Ken Danby was a Canadian painter renown for his paintings of the figure, horses, and the ocean. Ken Danby was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada in the year 1940. For his figurative paintings he concentrated on the female figure and also male hockey players.
Danby attended the Ontario College of Art.
Price range information: The artist worked in watercolors and oils. These works range between $10,000 and $150,000. Danby was a prolific printmaker and many works range between $1,000 and $5,000.
Danby was made a member of the Canadian Academy of Art.
In this clip Danby talks about the importance of ART in education:
Ken Danby passed away in 2007 whilst on a canoe trip.
A link to the artist’s website and representation:
Danby was a very skilled painter. My favorite works of his are the horses in water. His figure watercolor paintings of the figures recall another artist who recently passed away this year, Steve Hanks.
The artist also created works in tempera and oils which remind me of Andrew Wyeth with their attention to different textures.
Dame Elisabeth Frink was a wonderful British artist renown for her sculptures. Elisabeth Frink was born in Thurlow, Suffock, England in the year 1930. Frink enjoyed carving horses in addition to the human figure.
Frink attended what is now called the University for the Creative Arts in Canterbury, England. The artist also attended the Chelsea School of Art.
The artist often worked with the male nude as her muse. Frink tried to emphasize the masculine qualities of strength and aggression.
Elisabeth Frink passed away from cancer complications in 1993 at the age of 62 years old.
Below a work titled ” Walking Madonna”:
Frink was also a prolific printmaker.
England issued a stamp in 1996 celebrating the achievements of Elisabeth Frink.
Below a short clip on the artist and some words about her from her son:
Price range information: Lithographs, etchings, and drawings range from $5,000 to $30,000. Bronzes range from $40,000 to $700,000.
What I enjoy most about Frink’s work is her attention and development of her drawing and printmaking skills in addition to her sculpture works. She continued to experiment and grow in multiple mediums as she grew older.
Buckeye Blake and his family have been involved in the American West and its traditions for many generations. Buckeye Blake was born in the year 1946. His grandfather was a horse breeder. Growing up Buckeye travelled the country on the rodeo tour.
Before honing his talent as a fine artist Blake had various jobs in the creative industry including sign painting and painting backgrounds and sets for the entertainment industry.
The artist when working on a piece might finish one in oils, one in watercolors, and one using just ink.
The artist and his wife have a lovely home which they enjoy sharing with animals.
Blake is based out of Texas and also like his grandfather is raising horses.
Blake has been very successful as a commercial artist, creating clothing, furniture, and posters.
Price range information: Sorry none available.
I enjoy looking at the more modern western painters like Buckeye Blake and Donna Howell-Sickles, both breathe new life and great compositions to the western genre.
Fan Yu is an awesome artist working in the medium of sculpture. Fan Yu was born in Qingdao, China in the year 1966. The artist portrays the figure but his most renowned subject is the horse. For his sculptures he works in bronze, painted bronze, and fiberglass.
For his artistic education the artist attended the Shandong Art Institute of Art located in Jinana, Shandong, China. In addition Fan Yu studied sculpture at the Academy of Fine Art located in Beijing, China.
Price range information: Works range from $10,000 to $50,000.
I love it when artists make reference to other artists they might admire or respect. Below my favorite work from Fan Yu, it depicts the artists Marcel Duchamp playing with many birds.
Neith Nevelson is a painter renown for her work with the figure and horses in a modern and abstract manner. Neith Nevelson was born in the year 1946 in New York City. She comes from a very artistic family as her grandmother was a world renown sculptor named Louise Nevelson. Neith Nevelson was born in New York City but raised in Florence, Italy.
For her artistic education Nevelson attended school in Florence, Italy very briefly. She was expelled for not following their chosen curriculum.
The artist has illustrated some books over her career.
Louise Nevelson was a sculptor that worked with found wood for many projects. She made sculptures and assemblages most of the time painting the end result in black. She was most popular during her later years. Below an example of Nevelson’s artwork. Louise Nevelson is associated with the Cubist movement.
Her father Mike was also a sculptor. He too works with the figure in a very modern way. Below an example of his style of art.
In this clip a great montage of works by Neith Nevelson:
Neith Nevelson is based out of Coconut Grove, Florida.
price range information: Works range from $10,000 to $400,000.
Shai Dahan is a great up and coming street artist that often work with horses and is compared by some to artists like the legendary Banksy. Shai Dahan was born in Haifa, Israel. His family came to the United States in 1989. Growing up in a surfer/ graffiti lifestyle of California had the artist began working in graffiti in his mid teens. Dahan even designed some skateboards.
Some works on a farm painted by Shai Dahan shown in time lapse. Very cool!
In this clip Dahan talks about a project called the Buddy Bears project. You may see these fiberglass works all over Berlin. They are made to showcase human tolerance in other countries and cultures.
The artist has also recently started his own men’s clothing branch located in Sweden. The company works on design and marketing all across the Scandinavian countries.
After living in New York City Dahan moved to Sweden .
The horses painted by the artist have a historical significance. They are based on a Dala or Dalecarlian horse. In the history of Sweden long ago they were used as toys. Its awesome that this artist has chosen to take a toy and paint it as if it were a real live horse! What a unique idea.
Eadweard Muybridge was born in 1830 at Kingston Upon Thames located in England. Nearly everyone has seen an image of Muybridge who first came to fame with his photographs of Yosemite National Forest. Later he would become renown for his work with animals, horses in particular, and the use of stop motion photography. By using this photograhy Muybridge was trying to settle a bet as that if a horse was running, would all legs ever touch the ground at the same time.
He invented the first strip photography that was called a zoopraxiscopre. It was the precrusor to the perforated film.
In the clip below we visit Muybridge and his filming of a horse, his most renown work.
Another very interesting fact is that the Eadweard Muybridge found out his wife was having an affair. She shot and killed the man and was found not guilty in the court of law. His wife’s affairs lead him to commit a justifiable homicide.
price range information: Collatypes are the cheapest and can be had from $850 to $4,000. Photographic prints and plates range $1,000 to $85,000.
Over his career he produced more than 100,000 images.
More of Muybridge’s work with the horse and other animals.
Muybridge spent a great deal of time in the United States but eventually would move back to England and pass away there in 1904 at the age of 74 years old.
Muybridge influenced countless artists in their quest to capture the movement and fluidty of both animals and human bodies.
Andre Brasilier is a French painter born in the year 1929 in Anjou, France. Brasilier is renown for his work with horses and also the female figure. In addition to drawing and painting has worked with ceramics.
For his artistic education Brasilier attended the Les Ecoles des Beaux Arts, the School of Fine Arts in Paris beginning in 1949. Whilst there he mentored under a respected painter of the figure Maurice Brianchon. Below is an example of Brianchon’s style of painting.
This clip I believe is in german, but its has a great collection of paintings by the Andre Brasilier starting 23 seconds into the clip.
Winner of Prix de Rome.
Price range information: Most works are in oils and priced $15,000 to $80,000. Most lithographs range from a few hundred to a $2,000. Watercolors and gouache works range $400 to $4,000.
Brasilier passed away in 2004.
The aspect I enjoy most about the artist is the paint quality of the work. What you might think is a watercolor or gouache work is really an oil painting though he did produce works in both watercolor and gouache.
Brasilier’s works with the horse and landscape remind one slightly of Montana painter Theodore Waddell but with a higher focus on drawing skill. An example of Waddell’s work is below. Waddell is famous for working with animals and the landscape in a very abstract manner.
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