Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with painting

Historical Oil Painting of my Roommates and I?

sandmanwv — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:19:51 -0800

My roommates and I would like to get a oil painting (pretty big, 4 feet by 3 feet or so) done of us. We'd like to get our faces painted onto soldiers on horses going into battle (something like this, although I'm having trouble finding examples. Questions inside Questions for the hive:
-Would this be doable under $1,000? What would be the best way to get this done? Through an art school? Craigslist ad? (Live in Chicago)
-What do we need to provide the artist? I was going to create a photoshopped concept.
-My roommates are persistent on oil paintings... but I figure the material costs for that are high... any way to "simulate" an oil painting that looks like something from the 1700s?
-Whats normal for a up-front advance?
-Anything else we should think about? We've already discussed what happens after we move out.

Modern art framing

jayder — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:15:23 -0800

Art museum painting framing question. A common style of framing in art museums --- especially with abstract paintings such as Cy Twombly and Mark Rothko's works --- involves a thin strip of wood around the edge of a painting, perhaps with a few-millimeter gap between the edge of the canvas and the inner edge of the wood. The strip of wood is usually flush with the face of the painting. That's all there is to it. I would like to replicate this effect with some paintings I have. Any idea how best to accomplish this effect? I am hoping to do it myself, using some basic hand tools, but I am not sure how best to fasten the frame to the painting, nor am I sure what is holding the frame together. The wood strips are very thin, perhaps a quarter of an inch wide, no more than half an inch.

Haunted painting, Nickelodeon, 1980s: Give me back my button!!

MaddyRex — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 07:55:44 -0800

Do you remember this mid- to late-80s Nickelodeon made-for-tv movie? "Give me back my button!" Okay, I'm trying to find out what movie/tv show this was...and I know it's a total shot in the dark.

Here's what I remember:
I believe this was one of those Canadian children's movies (like "The Peanut Butter Solution") or after school specials (like "Seven Wishes of a Rich Kid") that Nickelodeon used to show before they had enough programming to fill their schedule. It was on a segment on Nick called "Special Delivery."

Plot-wise, it was about a girl who had to stay in a haunted house. In one of the dark corridors hung an evil-looking painting of a woman in black wearing a black veil, and only a little bit of skin on her neck was visible. She was also wearing a button somewhere on her person. The young girl somehow gets ahold of the button in the painting, and later the woman in the painting comes to life (!), steps out of the painting (!!) and starts walking toward the girl, whispering ominously, "Give me back my button!"

As this point my 7 - 9 year old self turned off the television in pure terror. Twenty years later I want to know what happened, dammit!

Fishes upon fishes? Allegorical iconography?

shirobara — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:07:32 -0800

What, if anything, is this picture from the comic book Castle Waiting based on? I'm with Tolly here, I don't understand allegorical iconography. Is it based on an existing picture or concept? There's no explanation from the author anywhere, and it hasn't appeared in the comic before or since.

Texturizing Theatrical Sets Like Jackson Pollock?

grabbingsand — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:13:46 -0800

SetPaintingFilter. When I was in college theatre, our sets were never finished until our company technical director walked the set, paint brush in hand, adding texture to the platforms with what seemed to be a very ordered splatter pattern. He'd do this alone, the night before we opened. The textures didn't take away from the set, but added depth. So what was he doing? I've seen the phrase "splatter wash," but can see no details on the method, the mix for the paint, anything. I want to do this for the theatre I do now, but with no best practices at hand, I'm afraid the end result will just be a mess.

The Westering Sun

Cucurbit — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 10:28:48 -0800

Where can I find (in a book or online) an image of Okada Saburosuke's painting "The Westering Sun"? I haven't been able to locate so much as a reference to it since seeing it in the Tokyo National Museum. Is there a more common English rendering of the title?

Where can I take studio art classes in London?

huzzahhuzzah — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:26:33 -0800

Where can I take studio art classes in London? Does anyone know where I can take a short course in painting (or printmaking or art history) for credit in London? I live in the US, but I will be in London for the month of October (my husband will be there for work) and would like to take some art classes for credit. I am building a portfolio to apply to a painting MFA program (I already have a BA), so I am looking for something serious and academic.

If there aren't good short courses, I could stay in London for longer than my husband and take classes for the semester. Any thoughts on strong programs where I could enroll as a continuing education student?

