“Italian Feast” by Loran Speck is a beautiful and exquisite piece. With his various works of art, Speck would rather the painting explain itself than with an actual written out explanation. He creates highly detailed pieces and has been often compared to great Dutch masters because of his astonishing use of color and light. 

Bold Statement

To incorporate this painting into a Dining Room, Breakfast Room or even a Kitchen would be no challenge at all. With the paintings wide variety of rustic color, you could accent this piece with almost any colored picture frame. You could use a dark red picture frame to bring out the tablecloth and red wine or you could use a dark brown to contrast with all of the tans, beiges and creams that are found throughout the picture. If you have a bright or upbeat color for the walls, the painting might not work as well in the room. You would need a calmer, more neutral color for this piece to make a statement on its own and to match the other décor. You want to make sure the colors are more subtle rather than overpowering. Whether kept for yourself or gifted to another, “Italian Feast” can be a beautiful centerpiece to a room.

Italian Feast by Loran Speck

Style

One thing Speck really wanted to achieve through his paintings was to give off a sense of who he was. With this being said, he loved simplicity and quiet intimacy. This is definitely a great interpretation of who he and how great he was at still life’s, shown with the painting “Italian Feast”. This is a simple, yet bold piece. It is not too busy with many different elements and it doesn’t get lost with too many different colors. This piece is a perfect balance between simple objects and portraying them in a beautiful way.

Obvious Popularity

Loran Speck intended for the piece “Italian Feast” to exude simplicity and for this same reason, it gained its popularity. He used a beautiful color scheme and wide variety of brush strokes to interpret his vision onto paper. There is no doubt that many people love this work of art for its simplicity as well as many other reasons. It is left up to the imagination to determine the purpose and intention this piece perceives. Someone doesn’t need to know the artist or the paintings background to fall in love with this work of art. Along with enjoying how it looks, people also enjoy the unspoken meaning behind the painting. With the endless possibilities of how to decorate with this piece, there is no question why it is a favorite among many.

Loran Speck brings still lives to life because of how he uses many details for his work. “Italian Feast” is just one of many still lives that Speck has created and it is beautiful nonetheless. Although there are and have been many artists in the world, Loran Speck does a good job of setting himself apart from the others through his work.

Vincent Van Gogh is undoubtedly one of the greatest Dutch painters after Rembrandt. Born in 1853 in the Netherlands to a minister and a bookseller’s daughter, Van Gogh dabbled with various vocations including art dealer and clergyman before deciding he wanted to become an artist at the mature age of twenty-seven. Within 10 years, before he died of a self-inflicted wound to his chest, he produced over 2,100 pieces of works, mostly watercolor and oil paintings. In his lifetime, he sold just one painting, but he became posthumously famous when his sister-in-law took it upon herself to promote his art. Now, several of his paintings are ranked the most expensive in the world. If you’ve always loved Van Gogh’s paintings, here are some categories where he distinguished himself as an artist.

Style

Although Van Gogh had some formal art training, most of it was self-taught. His bold lines and an eye given to beauty and light gave brilliance to his artwork. Inspired and moved by light and color, he was able to produce stunning pieces of work depicting flowers, landscapes, portraits and architecture. Whether it is the Starry Night or Sunflowers or Café Terrace, they all possess rich tones and hues, with a flow that only a genius can create.

Subjects

What is mundane to people became a subject of study for Van Gogh. He was able to capture the ordinary and elevate it to a higher plane by his renditions. Examples include paintings of railway station, gasworks and nursery gardens. These ordinary settings come alive with his brilliant depth of colors and his ability to create movement across the page. During his confinement in a hospital, he took to painting his surroundings. Popular pieces like cypress trees, olive grove and wheat field came from that period.

Japanese Influence 

Many artists of his time became fascinated with Japanese paintings, Van Gogh included. He first saw Japanese prints in 1885 in Antwerp and became drawn to how simplicity of lines can be so profound when rendered with ease. He became an ardent fan of Japanese prints and reproduced some of Hiroshige’s work. Blossoming Almond Tree becomes one of the best known paintings from that influence.