Flower Paintings in History
Since the beginning of time man has appreciated the sheer beauty and remarkable symmetry of the clusters of brightly coloured petals surrounding the secretive inner heart of a bloom.Used over the centuries as poignant symbols of love and grief, flowers have entranced and challenged artists to reproduce their perfection onto the confines of a canvas.Early religious symbolismFloral paintings, saturated with religious symbolism, were created by artists as early as the 13th century but by the time the early renaissance painters were reaching their artistic peak, symbolism made way for sheer appreciation of floral bouquets as worthy still life subjects.Reportage artThe 16th century was characterised by the exploration of the new world and the associated fascination with a seemingly boundless collection of new and unique natural varieties. Flowers, together with all the other intriguing species, were carefully recorded as scientific specimens, with very little emotive collaboration.It was a century later that flower paintings, created out of oils, became a major trend where sheer aesthetics outweighed the earlier religious or scientific prescriptions on creativity.Emotive symbolismAlthough religious symbolism had been banished earlier from the realm of the artist, flowers now began to represent a host of human emotions and were depicted as such:
The rose – love.
The lily – purity.
The tulip – nobility.
The sunflower – devotion.
The impressionism of ManetOne of the artists, pivotal in the timely transition from realism to impressionism, was the great French artist, Edouard Manet, who, with his loose brushstrokes, simple forms and contrasting colours, created floral art which resonated with life. His brilliant rendition of a vase of flowers, titled ‘Carnations and Clematis in a Crystal Vase’, is a case in point. Accuracy was forced to make way for artistic interpretation for the first time in history of floral art.The dramatic floral dabs of Claude MonetThe great impressionist, Claude Monet, was mesmerised by the brilliance and bounty of Mother Nature. Instead of concentrating on a single bloom however, he used his dramatic dabs of paint effectively to create walls of flowers, one indistinguishable from the other. Monet was so smitten with the impact of flowers in painting, that he dedicated most of his life to the creation of priceless works of art including ‘The Artist’s house at Argenteuil’, ‘Poppies Blooming’ and ‘Flowering Garden at Sainte-Adresse’.Vincent van Gogh’s SunflowersArguably one of the most famous floral artists of all time was the Dutch post-impressionist Master, Vincent van Gogh, whose studies of sunflowers were rather more stylised portraits of the subject, created with his trademark broad, almost careless, brush strokes. A recent estimate valued Van Gogh’s ‘Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers’ at $77m and ‘Irises’ at over $101m!Botanical ArtFloral art has, in effect, come full circle with creative expressionism being replaced with botanical art, where the subject is faithfully reproduced in a realistic fashion. Artistic expression has made way for observational art, an art form which can quite easily be compared to the ‘reportage’ art of the 16th century.
Advantages of Online School Management Software For Teachers and Schools
Teachers are always finding themselves trying to be on top of their schedules, lesson plans, and term papers and quizzes that need grading. An even more-time consuming but all important aspect of the job is to be able to spend time with students and develop them.One way many schools have helped teachers is by using online school management software that help to reduce the time taken to carry out routine processes such as attendance taking and time spent getting exam papers cross-checked. School software implementations have resulted in the faculty having more time to dedicate to their students, instead of continually being bogged down in paperwork.Overall, schools, teachers and parents want their students to excel and expect the staff to be able to teach and support them. The assumption is that once a student’s interest is piqued and they personally want to excel in a certain area, there needs to be a teacher who has the time and energy to coach that individual to excel, and this is when a dynamic combination is achieved.With school management software, the software does not mess with perfection, it wants to enhance it. Online school administration software manages information that relates how the student interacts with the school; from personal information and medical details to grades and class schedules. Faculty and parents can work together like a well oiled machine when they keep themselves up to date on the performance of their respective students.Teachers can input mid-term grades, take attendance, and view the progress of any student in their class at any time. Parents are not left out of the loop either as they are able to keep track of their child’s schedules as well as their grades and overall progress at school.Students generally want to feel valued as an individual and need to be encouraged to play a more active role in their education. If a student’s mind is enriched and nurtured, you have a wonderful and budding, future member of society.If a school employs online school management software to enhance how and where their staff spends their energy, the return could be two-fold. Teachers are more able to spend time with students and help them, and students will find their school staff more accessible to them and their academic needs.Everyone wants their schools and their children to succeed, with school management software they really can.
Cheap Flights From Austin Guide – All You Need to Know About the Airport, Airlines, & Flights
Whether you live in the capital city of Texas or are simply passing through, you can use online airfare pricing tools to help you find cheap flights from Austin. The airport offers tons of nonstop flights to areas in North and South America and Europe.The major airlines all serve the Barbara Jordan Terminal, and a few bargain airlines like Allegiant, Sun Country, and Via Air serve the South Terminal. American Airlines tends to offer very low airfare out of Austin to other major cities, like Chicago and Miami. If you need to fly to South American countries like Brazil, check out what Delta has to offer. There are dozens of other airlines as well, offering both domestic and international flights.The Austin Bergstrom Airport (AUS) serves over 10 million passengers annually. There are over 150 departures every single day to nearly 50 destinations. Southwest is its biggest carrier, but the other big name airlines operate at a huge volume as well.If you’re interested in some REALLY cheap flights from Austin, you might want to head to Orlando, Denver, Phoenix, or Vegas. No matter which part of the country you need to visit, you should be able to find low airfare to a nearby major city. If you need to get to an international city, it might take a bit of time doing some price comparison on discount travel sites, but you should be able to find whatever you need. If you need to fly to London from Austin, you might be able to save if you take a connecting flight to Dublin. It depends on the time of year and weather conditions. Nonstop flights are available to London as well, although they might not always be the cheapest option.Where to Park When Taking Cheap Flights from AustinThere are several parking garages and parking lots near the Austin airport, so if you plan to return to the city after a few days, you have no shortage of parking spaces to choose from. There are a variety of both self-park and valet options. You can take a shuttle to and from the parking area and airport entrance in just a matter of minutes. Complimentary veteran parking is available for vehicles displaying license plates with a DV or other Military Honors designation.If you can’t find a good deal today, don’t worry – there will be plenty of chances in the future. There are multiple flights available from Austin to all major cities a week. If you want to fly to Vegas, for instance, there are nearly 30 flights a week from the AUS airport. Just sign up to receive deal alerts and install discount travel apps on your phone to track airline prices. Keep an eye out and you’ll surely find cheap flights from Austin.Use online discounts to get not only cheap flights from Austin, but affordable hotel rooms, car rentals, dining packages, and more.