The Beauty of the Orient



Oriental Treasures  100 x 80 cm.

 I´ve lived in San Francisco, California at three different times in my life. One of my very favorite haunts was Chinatown. It seemed like every time I went there, I couldn´t resist bringing back a treasure. They inspired me to paint this big picture that combines elements of Feng Shui with some of my favorite pieces.

close up  - detail

The overriding local color is red, which in China not only serves to express joy but also, to ward off evil. (Did you know that traditional Chinese brides wear red instead of white?) A small Persian rug draped over the table, poppies, and the wooden basket in the back set the tone. Cool silver pieces and the blue and white Japanese tea service counterbalance the warm color scheme.  The green silk hanging on the wall complements the red and creates harmony.

The bronze statue stealing the stage is the Chinese philosopher, Confucius who traveled all of China riding a water buffalo.

Yellow passion fruit ( maracujá) is popular in S.E. Asia, as well as Brazil, and contrasts with the rich dark grapes resting in a silver bowl. In Ancient China, the chestnut trees were the homes of the gods of the west.  See the nuts at  the base of the silver piece?  Poppies, in Chinese art, represent loyalty and faithfulness between lovers.

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Animals in Paintings



My View of São Paulo

 I broke my foot not too long ago, and had to spend time in bed. Here is the view I saw from my terrace window during that time.


Detail

My faithful schnauzer probably wondered

why I couldn´t take him out for his walks!

Animals and people, especially children, steal the scene in paintings, no matter what the subject is.

Several of this painting´s admirers and  some of my students questioned why I didn´t put this cute dog facing the spectator.

If I had, it would be just one more painting of a cute dog. By having him look the other way, onto the street, it creates a psychological interest. What has caught his eye?

What is going on down there?

Pretty sneaky, right? It is all about holding the viewer´s attention to the canvas as long as possible.

For more paintings by the artist, visit: www.mdiggsart.com





Inside an Artist´s Atelier

In the Studio

Close up

The holiday season is over and it is time to get back to work! For artists it is no different, except for us work can be done in our studio, or atelier, instead of an office. Here I´ve depicted a model talking a break from her poising. Modeling accessories hang from a dressing screen in the background. Her poise is relaxed and she has a book on the sofa. The light from the window casts an interesting light on her right side and illuminates her feet.




For more paintings, visit: www.mdiggsart.com
All paintings on the blog are for sale. Contact Marilyn at mdiggs@mdiggs.com

Happy New Year!

The Offering

Each country has its customs for insuring that the upcoming year will bring abundance in health, happiness and wealth. In the States, we eat black-eyed peas on January 1st.


New Years is a very special occasion in Brazil. Everyone wears white. Several rituals  have to do with being on the beach, so Rio de Janeiro is a favorite celebration location.

While Brazil claims to be a Catholic country, the African influence is undeniable. Their gods and goddesses mesh with Catholic saints.

Here a Bahian lady offers flowers to the most popular African deity - Iemanjá, Queen of the Sea. At New Years Brazilians and tourists alike, throw flowers into the ocean for her to bring them good luck.

Other traditions are: jumping 7 waves, eating 7 pomegranate seeds, saving 7 pomegranate seeds inside a tiny red cloth tied up with red string, eating lentils...OK, the list goes on and on, but you get the picture. Fireworks explode in the skies and people toast the New Year with champagne!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  ( PRÓSPERO ANO NOVO!)

All paintings on my blog are for sale. For more info write me at mdiggs@mdiggs.com
Visit: www.mdiggsart.com, too.

The Light of the World

Devotion by Marilyn Diggs

"FOR UNTO US A CHILD IS GIVEN, UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN...."


MERRY CHRISTMAS
FELIZ NATAL
FELIZ NAVIDAD
JOYEUX NOEL

Best wishes in this holiday season to you who are following my blog in (according to statistics)  the USA, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, France, England, Germany, Spain, India, Russia, Poland, China, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Indonesia and anywhere else that I may have missed.

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All paintings are for sale on this site.

Poinsettias for Christmas

Poinsettias by Marilyn Diggs

The Christmas season is on its way and our homes are being decorated for the occasion. So is my blog.

In this painting you´ll see a couple of antiques together with a basket of poinsettias. The mortar and the pestle are small and in the early days when artists made their own paint, were used to grind the pigment. The heavy iron used to be filled with hot coals before pressings. In yesteryear, it was used to ready the tablecloth before the family gathering for Christmas dinner.

Did you know that the poinsettia was originally from Mexico and South America? Here in Brazil it grows in abundance, depending upon the season. Its name is bico de papagaio which means "parrot's beak". Cute, right?

May your preparations at this time end with a joyous celebration commemorating the birth of our Saviour!

All paintings seen on my blog are for sale. For more details write me at mdiggs@mdiggs.com
Also visit: www.mdiggsart.com

90% Perspiration



D'aprés John Singer Sargent
By Marilyn Diggs

   Albert Einstein said, "Genius is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration." He might have just as well be talking about painting. 

Do you think an artist just picks up a paint brush, dabbles it into paint and voilá, a great painting? True artists pay their dues by dedicating time to visiting museums, pouring over art books and learning from others who have come before them. Dedicated artists take valuable lessons  from the Great Masters, past and present. They practise, practise, practise. Afterwards, they find their own direction and personal  interpretation.

When you see an artist at her easel inside the Louvre Museum copying Titian, Velázquez, Van Dyke etc. that isn´t just for fun. That person is studying composition, color, brush strokes - learning by copying. Van Gogh, for example, admired  and copied Courbet as you will see in many of the Dutchman's canvases. The  figures in Edouard Manet´s  Luncheon on the Grass  were borrowed from a print by Marcantonio Raimondi - The Judgement of Paris (c. 1520), who copied Raphael.

It is not a sin to copy a painting, BUT the credit must be given to the original artist. The  artist  signs her name to the painting, but must put After or in French - D'aprés - plus the name of the original artist, as you see here in my painting of Lady Agnew.  I will never regret the two years of copying Master portrait artists, to improve my  figures.

All paintings posted on my blog are for sale. If you are interested in knowing details, write me at mdiggs@mdiggs.com.  Also visit: www.mdiggsart.com