It’s impossible to be a lover of Renaissance art without mentioning the incredible, magnificent Michelangelo Buonarroti. Painter, writer, architect, and sculptor, his talent was obvious from an early age. He was apprenticed in the workshop of Domenico Ghirlandaio, himself an admired painter in his day. But Michelangelo found sculpture more to his liking, making viewing […]

This painting inspires me for the simple reason that I love the story of Archangel Michael. He’s one of the chief angels and is known as the leader of God’s army. He’s the ultimate triumph of good over evil; the defeater of Satan. In artistic representations of Michael victorious over evil, satan is generally depicted […]

Artemisia Gentileschi was a 17th century Italian Baroque artist whose determination to succeed among the male-dominated world of artists and her refusal to allow discrimination and ignorance to bring her down is an inspiration to women to this day. Gentileschi’s father, Orazio, was a well-known painter in his own right and it was in his […]

I generally find inspiration in older artwork, specifically from the Renaissance and Baroque eras. However, it’s hard not to love the beautiful settings and artistic interpretations of the Impressionists. The painting of A Girl With A Watering Can by Pierre-Auguste Renoir captivates me because of the sweetness of the little girl. I love everything about […]

I have two paintings in my gallery by Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, an 18th century painter who was a portrait artist for Marie Antoinette. Le Brun painted over 30 portraits of the French queen and her family and came to be closely associated with the royal family. In fact, when the royal family was […]

This painting by Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun and another I’ve included in my gallery of Inspiration, by Artemesia Gentileschi, are here for two simple reasons: one, I just love the actual paintings themselves. But two, and perhaps even more important, I’m inspired by the artists. I have two paintings in my gallery by Louise […]