Does anyone recognize this painting?

gummo — Mon, 19 May 2008 01:15:38 -0800

Does anyone recognize this painting? http://www.fupub.com/images/painting.jpg

I need help finding this painting

RustyBrooks — Sun, 18 May 2008 20:03:32 -0800

I need help identifying this painting I first saw this image in a children's book about dogs. I did some basic googling and found this image, but I can't find any more references to it. I'd like to own a print of this if possible.

Questions about metal porch roofs.

librarianamy — Fri, 16 May 2008 08:02:23 -0800

I have some questions about the metal roofs on our porches. We have, as is common in our region, metal roofs on our front and back porches. (This is a photo of a house in our neighborhood, but not our house. Same kind of roof though.) They are in good enough condition in that they keep the rain and snow off of us, but cosmetically they're in need of some help. So I've got three questions.

1) What the heck are these roofs called? I am ashamed as a librarian that I can't find any information online about them. Are they considered awnings or roofs? Are they aluminum? In my searching I've found similar stand alone items to cover car ports, flat ones that are rippled and look like fiberglass, fabric "sun catcher" ones, and much smaller versions that only cover windows. But for the life of me, I can't find anything like this from a vendor online. FWIW, we're Angie's List members, and I've searched there as well. Is there a specific name for them that if I knew it, would open up a whole new part of the internet?

2) If you have had one of these replaced, what was the rough cost to replace it? I feel like I can't get a good idea from the little information that I've found online to get a rough estimate - most of the awning companies require registering with their website and a salesperson would contact you (and due to my inept searching, even those vendors I've found the small window ones, not porch ones). Basically before I go to a contractor, I need to know if this is a project that is thousands of dollars, or a couple hundred. (Clearly, I have no idea but don't want to register anywhere. I'm not ready for a hard sell.)

3) I have seen similar but smaller ones in our area that have been painted. I think this might be a good temporary band-aid to my issues (especially since we're repainting shutters and doors this year) but my husband is dubious. What advice would you have as to painting a metal roof on a porch, presumably in late spring/early summer in Western PA? Particularly, my husband's issue is that he doesn't think it would support his weight, and the one over our back porch is large enough that we wouldn't be able to reach the middle otherwise.

Thank you for your help. I truly feel like I'm grasping at straws here, and it's frustrating...

What's up with the crazy Russian painter?

zardoz — Thu, 08 May 2008 06:39:58 -0800

About a year ago there was a thread bouncing around the net about a Russian painting that some psychiatrist claimed contained clues to the painter's psychological condition(s). Anyone recall this? The painting was a winter scene in the 18th or 19th century, presumably in Russia. There were several horse-drawn sleighs and children playing in a park of some kind. The psychiatrist was mum on the condition, making folks guess about it, and lots of blogs had people's theories, even here on MeFi. What was the condition, or was it just a hoax?

Mystery Panting

hydatius — Thu, 08 May 2008 03:56:51 -0800

Can anyone give me any insight into this mystery painting? All thoughts welcomed. This hung on the wall above my bed in a place I stayed for a summer, several years ago, on the Adriatic coast of Albania. I was mystified by it, and took a picture of it in order to try to decipher it later on, but forgot about it, and now whilst searching for other things, I rediscovered it. Obviously, the 'fiume Ticino' is the River Ticino flowing through Pavia, but searches for the date, and the meaning of the abbreviation, have turned up nothing. Anybody got any ideas? I know it's a longshot...

All my creativity goes into the painting, so. Help Me Clean Brushes.

sweetkid — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:44:49 -0800

how do I clean my paintbrushes? I've started painting (artsy painting, not the walls), a TON, and I am trying to figure out how best to wash the brushes. At first I was cleaning in the bathroom, but my bathroom sink is so tiny and it started getting clogged and gross. Plus, due to the tininess, I couldn't really get in and scrub or anything.

So I started washing the brushes in the kitchen sink, free from dishes of course. But is there any danger in washing brushes in the kitchen sink? Can something toxic come into contact with my plates? That would be not good. Is there something I should soak the brushes in before going for the sink? Are there environmental things I should also consider? Thanks in advance.

Help me identify an artist with nothing to go on but my hazy memories.

mistsandrain — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 16:47:40 -0800

Have you had a Harper's subscription since 1995? Have you been saving the back issues? Because.... There was an issue published in the mid to late 90s that had a long insert (on different paper stock) on growing opium poppies- the ins and outs of legality, how to procure seeds, etc... Well, my question is not about that article. Also, in that issue (I think, I hope) there was a picture of a painting that I have never gotten out of my head. And now I'm determined to find the artist.

