Jacob Collins

Self portrait

Jacob Collins is one of my favorite contemporary artists. He paints in the centuries old classical style. Declared a “Living Master” by ARC (Art Renewal Center) and one of the most powerful people of the art world by Art and Auction magazine.

Jacob is married to Ann Brashares, author of “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” series. He runs Water Street Atelier, a school of classical painting, in New York.

Seated nude (oil on canvas)

Reclining nude (oil on canvas)

Odalisque

Green onions

Attributes of the art

Roquefort cheese (oil on canvas)

Jas (oil on canvas)

Working on a sculpture

Michael   (oil on canvas)

Anna Nina by Collins

One of the studios at his Atelier

Jacob Collins with wife Ann Brashares

Credits: google,ARC etc

Teapots!

Over the weekend went out with friends for dinner. On our way back, they invited us to have tea at their house. She was excited to use a new teapot she had purchased around Christmas that she had not been able to use since.  It was a very pretty teapot indeed and the joy of having tea was doubled. This brings to today’s post “ Teapots”.

In my parents home they still brew and serve their tea in a teapot. The teapot is covered with a tea-cozy. Especially the afternoon tea is a very formal affair. However it seems in past few decades we have drifted away from some simple pleasures and traditions of life. This may be because of fast pace of our lives or because of more casual lifestyles or the amalgamation of the world into a big homogenous “pot” of people, where a lot of traditions have melted away.

We have decided that from now onwards we are going to serve tea out of a teapot instead of serving from the electric tea maker. This may happen only over the weekends but it will be worth it. It does not hurt to bring some simple pleasures back in life, why not have my Twining’s out of a beautiful teapot. Pretty teapot to sooth the eyes and the tea out of it to soothe the palette. (This will give the collector/hoarder inside me an excuse to collect some nice teapots, not bad isn’t it?)

Now who would mind to have their tea poured out of these following teapots?

 Salt-glaze Stoneware Camel Teapot-1std

18th Century English Neoclassical Black Basalt Teapot

Silver-plate tea and coffee serving

19th c. English teapot

19th c. English teapot

19th c. English teapot

chinese export famille rose teapot

Monumental Tea Pot

Wedgwood Encaustic Decorated Basalt Teapot

jasper teapot

Whieldon School Hexagonal Teapot With Oriental Figures

Picture credits: one kings lane, 1stdibs paisleycurtain etc.

Excuse my absence please

Since mid of January I had a very stubborn cold that would not go away and before I could recover completely, I ended up having eye problem as well. This has prevented me from not only posting anything on my blog but visiting or commenting on your blogs too.

If this was not enough, a dear friend, passed away on Friday morning. (Last summer I did a post on his 1957 Ford Fairlane). Richard and I shared a passion for cars especially classic cars. One day we were talking about cars, he said, “do you remember in 1961 when they had the new model of such and such car”? Very seriously I replied, “ No Richard I can’t remember”. He started laughing and was all over his chair, he had realized I was not even born in 1961. Despite our slight age difference we enjoyed a lot of joyous moments together, and of course around cars and the women we loved. Last time I saw him at coffee n cars where he proudly drove “Henry”  (his ’57 Ford Fairlane). He made us laugh so much that we were on our knees.  He was a gentleman; he was a hero who served the country and the community. He will be greatly missed.

Henry Richards' 57 Ford Fairlane with him in the background