Blue Lotus Art Gallery
Guildford Town Centre, 10355 152 Street V3R 7C1 Surrey, BC, Canada

Just because we feel earth-shatteringly alive with someone doesn’t mean they are supposed to be our life partner. They may have come for a very different reason - to awaken us, to expand us, to shatter us so wide open that we can never close again. Perhaps they were sent from afar to polish the rough diamond of our soul before vanishing into eternity.... Perhaps they just came to give us new eyes. Better we surrender our expectations when a beloved comes. They may just be dropping in for a visit. -Jeff Brown The Promise of Spring, 1890 by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836 - 1912)

This is not a photography. It's an original oil painting on canvas, done around 1905 by one of the most brilliant Russian landscape painter, Arkhip Kuindzhi. The original painting which now belongs to the Metropolitan Museum is bigger than 4 ft x 6 ft.... Red Sunset on the Dnieper River by Akhnip Kuindzhi (1842 - 1910)

When you have a neurotypical child, you feel reasonably assured that class participation and decent study habits will result in good grades. These kids have close friends. They get invited to participate in social things like dances and weekend gatherings. They make the teams, auditioned organisations and clubs. But when you have a child with certain differences, this is often not the case. Learning may take longer, both academically and socially. Despite their tremendous e...fforts, results are often a fraction of their peers and social acceptance is fleeting, setting them up for painful comparisons and bitter frustration. Instead of a fun and fulfilling experience, school can become a breeding ground for depression and anxiety, and assignments a battle ground at home. It is exhausting for parent and child alike. This is the week of SPED (Special Education), Autism, Dyslexia, and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) awareness. For all the children who struggle every day to succeed in a world that does not recognize their gifts and talents, and for those who are walking beside them, please let this be a gentle reminder to be kind and accepting of ALL people. Recognize that the "playing field" is not always a level surface. Children who learn differently are not weird. They are merely gifted in ways that our society does not value enough. Yet they want what everyone else wants: To be accepted!! If you choose, please share this in honor of all children who are deemed "different". Our world would be far less beautiful without them. - Reposted from Jaimie Braithwaite. "The Wounded Angel" by Finnish Symbolist painter Hugo Simberg

In 1906 in Paris, two starving artists were walking down the streets, trying to sell their paintings to passers-by in order to make ends meet. Like many artists living in Paris at that time, they were immigrants struggling to make a name for themselves. One of them was from Spain. His name, Pablo Picasso. The other one was from Netherlands; his name was Kees van Dongen.... Just like Henry Matisse, Kees van Dongen would rise to become a successful leading Fauvist painter. Fauvist comes from the French word "fauves" which means wild beasts. The Fauvist artists were given this name because of their use of wild, acidic bright colours. From Josephine Baker to Brigitte Bardot, Kees van Dongen painted over a hundred of beautiful and fascinating women from various echelons of society. His use of colours, light, space and form was revolutionary because Kees van Dongen blended all the various styles of modernism in his paintings. You can see cubism, impressionism, expressionism, fauvism all harmoniously and expertly crafted together. Kees van Dongen's portraits are thus considered innovative legacies. They provide important clues and valuable instructions for the next generations of artists in further expanding and revolutionizing creativity. The Art of Kees van Dongen, Dutch-French Fauvist painter (1877 - 1968).

This is the most viral art meme trending right now. We couldn’t resist Happy Friday everyone.

Spring of 1874, Paris. The Impressionists hold their first exhibition. The reaction was visceral. One critic described them as a bunch of lunatics, one of whom was a woman. The woman was Berthe Morisot. Berthe Morisot was at that time a highly paid and respected painter on her own merit with already a ten year experience of successful gallery representation with the prestigious Salon de Paris.... Why she chose to associate with the Impressionists who were all rejected by the Salon lies within her relationship with Edouard Manet. Edouard Manet was the one who introduced her to the Impressionist artists such as Degas, Renoir, Cezanne, Pissaro and Monet. Manet was a rebel. Young, rich and successful he followed noone and people couldn't get enough of his modern paintings. The Impressionists wanted Manet to join them but he refused. Berthe Morisot was 24 when she first met Edouard Manet. Both came from a similar background, rich haute bourgeoisie family and both had no difficulty getting their works accepted by the Salon de Paris. Manet was fascinated by Morisot and immediately asked her to be his muse. When an artist calls a woman his muse, she becomes his object of fantasy and desire. In other words, he wanted to be her lover. Morisot was amused and intrigued but social customs prevented them from getting together. Manet painted her twelve times, more than any other woman he had painted. Morisot waited for him for over a decade. Then in 1874, Morisot decided to move on. She agreed to join the Impressionists mostly because Manet discouraged her to do so. That same year, she broke all romantic ties with Manet and focused on establishing herself as a modern avant-garde artist. Berthe Morisot (1841- 1895), 19th century French Impressionist painter.

