His son's middle school project was the impetus for Rodney Laughon's painting.
On Monday, Laughon, who lives in Lynchburg, said his son's project involved painting a mountain on a big poster board.
"I looked at it and said I didn't think that it looked right," Laughon, who was in his late 30s then, recalled. So, like most moms and dads do, he helped his son with the work.
He doesn't remember what grade his son received, but the schoolwork led to Laughon studying art, going to art supply stores, visiting galleries and museums, and giving painting a try. Laughon is a self-taught artist.
Today, Laughon turns out scenes of mountains, streams, meadows and landscapes that create enjoyment and a sense of peace for the viewer.
Laughon, 60, was in town Monday to hang an exhibit of work at the Altavista Area YMCA. He has about 20 oil paintings on display in the athletic center lounge. All of them are landscapes. That's what he does.
"I tried to do pears, apples and still life paintings, and it's not me," he said.
The YMCA exhibit is open to the public.
The artist, who retired after 32 years as an industrial service technician for Columbia Gas, said he loves the mountains. The Peaks of Otter and other scenery in Bedford County often end up in Laughon's work. He said he likes the quietness and atmosphere of the Blue Ridge Mountains, sometimes misty and sometimes clear and crisp.
Laughon is one of the founding members of Blue Ridge Plein Air Painters, a group of artists who go out together and paint on location. He said the group tries to get out once a week.
Laughon said he also takes photos and makes sketches of things he wants to paint.
"I'm always riding back roads and looking for places." He said when he comes to Altavista, he usually takes the back roads because what he sees one day might look totally different the next because of changes in lighting.
Each of Laughon's paintings has a bird somewhere in the work. He said it was something he started doing when he was painting with watercolors; now it's become a habit.
Laughon, who is currently teaching a landscape painting class in Lynchburg, has art displayed at galleries in Lynchburg, Smith Mountain Lake and Raleigh, N.C. His art has previously been on exhibit in Charlottesville and Richmond.
He's pleased to have work on display in Altavista. He said his uncle, Lloyd Laughon, was a longtime mail carrier out of the Lynch Station Post Office. His father's family came from the Bishop Creek Road area and, in his job with Columbia Gas, he worked at Abbott Nutrition, BGF and Klopman.
2011年10月20日星期四
2011年10月17日星期一
Tiancheng International presents a special theme sale
Tiancheng International presents ‘Contemporary Literati’, a special theme sale on modern and contemporary Asian art, on 28th November at Tiancheng International’s inaugural auction. Auction will be held at Tiancheng International’s office at 30/F of Bank of China Tower, Central, Hong Kong. Prior to the auction, highlights of the sale will be exhibited in Shanghai, Beijing, Xiamen and Taipei and Hong Kong.
‘Literati’ refers to ancient Oriental scholars and intellectuals who saw various forms of creative expressions as a way of life. The current theme sale of ‘Contemporary Literati’ comprises of works by contemporary artists who express the spirit and value of the ancient literati by modern mediums such as photography, sculpture, video, oil or mixed media, as well as artists who express contemporary subject matters by traditional tools such as ink and brush. This special theme ‘Contemporary Literati’ presents a provoking fusion of the traditional and the contemporary, which poises to inspire viewers to reflect on the relationship between art and life in the modern days.
Modern masters namely Zhang Daqian, Wu Guanzhong, Zhu Dequn and Zhao Wuji are role models of contemporary literati. Not only because they excel in mastering techniques of western and oriental art and combine features of the two into their works, they also extend the Oriental aesthetics to their daily lives. A selection of masterpieces by these modern masters is included in the theme sale, such as Raincloud over Wushan, a splashed ink painting by Zhang Daqian . Zhang Daqian is highly regarded for his innovative spirits in his breakthroughs in applying the abstract concept and use of colour in western paintings into his ink and brush works. This piece, executed between the 60s to the 70s, is a signature work by Zhang with green and blue splashed ink in his mature style, showing the powerful force of nature amongst the moving clouds and air.
Spring, a double-sided oil painting work by Wu Guanzhong is another major highlight of the auction. Wu Guanzhong is regarded as one of the most representative modern Chinese artists in the 20th century. He applies traditional Chinese painterly techniques of brush drawing in his oil paintings. This work is a rare double-sided oil painting on board. One side captures the scene of willows by the lake in spring and the other side depicts a donkey. Wu demonstrates how he masters his brushes by the succinct lines. This work was acquired directly from the artist and has never been offered in the market.
