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.