Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec Monfa

Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec Monfa was born in Albi, Tarn in the Midi-Pyrenees region of France, the firstborn child of Comte Alphonse and Comtesse Adele de Toulouse-Lautrec. An aristocratic family (descendants of the Counts of Toulouse) that had recently fallen on hard times, the Toulouse-Lautrecs were feeling the effects of the inbreeding of past generations; the Comte and Comtesse themselves were first cousins, and Henri suffered from a number of congenital health conditions attributed to this tradition of inbreeding (see below). A younger brother was born to the family on 28 August 1867, but died the following year.

Disability
At the age of 13 Henri fractured his left thigh bone, and at 14, the right. The breaks did not heal properly. Modern physicians attribute this to an unknown genetic disorder, possibly pycnodysostosis (also sometimes known as Toulouse-Lautrec Syndrome), or a variant disorder along the lines of osteopetrosis, achondroplasia, or osteogenesis imperfecta. Rickets aggravated with praecox virilism has also been suggested. His legs ceased to grow, so that as an adult he was only 1.54 m (5 ft 1 in) tall, having developed an adult-sized torso, while retaining his child-sized legs, which were 0.70 m (27.5 in) long. He is also reported to have had hypertrophied genitals.
Physically unable to participate in most of the activities typically enjoyed by men of his age, Toulouse-Lautrec immersed himself in his art. He became an important Post-Impressionist painter, art nouveau illustrator, and lithographer; and recorded in his works many details of the late-19th-century bohemian lifestyle in Paris. Toulouse-Lautrec also contributed a number of illustrations to the magazine Le Rire during the mid-1890s.

Paris

Party In The Moulin Rouge

Toulouse-Lautrec was drawn to Montmartre, an area of Paris famous for its bohemian lifestyle and for being the haunt of artists, writers, and philosophers. Tucked deep into Montmartre was the garden of Monsieur Pere Foret where Toulouse-Lautrec executed a series of pleasant plein-air paintings of Carmen Gaudin, the same red-head model who appears in The Laundress (1888). When the nearby Moulin Rouge cabaret opened its doors, Toulouse-Lautrec was commissioned to produce a series of posters. Thereafter, the cabaret reserved a seat for him, and displayed his paintings. Among the well-known works that he painted for the Moulin Rouge and other Parisian nightclubs are depictions of the singer Yvette Guilbert; the dancer Louise Weber, known as the outrageous La Goulue ("The Glutton"), who created the "French Can-Can"; and the much more subtle dancer Jane Avril.
Toulouse-Lautrec spent much time in brothels, where he was accepted by the prostitutes and madams to such an extent that he often moved in, and lived in a brothel for weeks at a time. He shared the lives of the women who made him their confidant, painting and drawing them at work and at leisure. Lautrec recorded their intimate relationships, which were often lesbian. A favourite model was a red-haired prostitute called Rosa la Rouge from whom he allegedly contracted syphilis.
Toulouse-Lautrec gave painting lessons to Suzanne Valadon, one of his models (and possibly his mistress as well).
An alcoholic for most of his adult life, Toulouse-Lautrec was placed in a sanatorium shortly before his death. He died from complications due to alcoholism and syphilis at the family estate in Malrome, fewer than three months before his 37th birthday. He is buried in Verdelais, Gironde, a few kilometers from the Chateau of Malrome, where he died.
Toulouse-Lautrec's last words reportedly were: "Le vieux con!" ("Old fool!")

Fred Tomaselli

Fred Tomaselli (b. 1956) is celebrated for the ecstatic fantasies he presents in his pictures—explosions of color, laced with art-historical references, that both invite transcendence and hint at the more toxic, monstrous visions that can accompany quests for the sublime.
He uses a range of techniques, including collage, painting and glazing, to make his highly decorative pictures that are often described as psychedelic—particularly since he has infamously included pills and marijuana leaves among his collage materials (which once led to his works being detained by customs officials in France).
Indeed, Tomaselli—who has said his involvement with “stoner” culture in his youth has been an important influence on his art—creates works that act very much like a drug, but one that alters a viewer’s consciousness via the eyes rather than chemistry.
Today, the outdoor-loving Tomaselli, who says he hasn’t used LSD in over 25 years, incorporates pressed leaves from his Brooklyn garden in his works, in addition to his signature elements—images of flora, fauna and human body parts cut out of magazines, field guides and catalogues (in addition to actual insects and flowers).