And the soul of the rose went into my blood.... "She is near, she is near!" The red rose cries; The white rose weeps, "She is late." The larkspur listens, "I hear, I hear!" And the lily whispers, " I wait."... - Lord A.Tennyson, Maud "The Soul of the Rose", 1908 by John William Waterhouse

He was one of the original illustrators for the Brothers Grimms' fairy tales. Trained as a Romantic landscape painter, he became more famous for his story book illustrations and woodcut etchings. His illustrations inspired Disney's forest scenes in the movie, Sleeping Beauty and the Seven Dwarfs.... With over 150 book illustrations and 2500 woodcut designs, he became one of Germany's favourite 19th century artist. His name is Adrian Ludwig Richter (1804 - 1884).

The overall winner of the 2020 Comedy Wildlife Photography is the Australian Mark Fitzpatrick stealing the show with his turtle from down under Let's start this hump day with a good laugh! Check it out and more... #comedywildlifephotography

November is going to be a dream comes true for stargazing lovers. This month, all the planets will be clearly visible in the sky especially the big five, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Mars and Mercury. So listen to Gerard Manley Hopkins -... Look at the stars! Look up, look up at the skies! O look at all the fire-folk sitting in the air! The bright boroughs, the circle-citadels there! Down in dim woods, the diamonds delves! the elves'-eyes!.... - The Starlight Night Enjoy and create your own magic

Wishing you a peaceful weekend Peace is always beautiful - Walt Whitman... "Evening at the lake" by Illinois artist Darrell Bush.

[To]....live in a world where there are Octobers - Anne of Green Gables

Life is like a chess game. Every decision, like every move, has consequences. Your patience, your determination, your focus and your self- control will always be tested. Therefore choose wisely. "Chaos and Order" by M.L Walker.

The artist is a receptacle for emotions derived from anywhere: from the sky, from the earth, from a piece of paper, from a passing figure, from a spider’s web. One must take things where one finds them. - Picasso ... On this day today, Pablo Picasso was born in 1881 in Malaga, Spain. Check out his amazing transition from realism to cubism.

Jean Louis Forain was the youngest member of the group of Impressionists in Paris and exhibited together with Monet, Degas and Cezanne especially during the last four years. You may not have heard his name even though he was very popular during his lifetime. Art historians have neglected his works after his death; yet his works are very important for they reveal the truth of the endemic exploitation of women and children during the 19th century.... Like Degas, he painted ballet dancers but unlike Degas, Forain's paintings have a sinister undertone. Forain paints predatory men stalking and preying on the young dancers. Forain's paintings offer a candid commentary on life in Paris. He doesn't glamourize or romanticize the Belle Epoque but narrates it as he experienced it. Forain was also a prolific caricaturist and political satirist, working for a number of newspaper such as Le Figaro, Le Monde Parisien and Le Rire Satirique. Forain also served as a war artist for France during WW1 and helped developed camouflage for military equipment. He was 62 at that time. The Art of Jean Louis Forain (1852 - 1931), French Impressionist painter and illustrator.

People are furious over the unveiling of a much anticipated sculpture last week in London. A sculpture that costed the equivalent of CAD $350 000. The reason behind this anger is a nude public sculpture of a woman. Not of any woman but that of Mary Wollstonecraft - the 18th century mother of feminism who fiercely fought for the rights of women for education and equality in society.... People are calling it an insult to Mary Wollstonecraft, a step backwards for everything she represented. The artist, 75 year old British sculptor Maggi Hambling explains that Mary Wollstonecraft represents an "everyday woman", a new birth, a new movement of freedom for all women. Throughout art history, a woman's naked form has been exploited for the pleasure of the male viewer whereas a man's nakedness has been glorified as heroic. This sculpture breaks the concept of the traditional male heroic statuary. Heroic nudity is an art tradition that dates back to ancient Greece, where warriors and heroes were depicted in paintings and sculptures in the nude. During the Renaissance period in Italy, heroic nudity was a hallmark for strength and beauty. Examples are the famous statue of David by Michaelangelo and the painting of Andrea Doria, a powerful sea admiral, shown as the Roman God Neptune by Agnolo Bronzino. Have a look and let us know what you think.

