Painter and Illustrated Travel Book Publisher. Camino de Santiago book coming soon!
In the summer of 2023, I was in Rome for a few days and was thrilled to discover that a show of Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida plein paintings was on. I've posted my images from the show here. The show dates are March 21 to June 11, 2023, at the Real Academia de España in Rome.
In Early 2014 I had the privilege to be called up to work on the recreation of a church mural at St. Aloysius church in Bowling Green, Ohio, The muralist is Felix Lieftuchter (b. Cincinnati, OH. 1883). My job is as an in-painter, which is generally the only thing I do on these restoration projects.… Continue reading Church Mural Re-Creation: Felix Lieftuchter, St. Aloysius, Bowling Green, Ohio
Felix Bernard Lieftuchter was an artist who was born in Cincinnati in on Oct. 29, 1882. He produced at least six major church decorations, worked with mosaics and engaged in portraiture. Toledo Central Catholic High School Chapel In 2014, I worked on a restoration of his work in an Ohio church, and you can see… Continue reading Felix Lieftuchter, Muralist, Biography
I love this concept - graffiti created by removing dirt. Just to be clear, these practitioners are removing the dirt, not applying anything. It's a wonderful idea and a poignant statement about the condition of our world. Businesses have also been using it for advertising. Of course if you have ever written "wash me" on… Continue reading Reverse Graffiti
February 8 through March 5, I am in Perth Australia assisting Kurt Perschke on his RedBall Project, which is simply a 15 ft. diameter Inflatable red ball which we site and install in architectural spaces. This is a project he has been working on for about 10 years and has done for public art programs… Continue reading RedBall Project, Perth, Australia
I visited the Smith College Museum of Art this fall.There were many great paintings and Northhampton, MA. is a terrific town. But the funnest part was their restrooms, which are beautifully decorated by two artists who did residencies at the Kohler plant in Wisconsin, Ellen Driscoll and Sandy Skoglund. Skoglund is responsible for the black… Continue reading Smith College Museum of Art Decorated Restrooms
In the fall of 2009 I had a pleasant visit to San Francisco after attending a wedding in northern California. I had never visited the city before, and I specifically wanted to take a look at some of the many murals there. I will do another post about the other murals in S.F., but here… Continue reading The San Francisco Murals of Mona Caron
I just finished reading a terrific book on the story of the Red Rose girls, three female students of Howard Pyle who ended up establishing a communal house and studio called the Red Rose Inn. They collaborated and were living together for many years and became very succesful. There are whisperings of love and intimacy… Continue reading Violet Oakley and the Red Rose Girls
A unique decorative art technique that I became aware of recently is marquetry wood murals. Here is an example by Emile Galle, late nineteenth century, French. Marquetry is inlaying wood in decorative patterns, usually in furniture or sometimes floors. I saw an article in the New York Times about a marquetry mural in a London… Continue reading Marquetry Wood Mural
Stephan Giannini 