Other than works by the renowned modern masters, the auction includes also exciting works which are presented innovatively in traditional mediums by contemporary artists. Feng Mingqiu’s is a contemporary calligrapher who believes calligraphy is an expression of brush movement in the third dimension. It is about the art of space and time. Based on this concept, Feng has created over 100 calligraphy styles in the past decade. He believes that poetry is also an art form in time; he then synthesises his creations of poetry, calligraphy and drawings. His works demonstrate the traditional Chinese concept of ‘paintings and calligraphy are from the same origin’. Departure, Music Script is an example of Feng's musical calligraphy in its matured style. He turned Chinese characters into musical notes on paper and made use of seals, an essential element in classical Chinese paintings to punctuate the composition.
The poem, invigorated by the characters, seal marks and space, becomes an expressive song. Feng shared not only visual but melodic pleasure through his calligraphic works.
Under the influences of his family, Ye Fang leads the lifestyle of a literati by building his own traditional Chinese garden at his backyard. The locale becomes the subject matter of his art. He transcribes the garden onto paper including the rocks from the Taiwu Lake at Suzhou, known for their eccentric shapes formed by the waves and weather. Mysterious Wind, Frosting, Roam, Immersing in the Snow is a set of four paintings depicting patterns of the rocks in details. He applies various drawing techniques of ink and brush painting to create different visual effects of caves on the rocks. The dexterous use of the dynamic gradient of ink immediately puts the work into perspective with clouds, earth, rock which also delivers an ambience of Zen.
‘Literati’ refers to ancient Oriental scholars and intellectuals who saw various forms of creative expressions as a way of life. The current theme sale of ‘Contemporary Literati’ comprises of works by contemporary artists who express the spirit and value of the ancient literati by modern mediums such as photography, sculpture, video, oil or mixed media, as well as artists who express contemporary subject matters by traditional tools such as ink and brush. This special theme ‘Contemporary Literati’ presents a provoking fusion of the traditional and the contemporary, which poises to inspire viewers to reflect on the relationship between art and life in the modern days.
Modern masters namely Zhang Daqian, Wu Guanzhong, Zhu Dequn and Zhao Wuji are role models of contemporary literati. Not only because they excel in mastering techniques of western and oriental art and combine features of the two into their works, they also extend the Oriental aesthetics to their daily lives. A selection of masterpieces by these modern masters is included in the theme sale, such as Raincloud over Wushan, a splashed ink painting by Zhang Daqian . Zhang Daqian is highly regarded for his innovative spirits in his breakthroughs in applying the abstract concept and use of colour in western paintings into his ink and brush works. This piece, executed between the 60s to the 70s, is a signature work by Zhang with green and blue splashed ink in his mature style, showing the powerful force of nature amongst the moving clouds and air.
Spring, a double-sided oil painting work by Wu Guanzhong is another major highlight of the auction. Wu Guanzhong is regarded as one of the most representative modern Chinese artists in the 20th century. He applies traditional Chinese painterly techniques of brush drawing in his oil paintings. This work is a rare double-sided oil painting on board. One side captures the scene of willows by the lake in spring and the other side depicts a donkey. Wu demonstrates how he masters his brushes by the succinct lines. This work was acquired directly from the artist and has never been offered in the market.
Other than works by the renowned modern masters, the auction includes also exciting works which are presented innovatively in traditional mediums by contemporary artists. Feng Mingqiu’s is a contemporary calligrapher who believes calligraphy is an expression of brush movement in the third dimension. It is about the art of space and time. Based on this concept, Feng has created over 100 calligraphy styles in the past decade. He believes that poetry is also an art form in time; he then synthesises his creations of poetry, calligraphy and drawings. His works demonstrate the traditional Chinese concept of ‘paintings and calligraphy are from the same origin’. Departure, Music Script is an example of Feng's musical calligraphy in its matured style. He turned Chinese characters into musical notes on paper and made use of seals, an essential element in classical Chinese paintings to punctuate the composition.
The poem, invigorated by the characters, seal marks and space, becomes an expressive song. Feng shared not only visual but melodic pleasure through his calligraphic works.
Under the influences of his family, Ye Fang leads the lifestyle of a literati by building his own traditional Chinese garden at his backyard. The locale becomes the subject matter of his art. He transcribes the garden onto paper including the rocks from the Taiwu Lake at Suzhou, known for their eccentric shapes formed by the waves and weather. Mysterious Wind, Frosting, Roam, Immersing in the Snow is a set of four paintings depicting patterns of the rocks in details. He applies various drawing techniques of ink and brush painting to create different visual effects of caves on the rocks. The dexterous use of the dynamic gradient of ink immediately puts the work into perspective with clouds, earth, rock which also delivers an ambience of Zen.
