Laura JG
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laurajg.bsky.social
Laura JG
@laurajg.bsky.social
700 followers 180 following 1.2K posts
Artist, art history, deconstructing. The banner is one of my artworks, created on my iPad using the Sketch Club app, with my Apple Pencil in hand. http://laurajeannegrimes.com
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laurajg.bsky.social
By Charles-Antoine Coypel (1694-1752), “Folly Embellishing Old Age with the Adornments of Youth,” pastel on paper mounted on canvas, 81 x 66 cm. (31 7/8 x 26 inches), photo: French & Company, New York. #arthistory #Art #pastel
From the website: “ The pastel shows an old lady in an elaborately embroidered pink gown -- which she protects with a powdering mantle -- performing her morning toilette at her make-up table. As she applies beauty patches to her wrinkled face, a pretty, high-spirited attendant places a lace bonnet on her head; both the old woman and the girl – who represents Folly – cast their smiling gaze upon a mischievous, bare-bottomed Cupid who flees the scene, Love’s arrow in hand. Although the old lady’s girlish dress and flirtatious demeanor are absurd – another 18th-century source describes her as “d’un caractère ridicule” -- the picture has an antic jollity and good humor that keeps its satire gentle. Folly Embellishing Old Age with the Adornments of Youth is unabashedly comic, a rarity in high art of any period, though something of a specialty of Charles Coypel, who was one of the most original and versatile French artists of the ancien regime. His pastel is a virtuoso effort that occupies a singular place at the nexus of fine art, theatre, art theory and philosophy in the first half of the 18th century.“
January 5, 2026 at 8:07 PM
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By Dutch artist Arent de Gelder (1645–1727), Simeon's Song of Praise, 1700, oil on canvas, 94.5 x 107.5 cm, in the collection of the Mauritshuis, The Hague, Netherlands. #arthistory #painting #oilpainting #Art
Description from the website: “Around 1662, Arent de Gelder was the last pupil of Rembrandt, who taught him to paint with broad brushstrokes, dark colours and strong lighting accents. De Gelder continued to work in this style, even when a finer touch and lighter colours became fashionable. De Gelder had a preference for biblical scenes, such as the story of the old man Simeon, who bursts into a song of praise when he recognises the little Jesus as his Messiah. The child in his arms appears to be the source of the divine light.”
January 4, 2026 at 3:37 PM
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To my surprise, I am still finding Spring wildflowers here and there. Here we have a Brown Eyed Susan growing by the side of a creek. Shot with my iPhone 15 Pro Max. Edited in DistressedFX. #digitalphotography #iphonography #iphoneonly #DistressedFX
A yellow flower, a type of rudbeckia, its petals unfurled like the rays of the sun.
January 3, 2026 at 11:57 PM
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By Diego Velázquez (1599-1660), An Old Woman Cooking Eggs, 1618, oil on canvas, 100.50 × 119.50 cm, National Galleries of Scotland. From the website: “Velázquez was eighteen or nineteen when he painted this remarkable picture.“ #arthistory #art #painting #oilpainting
From the website Diego-Velazquez.org: “The Old Woman Frying Eggs shows an elderly cook sitting in front of a small clay vessel in which she is cooking eggs over a charcoal fire. The artist's eye has observed and recorded every telling detail, down to the thin sliver of glowing coals that warm the eggs which are absent-mindedly tended by the woman. The worn but fine features of her face, beneath the confident painting of the veil on her head, bear witness to a life well lived. There is a serious, meditative quality about the woman's figure, and the boy with the melon under his arm and a carafe of wine in his hand looks out of the picture at us with comparable gravity. The contrast of youth and age conveys the transience of life, and the egg in the woman's hand suggests associations, familiar at the time, with the mutability of all earthly matter and with another life beyond the grave. The background is dark and indistinct, in contrast to the often over-crowded backgrounds of Dutch kitchen scenes. An interesting feature of this picture, the main subject of which is the cooking of eggs in a clay pot, is the honeydew melon with a cord slung crosswise around it, making it resemble an imperial orb.”
