Happy Easter!! Some J.C. Leyendecker Illustrations and an Old Joke.

This is one of my favorite paintings and yet I don't get it at all. Maybe I love it because I don't get it.
Cupid, I'm guessing that is supposed to be Cupid, is locked up in a birdcage and being romantically kissed by his young and attractive captor? What does that have to do with Easter? Even if I sort of get the idea, isn't it more of a Valentines Day Illustration? I really have no idea but I love it anyway...I feel the same way about some of Stevie Nicks songs... I love them but can spend years trying to figure them out. Can anyone explain Silver Springs to me? The first few lines especially.

I just love the Black dress and the hair and face of the girl...well, I love the whole thing really.

Classic Leyendecker above. Look at that mirror!!!

Because this is a happy holiday post I will end it with a joke my father tells every Easter, and I still find it funny...Hope you do too.

Three blondes died and are at the pearly gates of heaven. St. Peter tells them that they can enter the gates if they can answer one simple question. St. Peter asks the first blonde, "What is Easter?" The blonde replies, "Oh, that's easy! It's the holiday in November when everyone gets together, eats turkey, and are thankful and stuff..." "Wrong!," replies St. Peter, and proceeds to ask the second blonde the same question, "What is Easter?" The second blonde replies, "Easter is the holiday in December when we put up a nice tree, exchange presents, and drink eggnog." St. Peter looks at the second blonde, shakes his head in disgust, tells her she's wrong, and then peers over his glasses at the third blonde and asks, "What is Easter?" The third blonde smiles confidently and looks St. Peter in the eyes, "I know what Easter is." "Oh?" says St. Peter, incredulously. "Easter is the Christian holiday, that coincides with the Jewish celebration of Passover. Jesus and his disciples were eating at the last supper. Then the Romans took him to be crucified and he was stabbed in the side, made to wear a crown of thorns, and was hung on a cross with nails through his hands. He was buried in a nearby cave which was sealed off by a large boulder." St. Peter smiles broadly with delight. Then the third blonde continues, "Every year the boulder is moved aside so that Jesus can come out...and, if he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter."


*There is an updated version online where the word "Blond" is substituted for "fool".
When I was a kid, it was a blond joke, so I am posting it as a blond joke. If you are offended by blond jokes, stop dying your hair.

The Metropolitan Museum Of Art - Sued Over Sign

Currently there is a lawsuit going on which claims the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The MET) is illegally overcharging it's visitors.

 

The price on the sign is $25. Underneath the word "Admissions" it clearly has the word "recommended".

"Many people, especially foreign tourists, don't see it, don't understand it or don't question it. If they ask, they are told the fee is merely a suggested donation: You can pay what you wish, but you must pay something." AP

I don't pay full price, and never have. Well that's not true, I did the first time....and then I learned. Just like everyone else who goes more then once.
I went to school in NYC and went to the MET about twice a month, sometimes every week. I give one dollar every time I go. Over the years I have given them several hundred dollars, not including things I have purchased while I am there. I am perfectly fine with that. I went with some friends once and one of them wanted to give a quarter for five people, which in my opinion is the other extreme. I felt that a dollar each was very fair. If you live in the New York area, you probably know that the admission is suggested. If I go to the MET a few hundred times and give a dollar each time I go, they make several hundred dollars. But if you only go once in your life, why shouldn't you pay the full $25.oo? I just went to the Norman Rockwell Museum, it was $18.00 to get in, not suggested, and their collection is a fraction of the size. Worth the $18.00 I might add!

"The suit seeks compensation for museum members and visitors who paid by credit card over the past few years, though some who choose to pay less than the full price pull out a $10 or $5 bill. Some fork over a buck or loose change. Those who balk at paying anything at all are told they won't be allowed in unless they pay something, even a penny." AP 

The excuse of "I was a tourist, and didn't know" is lame. It happens to all of us, toughen up pal. I fell for the shoeshine trick in Chicago once. I went to school in NYC and fell for a shoeshine in Chicago! Why? because I was a tourist, and was caught off guard in a strange city. I would never have fallen for that in NY. It cost me twenty bucks, but I didn't call my lawyer. 

 When I go to any museum I ask "Is admission suggested?" Sometimes it surprisingly is. Most times it's not.
Has anyone asked themselves, what if the MET gets pissed off by the lawsuit and just says "forget it, it's twenty five bucks now."

From an article in the Atlantic:
Still, the suit goes way too far, "seeking compensation for museum members and visitors who paid by credit card over the past few years." Clearly, the museum can't be expected to find and interview 20+ million people to discover who would have paid what amount between $0.01 and $25 had the font size for "Recommended" been slightly bigger.

This lawsuit is ridiculous. I like that the sign is vague! It was this sort of well kept secret..."Hey, pal (in a whisper) you don't have to pay full price here"
"Wow! That's really cool" 

 Even if you paid the $25.00 it is still a fantastic purchase for the money. The bridge toll is $12.00 now which is half of the cost!!  Maybe I missed the sign on the GWB which said "suggested"? Can I sue them? - I didn't think so, but I'd love to pay a dollar to get over it.

Why don't they sue the MoMa? They have been overcharging for years and the work hanging there isn't anywhere near as impressive as the MET. 

A few years ago my girlfriend and I went to The MoMa to try to see the Tim Burton exhibition. When we got there we were told it was sold out, at two in the afternoon, for the rest of the day. Two in the Afternoon!? Sold Out? 

"We can't get in at all today?" I asked?

I was told that I could get in if I became a member which was $85.00.

