PAVAN MICKEY: Amazing Paintings

Showing posts with label Amazing Paintings. Show all posts

Friday, June 21, 2013

Famous Castle of Krak des Chevaliers in Syria

Krak des Chevaliers, also Crac des Chevaliers, is a Crusader castle in Syria and one of the most important preserved medieval castles in the world. The site was first inhabited in the 11th century by a settlement of Kurds; as a result it was known as Hisn al Akrad, meaning the "Castle of the Kurds". In 1142 it was given by Raymond II, Count of Tripoli, to the Knights Hospitaller. It remained in their possession until it fell in 1271. It became known as Crac de l'Ospital; the name Krak des Chevaliers was coined in the 19th century.

Photo — Link

The Hospitallers began rebuilding the castle in the 1140s and were finished by 1170 when an earthquake damaged the castle. The order controlled a number of castles along the border of the County of Tripoli, a state founded after the First Crusade. Krak des Chevaliers was amongst the most important and acted as a centre of administration as well as a military base. After a second phase of building was undertaken in the 13th century, Krak des Chevaliers became a concentric castle. This phase created the outer wall and gave the castle its current appearance. The first half of the century has been described as Krak des Chevaliers' "golden age". At its peak, Krak des Chevaliers housed a garrison of around 2,000. Such a large garrison allowed the Hospitallers to extract tribute from a wide area. From the 1250s the fortunes of the Knights Hospitaller took a turn for the worse and in 1271 Krak des Chevaliers was captured by the Mamluk Sultan Baibars after a siege lasting 36 days, and then purportedly only by way of a forged letter purportedly from the Hospitallers' Grand Master that caused the Knights to surrender.

Photo — Link

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Paintings of Hilarious Grumpy Cats

We are always seeing funny videos of cute cats playing the piano, baffling their dog companions, and wildly chasing light reflections on the wall, but it's not often that these fuzzy little creatures are portrayed as grumpy. Until now. Based in New York, artist Aja Apa-Soura works out of her home studio to produce these vibrant paintings with a palette knife and pure, undiluted oils.

For these Grumpy Cats, thick daubs of paint cover the canvas in vibrant, textured feline portraits, some of which are blended naturally into backgrounds reminiscent of famous paintings like Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh and The Scream by Edvard Munch. Even with such extremely disgruntled expressions, these cute cats will still make you laugh.

In addition to this project, Aja also explores a variety of subjects including an extensive collection of female nudes, as well as florals, urban cityscapes, abstracts, and landscapes, all of which you can check out at Sagittarius Gallery on Etsy.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Surrealist Painter

Mike Davis is a modern surrealist painter, who currently lives and works in San Francisco, California. Though possessing a ulti-disciplinary set of interests, Davis began painting in 1999, and attributes his inspiration to watching his mother pursue craft projects during his childhood, and immersing himself in art history throughout his career. From helping his mother with projects ranging from woodworking, hand-tooling, and remodeling the family's home, to engaging with ancient art and Netherlandish painting from the Northern Renaissance, Davis is a self-taught painter, who continues to render complex paintings of surrealist medieval life, embedded with symbols of mortality, folly, and hubris, fixated within whimsical compositions.

Davis has been featured in numerous exhibitions throughout San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Montreal, and Rome. His solo exhibitions include Stories From the Other Side of the Bridge at Joshua Liner Gallery, New York (2009); and Solo Flight at White Walls Gallery, San Francisco (2008). Davis has also presented at several group exhibitions, which include Oil and Water at C.A.V.E Gallery, Venice (2011); Visionary Art at Mondo Bizzarro Gallery, Rome (2010); Blood Royale at Galerie d'Art Yves Laroche, Montreal (2008); In the Land of Retinal Delights: The Juxtapoz Factor at Laguna Art Museum (2008); and Mike Davis and Mike Giant at White Walls Gallery, San Francisco (2006).

In addition to painting, Mike Davis is the owner of his internationally-renowned tattoo shop, Everlasting Tattoo. His paintings and tattoo art have been featured in many publications, such as Juxtapoz Magazine; Art Ltd.; Pop Surrealism: The Rise of Underground Art; Tatt Book: Visionaries of Tattoo; and several high traffic art blogs. Davis has tattooed an extensive list of international and celebrity clientele, and is featured in a number of prestigious private art collections located throughout the United States, Canada, Italy, United Kingdom, Norway, and Sweden.