The Spitfire was one of the greatest allied fighters in WW2. It gained legendary status during the Battle of Britain in 1940 and thus became a symbol of ingenuity and victory. Fourteen Canadian fighter squadrons flew the Spitfire in WW2 and many more Canadians flew the aircraft as members of RAF.... The first enemy jet fighter, a German Me 262, to be shot down, fell to a Spitfire from No. 401 Canadian squadron. Eleven RCAF Spitfire squadrons provided air cover for the D-Day landings in June 1944 and strengthened the Allied advance across North West Europe and into Germany in 1945. One Canadian Spitfire pilot wrote: "Canadians were among the best in the Allied forces. The Spitfire was an aircraft that seemed made for Canadians - it matched their confident and aggressive spirit." Paintings of Spitfires in action by the world's leading aviation artist, Philip West.

He spent 23 summers as a fire lookout in Alberta, and decades more as a university professor, educator, art director and mentor. He dedicated his life to painting his first love; the beautiful Canadian wilderness. Born in Beaverlodge, Northern Alberta, he single-handedly created a strong thriving art community in Alberta, where he was a key player in the formation of the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie, the Peace Watercolour society and the Alberta Art foundation. His paintings... have been represented all over North America and is part of the permanent art collection of the Queen of England. Introducing Canadian Post-War Contemporary artist, Robert Guest (1938 - 2017).

World War I Remembrance Day Poppies are a symbol of respect and remembrance of those who died in World War I. Vase with Red Poppies, 1886 by Vincent Van Gogh.

Happy 100th Birthday to Sacramento contemporary painter Wayne Thiebaud today Wayne Thiebaud is famous for painting cakes, pies, donuts , ice cream conesand other sweet pastries. Wayne Thiebaud is America's most beloved living artist and the city of Sacramento is having a major retrospective of his work at the Crocker Art Museum.... Last November, one of Wayne Thiebaud's paintings, called the "Encased cakes" sold for US $8.5 million at the Sotheby's in New York. When asked what is his secret for longevity, Wayne replied, "Stay healthy, have a nice life, read poetry, listen to good music and get exercise " Have a look at this active centenarian's delightful creations

Lawren Harris of the Group of Seven was born on this day in 1885 in Brantford, Ontario. The most important legacy of the Group of Seven was to establish a proud Canadian art tradition that would be recognized and honoured all over the world. "We lived in a continuous blaze of enthusiasm. Above all we loved this country and loved to explore and paint it." The Art of the most celebrated Canadian Modern Artist, Lawren Harris (1885 - 1970).

The winner of the 2020 Wildlife Photography has just been announced today Nearly 50 000 entries were submitted to the National History Museum in London from photographers all over the world. The proud winner this year is Sergey Gorshkov, multiple award-winning photographer from Russia, who stole the grand title with his adorable picture of a Siberian tiger hugging a tree... Check it out and many more...

In memory of Alex Trebek, here are some of his famous art related questions from the Jeopardy! show. We have included pictures as clues to find the correct answer. Let's see how many you can get right ... Ready? See more

How cool is this Dad-to-Be He paid for a professional shoot for his pregnant wife but she refused. So guess what he did

I have walked on this earth for 30 years, and, out of gratitude, want to leave some souvenir. - Vincent Van Gogh Avenue of Poplars in Autumn, 1884 by Vincent Van Gogh

Smile your best at everyone you see. Think about all the things you have to be thankful for...and smile. The world will smile with you. - Frank Bettger Island Dreams by Jim Warren

"My surfing has brought me a closeness and an affinity to the ocean that I think most marine artists never get. I think most artists don't have the passion to get in the water everyday, immersed in it, and be part of the sea like I have been. I've been lucky to live in Hawaii all my life and have the ocean at my back door, so my subject matter is just right there for me and I'm pretty much in it everyday." - Christian Riese Lassen Check out the symbolic works of one of the most popular marine artists, Christian Riese Lassen

It takes a very creative mind to come up with such surprising and fascinating ideas Have a look

Research from the University of Western Australia shows that exposure to the arts for just two hours every week can improve mental health and overall well-being. Whether actively (painting or drawing) or passively ( viewing or discussing arts), the benefits are undeniable. Arts engagement increases happiness, confidence, self-esteem and reduces stress and social isolation. This is true for both children and adults.... So give yourself permission to be happy and hope you enjoy these beautiful collections of magic by Russian born fantasy artist Victor Nizovtsev