ME

     Out of all the artists living today I would have to say I like myself the best. I'm not saying that I have reached my full potiental, no far from it, or am I saying that I have sold more art work than other artists or for as much money (though I have outsold Van Gough while he was alive). No my reasoning is than if I and any other artist were drowning and I had a choice to save only one of us I would save me. Sorry to the other artists who might be reading this, but I'm sure you would make the same choice.
     I have been painting since I was very young. My parents still display an oil painting I did when I was 10 proudly along side other more mature and acomplished work, of course they ARE my parents, but on the other hand how many people who display drawings their kids did 40 yrs after the fact.

     I have gone through many reincarnations of myself as an artist and I now find myself interested in perusuing a quasi-abstract style that allows me to do my prelim's on photo's I have taken in photoshop before applying them to canvas. displayed here in my blog you will see some of the images I plan on painting in the next year or so (maybe) 

Robert Williams

Robert Williams (born March 2, 1943) is an American painter, cartoonist, and founder of Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine.^[1]
Williams was part of the Zap Collective,^[2] along with other underground cartoonists such as Robert Crumb and Gilbert Shelton. His mix of California car culture, cinematic apocalypticism, and film noir helped to create a new genre of psychedelic imagery.

Williams began the magazine "JUXTAPOZ" in 1994 which propelled to fame many new artists and rose to become one of the highest circulated art magazines. 1997 saw the release of the to-date retrospective "Malicious Resplendence" as well as a one-man show at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery in New York. Two more Shafrazi shows followed in 2000 and 2003. These works were published in "Through Prehensile Eyes" in 2005. 2007 saw Williams as a featured interviewee in the movies "Independents" and "The Treasures of Long Gone John" as well as a collaboration with Vans for their Vans Vault limited edition sneakers line. The popularity of the shoes would lead to more collaborations including hand painted sneakers. In his 2008 lecture at the Oakland Museum of California, Williams states:

"The Art movement I go by is Conceptual Realism."

Of his paintings, Williams states:

"My paintings are not designed to entertain you, they are meant to trap you, to hold you before them while you try to rationalize what elements of the picture are making you stand there."

Williams released several more books as his work progressed in style, size, and content. His paintings have moved from the realms of zombie sex to quantum mechanics and command sold out shows on both coasts as well as a demand around the world. He has influenced generations of artists and has given them a voice through publications that feature Underground/Lowbrow works of art like ART? Alternatives in 1992, and later, JUXTAPOZ. Williams has also participated with other artists in such ventures as "The Art Boys" which included such notable members as Gary Panter, Matt Groening, The PIZZ, Mike Kelley, Neon Park, and Mark Mothersbaugh.^[4][5][6] Other known collectors and contemporaries include Nicolas Cage, Timothy Leary, Debbie Harry, Anthony Kiedis, Von Dutch, Artie Shaw, Stanislav Szukalski, Ed Ruscha, and Leonardo DiCaprio.
The antics of Coochy Cooty and paintings like "Oscar Wilde In Leadville" and "Appetite for Destruction", which was featured as the cover for the Guns N' Roses album of the same name, before controversy forced record company Geffen Records to move it to the inside sleeve, have raised many an eyebrow. Here is his response from a 1992 interview:

"I do not believe that my representation of females aids in their oppression. It is my artistic right to render the images of woman as my imagination sees fit. Remember, I will gladly accept the title "Bad Person" to continue my expression. In other words, nothing short of death will stop me from painting nekkid ladies..."

In the late 1960s, while doing advertisements and graphics for Roth, Williams was also a productive oil painter. It was during this period that he was creating his "Super Cartoon" paintings. Including "Appetite For Destruction" and "In The Land Of Retinal Delights" these paintings were meticulously created in the style of the Old Masters including hand-made paints and multiple layers of varnish. These works sold well but were very time consuming to produce, sometimes taking over a year to complete. Many of these paintings were owned by Williams' patron, James Bruckner Jr., and were on permanent display at the Movie World Cars of the Stars Museum.^[3]
As Roth's studio came to a close Williams joined the ZAP Comix collective of artists and flourished in the non-conformist, anti-establishment movement with fellow malcontents R. Crumb, S. Clay Wilson, Spain Rodriguez, Rick Griffin, Gilbert Shelton, and Victor Moscoso. In 1969 he created his seminal Underground Comix anti-hero, Coochy Cooty. His creation was unleashed in 1970 in Coochy Cooty Men's Comics and ZAP Comix #5 and is still alive today in Williams' oil paintings

