Take The Pledge To End Child Hunger

Take the pledge. I did.
http://nokidhungry.org/

Art Charity Auction!

One of my paintings will be in a charity silent auction this Saturday, October 16 at Saint Stephen United Methodist Church in Arlington, Texas at 6pm. 1800 W Randol Mill Rd.

There will also be an all day festival, community garage sale, dinner and other community activites.

Proceeds benefit the church and/or missions. This church is very involved in helping the community, especially helping the homeless shelter Mission Arlington.

Come on out for some food, fun and helping others by bidding on my painting!

The Music Of The Heart

One day while driving in my car I heard the song "Every Breath You Take" by the Police. I've heard the song a million times, but on this particular day, it reminded me of my uncle who had commited suicide in 1994, and it made me want to create this painting video.

The complete process for the painting and video took about two months, mostly to locate all of the photographs used in the video. Its a very large gallery sized acrylic painting on canvas. I created the painting on video over a period of about a week, going back to the location every day at sunset to work on the painting.

This is my favorite video of all the ones I've made. Its a very personal painting. It's a painting of my Uncle who was a very talented guitarist and drummer. He was a very beautiful and special person who had a lot to offer the world. He was very close to me and my family and it was a very devastating event for my family that took years to get over. It has now been over 15 years since it happened, but it was still difficult and emotional to create this painting and to look at his photos. At times it was like I was going through it all again. But I wanted to do something very special when I painted a portrait of him, and I wanted to do something that might possibly help someone else by putting a message in the video about suicide prevention. And I want other people going through something difficult to know that life can be hard sometimes, but it always gets better. And if my uncle had been able to realize that, he would be with us now.

At the end of the video, you will see that on the last day of shooting something special happened. We could not see it happening live, but when we looked through the camera as it was recording, we could see a beautiful ray of sun shining directly onto my uncle's photo. We allowed the camera to film as long as we could to capture it. Even as the sun went down, the ray of sun stayed on my uncle's photo. This never occured on any other day.

Thank you for watching.

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide and would like someone to talk to

you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at

1-800-273-TALK

http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

REMEMBERING TOM

A photo montage video

with the music

"To Make You Feel My Love" by Adele

My Paintings are available on Etsy

My Websites : TheArtofVenus.com and Art-Star.net

My Facebook Page VenusArt

My Twitter Page VenusOfficial

Lady Gaga Painting

LADY GAGA LIVE SPEED PAINTING

POP ART PAINTING

30 x 40

ACRYLIC ON CANVAS

This Lady Gaga Painting Video was a lot of fun to make.

It was painted in one sitting in an open field.

My Paintings are available on Etsy

My Websites : TheArtofVenus.com and Art-Star.net

My Facebook Page VenusArt

My Twitter Page VenusOfficial

My Bio

This is the New Bio on My New Website. Art-Star.net

All About Venus

The Granddaughter of legendary Author Sallie Ann Clarke and western character actor and musician Rusty Lee, Venus is a multi-faceted star of The Arts in her own right.

She might call herself just a simple girl from Texas but Venus is no ordinary woman. The Texas born statuesque blonde beauty was rightly named Venus by her parents who instilled a love and appreciation for The Arts. She was one of those bright stars who began taking ballet at age 4 and recruited her brothers and cousins to perform theatrical shows for her parents. As early as 8 years old she was creating poetry and art and on her way to becoming an accomplished musician and dancer, all while excelling as an honor student. At the age of 12 she won her first award for art from the Hallmark Card Company and by 15 was modeling for local department stores. As a high school student she excelled in Literature, History, French Language and won first place in a Geometry competition. She helped her school win awards for music and dance and singularly won the prestigious honor of being one of thousands to win all blue ribbons for dance at SMU's summer drill team camp not just once but two years in a row.

Venus's achievements did not stop there. In college, Venus was a dean's list student and vice-president of a political club. Her college curriculum was centered on Literature and Creative Writing and it was during this time that she began publishing her poetry in literary journals and began winning awards for poetry. Her interest in history led her to archeology and museum studies in which she participated in the archeological excavation of Nance Farm, historic plantation and former home of baseball legend Mickey Mantle. It was however an art appreciation class that changed Venus's life, and ours, forever, igniting the spark that led her to becoming an accomplished artist.

