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Margret E. Short Fine Arts

Margret E. Short Fine Arts

Portland, Oregon artist Margret Short - a modern day master of 17th Century Dutch art using the chiaroscuro technique to create still life and floral paintings.

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Dutch Treats

September 29, 2006 by Margret Short

Well, the catalogue for the Dutch Exhibit arrived from Dayton yesterday, and it is splendid! There are in total 90 works of art of which only a dozen or so are not paintings. In 1992 I visited the Rijksmuseum, but I must say many pieces shown here are unfamiliar. Too many years have passed since viewing them. There will be many choices for selecting the final 10, and it will be difficult because they are all beautiful. A breathtaking portrait of Saskia is already tempting. The range of color in the paintings is stunning, so opportunities are endless for full exploration in this area.

One of the best features of a book like this is the bibliography. This one is a wealth of resources. Listed as: Framing in the Golden Age: Picture and Frame in 17th Century Holland. I already found it on Amazon but it costs $175.00…whew!…I’ll have to think about this one. But I will need decide on framing soon. Fortunately, several of the listed books are in my personal library.

The supplies for my demo fit into two boxes; one for the painting materials and one for the three paintings. They will have to go out priority mail this afternoon in order to arrive in Dayton in a timely manner. And now for inventory of dry pigments. There are many in my supplies but I must see which are suitable for this project.

Chiaroscuro Painting

Oil painting with the chiaroscuro technique illuminates the focus area with a strong light. All other areas are painted with less detail, lower values, and intensity of color giving a mysterious appearance. By putting one or two objects in the important focus area, a strong but simple composition will emerge. Combining these oil painting techniques with a selection of superior natural pigments and oil paints result in the beautiful and evocative quality known as Chiaroscuro Painting.

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