfe when he saw this painting at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. The red is vivid, if unrealistic - the wall, floor, table, chairs, and clock are all the same color with just an outline and decoration in a contrasting color. This was painted in 1911 in his studio in Issy near Paris, which was not really red. So you can see why his work was considered controversial at that time (and we hear some people question it even today). Artist Jay Rolfe likes vivid color, and this painting has grown on him. Jay Rolfe now sees the red as a great contrast to the paintings, sculptures, and ceramics around the studio.

That's the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's Unique Artistic Idea, his Hyper Representational 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/. Artist Jay Rolfe uses vibrant color, 3-D, recognizable shape, and huge size to reveal beauty, touch emotion in a positive way, and create an Uplifting Conversation Piece.

Matisse "Purple Robe And Anemones" at Baltimore Museum of Art

Artist Jay Rolfe is still reading Hilary Spurling's bio of Matisse titled Matisse The Master. So today's photo will be a Matisse painting, this one from the Cone Collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art. The Cone sisters amassed 500 paintings, drawings, and sculptures by Matisse and eventually gave them to their hometown museum, the Baltimore Museum of Art. The photo of the day by Henri Matisse painted in 1937 is "Purple Robe And Anemones." The model is his longtime assistant Lydia Delectorskaya.

That's the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's Unique Artistic Idea, his Hyper Representational 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/. Artist Jay Rolfe uses vibrant color, 3-D, recognizable shape, and huge size to reveal beauty, touch emotion in a positive way, and create an Uplifting Conversation Piece.

Matisse's "Nasturtiums With The Painting 'Dance' "

Yesterday artist Jay Rolfe came across a passage in the Matisse biography he's reading which expresses some of my own views about art. The interview Matisse gave which led to these comments was in 1909, 99 years ago! In Matisse The Master, Hilary Spurling tells of Matisse's interview published April 12, 1909 "in which Matisse explained that the invention of photography released painting from any need to copy nature. From now on art was free to condense and synthesize, eliminating surface detail in an attempt to penetrate rather than reproduce reality. He said that the aim of the new art was to 'present emotion as directly as possible and by the simplest means.' "

Today's photo from artist Jay Rolfe is of Henri Matisse's "Nasturtiums With The Painting 'Dance' " from 1912. This is the second version of the painting, and is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (the biggest tourist attraction in NYC!). "The Dance" painting from 1909 in the background is at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC displayed in a stairwell - which is what it was created for. The other version of "The Dance" was in Moscow in a collector's stairwell, the same collector who bought the first version of this Nasturtiums painting. You can read an interesting commentary on the museum's website at http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/Nasturtiums_with_the_Painting_Dance_Henri_Matisse/ViewObject.aspx?depNm=all&pID=-1&kWd=Matisse&OID=210003511&vW=-1&Pg=1&St=0&StOd=1&vT=1
The first version of Nasturtiums is now in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, and artist Jay Rolfe posted a photo of it from his visit there in his September 7, 2007 post. What the heck, here it is again!

That's the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's Unique Artistic Idea, his Hyper Representational 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/. Artist Jay Rolfe uses vibrant color, 3-D, recognizable shape, and huge size to reveal beauty, touch emotion in a positive way, and create an Uplifting Conversation Piece.

Henri Matisse

Artist Jay Rolfe is currently reading Hilary Spurling's biography of Henri Matisse, the second volume titled "Matisse The Master." So today's photo is of a painting by Matisse, "Odalisque With Tambourine (Harmony In Blue)" painted in 1926. Artist Jay Rolfe saw the painting at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena CA. Here's the link to the Norton Simon Museum website, http://www.nortonsimon.org/collections/highlights.asp?period=20H&page=4&resultnum=42

That's the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's Unique Artistic Idea, his Hyper Representational 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/. Artist Jay Rolfe uses vibrant color, 3-D, recognizable shape, and huge size to reveal beauty, touch emotion in a positive way, and create an Uplifting Conversation Piece.

