Daily Art Fixx

Born on February 8, 1880 in Munich, Germany, Franz Marc was a principal painter of the German Expressionist movement. The son of a professional landscape painter, Marc chose to become an artist after a year of military service interrupted his plans to study philology. Marc studied at the Kunstakademie in Munich under Gabriel von Hackl and Wilhelm von Diez from 1900-1902. In 1903 and in 1907  he visited Paris where he was introduced to Japanese woodcuts and the work of Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, the Cubists, and the Expressionists. During this period, Marc also made a steady income by giving animal anatomy lessons to art students.

Marc had his first solo show at the Kunsthandlung Brackl, Munich in 1910.  He supported the Neue Künstlervereinigung München (Munich New Artist’s Association), and became a member of the group early in 1911. After the split of the NKVM, Marc formed Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider), artist circle with August Macke,  Wassily Kandinsky, and other artists. The group’s first exhibition was held on December 1911 at Heinrich Thannhauser’s Moderne Galerie in Munich.  “Der Blaue Reiter Almanac” was published with lead articles by Marc in May 1912.

Marc’s paintings were concerned with the need for harmony and union with nature. “Believing that animals achieved this harmony more successfully than human beings, he used them for the subject matter of his paintings. Early in his career he painted graceful and lyrical horses, cows, and deer inhabiting beautiful and peaceful landscapes. The scenes were painted with bright pure colors and filled with light.”

In 1912, Marc met Robert Delaunay, whose use of color and futurist method affected his work greatly. He became influenced by Futurism and Cubism, and his art became stark and abstract in nature.

Marc was conscripted during World War I and was sent to the front lines. The great loss of life deeply affected him, including the many animals that were killed in the war.  One of his best known paintings, Tierschicksale (Fate of the Animals), was completed in 1913 when “the tension of impending cataclysm had pervaded society”. On the back of the canvas, Marc wrote, “Und Alles Sein ist flammend Leid” (“And all being is flaming agony”). Marc wrote to his wife of the painting, it “is like a premonition of this war – horrible and shattering. I can hardly conceive that I painted it.”

Franz Marc was killed on March 14, 1916 at the Battle of Verdun.

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Sources: Guggenheim, Wikipedia, Albright-Knox Art Gallery,

Sam Jinks currently lives and works in Melbourne, Australia where he creates his hyper-realistic Sculptures out of Silicon. Jinks has a background in film and television effects but has been working on his own art full time for the last five years.

Jinks has exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout Australia. His work can also be found at the McClelland Gallery  & Sculpture Park in Victoria.  For more information visit SamJinks.com.

© Peter Taylor

Peter Taylor is a painter and illustrator from Vancouver, Canada, known for his plump tattooed forms. With a background in graffiti, Taylor has continued to work in large scale. His technique with acrylic airbrush is very similar to that of spraypaint, and the large scale allows him to retain many of his approaches to paint handling and layout, but to increase the level of detail to a large degree. Applied to the relatively simplistic and repeating character shapes, Taylor’s paintings evoke a sense of balance and complexity, contemplation and playfulness. (from Ayden Gallery)

For more information visit HandMadeFeet.com or The Ayden Gallery.

Confront © Brandon Maldonado

Born in 1980, Brandon Maldonado lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico – an environment that is rich in Hispanic arts and culture. His first artistic inspirations include the fantastical world of Star Wars and the monsters of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”.  In adolescence, he was influenced by graffiti which can still be seen in his current works. Maldonado has a BA in liberal arts from the College of Santa Fe where his studies focused on world religion and philosophy. He also has an associate’s degree in fine art, however, he  considers himself to be self-taught with his technical development based on independent studies of old masters including Jan Van Eyck and Dominique Ingres.

Hive © Angelina Wrona

“Angelina Wrona has been experimenting with various styles and media in her art for years. Earlier realist and folk art was rewarding yet not completely satisfying as darker, interesting and more peculiar ideas were beginning to form.

Never interested in abstract art, her first exposure to Juxtapoz Magazine was like opening a door to the art world of her dreams. The inspiration from this pop surrealist, exciting and vibrant art world so casually referred to as Lowbrow served as a catalyst for her developing style.

She began to realize and combine her delicate, dark subjects with surreal twists and ideas. Blending Japanese anime, folk art and representational styles to bring them to life, Angelina has created her collection, which she affectionately calls the “Senta-Mental Dolls”.

The twisted fairy tales the dolls inhabit are conjured up in the 19th century home in Merrickville, Ontario , Canada where she lives with her husband and their two beautiful daughters, who are a constant source of inspiration.” (bio from artist website)

For more information about Angelina Wrona, visit AngelinaWrona.ca.