2011年6月15日星期三
Czech art goes international
The days of Czech modern art being a quiet discovery on the international art market seemed to end quite definitively on June 13 following the auction of the Hascoe Family Collection at Sotheby’s in London. Initial estimates of around £5 million were shattered by overall sales of over £11.1 million. Tessa Kostrzewa, deputy director of European paintings at Sotheby’s in London, spoke to Czech Position about the milestone auction and the particular artists involved.
“The market for Czech art has really appreciated over the last year,” Kostrzewa said, adding that the quality and comprehensiveness of the Hascoe collection played a major role in the auction’s remarkable success. “Collections like this are very rare. You will have collections like this in the Czech Republic, but they are unlikely to come onto the international market.”
Since the auction Kostrzewa says that Sotheby’s has already been approached by owners of Czech art that likely were not previously aware of the value of the works in their possession. She says this is particularly the case for people outside the Czech Republic that might have inherited a painting by Kupka or Filla and have no idea that the nice painting on their wall is actually worth a fortune. “They don’t realize the value of Czech art and that the market has moved on,” she said.
Market movement
Not only was his work the headline sale in the auction, but Kostrzewa says that František Kupka was the key artist in the sale. There was a major price difference between the £1.5 million paid for “Movement” and a wide range of other Kupka works sold — a difference that comes down to the medium the artist worked in.
“From a collector’s point of view you have a vast difference between oil and works on paper,” Kostrzewa said. Then there are differences between varieties of works on paper, a drawing tending to be worth less than a pastel, for example. Then the question of the work’s condition comes into play as well. According to Kostrzewa, collectors of works on paper insist on very good condition.
Another artist whose works sold for considerably higher amounts than the estimates was Emil Filla, though Kostrzewa says this was less of a surprise than the record-high prices achieved in sales of paintings by Josef Čapek, whose works are extremely hard to come by on the international market.
A bright spot was Sotheby’s first time sale of works by František Foltýn, whose two top-selling paintings were estimated at between £120,000 and £180,000. In the end Foltýn’s “Imperialism” sold for £433,250 and his “Portrait of Dostoevsky” sold for £337,250.
Bohumír Matal’s painting “The Lovers” was estimated to sell at between £12,000 and £18,000, but ended up going for over £100,000. According to Kostrzewa there was no question of underestimating the artistic value of the painting, particularly considering the scarcity of his work available to collectors, but the lower estimate was due to the size of the canvas itself.
“As a rule of thumb with a four-meter long painting you are worried about finding a buyer with the necessary space to hang it in their home,” Kostrzewa said.
Another significant feature of the auction was the composition of buyers both in the room and on the phones. While a strong Czech element can be expected when a collection of this caliber like this becomes available Kostrzewa found the widespread international interest a vital signpost to how Czech art is looked at these days.
“There were a lot of Czech-speaking people in the room, but not only. It was truly international, at about 50/50. In a way it’s a landmark sale because it put Czech art in a very international setting” Kostrzewa said.
“The market for Czech art has really appreciated over the last year,” Kostrzewa said, adding that the quality and comprehensiveness of the Hascoe collection played a major role in the auction’s remarkable success. “Collections like this are very rare. You will have collections like this in the Czech Republic, but they are unlikely to come onto the international market.”
Since the auction Kostrzewa says that Sotheby’s has already been approached by owners of Czech art that likely were not previously aware of the value of the works in their possession. She says this is particularly the case for people outside the Czech Republic that might have inherited a painting by Kupka or Filla and have no idea that the nice painting on their wall is actually worth a fortune. “They don’t realize the value of Czech art and that the market has moved on,” she said.
Market movement
Not only was his work the headline sale in the auction, but Kostrzewa says that František Kupka was the key artist in the sale. There was a major price difference between the £1.5 million paid for “Movement” and a wide range of other Kupka works sold — a difference that comes down to the medium the artist worked in.
“From a collector’s point of view you have a vast difference between oil and works on paper,” Kostrzewa said. Then there are differences between varieties of works on paper, a drawing tending to be worth less than a pastel, for example. Then the question of the work’s condition comes into play as well. According to Kostrzewa, collectors of works on paper insist on very good condition.
