March 24th Today, I am...

...this creative illustration by Mia Araujo!

My name is "Sleeping Sickness". I'm an acrylic painting on wood by Michelle Mia Araujo: "I am an Argentine-American artist, born and raised in Los Angeles. I have long been fascinated by the multi-faceted complexity that makes each person unique. I believe that all individuals contain an entire universe within them, which is invisible to the  naked eye. My work concentrates on giving shape to the unseen forces within my subjects-- their thoughts, memories, emotions, and complex histories. These qualities fit together to form a vast, rich inner landscape of identity and mythology for my characters. In May 2007, I graduated as valedictorian from Otis College of Art and Design, with a BFA in Illustration and a minor in Creative Writing. I am represented by Corey Helford Gallery in Los Angeles, and have shown my work in prominent galleries across the US." She draws inspiration from everything, but especially fairy tales, performance art, vintage photography, music, literature, animation, and world cultures.

other Mia Araujo paintings:

interesting acrylic paint facts:

* acrylic paint is a paint that is made from the combination of pigment and acrylic polymer emulsion, which contains acrylic resin and water
* the resin used in acrylic paints was first patented in 1915 by a chemist and inventor Otto Röhm from Germany
* acrylic paints began to be developed in the 1920s to the 1940s and were able to be bought commercially in the 1950s
* acrylic paints were popular during the pop art, abstract art and photorealism periods in the 1900s, and have remained very popular due to their flexible nature, providing less cracking; versatility; and their quick drying characteristics

(all facts found at AcrylicPaint)

March 6th Today, I am...

...Leda with the swan!

I am an oil on wood painting by Leonardo daVinci. Leda and the swan is a Greek mythoglogy story in which the god Zeus, in the form of a swan, seduces and rapes Leda. Leda then gave birth to his children, Helena and Polydeuces, while at the same time bearing Castor and Clytemnestra, children of her husband and the king of Sparta, Tyndareus. Some stories say she laid two eggs from which the children hatched. Leonardo daVinci was an Italian painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer. One of the most diversly talented person to ever live, he is also considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time. A man of "unquenchable curiosity" and "feverishly inventive imagination", Leonardo has often been described as the archetype of the Renaissance Man. He epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal (humanism = a philosophical and ethical stance that emphasizes the value and agency of human beings, individually and collectively, and generally prefers critical thinking and evidence (rationalism, empiricism) over established doctrine or faith (fideism).

his signature:

other daVinci paintings:

 

interesting daVinci facts:

* the name Leonardo daVinci translates to Leonard from the town of Vinci
* Leonardo was raised by his single father (he was the love child of Caterina, a peasant, and Ser Piero, a lawyer and landlord)
* he was left-handed
* daVinci left many paintings unfinished and destroyed most of his work
* he was a vegetarian who loved animals and despised war, yet he worked as a military engineer to invent advanced and deadly weapons
* he invented the bicycle 300 years before it appeared on the road
* Leonardo daVinci had dyslexia, which made it hard for others to steal his work
* he dug into graves at night and stole corpses to study the human anatomy
* he was an accomplished lyre player

(facts found at DaVinci Poster and Discover)