Thursday, August 30, 2012

Friday, August 17, 2012

Sapphic Squamates

These lizards don't need any stupid male to reproduce!  Sisters are doing it for themselves!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Poor Polar Bears

Man, the polar bears can't catch a break!  Not only is their natural habitat melting out from underneath their paws, but the zoos are out to get them, too!  T

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Wednesday, August 08, 2012

Bourgeois Art Gallery

And we come to the end of Bourgeois Art Gallery for the time being.  Thank you for visiting, and please feel free to explore the museums at your leisure now that the tour is over.

Rolling Pin

It's too pretty to roll dough or hit someone!

Shawabti of the Lady of the House Sati

Just beautifully colored figure.

Giraffe Head

Giraffe!

King Before an Ichneumon

"Why is that Egyptian guy standing in front of a giant, fat beaver?"  That's what I thought on first sight, anyway.  But, no, it's not a beaver (which are native to North America anyway), it's a mongoose.  Apparently, it's a form of the sun god that battles with the serpent of evil.

Mariners Bowl

Fantastic glass cutting. 

Hedgehog

Hedgehog!

Wednesday, August 01, 2012

Bourgeois Art Gallery

Daedalus and Icarus

Icarus is giving us Tilda Swinton realness here, and I love it!

Portrait of the Malla King Bhupatindra and Malla Queen

It's the queen that I really like here, with the serenely good-humored face and the slightly cocked head, along with the great hairdo.  The king just looks boring next to her.

Seated Buddha

Not a terribly remarkable Buddha figure.  There are millions, probably, roughly similar.  But the way the gilding has rubbed off makes for an interesting look.

Barry Humphries in the Character of Mrs. Everage

Dame Edna!

Narodakini

This piece is probably astounding in person.  Even in pictures it's arresting.  Just the use of gilding as highlight against that dark bronze (with a great patina, BTW).  This was made by a true master.

The Three Sisters of Phaeton

I love sunsets, and this picture and the light it portrays is precisely why.

Centaur Mosaic

Mosaic is an artform that absolutely astounds me.  High-quality mosaic, like this piece, makes me gasp in wonder.  All those little pieces of glass or marble or whatever that the artist somehow makes a picture out of. 

The Isle of the Dead

This is a rather famous image, which you may have noticed I've avoided in this series, but I just really like it.  It's moody and mysterious.

The Interior of the Palm House

I'd love a house with this as a room. 

Reclining Dog

This poor dog doesn't look terribly happy to be sketched.  The artist probably woke him from a nice nap to get the right angles or something.

View from the Artist's Studio

There is, at least to my eyes, a meta character to this picture.  It's a painting of paintings: the one on the wall on the right, the one we can't see on the canvas in the foreground, and the "painting" of the view "framed" by the window.

Monkey

Monkey!

Dogs from Europe

Doggies!   

Cat and Plum Blossoms

Kitteh!

Guilin

Sublimity in painting.