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The theme this week is "art made with paints and brushes and multimedia."
Today's AWAD is "trompe l'oeil": Please scroll down. The AWAD for Day 1 is:chiaroscuro (kee-ar-uh-SKYOOR-o) noun
The treatment of light and shade in a work of art, especially to give an illusion of depth.
Also known as claire-obscure.
[From Italian, from chiaro (clear, light) + oscuro (obscure, dark).]If you ever get bored with all the chit-chat at a cocktail party, here's something you can do to liven things up. When your host drops by to fetch you a drink, order a "little chiaroscuro". If he doesn't know anything about art, he will probably bring you a liqueur. If he does, it will give you a light subject with an illusion of depth to talk about. The ideal conversation for a cocktail party! Who needs light banter when you've got light chiaroscuro? Many of this week's artful AWADs "can be used figuratively, as metaphors in contexts unrelated to art", Anu explains. Anyone who uses Anu's terms of art figuratively is a figurist. Do that for an entire week and you'll become an expert on figures of speech. [That's a great way to draw attention to yourself, especially at a cocktail party.] Anu never stops trying to improve our powers of expression. Have you noticed that? But sometimes he takes us into some shady places. Like last week with his "misleading words". Maybe this will turn out to be another "Water of India" week in disguise. I don't want to draw any early conclusions, but this week's theme is ripe for illusions. And deceptive allusions, as well. Here's a review of the best books on figure painting by Marion Boddy-Evans. I'm not kidding! That's her name: Top 7 Books on Figure Painting and DrawingFrom Marion Boddy-EvansPainting and drawing the human figure is a very rewarding challenge. These books provide not only help on the basics such as anatomy, proportion, and techniques, but also inspiration through the paintings and drawings reproduced in them.http://painting.about.com/cs/figurepainting/tp/tp-figurepaint.htm
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Today's AWAD is:collage (kuh-LAZH, koh-) noun
A form of art where various disparate objects are assembled together.
[From French collage (gluing), from coller (to glue), from colle (glue), from Vulgar Latin colla, from Greek kolla (glue). The words protocol and collagen have the same parentage.]Collage is something anyone can do, and, in my experience, kids do it best. But parents are always calling it a mess and mopping it up. They should have it framed. But, I jest, of course, as we can see for ourselves on this webpage recommended by Anu: http://home.mindspring.com/~toughskins/collages/collages.htmlAnd how does "pastiche" differ from "collage"?* A-H Dictionary: pastiche - NOUN: 1. A dramatic, literary, or musical piece openly imitating the previous works of other artists, often with satirical intent. 2. A pasticcio of incongruous parts; a hodgepodge: “In . . . a city of splendid Victorian architecture . . . there is a rather pointless pastiche of Dickensian London down on the waterfront” (Economist). ETYMOLOGY: French, from Italian pasticcio. See pasticcio. http://www.bartleby.com/61/29/P0102900.html"Picasso Papers" by Rosalind E. Krauss * As an analysis of how and why Picasso's Cubist aesthetic of the prewar years gave way to what Krauss takes to be pastiche classicism and pastiche collage, her account is as persuasive as it is brilliant. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0268/is_n7_v36/ai_20572942Picasso, who had dazzled the world by turning newspaper into ''esthetic gold'' in his Cubist collages, was suddenly copying Poussin, Ingres and Renoir. Not only was he abandoning Cubism, modernism's pride and joy, he was flirting with neo-classicism. ''Here,'' Krauss says, ''is Picasso as counterfeiter.''Critics accused him of pastiche. ''Everything, including Leonardo, Durer, Le Nain, Ingres, van Gogh, Cezanne, yes, everything . . . except Picasso'' was in the show, the critic Roger Allard wrote. Robert Delaunay was so appalled that he later suggested that even Picasso's Cubism was an imitation -- of Georges Braque. The only continuity in Picasso's work, he said, was a ''continuity in pillage.''------- It was perfectly modern of Picasso to choose scraps of newspaper for their puns. He let the words ''prets,'' ''prets,'' ''prets'' (loans, loans, loans) bubble up inside a seltzer bottle. He played on Mallarme's poem ''Un Coup de Des'' (''A Roll of the Dice'') by cutting ''un coup de the'' (a drink of tea) from ''un coup de theatre'' (a dramatic event). And just as Mallarme let ''or'' run amok on the page, sometimes meaning ''gold,'' sometimes ''now,'' sometimes leading a closeted life in ''dehors'' (outside) or ''fantasmagorique,'' Picasso took apart ''journal'' to make ''jou,'' suggesting both ''jouer'' (to play) and ''jouir'' (to climax).
