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

Surfers on Ipanema Beach, Rio

End of the Day on Ipanema Beach

It´s sunset on Ipanema Beach. A setting sun converts the signature twin peaks (Two Brothers) into a magical landscape, while  tired surfers begin to leave. They´ll probably stop off at one of the many outdoor cafés to recall the best wave of the day. Maybe it will be the same café  where the composer of the world hit, Girl from Ipanema, sipped beer as he watched his muse make her way to this very beach. 

 A couple enjoys one more stroll along the shoreline, reluctant to give up the daylight.

As a famous Brazilian writer once said, " I woke up in Rio and found the sea, sky, sun and mountains fighting to see who was the most beautiful."  Ah, Rio.

All paintings on my blog are for sale. For details, contact me at mdiggs@mdiggs.com
For more art visit: www.mdiggsart.com

Heart and Soul

 This week the 3rd Invitational Great Plains Art Exhibition opened in Lawton, Oklahoma.  The title of the show is Heart and Soul of the Great Plains.

It is a joint exhibit by two museums and one gallery: 

Museum of the Great Plains

Comanche National Museum

Leslie Powell Gallery

If you are in the area, I hope you attend. Opening night, which was Nov.6, included a band/music at each location, refreshments  and  transportation making connecting runs between the galleries.

I was invited to show Amazon Youth, a portrait of a young warrior from the Amazon River area of Brazil. Participating artists must all have a link to the Great Plains in Oklahoma. Mine is that I was born in Tulsa and raised in Oklahoma from 1965 - 1975. My parents are Oklahomans and their home is in Duncan.


Amazon Youth



My painting is in the Museum of the Great Plains
601 NW Ferris Ave.
Lawton, OK
(580) - 581-3460
Show runs through Jan. 3, 2011

 http://www.2010heartandsoul.org/

http://www.museumgreatplains.org/

http://www.mdiggsart.com/

Children at Play on the Beach

Beach Play

Isn´t it fun to watch children playing in the ocean waves? Here three little girls enjoy a hot summer´s day on a Brazilian beach. This is one of my favorite spots, because the waves are tame and the water is shallow enough that you can wade far out. In the summer the temperature is like bath water.

I have always admired the Spanish artist Joaquin Sorolla and  American John Singer Sargent. Inspired by their oceanside paintings I did a series of my own. Next time you are at the beach, marvel at the myriad of color that is reflected in the water.  A hint for beginning artists: when thinking about composition, odd numbers are more pleasing to the eye than even.

This paintings received Honorable Mention at the International Academy of Modern Art Salon in Rome in 2006.

Are you interested in a painting on my blog? All are for sale. Contact me at mdiggs@mdiggs.com for details.
Also visit: www.mdiggsart.com