Dilworthtown = Crystal Cove East?

Artist Jay Rolfe loves rolling sculpture in the form of exotic cars!

Saturday morning artist Jay Rolfe went for coffee at the Starbucks in Dilworthtown outside of West Chester. It's a beautiful ride from his home, so it has become his favorite coffee shop. Since going to the weekly car event by the Starbucks at Crystal Cove in Newport Beach CA - now moved to Irvine, see my post of May 25, 2007 for history and photos including photos of a Ferrari F2003-GA Formula 1 car which upstaged the Ferrari Enzo - I've given energy to having a similar event by the Starbucks in Dilworthtown. Little did I know that someone had organized what I only imagined.

One day a couple of months ago, I was wearing my Ferrari Formula 1 shirt and one of the baristas at Starbucks told me some Ferrari guys came in on Saturday morning. I went the next Saturday morning and was too late. I went another time and nothing. Oh, well. Yesterday was different. When I arrived about half of the eventual 30 cars were there, so I called my early rising friend with a Lotus Esprit and he brought his car.

My favorite car of the day was the gorgeous red Ferrari F430. My next favorite because of its presence was the black, black, black Porsche 911 Turbo - black body, black wheels not chrome, black interior, and black license plate. I liked the silver Ferrari 360 Modena, the red Ferrari 308 GTB, and my friend's dark red Lotus Esprit V-8. There was a silver Lotus Esprit S4S, a yellow Porsche GT3, and all manner of Porsche Turbos, more than I've ever seen together in the east. Someone brought a beautiful red Porsche Speedster from the 50's - I especially liked that since I once owned a similar one.

I learned that the Ferrari guys usually come Saturday morning at 8 or so until 9 or so (mercifully later than Crystal Cove's 7 am start). Yesterday was well represented by Porsches because their usual meeting place in Newark DE was unavailable.

One of my 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas Paintings is of a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder. There were no cars that old or valuable present yesterday, although I was told that a fellow brought a Ferrari F40 recently.

That's the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's Unique Artistic Idea, his Hyper Representational 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/. Artist Jay Rolfe uses vibrant color, 3-D, recognizable shape, and huge size to reveal beauty, touch emotion in a positive way, and create an Uplifting Conversation Piece.

Father/Son Collaboration

Yesterday afternoon artist Jay Rolfe attended the opening reception for his friend artist Antonio Puri and his son Alexander Puri who have collaborated on several large abstract paintings on canvas over the past few years starting in 2004. It was interesting that in the early years of the collaboration the son's style seemed to be the same as the father's style, so that one was unable to tell which part was painted by each. In the more recent paintings, the son has developed some of his own style and one can discern who painted some parts of the paintings. If Alex wants to pursue painting, he sure has a great start! They have titled their exhibit "My Kid Could Do That." The paintings are on display at Westtown School near West Chester PA.

That's the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's Unique Artistic Idea, his Hyper Representational 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/. Artist Jay Rolfe uses vibrant color, 3-D, recognizable shape, and huge size to reveal beauty, touch emotion in a positive way, and create an Uplifting Conversation Piece.

Beautiful Laguna Beach

It's a cold and rainy winter day, and artist Jay Rolfe's thoughts turn to the beach, Laguna Beach in particular. Today's photo is of the beautiful Laguna Beach shoreline. It has inspired thousands of paintings by local artists.

That's the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's Unique Artistic Idea, his Hyper Representational 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/. Artist Jay Rolfe uses vibrant color, 3-D, recognizable shape, and huge size to reveal beauty, touch emotion in a positive way, and create an Uplifting Conversation Piece.

Another View - "Hot! Hot! Hot!"

Today's photo is another view of artist Jay Rolfe's 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas painting "Hot! Hot! Hot!" with the grinning artist in the foreground. This morning has turned cold again, so if this photo was taken today it would have the artist in a long sleeve shirt.