Jean-Michel Basquiat

    

Jean-Michel Basquiat (December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist.^[1] His career in art began as a graffiti artist in New York City in the late 1970s, and in the 1980s produced Neo-expressionist painting. Basquiat died of a heroin overdose on August 12, 1988, at the age of 27



    
In 1976, Basquiat and friends Al Diaz and Shannon Dawson began spray-painting graffiti on buildings in Lower Manhattan, working under the pseudonym SAMO. The designs featured inscribed messages such as "Plush safe he think.. SAMO" and "SAMO as an escape clause." On December 11, 1978, the Village Voice published an article about the graffiti.^[12] The SAMO project ended with the epitaph "SAMO IS DEAD," inscribed on the walls of SoHo buildings in 1979.^[13]
In 1979, Basquiat appeared on the live public-access television cable TV show TV Party hosted by Glenn O'Brien, and the two started a friendship. Basquiat made regular appearances on the show over the next few years. That same year, Basquiat formed the noise rock band Gray with Shannon Dawson, Michael Holman, Nick Taylor, Wayne Clifford and Vincent Gallo. Gray performed at nightclubs such as Max's Kansas City, CBGB, Hurrah, and the Mudd Club. In 1980, Basquiat starred in O'Brien's independent film Downtown 81, originally titled New York Beat. That same year, O'Brien introduced Basquiat to Andy Warhol, with whom he later collaborated. The film featured some of Gray's recordings on its soundtrack.^[14] Basquiat also appeared in the Blondie music video "Rapture" as a nightclub disc jockey.^[15]
In June 1980, Basquiat participated in The Times Square Show, a multi-artist exhibition sponsored by Collaborative Projects Incorporated (Colab) and Fashion Moda. In 1981, Rene Ricard published "The Radiant Child" in Artforum magazine,^[16] which brought Basquiat to the attention of the art world.
In late 1981, he joined the Annina Nosei gallery in SoHo. By 1982, Basquiat was showing regularly alongside Julian Schnabel, David Salle, Francesco Clemente and Enzo Cucchi, involved with the Neo-expressionist movement. He was represented in Los Angeles by the Larry Gagosian gallery, and throughout Europe by Bruno Bischofberger. He briefly dated then-aspiring performer Madonna in late 1982. That same year, Basquiat also worked briefly with musician and artist David Bowie. Basquiat painted in Armani suits, and often appeared in public in the same paint-splattered $1,000 suits.^{[17][page needed][18]}
By 1986, Basquiat had left the Annina Nosei gallery, and was showing in the famous Mary Boone gallery in SoHo. On February 10, 1986, he appeared on the cover of The New York Times Magazine in a feature entitled "New Art, New Money: The Marketing of an American Artist".^[19] He was a successful artist in this period, but his growing heroin addiction began to interfere with his personal relationships.

When Andy Warhol died on February 22, 1987, Basquiat became increasingly isolated, and his heroin addiction and depression grew more severe.^[13] Despite an attempt at sobriety during a trip to Maui, Hawaii, Basquiat died on August 12, 1988, of a heroin overdose at his art studio in Great Jones Street in New York City's NoHo neighborhood. He was 27

Alphonse Mucha

      Lived from 24 July 1860 – 14 July 1939), known in English as Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech Art Nouveau painter and decorative artist,^[3] known best for his distinct style. He produced many paintings, illustrations, advertisements, postcards, and designs.

    
Mucha moved to Paris in 1887, and continued his studies at Académie Julian and Académie Colarossi. In addition to his studies, he worked at producing magazine and advertising illustrations. About Christmas 1894, Mucha happened to go into a print shop where there was a sudden and unexpected need for a new advertising poster for a play featuring Sarah Bernhardt, the most famous actress in Paris, at the Théâtre de la Renaissance on the Boulevard Saint-Martin. Mucha volunteered to produce a lithographed poster within two weeks, and on 1 January 1895, the advertisement for the play Gismonda by Victorien Sardou was posted in the city, where it attracted much attention.^[4] Bernhardt was so satisfied with the success of this first poster that she began a six-year contract with Mucha.

