Sunday Art Review: Varga(s) Girl Pin Up Art

Joaquin Alberto Vargas y Chávez (1896-1982) was a watercolor and airbrush artist, who started his career with the Ziegfeld Follies and for numerous Hollywood studios. He is considered one of the finest artists in his genre. He created a mastery of watercolors and airbrush technique; so much so that today the highest acknowledged achievement in airbrush artistry is called the Vargas Award. His most famous piece of work on film was in the 1933 film The Sin of Nora Moran, but later in the 1940s he created iconic pin-up girls for Esquire magazine known as "Varga Girls" in the WWII era. Later, after a dispute in the use of the term "Varga Girl". Hugh Hefner began featuring his work in Playboy magazine during the 1960's under the name "Vargas Girls". Mr Vargas died on December 30, 1982, at the age of 86 but to this day continues to be recognized as the leading artist for pin up girl art. I hope you enjoy today's somewhat edited installment of The Sunday Art Review: Varga(s) Girl Pin Up Art

Thanks for stopping by today's Sunday Art Review. Have a great day!

-Rick Rockhill

Sunday Art Review: Dessert in Art

Welcome back to a new edition of the Sunday Art Review. I'm pleased to present another fun theme for this week's post. Regular readers of this blog already know that I have a "sweet tooth", and consider dessert a compulsory course when dining. Sometimes I enjoy the anticipation of knowing what is to come after the main entree, and other times (either at a restaurant or at a dinner party) not knowing what's for dessert can be equally thrilling. Back when I was in the confectionery industry, my sitting room had photos of chocolate in picture frames scattered throughout the room. It always delighted guests who found it a most curious subject to be framed. Naturally I thought it to be quite reasonable- after all, I love chocolate, and at the time didn't have nieces to adore in a photo frame. Thus the inspiration for today's theme. Welcome to the Sunday Art Review: Dessert in Art

above: Some vintage French Art: she is holding a plate of biscuits so artfully.

above: more vintage French art. She looks so refined here, so elegant.

above: This is an Italian artist whose name I've mislaid. However, a classic ice cream sundae always makes me smile.

above: Three chefs serving up the best

above: this waiter seems quite proud of his tray.

above: these three waitresses are headed to a table and sure to delight.

Which ones do you like? All comments are free today!

-Rick Rockhill

Sunday Art Review: Chefs in Art

Last week the Sunday Art Review was on hiatus due to my rather hectic schedule of late. However, it returns today with a fresh new topic. Last night was a culinary feast at home. We made the most fantastic dinner of wild caught salmon , pan seared prepared with a sauce of basil, cream, scallions and white white. It was served on a bed of sauteed spinach and fresh asparagus, so it was healthy too. This culinary fare served as inspiration for this week's Sunday Art Review: Chefs in Art. I hope you enjoy these pieces. The first one above left is an hommage to the great Julia Child. Marvelous, isn't it?

above: Chef with Wine and Bread

above: Chef with Turkey

above: Chef tossing pizza with dog watching, by Dena Marie

above: Chefs, by Susan Jenkins

above: Chefs at Grill, by Nina

above: Chef in Vineyard, unknown

above: Buitoni Chef, unknown

above: Chef at Work, by Sue Lynn Cotton

I hope you enjoyed this week's Sunday Art Review: Chefs in Art. Which one did you like best?

-Rick Rockhill

Sunday Art Review: Lady Gaga An Artist?

For nearly two years, I've written a weekly Sunday Art Review post. For each installment, I select a theme or attempt to represent a different genre or medium of art. Of course art is by its very nature is highly subjective. We all vary in our preferences, and to be sure people disagree on what should be considered art. Surely everyone would agree that paintings and sculpture are considered art; but what about tapestry, photography, dance, fashion, blown glass, acting or music? Dictionary.com defines art as: the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance; any field using the skills or techniques of art. I thought it might be interesting to push the envelope a bit this week and use pop music artist Lady Gaga as an example of a modern day artist. As a newcomer to the commercial music industry, I'm certainly not suggesting she is the most talented music artist; Gaga has a limited body of work still. Yet she distinguished herself among a very crowded playing field of sameness. She has an individualistic style which she expresses in sometimes shocking but an always interesting manner. Like other contemporary music artists, she understands the importance of her look as much as her voice and lyrics. This was the inspiration for this week's Sunday Art Review: Lady Gaga An Artist? Whether you know (or like)her music, take a look at these images and decide if you think she is expressing herself in a more than ordinary manner. She may not have the voice of Sarah Brightman but she has a style all her own. See for yourself:

above: the many faces of Lady Gaga. Her cutting edge fashion helps define her music

above: At an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show, Lady Gaga donned her now famous "orbit hat" that rotated and swiveled as she moved. She certainly made a statement with it.

