As St. Patrick’s Day approaches we accept that the multitude of celebratory items are green, but why is that? Ireland is known for its forty or more lush greens spanning the rolling hills and vales of the landscape. This is due to the mild climate and consistent rainfall making verdant greenery visible all year round. However, the term Emerald Isle … Read the article
The Art of Stone Carving
Initially, stone carving was believed to have been created in the Paleolithic era – 10,000 BC. However, there have been subsequent discoveries, one of which was the stone sculpture – the Venus of Hohle Fels, which was discovered in southwestern Germany in 2008 and was made between 33,000 and 38,000 years ago. Another known ancient art, is a set of … Read the article
The Art of Painting Snow
As Picture This Gallery hosts The Winter Art Show, we embrace the ‘white’ season here in Alberta. There is a specific skill in actually painting snow, as it is rarely purely white, instead, it reflects the hues of the sky and the objects, or natural colors around it. It may be bluer with a bright blue sky, or greyer with … Read the article
Oil painting and the history of landscape art
It is commonly known in the artistic community that oil paint is used for its stability, depth of colour, flexibility, textural variety and slow-drying nature. The medium can be used in a range of techniques, from thin glazes diluted with turpentine to dense thick impasto. This enables artists to work on a painting over several days. Added to these benefits … Read the article
The History and Art of Landscape Painting
In essence, landscape painting is the depiction of nature and natural scenery. Landscapes have been painted since ancient times with the Greeks and Romans creating wall paintings of natural scenic elements. The independent genre of landscape can be found as far back as 4th century China. However, it did not emerge into Western culture until the Renaissance in the 16th … Read the article
Happy birthday Canada! – Discover where the word Canada comes from
This year the 1st of July marks the 156th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation. There will be celebrations across this vast continent for many people. The celebration itself was initially known as Dominion Day, the national holiday of Canada. It was brought about after discussions on the possibility of a confederation between the colonies of British North America throughout the … Read the article
History of Miniature Paintings
In honour of our upcoming Masterpieces in Miniature Exhibition in May 2023, we are looking at the history of miniature paintings. The origins can be traced back to the 9th – 10th century Western India, where images were found on palm leaf manuscripts in the Buddhist Pala period. These were thought to be influenced by mural paintings. Subsequently, during the … Read the article