(Mr. H is still good for a kick in the rear about 4:30 when the painting energy starts to flag.)

--TE

Here in Seattle we head to Starbucks when that happens!

I think Jimi Hendrix was from the Seattle area.

That song - All Along the Watchtower, which is one of my favorites, was written by Bob Dylan. Word around the campfire was that when Dylan heard the Jimi Hendrix rendition he was so blown away that he proclaimed that from that moment on it belonged to J. H., and didn't perform it anymore.

Dylan produced an album in 1970, the year Hendrix died, called "Self Portrait." The album cover (below) is explained by Dylan in an interview:

"We moved to New York. Lookin' back, it really was a stupid thing to do. But there was a house available on MacDougal Street, and I always remembered that as a nice place. So I just bought this house, sight unseen. But it wasn't the same when we got back. The Woodstock Nation had overtaken MacDougal Street also. There'd be crowds outside my house. And I said, 'Well, * * * * it. I wish these people would just forget about me. I wanna do something they can't possibly like, they can't relate to. They'll see it, and they'll listen, and they'll say, 'Well, let's get on to the next person. He ain't sayin' it no more. He ain't given' us what we want,' you know? They'll go on to somebody else. But the whole idea backfired. Because the album went out there, and the people said, 'This ain't what we want,' and they got more resentful. And then I did this portrait for the cover. I mean, there was no title for that album. I knew somebody who had some paints and a square canvas, and I did the cover up in about five minutes. And I said, 'Well, I'm gonna call this album Self Portrait.'"

This first is a rather nice self portrait, I think, by the French Academic painter, sculptor & history painter, Paul Delaroche, 1797 - 1856.

Followed by the portrait of Henrietta Sontag, also by Delaroche.

Next is a self portrait by Alphonse Maria Mucha, 17x11, 1907. I don't think I understand where he was going with this. I like the execution but can't explain the lower half all that well. Maybe he's sitting in a chair - in an odd way.

Three great ones, Mike.

The Mucha's hard to read, and you can eventually get it with study, but it is sort of odd. But you gotta admire the really innovative, mouse's-eye-view angle, showing the underside of the palette.

I didn't know much about Delaroche, but your attribution sparked disgust when I remembered going through the University art program way back when and the word "Academic" was considered a condemnation. I want my tuition back.

Thanks!-TE

Tom,

This Mucha was an interesting figure. I'm wondering if the self portrait above could be cropped, though I can't find anything to contradict the image above. Sometimes I'm fooled.

Alphonse Maria Mucha was a Czech (1860 - 1939) that found his way to Paris in 1887, and continued his studies at Acad

Here are two of the large Slav Epic paintings as shown in the photo above. Pretty industrious I'd say.

1- The Abolition of serfdom in Russia (I've stood and looked at St. Basil's cathedral from that very spot in Red Square)

2- Apotheosis of the Slavs (Slavs for Humanity)

Me too.

There is a Mucha museum worth visiting in Prague at the Old Town Square. It holds paintings, photographs, charcoal drawings, pastels, lithographs and personal memorabilia, as well as many of his correspondences and artwork he did for advertising purposes.

These are the paintings of Joseph Rodefer de Camp, American painter, 1858-1923.

1- The blue cup
2- The Blue Mandarin coat 43x37, 1922
3- The Fur Jacket 30x25, 1910
4- Pauline 24x20, 1907

I especially like the first one. The lighting is very effective, I think.