That's the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's Unique Artistic Idea, his Hyper Representational 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/. Artist Jay Rolfe uses vibrant color, 3-D, recognizable shape, and huge size to reveal beauty, touch emotion in a positive way, and create an Uplifting Conversation Piece.

"Hot! Hot! Hot!" by Jay Rolfe

Last week, artist Jay Rolfe experienced a week of days when the high was not more than 35 degrees F. In contrast, today is the 3rd day in a row where the high has been over 60 degrees F. Artist Jay Rolfe is wearing a short sleeve shirt today, as you can see from the photo of the day taken with his 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas painting of a stiletto pump titled "Hot! Hot! Hot!" And the weather is also hot.

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's Unique Artistic Idea, his Hyper Representational 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/. Artist Jay Rolfe uses vibrant color, 3-D, recognizable shape, and huge size to reveal beauty, touch emotion in a positive way, and create an Uplifting Conversation Piece.

"The Mists Of Time"

Today's photo is an arty photo artist Jay Rolfe took on his morning walk 2 days before Christmas. It's called "The Mists Of Time." The mist was extraordinary that day.

Artist Jay Rolfe finds himself a week into the new year already. It was a great holiday season, filled with family events and a visit from our daughter. We had a great time. Now its back to the art world for artist Jay Rolfe as a participant rather than an observer.

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's Unique Artistic Idea, his Hyper Representational 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/. Artist Jay Rolfe uses vibrant color, 3-D, recognizable shape, and huge size to reveal beauty, touch emotion in a positive way, and create an Uplifting Conversation Piece.

Monet "Water Lilies" at Carnegie Museum of Art

Artist Jay Rolfe presents one of Claude Monet's "Water Lilies" paintings as his photo of the day. This painting is in the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. It is a very beautiful and very wide painting, approximately 18-20 feet wide and about 4 feet high. This photo was assembled in the camera from 3 separate shots to get the full width.

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's Unique Artistic Idea, his Hyper Representational 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/. Artist Jay Rolfe uses vibrant color, 3-D, recognizable shape, and huge size to reveal beauty, touch emotion in a positive way, and create an Uplifting Conversation Piece.

Renoir's "Ravine Of The Wild Woman"

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's Unique Artistic Idea, his Hyper Representational 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/. Artist Jay Rolfe uses vibrant color, 3-D, recognizable shape, and huge size to reveal beauty, touch emotion in a positive way, and create an Uplifting Conversation Piece.

Tomorrow, Sunday January 6, 2008, is the last day for the Renoir Landscapes exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Artist Jay Rolfe has chosen Pierre Auguste Renoir's "Algerian Landscape, Ravine Of The Wild Woman" as his photo of the day. This is a pure landscape, with no figures as in the recent posts. The title is intriguing. One can see the rich colors of the landscape when viewing the actual painting which do not look as good in this small photo from the Musee d'Orsay, the museum which lent the painting to the exhibit.

If you can find a way to get to the Renoir Landscape exhibit today or tomorrow, artist Jay Rolfe recommends you do so!

Renoir Landscapes 2 more days

The Renoir Landscapes exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art closes in 2 days, on Sunday January 6, 2008. Artist Jay Rolfe encourages you to see this great exhibit before it's gone.

Jay Rolfe's photo of the day is another from the exhibit, "La Promenade" painted in 1870. It has a landscape background and features the effect of sunlight, both direct and filtered by trees, on 2 people. It was lent to the exhibit by the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. It's a dramatic and well executed painting.

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's Unique Artistic Idea, his Hyper Representational 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/. Artist Jay Rolfe uses vibrant color, 3-D, recognizable shape, and huge size to reveal beauty, touch emotion in a positive way, and create an Uplifting Conversation Piece.

Renoir's "Claude Monet Painting In His Garden At Argenteuil"

Artist Jay Rolfe's photo of the day is another that is in the Renoir Landscapes exhibit currently at the Philadelphia Museum of Art until Sunday January 8, 2008. It was painted in 1873 by Pierre Auguste Renoir and is titled "Claude Monet Painting In His Garden At Argenteuil." It was painted at at time when Renoir and Monet lived near each other and often painted together and frequently the same subject. Artist Jay Rolfe selected this painting because it's a handsome painting. It is on loan to the exhibit from the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford CT.