In 2003 Venus expanded her already impressive repertoire to include acting, making her a full-fledged megastar of The Arts. She began acting in Dallas area community theaters in musicals such as "Damn Yankees" and "Best Little Whorehouse In Texas". She progressed as an actress into commercials for Radio Shack and Mary Kay and a number of feature films like "Blind Corner", "Confessions" and "Rain". Venus also received recognition at this time as a model, which she considers to be yet another art form, having been recognized on websites such as AmericanModel.com and the Domino Dolls Model Promotion Team being called one of the most beautiful and sought after women in the world.

It was not until 2005, amidst acting and modeling that Venus turned to what would become her greatest passion...art. Completely self taught, she used her knowledge of Art History as her sole guide for painting, having no training as an artist whatsoever. The evolution of her art is no less than astounding. In only 5 years she has accomplished what is almost unthinkable, having created over 1000 works of art and having sold more than half of them to art collectors around the globe. As a budding artist, Venus has experimented with every style and medium imaginable from small scale miniature paintings to massive gallery sized paintings, photography, and sculpture. She takes her inspiration from her travels through life, nature, culture, emotion, and beauty in ways that create new and unique visual arts. In 2006 she participated in an all female art Exhibition in Dallas and has been perfecting her craft and selling her work both privately and via the internet. Her work has been featured in a number of blogs and art articles, as well as hundreds of features by some of the internets most popular art galleries such as Etsy, Deviant Art and others. What began as a curious whim has developed into a well-established career as an artist, one that promises to be a notably memorable one.

As if it wasn't enough to be such an accomplished renaissance woman of The Arts, friends and family as well as those in her community know her as being one of the kindest and most generous individuals they know. A true humanitarian at heart, Venus is known for being the first to lend a helping hand to friends and even to strangers in need. She has a rare appreciation for life and others that many fail to recognize or take for granted. Her sweet giving nature is acknowledged quietly and humbly though her lifelong interests in human and animal welfare have touched and impacted many lives. Today she is involved with a number of charities regularly that are very close to her heart, particularly those that aid women and children, animals and veteran and active military soldiers, to whom she donates a portion of every painting sale.

Venus is also an avid reader and book collector with scholarly interests that include American, Russian and British history, American Revolutionary and Civil War history, World War II history, politics, anthropology, and Classic Literature. She enjoys restoring antiques, learning about other cultures, gardening, traveling, fashion, decorating and cooking, is an expert genealogist, and studies art on a daily basis.

The irony that someone named after the mythical goddess of love and one of the most famous works of art in the world would become such a loving person and talented artist is touchingly prophetic. Venus is a truly rare and fascinating gem of the world. There is no one like her. Few can say they have accomplished as much as she has in an entire lifetime. As Venus's career as an artist continues to flourish with new works continually underway, her many talents as an artist and humanitarian prove to be of prolonged interest as to what she will do next and how she will impact our world. Undoubtedly, she is a megastar who possesses the means to become one of the legendary artists of our time.

NEW VIDEOS!

I have 2 new videos out!

The first one is a photo montage of some of my paintings over the last six years. It includes Abstract Paintings, Collage Art, Impressionist Paintings, Pop Art Paintings, and Surrealism Paintings.

 

This second Youtube Video is Modeling Photo Montage of my modeling photographs.

You can see more of my photos and paintings on My Website at

http://www.art-star.net/

"Eyes On Fire" New Painting Video

This is a Pop Art Painting I designed from an Angelina Jolie Photograph.

I painted it using Hot Pink, Burgandy Red and Purple paint. I used a little bit of white with the purple for the eyes but there is no black in it.

The music in the video is called "Eyes On Fire" by Blue Foundation.

EYES ON FIRE

30 X 40

ACRYLIC ON CANVAS

This painting has since been sold but you can see more of my Pop Art Paintings on

My Website at http://www.art-star.net/

My Art Painting Videos On Youtube!

Finally!!!.....a couple of painting videos with lots more to come.

And a new website. http://www.art-star.net/

JAMES DEAN

POP ART SPEED PAINTING VIDEO

18 X 14

ACRYLIC ON CANVAS

This is a Pop Art Painting of James Dean that I painted using only one color, Black.

The song on the video is "Understanding Jane" by Icicle Works.

