Kahlil Gibran

Something I learned from my recent traveling art partner, Kim Minichiello, at the Telfair Museum in Savannah was that Kahlil Gibran (of "The Prophet" fame, published in 1923), was not only a writer, but also a painter!  That made me want to know more about him.  

Gibran was born in Lebanon in 1883 (born into a Maronite Catholic family) but emigrated to Boston with his family in 1895 at the age of 12.  He spent most of his older years in New York City and died in 1931, at the age of 48.  

In 2014, an animated film, "The Prophet", was adapted from the book.  It was produced by Salma Hayek.

The Telfair owns about 100 of his works of art (courtesy of Mary Haskell Minis, who recognized the talent in the young man and became a big supporter of his...every artist's dream, right!?)

This portrait below is of Kahlil Gibran himself, painted by Lilla Cabot Perry.  

Portrait of Kahlil Gibran by Lilla Cabot Perry

These 2 paintings below are by Kahlil Gibran.  The 2nd one is of his mother, who died of cancer.  

Two paintings by Kahlil Gibran, c.1903-1914

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In April, I'm taking students  to Venice again.

Time to think about 2017's trip!

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Some of my Favorites

It's inevitable that some paintings stand out more for us than others.  Here are a few of my favorites from this weekend's Savannah trip to the Telfair Museum (they allow pictures w/o flash in this one).

Kim Minichiello and I were amazed that we had never heard of a lot of the great artists on display.  I was also surprised that, of the ones I liked, it was sometimes the same artist who had done them. (p.s. there were SO FEW watercolors in this show...maybe 4 that I remember seeing?  But I love a good oil painting too!)

This snow scene was large (maybe 4-5 feet wide?).  Below the painting is the description that the Museum had mounted next to it.  Although it's hard to show with a photo, I was particularly drawn to the crispness of this painting's colors and strokes.  A very analagous painting with a nod to the complimentary colors.

This painting below caught my eye because of the expert handling of this foggy atmosphere. It was about 5-6' wide.  I took some close ups to show you as well.  Beautifully handled, with strong perspective especially evident!

This next painting tugged at my heart.  This gentleman, who's been lunching in the shade of his garden, reaches for a few crumbs from his table to hand to his pet chicken. 

www.helenKbeacham.com

Come paint with me! 

In April, I'm taking students  to Venice again.

Time to think about 2017's trip!

Check out my classes HERE.

Enhaling the art in Savannah

I visited Savannah, GA this past weekend (it's been years since I'd been there).  I met up with my WAM artist buddy, Kim Minichiello, who lives near Orlando (I'm near Charleston, SC).  This was the last weekend for the "Monet and American Impressionism" show to hang at the Jepson Center and we were going to see it!

The show was excellent and I walked away with two memories of that day:

1.  It's ok to paint "thin".  When I was young and painting in oils, I submitted a painting to a competition.  (I later found out the painting was being considered for an award.)  The painting was hung up high over a doorway (the painting was a diptych that measured 60"h x 60"w).  The judge asked for a ladder to be brought around so he could see it up close.  He climbed back down and later I found out that he decided no award was warranted because I had painted "thinly".  I never painted that way again, but apparently the Impressionist Masters sure did! There were PLENTY of examples of this throughout the Impressionism show.  Canvas showed through on many of them.   (I'm wondering if that judge has changed his tune in the last 30 years).   I wish I had examples to show you from the show, but it was forbidden.  We were admonished several times for "stepping over the (black) line" too, and I was sure I'd have to use my Get Out of Jail card for Kim before the day was over!

2.  And the other memory we will have is of being hurriedly evacuated from the Museum.  Kim & I had JUST finished "enhaling" the last painting when the siren went off.  The alarm sprinklers had gone off!  We were told to head outside (it was cold and rainy out there), but Kim had the good sense to run into the coatroom and gather our things first!  Others were not so lucky because they didn't reopen the museum till the next day.  Here's a pic of the confusion outside the Jepson (which is the white building at the top left corner).

That evening, Kim and I (and Kim's daughter) ate dinner at Bella Napoli Bistro (the scallops and shrimp in vodka sauce were delish!).  Below is a pic of me and Kim (who's on the right), along with our "flat heads" of Maria Bennett Hock, Carrie Waller and Debra Keirce (the other members of our WAM group), whom we carried to Savannah with us. 

Carrie Waller (over my shoulder), me, Kim Minichiello, Debra Keirce (in front of Kim) and Maria Bennett Hock (above Kim's shoulder)

Even though I couldn't take pictures at the Jepson, we later stopped into the Telfair Museum and there we WERE allowed to take pictures.  There were definitely a few paintings that grabbed my attention right away, and I think I'll save those for my next Post!

All I have to say for now is "Go visit Savannah!".  

www.helenKbeacham.com

Come paint with me! 

In April, I'm taking students  to Venice again.

Check out my classes HERE.