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's Unique Artistic Idea, his Hyper Representational 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/. Artist Jay Rolfe uses vibrant color, 3-D, recognizable shape, and huge size to reveal beauty, touch emotion in a positive way, and create an Uplifting Conversation Piece.

Happy New Year 2008!

Happy New Year! Artist Jay Rolfe wishes you a very happy, healthy, and prosperous 2008. May you be, do, and receive all that you desire.

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's Unique Artistic Idea, his Hyper Representational 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/. Artist Jay Rolfe uses vibrant color, 3-D, recognizable shape, and huge size to reveal beauty, touch emotion in a positive way, and create an Uplifting Conversation Piece.

200 posts on Contemporary Art Blog this year!

Wow! Artist Jay Rolfe ends the year with his 200th post of the year since starting his Contemporary Art Blog in February of this year.

Today's photo is of a beautiful and well-known painting by Pierre Auguste Renoir that artist Jay Rolfe saw at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the Renoir Landscapes exhibit and lent to the exhibit by the Art Institute of Chicago. The title is "Luncheon at La Fournaise" and it was painted in 1875. It's a beautiful painting, with many figure painting/portrait elements set in a beautiful landscape. The restaurant is located in Chatou, the subject of many Renoir landscapes as was remarked upon in yesterday's post, a popular location along the Seine River for leisure activities such as boating. The restaurant was also the setting for Renoir's large masterpiece "Luncheon of the Boating Party" owned by the Phillips Collection in Washington D.C.

You can still see the Renoir Landscapes exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through this coming Sunday, January 6, 2008. Artist Jay Rolfe believes it is worth the trip to see the Renoir Landscapes exhibit.

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's Unique Artistic Idea, his Hyper Representational 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/. Artist Jay Rolfe uses vibrant color, 3-D, recognizable shape, and huge size to reveal beauty, touch emotion in a positive way, and create an Uplifting Conversation Piece.

Renoir's "The Bridge At Chatou"

Pierre Auguste Renoir's "The Bridge At Chatou" from 1875 is artist Jay Rolfe's selection for photo of the day. Artist Jay Rolfe saw this painting at the Renoir Landscapes exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This Renoir painting is on loan from the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. This is another beautiful landscape painting by Renoir. Chatou was a frequent subject of Renoir for his landscapes, and I have already posted paintings of the railway bridge and the Seine River at Chatou.

Before seeing this Renoir Landscapes exhibit artist Jay Rolfe hadn't seen enough landscapes by Renoir to appreciate his skill and the beauty of his landscapes that artist Jay Rolfe recognized for Renoir's still life, portrait, and nude paintings.

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's Unique Artistic Idea, his Hyper Representational 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/. Artist Jay Rolfe uses vibrant color, 3-D, recognizable shape, and huge size to reveal beauty, touch emotion in a positive way, and create an Uplifting Conversation Piece.

Renoir's "Duck Pond"

Artist Jay Rolfe's photo of the day is Pierre Auguste Renoir's "Duck Pond" painted in 1873 and lent to the Renoir Landscapes exhibit by the Dallas Museum of Art where it is part of the Wendy and Emery Reves Collection. Artist Jay Rolfe admires the way Renoir paints water, sky, and light.

The Renoir Landscapes exhibit which artist Jay Rolfe saw at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, its last stop, is nearing its close. Sunday January 6, 2008 is the last day for the show, and artist Jay Rolfe heartily recommends you attend and see all these beautiful paintings which have been assembled from all over the world for this show.

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's Unique Artistic Idea, his Hyper Representational 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/. Artist Jay Rolfe uses vibrant color, 3-D, recognizable shape, and huge size to reveal beauty, touch emotion in a positive way, and create an Uplifting Conversation Piece.