My Paintings are available on Etsy

My Websites : TheArtofVenus.com and Art-Star.net

My Facebook Page VenusArt

My Twitter Page VenusOfficial

My Paintings Found A Great Home

An Art Collector's Display Of My Work

Art Collector Sarah Bowie has purchased a number of my paintings and prints and was kind enough to send me photos of the paintings on display in her home. And has given me permission to share them with you.

I think the paintings look great. Thanks so much Sarah!

Check out Sarah's cool blog here. http://sarahbowie.blogspot.com/

BIRTH OF VENUS

Print

 8 x 10

ABSTRACT EIFFEL TOWER

8 X 10

ACRYLIC ON CANVAS

ABSTRACT HEART

3.5 X 3.5

ACRYLIC ON WOOD

REFUGEE

8.5 X 11

MIXED MEDIA ON PAPER

SPLENDOR

16 X 20

OIL ON CANVAS

WHEAT

OIL ON ART PAPER

BLUE VASE

Print

AUTUMN TREES

MIXED MEDIA ON PAPER

TUSCANY

11 X 14

OIL ON CANVAS

ROSES

Print

(top right)

ROSES

8 X 10

OIL ON CANVAS

(center left)

My Paintings are available on Etsy

My Websites : TheArtofVenus.com and Art-Star.net

My Facebook Page VenusArt

My Twitter Page VenusOfficial

Words To Live By

A young painter who cannot liberate himself from the influence of past generations is digging his own grave.

---Henri Matisse

Picasso Sells at Record Auction Price

NEW YORK - A 1932 Pablo Picasso painting of his mistress has sold for $106.5 million, a world record price for any work of art at auction.
"Nude, Green Leaves and Bust," which had a pre-sale estimate of between $70 million and $90 million, was sold at Christie's auction house on Tuesday evening to an unidentified telephone bidder.
There were nine minutes of bidding involving eight clients in the sale room and on the phone, Christie's said. At $88 million, two bidders remained. The final bid was $95 million, but the buyer's premium took the sale price to $106.5 million.

Conor Jordan, head of impressionist and modern art for Christie's New York, said he was "ecstatic with the results."
"Tonight's spectacular results showed the great confidence in the marketplace and the enthusiasm with which it welcomes top quality works," he said.
The striking work of Picasso's muse and mistress Marie-Therese Walter has been exhibited in the United States only once, in 1961 in Los Angeles to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Picasso's birth. The painting, which measures more than 5 feet by 4 feet, shows a reclining nude figure with an image of Picasso in the background looking over her.
The painting had belonged to the late California art patron Frances Lasker Brody, who bought it in the 1950s. It had been kept in her family since then.
Part of the sale proceeds will benefit the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, Calif., where Brody was on the board.
The previous record for a work of art at auction was $104.3 million for "Walking Man I," a sculpture by Alberto Giacometti sold on Feb. 3 at Sotheby's in London. The previous high price for a Picasso work was $104.2 million for "Boy With a Pipe (The Young Apprentice)," attained in 2004 at Sotheby's New York.
On Wednesday, another rarely seen Picasso is slated to sell at Sotheby's auction house. "Woman in a Hat, Bust" is a 1965 work inspired by Jacqueline Roque, the last love of Picasso's life. It is estimated to sell for $8 million to $12 million.
The work hung for 50 years in the Manhattan apartment of Patricia Kennedy Lawford, a sister of former President John F. Kennedy. It's being sold by her estate.

By Ula Ilnytzky
The Associated Press.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/36950780/ns/today-entertainment/?gt1=43001


NEW YORK — On Tuesday night, a painting dashed off by Picasso in just one day in 1964 became the most expensive work of art ever sold at auction as it rose to $106.5 million.