January 3, 2026 at 2:56 PM
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A New Year, 2026. Let’s look at this masterpiece depicting old age and youth by Domenico Ghirlandaio (1448–1494): “An Old Man and his Grandson,” tempera on poplar panel, 24.6x18.2 inches (62.7x 46.3 cm), in the collection of the Louvre. #arthistory #painting #art
From Web Gallery of Art: “… the artist succeeds not only in portraying the two figures with great tenderness, but also in conveying the deep affection between them. The boy is gently snuggling up to the old man. Their eyes meet on a diagonal: this balances the composition, and also excludes the observer from the intimate scene. The boy is looking upwards along the old man's outline, which means that he is actually looking directly at the enormous nose projecting towards him… The delicacy of the beautiful view of the landscape is, so to speak, a commentary on the profound companionability of the two generations. A soft light is falling an the faces through the window, and the old man is lit from the right and the boy from above. As the lit halves of their faces are turned towards each other, and the same bright red is used for the garments and cap, producing a richness that contrasts with the gray wall behind, the two figures seem to merge to form one.“
January 2, 2026 at 2:41 PM
laurajg.bsky.social
My latest sketch. Drawn freehand on my iPad Pro using the Sketch Club app. Five hours and 15 minutes total time. #digitalart #ipadart #drawingapp #artapp #sketchclubapp
Portrait of a young woman wearing a striped shirt. The palette is purples, blue, and pink.
January 1, 2026 at 5:03 PM
laurajg.bsky.social
This is getting scarier and scarier. 😞
washingtonpost.com The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 6d
Exclusive: ICE officials plan to spend $100 million to recruit gun-rights supporters and military enthusiasts through online influencers and a geo-targeted ad campaign, part of what the agency called a “wartime recruitment” strategy to hire thousands of officers, according to an internal document.
ICE plans $100 million ‘wartime recruitment’ push targeting gun shows, military fans
An internal ICE document shared among immigration officials details plans to use influencers and geo-targeted ads to rapidly hire thousands of deportation officers.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 31, 2025 at 5:18 PM
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New Year’s Eve! Time to party! By Chicago artist, educator, and filmmaker Barbara Jones-Hogu (1938-2017), a founding member of the artist collective AfriCOBRA, "When Styling," 1973, screenprint. As a print it appears in collections both public & private. #art #blackartists #womenartists More in ALT.
A colorful depiction of a black man and woman in what look like “go to the disco” clothes. Words written around them read: “When styling think of self-determination-liberation.” Self-Determination (Kujichagulia), is one of the 7 Principles of Kwanzaa. More on the artist: “Hogu helped co-found AfriCOBRA, an artist collective with Jeff Donaldson (1932-2004), Wadsworth Jarrell, Jae Jarrell, and Gerald Williams. (Donaldson and Wadsworth Jarrell were active in OBAC, too.) Initially called COBRA, then African COBRA, the group settled on the name AfriCOBRA, which stands for African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists. The collective focused on positive, powerful, and uplifting images of black people.” ~ Victoria L. Valentine, “Chicago Artist Barbara Jones-Hogu, a Founding Member of AfriCOBRA, Has Died,” Culture Type, Nov 21, 2017.
December 31, 2025 at 4:41 PM
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By Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), Uneasy Christmas in the Birthplace of Peace (Christmas Eve in Bethlehem), 1970, oil on canvas, illustration for Look Magazine, December 29, 1970, permanent collection of Norman Rockwell Museum. #arthistory #illustration #christmas #art
From the museum: 'On December 9, 1969, Rockwell decided to go to Bethlehem to paint a Christmas scene. Two weeks later, accompanied by his wife Molly and his photographer Brad Herzog, he flew to Jerusalem. On Christmas Eve, from the roof of a Bethlehem hotel, he gathered impressions for his painting and directed photography. Rockwell's early version of the rooftop onlookers included "devout native Israeli, Christian, Jewish and Mohammedan." The picture was a compromise between Rockwell and Look's art director who wanted him to omit the Arab and one soldier. But Rockwell kept both soldiers, as “...they never seem to go singly about the streets of Bethlehem," he said. Another compromise was made when, at the art director's request, he removed the tourist family's souvenirs and guidebook from the painting!