Wherever you go, please take this note... Whenever you reach that place on the road you're set out upon to find yourself... Unfold and read it. I am here. I am with you.... I love you. Take me wherever you want to go. Do that and you'll always know what to do next - Michael McClintock Beautiful country road in Kananaskis, Alberta. Photography by Vancouver best selling nature photographer, Vladimir Kostka

A.Y Jackson was an important founding member of the iconic and beloved Group of Seven in Toronto. But not many know that around the same time, in 1920, A.Y Jackson was also the president of another group of about twenty artists in Montreal called the Beaver Hall Group. What was unique about the Beaver Hall Group was that unlike the Group of Seven, it contained a large number of women artists.... Beaver Hall group also brought together the Anglophone and the Francophone artists in a much divided Montreal. A.Y Jackson worked hard in bridging the gap between the Toronto and Montreal artists. He became an active mentor and main spokesperson for the group. A.Y Jackson was a native of Montreal and understood the different political sensibilities of the Montreal milieu. He didn't insist on a nationalist message but instead encouraged these young and diverse emerging artists to simply paint from their heart. Even though Beaver Hall Group was short-lived, its impact on Canadian Modernist history is monumental. Women were given a strong and equal representation as working professional artists as their male counterparts. The Montreal artists equally contributed to establish Modernist art in Canada. While the Group of Seven offered a national pride by showcasing the open Canadian landscape, the Beaver Hall group offered a much different perspective. Their works revealed that there were more than just natural landscape paintings that made up the definitive Canadian art. There were also contemporary portraits, nudes, urban landscapes, cityscapes and still life. On this day in 1882, A.Y Jackson was born and through his works and his amazing generosity towards other artists such as Tom Thompson, Emily Carr and especially the Beaver Hall group of artists, we can have an idea of how rich and multi-faceted Canadian Modern art actually is. The Red Maple by A.YJackson (1882 - 1974) and some selected paintings by the Beaver Hall Group of artists. Enjoy

18th-century hyper-realistic paintings by Venetian landscape painter Canaletto helps modern day scientists understand how sea level has been changing over the last three hundred years. Who knew that art would become a crucial tool in understanding climate change! Giovanni Antonio Canal, famous by the name of Canaletto, was the son of a stage theatre designer, Bernardo Canal, in Venice.... Canaletto wanted to distinguish himself from his father's work and thus called himself Canaletto, which literally means " the little Canal". Canaletto specialized in painting the city of Venice and its historical buildings along the Grand Canal with extreme precision and extraordinary details. His unique use of geometrical proportion and mathematical linear perspectives were so impressive that many believed he did these with the help of a camera obscura. Before the times of postcards and photography, wealthy tourists visiting Venice would commission a painting of the beautiful city as a souvenir. Venice was a popular cultural hub, a preeminent tourist attraction where hundreds of visitors would flock daily to see the amazing Vivaldi's performance, the great boat regatta festivals, the carnivals and the art fairs. Canaletto was so popular among the wealthy tourists, especially those coming from England that he executed close to a thousand paintings in his lifetime! A century before the Impressionists started the tradition of painting outside a studio, Canaletto would be found on a boat on the Grand Canal or near the river, sitting outside to draw the views of the city of Venice from various angles. It was an unconventional practice at a time when most artists would work confined in their studio. Canaletto was thus the precursor of the modern style of plein-air painting. What specifically interested today's scientists in Canaletto's paintings is how the artist, true to the detailed renditions of the city, painted dark algae lines on the buildings along the Grand Canal. These dark algae stains are biological indicators of the height of the tides. By carefully studying Canaletto's paintings and comparing them to modern day photographies of the same buildings, scientists have concluded Venice has been sinking steadily at a rate of 8 inches per century for the last three centuries. In other words, two feet of Venice has been submerged under water since Canaletto's time. Here's how Venice looked like circa 1700's. The amazing art of Giovanni Antonio Canaletto (1697- 1768).