It took Christopher Burge, Christie’s premier auctioneer, eight long minutes to raise the picture, dubbed “Nude, Green Leaves and Bust,” above the hitherto unattainable $100 million barrier. Mr. Burge opened the bidding by calling out $58 million and raised the stakes by $1 million increments. From $77 million, four new bidders, sitting in the room or operating over the phone, jumped into the fray. From $86 million on, the contest was confined to two telephone bidders. They fought it out until Mr. Burge brought down his hammer on a $95 million bid made under the paddle number 1709, which, with the sale charge, raised the full price to $106.48 million, to be precise.
Spectacular as it may seem, this figure was not entirely unexpected. Only moments before the auction began, Christie’s specialists were confidently quoting an estimate set at $70 million to $90 million. That estimate had not varied for weeks. This is in marked contrast with what often happens in the auction world, when excitement grows among potential buyers as the auction day approaches, leading auction houses to revise their expectations upward.
Indeed, there was a precise reason for the unwavering assurance displayed by the auction house specialists. A full “third party guarantee” had been negotiated by Christie’s that duly warned prospective bidders, as the law requires. This legal phrase means that the minimum price demanded by the owner consigning the work of art, which remains undisclosed, will be paid to the consignor whether the work sells or not. The financial commitment is made not by the auction house, but by the “third party” willing to have a flutter at the poker game that auctions have become. If the work sells above the guarantee, the difference is shared by the auction house and the third party in question according to variable proportions. These are freely negotiated before the sale and specified in the contract signed by the auction house and the third party, but they are never disclosed to the public.
This complicated arrangement alters the nature of the auction. It is no longer a free contest where the vendor takes his chances and the buyer fights off spontaneous competitors equally wanting to acquire the work.
The first 27 lots in Christie’s auction consigned from the collection of Mrs. Sidney F. Brody were all covered by a guarantee. However, with the exception of the Picasso, this was an ordinary third-party guarantee in which the auction house and the third party jointly shoulder the guarantee according to proportions contractually stipulated but not publicly released.
This did not inhibit buyers. The Brody collection was a phenomenal success. Its lots added up to $224 .17 million. The session was only into its second lot when Georges Braque’s “La Treille” set a world record for the painter at $10.16 million, far above the highest expectations.
Two lots down, the bronze figure of a cat by Alberto Giacometti, cast in 1955, exceeded an estimate that seemed very optimistic, selling for an extravagant $20.8 million. A Marino Marini bronze of a rider, “Piccolo cavaliere” followed at $2.32 million, also more than the highest estimate, and it was then that the record Picasso came up.
The wave of enthusiastic bidding had paved the way for it. The symbol informing bidders that the guarantee had been entirely financed by the third party warned them that Christie’s felt uncertain about the possible outcome at the huge level at which the Picasso was “estimated” and was unwilling to take any financial risk, should the painting not sell at the minimum level that had persuaded the consignor to let go of her property.
The fact that the Picasso did so well, exceeding by $5 million the $90 million upper end of the estimate, says everything about the irrepressible wave of enthusiasm that carried art buyers on Tuesday night. Christie’s specialists candidly admitted that they had worked very hard at vaunting the merits of their offerings to prospective buyers. These are apparently unfazed by the thought that they are effectively made to pay what the vendors want.
The problem is that the method employed artificially whips up prices. It sets the market on the same dangerous inflationary course that precipitated two decades ago an abrupt crash followed by a slump, from which it only recovered gradually after many painful years.
Several other works in Christie’s auction Tuesday were covered by full third-party guarantees, betraying the auction house management’s private jitters about their own ambitions. On the whole they worked satisfactorily.
Alberto Giacometti’s bronze “La main” cast in 1948, climbed to a staggering $25 million, nearly 50 percent more than the high estimate. Later Picasso’s “Femme au chat assise dans un fauteuil,” painted in 1964, brought $18 million, exceeding the high estimate by 10 per cent.
But there were some bad hiccups. Edvard Munch’s “Fertility” painted around 1899-1900 in a wild Symbolist style that lacks the energy of his later Expressionist phase never stood much chance of making it to the astonishing $25 million to $35 million (plus the sale charge) estimate printed in the catalogue. “Fertility” failed to sell as Mr. Burge called out in vain “$23 million.”
Christie’s enjoyed a fantastic success, raking in $335.54 million at the end of the day and thus posting the highest total since 2006. It would be a pity if auction house managers ignored the warning not to overplay their cards that the failure of the Munch and of a few other works, adding up to almost 20 percent of the lots, amounts to.

by Souren Melikian
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/06/arts/06iht-melik6.html?src=twt&twt=nytimesarts

My Paintings are available on Etsy

My Websites : TheArtofVenus.com and Art-Star.net

My Facebook Page VenusArt

My Twitter Page VenusOfficial

Michael Jackson's Only Portrait

Portrait of Michael Jackson up for auction online
April 7, 2010, 12:05 PM EST
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- An over-the-top portrait of Michael Jackson is going up for auction online.
The eBay.com auction of the 50-by-40-inch painting by Australian artist Brett-Livingstone Strong will launch Wednesday evening, the portrait's owner said Tuesday. The colorful portrait, titled "The Book," and reportedly the only painting for which the King of Pop ever posed, depicts Jackson in a red velvet jacket, clutching a journal at his Neverland Ranch.
"I've had it an awful long time," said toy inventor Marty Abrams, who acquired the painting with partner John Gentilly in 1992 from Japanese businessman Hiromichi Saeki as payment on a debt owed to them. "With the positive response to his music and the movie about him after his death, we thought it was a good time to sell it and for the world to see it."