The Lady Gaga Package

And Now Check Out Her Music from this YouTube clip:

And so, what do you think, could Lady Gaga be considered art? The Sunday Art Review is intended to make you think now and then, so I hope to hear your opinions with a comment.
-Rick Rockhill

Sunday Art Review: Fathers Day Art

Is it me, or is this year flying by? People have always said "As you get older, time goes by even more quickly". Sheesh, sure seems true to me anyway. Somehow it is already Father's Day. Yikes the year is half over already. For this week's Sunday Art Review, naturally the topic is Father's Day Art. My birth father is long deceased, but always with me. My step father has been a friend and a father too. So today's post is for both of them. To all the fathers out there, young and old, living and deceased, let us remember their contributions to our development. I thought I'd start off featuring a fun retro 50's era father's day card, which reads: Happy Father's Day to my Dapper Dad. I just love that, dapper dad part. No one talks like that anymore-except me anyway. But what do I know, I still wear ascots for gosh sakes. I hope you enjoy today's Sunday Art Review: Father's Day Art

above: "Father's Love" by Lindsay Dawson

above: "Sashi and Father", by Sashi

above: Fatherhood, Keith Haring

above: Father and Son, by Peter Forst

above: Father and Children sculpture, artist unknown

I hope you enjoyed today's Sunday Art Review: Fathers Day Art. Now that I am done with this I can go feed my four-legged furry kids.

-Rick Rockhill

Sunday Art Review: Chinese Sampler

Last night I went to dinner at Wang's In the Desert, a trendy Chinese restaurant in downtown Palm Springs. We've been there before- it was popular when it first opened and actually used to be quite good. These days it seems the quality of food declined slightly and the menu was a bit boring. The atmosphere at Wang's, however is very nice, and served as inspiration for this week's Sunday Art Review: Chinese Sampler. I scoured my usual sources to find art to include in this week's post. I regret to inform you, dear reader that I do not have the corresponding titles or artist details, so please just enjoy these works of art. Think of it as a self guided tour.

above: "Red Flower Tree"

above: "Woman With Flute"

above: "Butterfly and Flower"

above: "Two Birds"

above: "House on Cliff"

above: "Dragon"

Thanks for stopping by the Sunday Art Review. Have a great day!

-Rick Rockhill

Sunday Art Review: Fantasy in Art

This week's edition of the Sunday Art Review brings a somewhat unexpected genre for me to present. I've been fascinated by the video game Oblivion, which is part of the Elder Scrolls series. I'm not an Xbox maniac, in fact I don't even play- John does. He plays and I watch. I am so fascinated by Oblivion, aside from an interesting story line, it has such enchanting music that I find myself drawn to it. When he plays Oblivion-sometimes for hours it is like I've entered the fantasy world and get to know all these interesting characters. This was the inspiration for this week's edition of the Sunday Art Review: Fantasy in Art. Mind you, none of this art has anything to do with Oblivion or Xbox, so there is my disclaimer up front. In the meantime enjoy these...

above: Dragon scene, by famed fantasy artist Rowena Morill

above: Moonlight, artist unknown

above: Unicorn, by well known fantasy artist Steve Roberts

above: Mermaid and the Unicorn, by Steve Roberts

above: Merlin, artist unknown

above: Lila, by Kate Dawidziak

above: title unknown, by David Michalczyk

above: an interesting combination of imagery. I found this image but it had no information attributed to it. Thought it would be an interesting piece to end this week's Sunday Art Review: Fantasy in Art. Thanks for stopping by!

-Rick Rockhill