Van Gogh inspired
souvenirs and gifts By-A.S.K.
Artsy souvenirs and gifts. Enjoyable to give and get
The very first art critic to review Van Gogh's paintings was Albert Aurier (1865-1892), and it happened during Van Gogh's Lifetime. Aurier was a painter himself, as well as an art critic. His review, "Les Isolés: Vincent van Gogh", was published in January 1890, where he described Van Gogh as the only painter he knew "who perceives the coloration of things with such intensity, with such a metallic, gem-like quality", his work as intense and feverish, his brushstrokes as fiery, very powerful, his palette as dazzling, and said his technique matched his artistic temperament: vigorous and intense.
Intense colors of «Gem-like quality»
Van Gogh Gem-like. Dutch heritage
Van Gogh 2015: 125th anniversary “125 years of inspiration”– a reason for a creative artistic celebration of Van Gogh’s Masterpieces through Art on the Dutch CLOGS. The idea is to create a product with Dutch heritage packaged in an artistic and glamorous look. Handcrafted Dutch gifts and souvenirs with authentic roots. Since the masterpieces of Van Gogh have been marked as having “intense colors of gem-like quality” by Abert Aurier, this has inspired By-A.S.K. not only to create handpainted Dutch wooden shoes inspired by the color-scheme of Van Gogh’s selected paintings, but also to decorate them with crystal stones, to give them a gem-like look. The result is – unique luxury handmade gifts and souvenirs inspired by the master Vincent van Gogh to commemorate 125 years since his death.
By-A.S.K. has created a handpainted collection of wooden shoes inspired by the colour palette of Vincent Van Gogh’s artworks and decorated them with crystal rhinestones (partly Swarovski). By-A.S.K. has created seven collections, inspired by the masterpieces of Vincent van Gogh. Different hues and shades of the colours in which the wooden shoes are painted can be traced back to the original artworks.
7
The collections are based on the following seven paintings: – Café terrace at night – Sunflowers – Almond blossom – Branches of almond tree in blossom (red interpretation) – Old man in sorrow – Vase with daisies and poppies – Irises
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I was only interrupted by my work on a new painting representing the exterior of a night café. On the terrace there are small figures of people drinking. An immense yellow lantern illuminates the terrace, the facade, the side walk and even casts light on the paving stones of the road which take a pinkish violet tone. The gables of the houses, like a fading road below a blue sky studded with stars, are dark blue or violet with a green tree. Here you have a night painting without black, with nothing but beautiful blue and violet and green and in this surrounding the illuminated area colours itself sulfur pale yellow and citron green. It amuses me enormously to paint the night right on the spot. Normally, one draws and paints the painting during the daytime after the sketch. But I like to paint the thing immediately. It is true that in the darkness I can take a blue for a green, a blue lilac for a pink lilac, since it is hard to distinguish the quality of the tone. But it is the only way to get away from our conventional night with poor pale whitish light, while even a simple candle already provides us with the richest of yellows and oranges.
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Café terrace at night
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Now that I hope to live with Gauguin in a studio of our own, I want to make decorations for the studio. Nothing but big flowers.
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Sunflowers «
It is a kind of painting that rather changes in character, and takes on a richness the longer you look at it. Besides, you know, Gauguin likes them extraordinarily. He said to me among other things – ‘That...it’s...the flower.’ You know that the peony is Jeannin’s, the hollyhock belongs to Quost, but the sunflower is somewhat my own.
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Old man in sorrow
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It seems to me that a painter has a duty to try to put an idea into his work. I was trying to say this in this print – but I can’t say it as beautifully, as strikingly as reality, of which this is only a dim reflection seen in a dark mirror – that it seems to me that one of the strongest pieces of evidence for the existence of ‘something on high’ in which Millet believed, namely in the existence of a God and an eternity, is the unutterably moving quality that there can be in the expression of an old man like that, without his being aware of it perhaps, as he sits so quietly in the corner of his hearth. At the same time something precious, something noble, that can’t be meant for the worms. ... This is far from all theology – simply the fact that the poorest woodcutter, heath farmer or miner can have moments of emotion and mood that give him a sense of an eternal home that he is close to.
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How glad I was when the news came... I should have greatly preferred him to call the boy after Father, of whom I have been thinking so much these days, instead of after me; but seeing it has now been done, I started right away to make a picture for him, to hang in their bedroom, big branches of white almond blossom against a blue sky.
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Almond blossom
Branches
of an almond tree in blossom (red) ÂŤ
A weaver who has to direct and to interweave a great many little threads has no time to philosophize about it, but rather he is so absorbed in his work that he doesn’t think but acts, and he feels how things must go more than he can explain it.
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Have you received the case of pictures? I am anxious to know whether or not they have suffered. I am working on two others – some violet irises and a lilac bush, two subjects taken from the garden.
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Irises
Vase «
with daisies and poppies
I am still far from being what I want to be, but with God’s help I shall succeed.
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About the brand By-A.S.K. By-A.S.K. is a brand that creates a unique style of enjoyable gifts, art pieces and souvenirs. All items are designed by the artist Anastasiya S. Koptyeva from The Netherlands, with the aim to make people smile and share a positive vibe. By-A.S.K. has taken the Dutch traditional clogs (klompen) to the new level. “Bling-bling” clogs are the new trend among Dutch people, patriots and tourists. From the handmade exclusive real-size wooden clogs for (interior) decoration to the souvenirs and gifts – everything is designed with love for people who share our affection for artistic products. The conceptual and expressive style brings the unconventional in the conventional through the blend of passion for art and care for tradition and craftsmanship.
© 2014 by By-A.S.K.& Maksym Romanchenko