F. Champenois Imprimeur-Éditeur, lithograph, 1897.

Mucha produced a flurry of paintings, posters, advertisements, and book illustrations, as well as designs for jewelry, carpets, wallpaper, and theatre sets in what was termed initially the Mucha Style but became known as Art Nouveau (French for 'new art'). Mucha's works frequently featured beautiful young women in flowing, vaguely Neoclassical-looking robes, often surrounded by lush flowers which sometimes formed halos behind their heads. In contrast with contemporary poster makers he used pale pastel colors.^[5] The 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris spread the "Mucha style" internationally, of which Mucha said "I think [the Exposition Universelle] made some contribution toward bringing aesthetic values into arts and crafts."^[6] He decorated the Bosnia and Herzegovina Pavilion and collaborated with decorating the Austrian Pavilion. His Art Nouveau style was often imitated. The Art Nouveau style however, was one that Mucha attempted to disassociate himself from throughout his life; he always insisted that rather than maintaining any fashionable stylistic form, his paintings were entirely a product of himself and Czech art.^[4] He declared that art existed only to communicate a spiritual message, and nothing more; hence his frustration at the fame he gained by his commercial art, when he most wanted to concentrate on more artistic projects.

     Death

The rising tide of fascism during the late 1930s resulted in Mucha's works, as well as his Slavic nationalism, being denounced in the press as 'reactionary'. When German troops moved into Czechoslovakia during the spring of 1939, Mucha was among the first persons to be arrested by the Gestapo. During his interrogation, the aging artist became ill with pneumonia. Though released eventually, he may have been weakened by this event. He died in Prague on 14 July 1939, of a lung infection, and was interred there in the Vyšehrad cemetery.^[3]

Robert Crumb

Robert Crumb was born in Philadelphia in 1943. As a kid, he started drawing homemade comic books, together with his brother Charles, for the amusement of himself and his family. One of the characters he invented back then was Fred the Cat, named after the family's pet. Eventually, Fred became Fritz the Cat, one of Crumb's best-known characters.

Crumb left home in 1962, getting a job as a greeting card artist in Cleveland, Ohio. At the same time, he continued his comics, sending one to the public gallery section of Harvey Kurtzman's Help! Magazine. Encouraged by Kurtzman, Crumb moved to New York to work for Help! Unfortunately, this magazine folded just after Crumb returned from an eight-month stay in Europe. Crumb stayed in New York for a while, making comics trading cards for Topps Gum, among other things, and then returned to Cleveland.

In January 1967, Crumb moved to California, where he did some comics for a magazine called Yarrowstalks. His work was so well received they asked him to do a whole comic book, and soon the first issue of Zap was ready. The publisher however disappeared with all of the original artwork. Crumb, who had not only saved xeroxes of his work, but was already halfway with the next issue of Zap, found Don Donahue and Charles Plymell willing to publish it. So it is that the material for the second Zap comic was published as Zap #1, after which the older material for the first issue was printed as Zap #0. All of these have become collector's items.

Zap Comix became a success, and soon other artists, like Rick Griffin, Victor Moscoso and S. Clay Wilson, started contributing their work. Interest in Crumb's work resulted in 'Head Comix', a collection of his comics published by Viking Press, and a 'Fritz the Cat' book by Ballantine. When animator Ralph Bakshi turned to Crumb to make Fritz the Cat into an animated movie, Crumb eventually agreed, but soon became exhausted with the pressure and left it to his wife, Aline Kominsky, who signed the contract. Crumb hated the film so much that he killed off Fritz once and for all in a strip in The People's Comics.

Eventually, Robert Crumb and his family moved to France, where they still live today. The creator of unforgettable characters such as Mr. Natural, Mr. Snoid, Angelfood MacSpade and Devil Girl still has a tremendous production, which has been collected in many albums. Especially worth mentioning is his outstanding comics biography, as well as 'The Complete Crumb' series by Fantagraphics, with each volume introduced by the artist himself. In 2009, he published his illustrated graphic novel version of the 'Book of Genesis'.