For over 17 years, Abrams kept the painting in storage in a New Jersey warehouse. It was briefly on display at the Dancy-Power Automotive showroom in Harlem after Jackson's death last June. The fantastical painting, which also features the fairy character Tinkerbell hovering in the background, is hanging inside Abrams' home in Kings Point, N.Y.
The painting was originally sold to Saeki for $2.1 million in 1990. Abrams said the painting was appraised by Belgo Fine Art Appraisal and Restoration at $5.3 million in 2000, but he believes it is worth more now. Abrams hopes it will fetch over $3 million in the auction, which is scheduled to end April 17. The minimum starting bid will be $2.75 million.
"Frankly, I thought instead of trying to call out to other people, let's bring the people that are really interested to us," said auction organizer Marc Samson. "The idea of doing it on eBay in an auction format seemed to make the most sense. When Marty's son, Ken, came to me with the painting, it hit me across the face. This is the way to get it out there."

http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=492060&gt1=28102

My Paintings are available on Etsy

My Websites : TheArtofVenus.com and Art-Star.net

My Facebook Page VenusArt

My Twitter Page VenusOfficial

Happy Birthday Vincent

 Of all the paintings I've seen in museums over the years, its always the Van Gogh's that have the barricades around them.

I am always moved when I see his work, not only by his incredible mind blowing skill but by the brilliancy of his colors, as if the paintings were just painted yesterday. You just can't grasp the beauty of his work in photographs or prints until you see them in person. His work has been a huge influence in my work and he holds a special place in my heart. So in honor of his birthday, I hope you will enjoy these pictures.

 Vincent Letter to Theo

“ — that dead tree beside a stagnant pond covered in duckweed, in the distance a Rijnspoor depot where railway lines cross, smoke-blackened buildings — also green meadows, a cinder road and a sky in which the clouds are racing, grey with an occasional gleaming white edge, and a depth of blue where the clouds tear apart for a moment.”

Vincent Willem van Gogh

(30 March 1853 – 29 July 1890)

Traveler

This is a very large gallery sized painting and took several days to complete. It has the theme of traveling.  I drew the deer from a photograph I took of a deer at a wildlife preserve. I loved the pose of the deer and drew it with graphite pencil. Then I roughly painted the deer allowing the graphite to show through. I wanted to do something different and modern. I wanted this to have a rustic look with the rough and drippy rust and copper colored paint. I love how the turquoise antlers stand out and I outlined them with hot pink. I enlarged part of an old French Postcard, added the large sun and silhouette of the vintage airplane. I mean for the soft blue and green swipe of color to represent a river and grass along a river. Finally, I sealed it with a light varnish to protect the graphite.

TRAVELER.

40 X 48.

OIL, ACRYLIC AND GRAPHITE ON CANVAS

This painting is for sale on My Website

http://www.art-star.net/

Abstract Heart

My little Abstract Heart painting has been featured on the RI handmade blog.

http://rihandmade.blogspot.com/

GAMES PEOPLE PLAY

New Painting.

GAMES PEOPLE PLAY

12 x 18.

Surrealism

Oil on Canvas.

Private Collections Of Texas

I finally made it to the Kimball Art Museum in Fort Worth to see "The Private Collections of Texas" exhibit.

Giorgio de Chirico's "Hector and Andromache" was stunning. But as always I was intrigued and in love with Magritte's "Daily Bread".

And well worth the trip to see the Kimball's new acquisition Michelangelo's "The Torment of Saint Anthony" (1487-88), which was his first painting at age 12 and is one of only 4 known easel paintings.

Queen Of Hearts

New Painting.

Self Portrait. 24 x 34. Oil on Canvas.

with my new signature.