James Tissot fell madly in love with a young ravishing Irish beauty who was almost half his age. It was a tragic love story. A story that would forever change Tissot. Tissot left everything to be with his lover and immortalized her in many of his great paintings.... Her name was Kathleen Newton, a 22 year old divorcée and single mother, living with her sister's family in St. John's Wood, an affluent artistic community in London. James Tissot was a French artist who was extremely successful and wealthy. He had made a name for himself with his paintings of high fashion women in Paris. After serving his country in the 1870 Franco-Prussian war that ravaged Paris and killed thousands of men, Tissot left France to live in London. He was friends with many of his contemporaries such as Monet, Manet, Degas, Whistler, Bouguereau, Alma-Tadema and Morisot. Edgar Degas invited him to exhibit with the Impressionists but Tissot preferred to work on his own. Tissot was a shrewd businessman. He understood his market and kept his paintings relevant to his times. He was both envied and admired for his independence and fearlessness. An art critic once said, [If] our industrial and artistic creations may perish, our customs and costumes may fall into oblivion, a painting by Mr Tissot will be enough for archaeologists of the future to reconstruct our era." Some were genuinely amazed by Tissot's success, some not so much. Degas wrote Tissot, " I heard you bought a house. My mouth is still open..." Berthe Morisot upon visiting Tissot in London remarked that Tissot lived like a prince and yet he was a kind and generous man. A French writer however was not so happy with Tissot and wrote Tissot the plagiarist painter, was having the greatest of successes in England....an ingenious exploiter of English stupidity...with his studio filled with iced champagne for his visitors, and around his studio a garden where one might observe at all times a footman occupied in dusting and polishing the leaves of the laurel bushes In 1882 in London, tragedy struck. Kathleen Newton became sick with tuberculosis and unable to bear the pain, she took her own life by overdosing with laudanum. A heart-broken Tissot left everything in London and returned to Paris. In his later years, Tissot made nearly 400 biblical themed paintings which have influenced filmmakers such as William Wyler in the 1959 movie Ben-Hur and Steven Spielberg's 1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark. Vincent Van Gogh, who never experienced success as an artist in his lifetime, wrote a praiseworthy letter about James Tissot. "There is something of the human soul in his work and that is why he is great, immense and infinite..." The Art of one of the most celebrated Master Painter, James Jacques Joseph Tissot (1836 - 1902)

She is considered a living legend. The greatest portrait photographer in the world. The first woman ever to have her work exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. Multiple award winner including being the proud recipient of the Infinity Award in Applied Photography, the Glamour Visionary Award, a Commandeur in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government and the Clio Award.... An obsessed perfectionist whose extraordinary work is a stunning fusion of ultra reality and fantasy. Her subjects are celebrities. "There are certain things that are considered milestones in Hollywood. And one of them is being photographed by Annie Leibovitz." - Cameron Diaz. Today the amazing Annie Leibovitz turns 71. Have a look at her Disney Dream portrait series and see if you can recognize your favourite celebrity Enjoy!

Pantone has just released a new red colour called Period Red to end the stigma associated with menstruation. In certain parts of the world, talking about a normal natural biological function of the female body is still considered taboo. This new shade of red promotes the Seen+Heard campaign which aims to empower girls and women.... Below is a painting featuring the new red colour by Morocco born Atlanta based artist Aziz Khadmiri called La Femme.

Over 200 people stripped down naked in London for the sake of art. It happened a week and half ago at the Alexandra Palace. Lucky for them, the weather was perfect. It wasn't too chilly. Just a tad breezy.... This naked art installation was the brain child of American photographer Spencer Turnick. Turnick specializes in public mass nude photographies which he describes as a liberating and life affirming art performance. And of course because of covid, they had to wear a face mask. It would have been scandalous otherwise. Who said the Brits were boring? "Everyone Together", live art installation by Spencer Turnick.

When he was eleven years old, his teachers were so impressed by his advanced drawing skills that they asked him to become an instructor. He is the most copied 19th century classical Academic artist. His 1847 painting of the "Fallen Angel" is considered one of hottest artworks in art history and has inspired countless contemporary movies, anime characters and artists.... His name is Alexandre Cabanel, French Academic and Romantic master painter (1823 - 1889), one of the last true masters painting in the tradition coming from Raphael and Michelangelo. Fallen Angel by Alexandre Cabanel

Drama, drama, drama at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts as the Chair steps down while the former Director is suing the museum for one million dollars for unfair dismissal and libel. The Quebec's ministry of culture on the other hand, not happy with the dismissal of the former director, demands that the museum return the $10 million subsidy allocated to the museum for creating a wing dedicated to one of Quebec's iconic painter Jean-Paul Riopelle. An original Jean-Paul Riopelle... is worth over 7 million dollars. Jean-Paul Riopelle is to Canada what Jackson Pollock is to America. Below is "Composition, 1954" by Jean-Paul Riopelle (1923 - 2002)

I have walked on this earth for 30 years, and, out of gratitude, want to leave some souvenir. - Vincent Van Gogh Avenue of Poplars in Autumn, 1884 by Vincent Van Gogh

The making of an artist