December 30, 2025 at 11:54 PM
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Thomas Handforth (1897-1948), A Merry Christmas, etching on paper, 3 5⁄8 x 3 5⁄8 in. (9.2 x 9.2 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery, Washington, DC. More info on the artist in ALT. #arthistory #Christmas #Printmaking
Three men on horseback, representing the three Magi; one man is black, one Asian, one Caucasian. They represent the idea that Christ came for the people of all nations. In the left corner we see a town. Artist, author, illustrator, world traveler, Handforth is probably best known for his children’s book “Mei Li,” which received the Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children in 1939. In 1943 he taught art for 8 months at the Seeman School, in El Monte, California, a school for boys with developmental challenges. (In what was considered appropriate language at the time, it was called the Seeman School for Retarded, Nervous, and Handicapped Boys.)
December 29, 2025 at 3:33 PM
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This poster, 1938, was printed by the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio to encourage Americans to welcome Jewish refugees from Germany & Austria. More info in ALT. I couldn’t track down the name of the artist. #arthistory #illustration #immigration #immigrants #Refugees
A poster depicting Mary holding Baby Jesus as she rides a donkey. Behind them, on foot, Joseph looks back, perhaps to see if they are being followed. You will find story of The Flight Into Egypt in the Gospel according to Matthew 2:13-15: ‘After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”’ ~ New Living Translation From the website Facing History & Ourselves: “In 1939, 83% of Americans were opposed to the admission of refugees. In the midst of the Great Depression, many feared the burden that immigrants could place on the nation’s economy… While economic concerns certainly played a role in Americans’ attitudes toward immigration, so too did feelings of fear, mistrust, and even hatred of those who were different. Immigration policies were shaped by fears of communist infiltrators and Nazi spies. Antisemitism also played an important role in public opinion.”
December 28, 2025 at 3:00 PM
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By Louis Delsarte (1944-2020), “Unity,” 1995, offset lithograph on white wove paper, 73.7 × 54.6 cm (29 × 21 1/2 in.). Unity is the first of the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa. Unity: striving for and maintaining unity in the family, community, nation, and race. More in ALT. #art #printmaking #kwanzaa
A colorful artwork depicting a man wearing a suit, woman in a dress, two children, presumably their son and daughter, he wearing trousers and t-shirt, she in a dress, and carrying a purse. From his obituary in the New York Times: ‘“Whenever I see Louis’s work, I see a bunch of black people looking good, from anywhere and everywhere in the diaspora,” said Arturo Lindsay, an artist and professor emeritus of art and art history at Spelman College in Atlanta. “Just showing black people looking good and happy is a hell of a political statement.”’
December 27, 2025 at 6:30 PM
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On the left, my latest sketch (and on the right a photo of the original painting). Based on Pierre-Auguste Renoir's painting Mademoiselle Sicot. Drawn freehand on my iPad Pro using the SketchClub app. #digitalart #ipadart #artapp #drawingapp
From the website Fy!, describing the original painting: “A woman, Mademoiselle Sicot, gazes subtly away, her form enveloped in a rich purple gown and delicate black lace. Renoir's masterful brushwork captures a quiet elegance, a moment suspended in 19th-century France. The dark, atmospheric background enhances her thoughtful presence, evoking the timeless grace of a bygone era.” The original painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), Mademoiselle Sicot, 1865, oil on canvas, 116 x 89.5 cm (45 11/16 x 35 1/4 in.), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. From the website Fy!: “A woman, Mademoiselle Sicot, gazes subtly away, her form enveloped in a rich purple gown and delicate black lace. Renoir's masterful brushwork captures a quiet elegance, a moment suspended in 19th-century France. The dark, atmospheric background enhances her thoughtful presence, evoking the timeless grace of a bygone era.”