Biggest Art Heist In History

Josh Reynolds / AP


20 years later, biggest art heist still a mystery
Investigators make renewed push to find loot valued at half a billion dollars

By Steve LeBlanc

BOSTON - It remains the most tantalizing art heist mystery in the world.
In the early hours of March 18, 1990, two thieves walked into Boston's elegant Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum disguised as police officers and bound and gagged two guards using handcuffs and duct tape. For the next 81 minutes, they sauntered around the ornate galleries, removing masterworks including those by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Degas and Manet, cutting some of the largest pieces from their frames.
By the time they disappeared, they would be credited with the largest art theft in history, making off with upward of a half-billion dollars in loot far too hot to sell.

Now, 20 years later, investigators are making a renewed push to recover the paintings. The FBI has resubmitted DNA samples for updated testing, the museum is publicizing its $5 million, no-questions-asked reward, and the U.S. attorney's office is offering immunity.
Two billboards on Interstates 93 and 495 are also advertising the reward.
"Our priority is to get the paintings back," U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said. "If someone had information or had possession of the paintings, immunity from prosecution is negotiable."
Investigators say they've largely ruled out some of the more popular theories, from the specter of a recluse billionaire art collector to the hand of notorious Boston gangster Whitey Bulger.
More likely, investigators say, the two were homegrown thieves with knowledge of the museum's security system — including the absence of a "dead man's switch" that would have alerted police. They might have even underestimated the breathtaking scope of their crime.
"I picture the thieves waking up the next morning and looking in the papers and saying, 'We just pulled off the largest art theft in history,'" said Anthony Amore, the museum's security director.
Men took their timeThe theft began around 1:24 a.m. when the two white men — one in his late 20s to mid-30s, the other in his early to mid-30s — overpowered the guards, according to an FBI report.
The two took their time. A full 24 minutes passed before they were first picked up on a motion detector entering the museum's second floor Dutch room, where the most valuable paintings were seized.

Investigators believe the first nabbed was Rembrandt's iconic "Storm on the Sea of Galilee," measuring about 5-by-4 feet and dating to 1633. The frame was laid on the floor where one of the thieves neatly sliced it from its frame.

Next was "Landscape with an Obelisk" by Govaert Flinck.

Other stolen masterpieces included a second Rembrandt also cut from its frame, "A Lady and Gentleman in Black" from 1633.

The most valuable pieces was Vermeer's "The Concert," an oil painting measuring about 2 1/2-by-2 feet from 1660 — one of only 36 known works by the Dutch master and valued at more than $250 million, Amore said.

A Rembrandt self-portrait from 1629 — one of the museum's most valuable paintings — was removed from the wall, but then left untouched while one of the crooks patiently unscrewed and removed from its frame a tiny Rembrandt etching slightly larger than a postage stamp.
It was the first of many odd twists investigators have puzzled over as they mapped the route the thieves using motion detector records.
Odd pieces stolenAfter the heavier works of art were removed from the walls, the thief in charge — possibly the older of the two — might have let the younger thief take what he wanted.
Amore believes the second thief found his way to a nearby gallery, lifting smaller Degas drawings of horses while passing up more valuable works of art including one by the Italian painter Botticelli.
The thieves also tried to remove a flag of Napoleon's First Regiment from its frame before giving up and making off with a bronze finial in the shape of an eagle from atop the flag — ignoring more valuable letters with Napoleon's signature.
Then came a final puzzle.

At some point the thieves found their way to a gallery on the first floor, again passing more valuable works of arts, to seize a "Chez Tortoni," a Manet painting of a man in a top hat and a departure from the Dutch paintings — all without triggering a motion detector.

"If we ever speak to the thieves, which is secondary, I would like to say, 'Why did you take that? Why did you pass by the Raphael?'" Amore said.
On their way out, the two thieves smashed their way into the security office and snatched the only visual record of their crime — a VHS tape.
In all, 13 works disappeared.
'Missing that last chapter'FBI agent Geoffrey Kelly, who has led the investigation for eight years, said it's unlikely the thieves destroyed the art.
"If it were any other kind of commodity, I might feel pessimistic about recovery, but with art it's not uncommon to stay missing for long periods of time," he said. "It's one of the most interesting novels you could write, except it's missing that last chapter."
For those drawn to what happened that March night, the lure of the theft won't fade.