"So it's not really sold out, you just working me for more money." I said

"Sold Out" is a simple phrase, it means "none left". I'm not really sure how a place without numbered seats could be sold out, but that is besides the point. Thy couldn't fit two more in? Clearly they haven't been on a Transit Bus in NYC.
We didn't get in, and we left.

I will never go back to the Moma, but I will never stop going to The MET.


http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/03/why-you-shoudnt-pay-the-metropolitian-museum-of-arts-recommended-25-fee/274328/

Coconut And Limes XII

Well anyone who reads this Blog knows I have painted a coconut and Limes before....in fact, this is number twelve. I liked the way the Lime on the left is tilted. It seperates this one from the others. I also liked the hairs coming off of the coconut.
6x8 Oil on Panel

SOLD

Teacup Of Strawberries II

 Teacup of StrawberriesII

6 x 8 Oil on Panel

Apples And Guava

Whenever I paint something I feel that people don't expect to see in a still life I have to choose between painting something I want to paint, and painting something that I think will sell.

I have been looking at these Guava fruits at the market for a few weeks now and kept thinking that if I painted them it wouldn't sell. I decided to just paint them anyway and see what happens. I love the light yellow color of them. I posted a shot of the set up to show what they actually look like. The colors of the painting are fairly close but the colors of the real objects look a bit washed out to me.
 "Guava fruit generally have a pronounced and typical fragrance, similar to lemon rind but less sharp. Guava pulp may be sweet or sour, tasting something between pear and strawberry, off-white ("white" guavas) to deep pink ("red" guavas), with the seeds in the central pulp of variable number and hardness, depending on species." from Wikipedia

Apples And Guava

6 x 8 Oil on Panel
  
SOLD

Aloha II

Last year I painted the first "Aloha". I began it and the pineapple began to change colors so fast I  couldn't finish the painting. I started again and this time worked only on the pineapple until it was finished and then put everything else in the painting later. It took sixteen hours just to finish the pineapple and I swore I would never do it again.......
Maybe after a year I had just forgotten how difficult it was but I decided to do it again. It was not much easier. This one took about two weeks as well!
12 x 18 Oil on Panel. SOLD

New Minnie - Maple Leaves

SOLD

I actually started this one last summer and didn't like the background. I had taped the leaves to a board to work from and had painted the color of the brown board into the painting. As I looked at it I thought that leaves looked silly on a brown board so I painted the board blue and white and changed the background.

6 x 8 Oil on Panel.

Illegal Hand-Painted Chinese Copies Of My Work Now Available

*Update: As of 3/11 2013 I have now told six other painters that their work has been ripped off. Some already knew, some didn't. Six total images have been removed from the Pinterest Page. Why Pinterest hasn't taken down their whole page yet - I don't know.

*Update: As of 3/2 2013 They have a Pinterest page also which had one of my images on it. I filled out a copyright infringement form and a bunch of my friends left negative comments. They have taken down one of my stolen images! Who say's we can't do something about this kind of thing......


A friend of mine on Facebook just told me about this site which is offering hand made originals of my work. They even Photoshopped out my signature and added their own watermark. It looks like they took the image off of this Blog. They did not contact me and I gave no permission for this. Unbelievable!!!

They Call themselves the Oil Paintings Store OPS
http://www.oilpaintingsstore.com/
They are stealing work off of the internet and making copies of it!

 The Oil Paintings Store

I wasn't sure if there is any legal action I can do, and I probably wouldn't win anyway so I sent them this email....not the most mature way to handle it, but it was fun....

Dear Thief,

You have stolen my work.
You are probably Chinese so there is noting I can do about it.
I will instead put a curse on you.
You will die from choking on a small bone fragment left in a meal.
It will get caught in your throat, and cause you to choke on your own blood.
For every painting of mine you steal, I will curse a family member of yours as well.

Warm Regards,
Clinton T. Hobart

I would like to point out that the company is Chinese. They are listed on "Who Is" as being Chinese. I have received some negative emails from people saying my post is anti-Chinese. No it's anti-people stealing my work, they just happen to be Chinese. If they were Italian, I would have said that. It's simply that Italians are not known for stealing Artwork,..... Booze, Cash, Guns, TV's, Stereo equipment (I grew up in NJ) and anything else they can get their hands on - yes. But not art, just not an Italian thing to do. The Chinese however are notorious for it. I hope this proves it is not a race thing against anyone....

Here are the two images that were stolen. I still have the Persimmons, they are sitting here on my shelf!!  I think the price just went up though. The way this works is that they have a print of your work hanging in a factory type environment. When an order is placed, someone just copies your work. You have seen this at the Mall, hand painted, Van Gogh, Cezanne, etc.
They line them up and make ten at a time.

I also sent this follow up email:

You have my paintings listed on your site without my permission.
I have posted a Blog about you calling your company a fraud, and that you sell copies of paintings of other peoples work.

Here is a link to my Blog: http://clintonhobart.blogspot.com
I will take it down when you take down my work.

Clinton T. Hobart

I sent another email to PayPal who wants you to report fake sites:
If you want to help, send an email to:

spoof@paypal.com

Dear PayPal,

I have been a seller on ebay for years and frequently use PayPal.
Recently one of my Images was taken off of my Blog without my permission and posted on this Chinese Painting Site:
http://www.oilpaintingsstore.com/

Below is a link to one of my paintings which does not have my name anywhere on it.
http://www.oilpaintingsstore.com/hand-painted-still-life-oil-painting-pears-810.html

There are other stolen images on this site as well.
They claim to accept PayPal.


Thank you,

Clinton T. Hobart