December 27, 2025 at 12:06 AM
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By an unknown Indian artist, Mughal Dynasty, Adoration of the Christ Child, from the Muraqga of Nana Phadnis, Mughal India, ca. 1620-1630, collection of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya.
#arthistory #nativity #christmas #painting #indianart #artofindia
From Victoria Emily Jones, Christianity Today Magazine, December 18, 2023: “Mary sits with her naked son on her lap inside a refined Mughal interior, wearing a brocaded dress, multiple rings on her fingers, and a tilaka mark on her forehead. The identity of the three figures other than the at the center is indeterminate (unlike in the engraving). They may be visitors seeking to pay homage, attendants, relatives, or some mix thereof. The elderly woman with the headscarf and grapes, whom Jesus looks at curiously, may be a midwife or nurse. The flower-bearing person at the back may be an angel."
December 26, 2025 at 3:30 PM
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Here is a sketch I did several years ago for Christmas. Drawn freehand on my iPad Pro using the Sketch Club app. #christmas #digitalart #ipadart #artapp #drawingapp
A dark night sky, a large single star shine bright, over green hills with a little village nestled.
December 25, 2025 at 8:19 PM
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Ethiopian artist, The Virgin and Child with the Archangels Michael and Gabriel, ca. 1480-1520, tempera, Leaf: 34.5 x 25.6 cm (13 9/16 x 10 1/16 in.), The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. #arthistory #Christmas #ethiopia
From the museum: "The cycle of miniatures at the beginning of the manuscript culminates with a depiction of the Virgin and Child flanked by the archangels Gabriel and Michael holding swords. "
December 25, 2025 at 5:11 PM
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Your art history post for today: by Kim Ki-chang (1914–2001), The Birth of Jesus Christ, ca. 1952-1953, ink on silk, 76x63 cm, Seoul Museum. More in ALT. #arthistory #Christmas #asianart
A Nativity scene, the participants are Korean, as is their dress. Mary, Joseph, the Infant, a crowd of women, plus a cow, a donkey, and a rooster. From Amy Baik Lee, “On The Nativity of Christ, by Unbo (Kim Ki-Chang),” from her website, April 17, 2025: ‘Obviously his paintings are not meant to be a historical depiction of Christ; instead, by phrasing the gospel story in the visual language of traditional Korean art, Unbo underscores the wonder of God's mercy to the nations and — as humanity itself is given honor by the Incarnation - shines a light on His artistry and image as He was pleased to place it in this particular culture. I think it was the women in the background of "The Nativity of Christ" who sparked my memory and my interest. One is holding a covered bowl over her head, as my grandmother used to carry heavy things; another has a carefully balanced tray of rice, soup, and side dishes ready for Mary - because it is common knowledge that new mothers must keep warm and replenish the nutrients lost in childbirth with a special seaweed soup.’
December 24, 2025 at 8:44 PM
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By Scottish artist John Byrne (1940-2023), “Say It With A Kiss!”~ design for Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's official 2017 Christmas card. #art #christmas #painting #illustration
A man and a woman (dancing?). She is holding a sprig of mistletoe. He turns toward her, perhaps for a kiss.
December 24, 2025 at 12:02 AM
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Your art history post for today: by Rigoberto A. González (born 1973), Refugees Crossing the Border Wall into South Texas (The Flight Into Egypt), 2020, oil on linen, private collection. #painting #oilpainting #immigration #Refugees #Christmas
From The National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC: “Despite the ever-present news stories about the Mexico-U.S. border, as Rigoberto Gonzalez contends, the region itself remains nebulous. It feels like a space that is transnational, one that is both inclusive and exclusionary. This painting monumentalizes the very act of crossing this threshold with its allusions to seventeenth-century Baroque art. Each figure emerges out of darkness, light accentuating their worried expressions. Their arms and hands touch, forming an almost continuous line from mother to older child, connecting the group. The mother holds a rosary while carrying a diaper-clad child and tenuously grips the edge of a ladder that leans against the looming steel fence. And just below this ladder, at the bottom left, a medical mask and a newspaper provide temporal specificity to this often repeated, perilous scene.”