Another artist whose works sold for considerably higher amounts than the estimates was Emil Filla, though Kostrzewa says this was less of a surprise than the record-high prices achieved in sales of paintings by Josef Čapek, whose works are extremely hard to come by on the international market.
A bright spot was Sotheby’s first time sale of works by František Foltýn, whose two top-selling paintings were estimated at between £120,000 and £180,000. In the end Foltýn’s “Imperialism” sold for £433,250 and his “Portrait of Dostoevsky” sold for £337,250.
Bohumír Matal’s painting “The Lovers” was estimated to sell at between £12,000 and £18,000, but ended up going for over £100,000. According to Kostrzewa there was no question of underestimating the artistic value of the painting, particularly considering the scarcity of his work available to collectors, but the lower estimate was due to the size of the canvas itself.
“As a rule of thumb with a four-meter long painting you are worried about finding a buyer with the necessary space to hang it in their home,” Kostrzewa said.
Another significant feature of the auction was the composition of buyers both in the room and on the phones. While a strong Czech element can be expected when a collection of this caliber like this becomes available Kostrzewa found the widespread international interest a vital signpost to how Czech art is looked at these days.
“There were a lot of Czech-speaking people in the room, but not only. It was truly international, at about 50/50. In a way it’s a landmark sale because it put Czech art in a very international setting” Kostrzewa said.
2011年3月30日星期三
There are a couple hundred items
The history-related bounty includes artwork by Ruth Means, Rose Sparrowk and Paul Harney, the latter being a monk oil painting; plates; tags and local brewery boxes.
"There also will be general antiques, a lot of rare books about Alton and surrounding counties, and genealogy books," Janice St. Peters said. "There are a couple hundred items."
The family also is selling a sign from the old Alton GM&O train station that Robert St. Peters unsuccessfully tried to prevent being torn down. He did salvage the sign as a memento.
"A lot of people would love to have that," his daughter said about the sign.
A sampling of the other items to be sold include: "Personal Memoirs of U.S Grant," two volumes, 1885-1886; Alton 1913 one-horse vehicle license; Alton Hoppe's China Store 25th Anniversary plate, 1910; Alton Bluff City Brewery wooden beer case; large leather drum cover that reads "Standard Brass and Reed Band of Alton, Illinois"; first edition book from 1944, "The Gentleman Giant," about Robert P. Wadlow, with dust jacket and photos; "Narrative of Riots at Alton in Connection with the Death of Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy" by Rev. Edward Beecher, 1838 first edition; Alton political pins, miscellaneous memorabilia, bottles, tokens and old city directories.
The family plans to sell household goods and other belongings at a later date.
St. Peters, 87, died Feb. 8. He was a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, serving on the aircraft carrier USS Franklin during combat in the Pacific Ocean. The Alton native subsequently returned to his home city and worked at McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis County, Mo., for about 25 years. He was a charter member of AALA, with a priority to preserve Riverfront Park and the site of the historical, Alton location of one of the Lincoln-Douglas U.S. Senate debates of 1858.
"There also will be general antiques, a lot of rare books about Alton and surrounding counties, and genealogy books," Janice St. Peters said. "There are a couple hundred items."
The family also is selling a sign from the old Alton GM&O train station that Robert St. Peters unsuccessfully tried to prevent being torn down. He did salvage the sign as a memento.
"A lot of people would love to have that," his daughter said about the sign.
A sampling of the other items to be sold include: "Personal Memoirs of U.S Grant," two volumes, 1885-1886; Alton 1913 one-horse vehicle license; Alton Hoppe's China Store 25th Anniversary plate, 1910; Alton Bluff City Brewery wooden beer case; large leather drum cover that reads "Standard Brass and Reed Band of Alton, Illinois"; first edition book from 1944, "The Gentleman Giant," about Robert P. Wadlow, with dust jacket and photos; "Narrative of Riots at Alton in Connection with the Death of Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy" by Rev. Edward Beecher, 1838 first edition; Alton political pins, miscellaneous memorabilia, bottles, tokens and old city directories.
The family plans to sell household goods and other belongings at a later date.
St. Peters, 87, died Feb. 8. He was a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, serving on the aircraft carrier USS Franklin during combat in the Pacific Ocean. The Alton native subsequently returned to his home city and worked at McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis County, Mo., for about 25 years. He was a charter member of AALA, with a priority to preserve Riverfront Park and the site of the historical, Alton location of one of the Lincoln-Douglas U.S. Senate debates of 1858.
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