Ulrich Boser, author of "The Gardner Heist" and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, said he's convinced the paintings were taken by burglars involved in Boston's organized crime rackets in the 1980s. He said the thieves might have subsequently lost possession of the works.
"For the most part, thieves steal these works because it's easy to do and they're worth a lot of money, and then they become too hot," he said. "You can't sell them on eBay. You can't bring them into an auction house."
Amore said he won't stop until the paintings again fill the empty frames still hanging in the museum's galleries.
"I don't have any doubt we are going to recover them," he said. "There's nothing we're not doing."

Flowers and Memory

Me with a couple of paintings I did this last year.

Sized 48 x 48.

Available on my website
http://www.Art-Star.net

Featured Paintings

Available on my website http://www.Art-Star.net

Sculpture sets record for highest price paid for art

Giacometti sculpture fetches record $104M

Price for ‘Walking Man I’ is highest ever paid for work of art at auction

LONDON - A life-size bronze sculpture of a man by Alberto Giacometti was sold Wednesday at a London auction for 65 million pounds ($104.3 million) — a world record for the most expensive work of art ever sold at auction, Sotheby’s auction house said.
It took just eight minutes of furious bidding for about ten bidders to reach the hammer price for “L’Homme Qui Marche I” (Walking Man I), which opened at 12 million pounds, Sotheby’s said.
The sculpture by the 20th century Swiss artist, considered an iconic Giacometti work as well as one of the most recognizable images of modern art, was sold to an anonymous bidder by telephone, the auction house said.

Sotheby’s had estimated the work would sell for between 12 to 18 million pounds.
The sale price trumped the $104.17 million paid at a 2004 New York auction for Pablo Picasso’s 1905 “Boy With a Pipe (The Young Apprentice).” That painting broke the record that Vincent van Gogh had held since 1990, and its sale was the first time that the $100 million barrier was broken.
“L’Homme Qui Marche I,” a life-size sculpture of a thin and wiry human figure standing 72 inches (183 centimeters) tall , “represents the pinnacle of Giacometti’s experimentation with the human form” and is “both a humble image of an ordinary man, and a potent symbol of humanity,” Sotheby’s said.
The work was cast in 1961, in the artist’s mature period. It is rare because it was the only cast of the walking man made during Giacometti’s lifetime that has ever come to auction, Sotheby’s said. It was bought by Dresdner Bank in the early 1980s.
The last time a Giacometti of comparable size was offered at auction was 20 years ago. That sculpture was sold for $6.82 million, a record for Giacometti works at the time.

Associated Press

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35223008/ns/entertainment-arts_books_more/?GT1=43001

My Paintings are available on Etsy

My Websites : TheArtofVenus.com and Art-Star.net

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The Big Beauiful World Of Art

Person At The Window

by

Salvador Dali

Recently I heard someone who is a supposed art expert say she thought Picasso was awful. In fact I think she said she "hated" it to use her exact word. All said while making a squinty prune face. That was not before she confused him with Dali, whom I got the impression that she doesn’t even actually know.
Inside I was laughing hysterically. Or else I was weeping with sadness.
I wanted to tell her to open her needle thin mind. The idea is that even if you don’t like an artist’s style, at least you can appreciate the work. Especially if you are an artist. Not her. Which I found rather shocking coming from someone who is a supposed art expert. She is someone who thinks Thomas Kinkade is God’s gift to art. And it was very obvious and rather sad to find that she is so limited in her appreciation of a huge, beautiful world of art variety.
To hear someone bash Picasso and praise Thomas Kinkade, I had to write this.
While I can definitely appreciate Thomas Kinkade’s work and achievement, at this point I have to wonder what happened to the actual “art” in his art?
When I saw Thomas Kinkade himself on some home shopping show pushing Thomas Kinkade teddy bears for like $100 I think I threw up a little. The way they were describing it you would have thought it was made of ancient Chinese silk and 24 carat gold. There was no art on the bear. I think it was holding an alphabet block and that was it. Big whoop. And how much are they?!! It made me feel icky. It makes me feel like at this point he is swindling little old ladies, making them think they are buying something valuable when they aren’t.
His work is so overproduced that here you have these little old ladies collecting like 26 of his prints, (as one caller claimed), thinking they have something of value when in fact it is my belief that at this point his work is less valuable than what people are actually paying for it.
15 or 20 years ago perhaps his prints were worth something but now…..uh uh. He is diluting his own value by overproducing his work.