December 22, 2025 at 3:15 PM
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Sunday Selfie. Shot with my iPhone 15 Pro Max using the Tintype app. Edited in Hipstamatic (first Hema lens/Blinken film/Apollo flash, then saved and loaded again, using Jane lens/Lucky Lucas/Berry Pop flash). #iphonography #iphoneonly #sundayselfie #selfportraitsunday #hipstamatic
December 21, 2025 at 6:53 PM
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By Ben Shahn (1898–1969), Christmas 1963, offset lithograph, 20 x 26-1/4 in. (sheet). As a print, it appears in several collections, both public and private. #arthistory #art #printmaking #christmas
A grove of bare branched black trees on a cream background. In block letters at the bottom: CHRISTMAS*1963. The * is printed in red.
December 21, 2025 at 2:39 AM
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Quote: ‘“Unlike those who hide behind masks, we show our faces — proud, visible, and unafraid,” said Miguel Santana, president and CEO of the California Community Foundation, which is leading the campaign.’ #ice #immigration #art
laist.com/news/los-ang...
Public art protest of ICE raids asks 'Am I Next?' Campaign features prominent Trump critics
The new campaign features features veteran actors Edward James Olmos, George Takei and other Angelenos who oppose the Trump Administration's deportation policy.
laist.com
December 20, 2025 at 2:30 AM
laurajg.bsky.social
By Clarence Coles Phillips (1880-1927), cover of LIFE Magazine, December 1926. From the Metropolitan Museum of Art: “Coles Phillips embodies innovative American periodical and advertising design between 1911 and 1927, a period considered a Golden Age of illustration.” #illustration #art #christmas
A woman in a sheer negligee, with a red robe trimmed with white fur or feathers. She holds in her right hand what appears to be a sheer black stocking with a ball stuffed into the toe(?). In her left hand she holds a check up for the viewer.
December 20, 2025 at 1:07 AM
laurajg.bsky.social
My latest sketch, Mother and Child, based on a photo reference provided by the subject via the Museum app. Drawn freehand on my iPad Pro using the SketchClub app. About 5 and a half hours total time. #digitalart #ipadart #artapp #drawingapp
A young mother and child. Both are black. Behind them a partial gold circle, reminiscent of a halo.
December 19, 2025 at 9:30 PM
laurajg.bsky.social
"Holy Family," by Lauren Ford (1891-1973), etching, 9 5/8 x 10 9/16 inches (24.4 × 26.8 cm). As a print, it appears in many collections including the Carnegie Museum of Art, The Dayton Art Institute, and Newfields Indianapolis Museum of Art. More in ALT. #arthistory #christmas #printmaking #etching
A young man and woman sitting in the hay in a barn. Both looking at the baby in her lap. Doves perch on a bare branch in the left background. Her book The Ageless Story, about Mary and the birth and childhood of Jesus, was named a Caldecott Medal Honor book in 1940. From LIFE Magazine, July 4, 1938: 'Simple and imaginative, Ford paintings often have a religious theme, frequently include children. They are appreciated not only by wealthy urban collectors but by the farmers who are Lauren Ford's neighbors near Bethlehem, Conn. There, except for an occasional trip abroad, this artist-farmer lives the year round, surrounded by her family, cats, a dog and a large number of cows. Five days a week she spends seven hours a day doing the kind of work that has evoked from metropolitan critics such adjectives as "picturesque," "tender, “fanciful" and "humorous." Much of it has for its background the nearby Connecticut countryside. "I guess Connecticut is in my blood," says Lauren Ford...'
December 18, 2025 at 4:28 PM