It is an expressionist-ish landscape painting with a perspective of looking down at a slant, on farm fields, criss- crossed with roads and power lines... I think there might be a car on one of the roads. There is a lot of distortion. You ask: Distortion in the image or distortion in your memory? The answer is, Yes.

It has been a VERY long time since I have seen it and I hope my memory serves me correctly that it is, indeed, in this particular Harper's issue (the one about opium), and that it does resemble my description.

I'm not near a library that would have the back issues.

Thanks in advance. I know this is pretty obscure.

What is the name of this love triangle painting?

munchingzombie — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 19:56:26 -0800

Help me remember this painting! The subject is three people in a cafe or club. One (a soldier I think) is checking out a woman across the room. She in turn is checking out another man who happens to be checking out the first. If I recall correctly, a green light is shining down on at least one of the subjects, the gay man. This was possibly painted in Weimar Germany, but I could be wrong. The style certainly fits into that time period. Thank you metafilter.

trying to identify a painting seen in a movie

lndl — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 08:26:25 -0800

Can you identify the painting (or artist) that hangs over the mantle in Cate Blanchett's character's house in Notes On a Scandal? As far as I can see it's a cloud scene, possibly with a bird's wing. I would love to get a better look at it so an artist's name might help. (I'm not any kind of art connoisseur/artist/dealer etc, just visually driven). Any ideas how I might find it?

Name That Painting

ElmerFishpaw — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 15:34:02 -0800

Who painted this and what is it called? It was at the NY MoMA.

Are there any classical paintings that show a woman with stretch marks?

agregoli — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:50:14 -0800

Are there any classical paintings that show a woman with stretch marks? Forgive me if classical is the wrong term - I'm trying to emphasize I'm not interested in modern works.

Painting Stucco Walls

omidius — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:38:52 -0800

Is it okay to paint over sandy stucco-like exterior house wall? Is there another method or preparation to refinish an exterior wall make of this substance? My house has a brick and cement block exterior wall that is coated with a 1/4" thick sandy stucco like material. This exterior material has gotten stained due to water and moss stuff.

I would like to prep and paint this. What specifically do I need to do and with what materials?

MFA Painting Programs?

CaptMcalister — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 06:29:09 -0800

What are the best MFA programs in painting, both national and international, and resources and techniques for further researching them?

Inspiration for painting and decorating rooms

Meagan — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:22:51 -0800

Looking for various sources of inspiration for painting/decorating a new apartment. I'm in the early stages of moving into a new and larger apartment, going from a one-bedroom to a 3-bedroom with two living areas and 1.5 bathrooms. How exciting!

Now that I have all these rooms, I want to paint and decorate some of them. I'm trained in graphic design, so I have a good sense of color combinations and shapes/flow, but I'm not terribly creative on my own. What I would love to do is page through a magazine or blog that shows room designs, so I can gather inspiration. I know magazines like this exist, but I'm not sure which ones are highly rated, or what terms to Google for.

I'm open to all styles of design, from retro to classic to abstract, all colors, all shapes, everything.

If you have any links, or book/magazine recommendations, please share!

Our outflow will run with many colors.

nevercalm — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:52:04 -0800

My wife paints with oils. We're buying a house with a septic system. Will cleaning brushes in the sink be a problem? Basically, what are our options? I've never lived in a house with a septic system. Additionally, it's a "wet property," with a pond on the lot (though out of the leaching field).

On a regular day in the course of our apartment living, she just cleans her brushes in the sink. Can she still do this? Or will the paints clog up the system? What do we need to worry about or look out for?

Two buyers, one painting

artdrectr — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 11:31:22 -0800

I gave a collector Right of First Refusal on a painting. How long should I give him to decide? This was not a contract. I gave a good patron (let's call him Norton) the option to buy if someone else expressed interest in purchasing the painting.

'Peggy' wants the painting immediately.

How long should I give Norton to decide, it's been several days already, particularly when Peggy is waiting for an answer?
As I implied, Norton's been a generous collector, and I don't want to make things awkward for him.

Forbidden Fruit pics

crossoverman — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 21:42:57 -0800

Does anyone know where I can find a high res image of Lucas Cranach's The Fall of Man? Or, alternatively, a high res version of another classic painting of the Adam/Eve/Apple/Garden of Eden/Devil image?

A Question about Libel & Privacy Laws

interrobang — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 09:52:57 -0800

Does it become legal to use a person's image without their consent or knowledge, as long as you put a black bar over their eyes and don't use their real name? I cannot afford to talk to a lawyer about this. Alternately, does stop being an invasion of privacy if it's a drawing or a caricature? How about a drawing or caricature with a black bar over the eyes?