Remember beanie babies? Everyone had to have one. Everyone was collecting them. They were selling for outrageous prices. Then they became so overproduced that now you can probably find them at any given garage sale. Unless you have one of the very early ones or you happen to encounter a beanie baby hoarder who is willing to stupidly pay anything for them, they aren’t worth much.
I see this happening to Thomas Kinkade’s work. Unless you buy one of his original paintings or early reproduction, you are wasting your money. When I saw a deck of Thomas Kinkade playing cards I knew it was all over. At least for collectors. Not for him obviously. He is making millions. But for self proclaimed “collectors” of Thomas Kinkade, his work is a money vacuum.
There is no “limited edition” in overproduced work. The value is in the rarity. So don’t waste your money. You would be better off investing in a beautiful ORIGINAL landscape by someone no one has ever heard of.
Thomas Kinkade paints pretty landscapes. There is no knocking that. But he’s a one trick pony. They are all houses with flowers and light. It’s the same thing over and over again just in a different composition. Yawn. There is no genius in that. I’m no artistic genius but I could reproduce one of his paintings stroke by stroke if I wanted to. Picasso and Dali on the other hand, it would take an artistic genius to reproduce one of their works.
Every painting Picasso and Dali painted were different from the previous. That is the true genius of their work. They painted many things and in many styles. If you think Picasso only painted cubist women you are sadly mistaken and I would encourage you to explore his other work. I would encourage you by saying don’t limit yourself to just one artist or one style. There is a great big world of magnificent art out there! If you like Thomas Kinkade’s style, have a look around, there are thousands of other unknown artists who paint paintings that are just as or more beautiful that cost far less than his reproductions and will possibly be worth a lot more. And if you still insist on buying Thomas Kinkade’s work, seek out the early pieces and research them thoroughly.
As for my work, that ‘art expert’ told me my work was “unique”. And the way she said it was not a compliment. She said it in a looking-down-her-nose-at-me way. But I actually take it as a huge compliment. Unique is what I was aiming for. Mission accomplished.

Here are some magnificent lesser known works by Picasso and Dali for you to enjoy.

WORKS BY PABLO PICASSO

Acrobat and Young Harlequin.

1905. Oil on canvas. Barnes Foundation, Lincoln University, Merion, PA, USA.

First Communion.

1895/96. Oil on canvas. Museo Picasso, Barcelona, Spain.

Still-Life with a Pitcher and Apples.

1919. Oil on canvas. Musée Picasso, Paris, France.

Portrait of Olga in the Armchair.

1917. Oil on canvas. Musée Picasso, Paris, France.

Science and Charity.

1897. Oil on canvas. Museo Picasso, Barcelona, Spain.

Self-Portrait in Blue Period.

1901. Oil on canvas.

The Family of Saltimbanques.

1905. Oil on canvas. The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA.

Portrait of Suzanne Bloch

1904

Portrait of Mme Olga Picasso.

1922-23. Pastel.

Group of Dancers.

Olga Kokhlova is Lying in the Foreground. 1919-20. Crayon.

The Old Guitarist
1903

Boy with Pipe or Garcon a la Pipe

1905.

$104.17 million was paid for this painting at a 2004 New York auction.

The highest selling painting on record.

SEE MORE PICASSO WORKS HERE
http://www.abcgallery.com/P/picasso/picasso.html



WORKS BY SALVADOR DALI

The Basket of Bread.

1926. Oil on panel. 31.5 x 31.5 Salvador Dali Museum, St. Petersburg, FL, USA.

Woman at the Window at Figueres.

1926. Oil on canvas. 21 x 21.5 cm. Gala-Salvador Dali Foundation, Figueras, Spain.

Portrait of Luis Buñuel.

1924. Oil on canvas. 70 x 60 cm. Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain.

Olive Trees.

Landscape at Cadaqués. ca.1922. Private collection.

The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus.

1958-9. Oil on canvas. 410 x 310 cm. Salvador Dali Museum, St. Petersburg, FL,

The Lacemaker

(after Vermeer) 1954-55. Oil on canvas. 23.5 x 19.7 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Paranoiac-Astral Image.

1934. Oil on panel. 15.8 x 22.1 cm. Wadsworth Athenaeum, Hartford, CT, USA.


SEE MORE DALI WORKS HERE
http://www.abcgallery.com/D/dali/dali.html