BUT just how much verbal content can be allowed? In ''Re-ordering the Universe,'' Patricia Leighten suggested that we should actually read the news in these clips -- the announcement of an armistice, the description of cholera victims piled high. Krauss thinks this is too much. Picasso was not trying to shoehorn political content into his collages. But the idea that he might be playing with language -- representing talk itself and the shifty character of words -- is perfectly fine. ''Each of these fragments is just enough to produce the motion of conversation, the play of relations, the sociability of the group,'' Krauss writes.[/]
http://www.tamu.edu/mocl/picasso/archives/1998/opparch98-87.html
Picasso Pastiche - Graphic
http://www.georgeunderwood.com/graphics/picasso2.html
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Today's AWAD is:grisaille (gri-ZAI, ZAYL) noun
A painting in tones of a single color, especially gray, to represent objects in relief.
[From French grisaille (grayness), from gris (gray).]
An example: Odalisque in Grisaille by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres.http://metmuseum.org/works_of_art/viewonezoom.asp?dep=11&item=38.65Anu has saved "grisaille" for Day 3 which is clever of him [as usual] because Wednesday is the middle of the week. Everyone who works for a living hits bottom in the middle of the week. The Mommas and The Papas sang a song about Monday, and Friday is shamelessly upbeat with TGIF parties and "Casual Fridays", but what can you say about Wednesday? "It can only get better from here." That's about it. Let's face it. That's why Anu introduced "grisaille" on a Wednesday. And that reminds me. If you are ashen faced, you look gray. Now what's the difference between "gray" and "grey"? The situation is not improved by the fact that "grisaille" comes from the French word "gris" which has an "i" where the "a" or the "e" ought to be. Is this another one of those American/British spelling things?* Everyone has to go there own way, right. When you're feeling down, the first place it shows up is in your face. If someone says "Keep your chin up", it's because you've hit a low spot. And the situation is always grave in a low spot. In fact, when you get to "the low spot", you're only one step away from "as bad as it can get". Which is why all the blood runs out of your head and you look ashen faced. So, there it is. It all starts in the face**, and it all ends up in ashes -- if you don't turn things around. Which is why we have Thursdays. I want to end my post on an up note so I'm going to make an unusual suggestion. Don't read today's ALAD until tomorrow [themilum excepted, of course]. * Charles Gr ey was a British Prime Minister, Lady Jane Gr ey was Queen of England for nine days, and Zane Gr ay was a popular American writer of western adventure novels but Dictionary.com says "grey" or "gray" is a "variant". Which means it's a grey area. ** Shakespeare gave us "prick your face" which might explain where the term "perk up" came from. [But then again, maybe not. Maybe it was inspired by the smell of coffee percolating first thing in the morning. Makes sense to me.] "Prick thy face and over-red thy fear, thou lily-livered boy." Macbeth. Monday, Monday
So good to me
Monday morning
It was all I hoped it would be
Oh, Monday morning
Monday morning couldn't guarantee
That Monday evening you would still
Be here with me
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from Dr. Bill [wwh]How about grisette for grisaille? M-W: Main Entry: gri·settePronunciation: gri-'zet Function: noun Etymology: French, grisette, cheap unbleached cloth, from gris 1 : a young French working-class woman There is a second M-W meaning for "grissete" which I would post without hesitation if this were my post, but it isn't so I will leave it to those who may be curious, to find it or not, if their curiosity is piqued or pricked and they want to take a peek. [This is a gray area for me.] http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=grisetteHint [from me]: There are ladies of the night, and ladies who only practise at dusk ['cause they have to get up early in the morning to go to their regular job]. You could call these ladies "ladies of the dusk". But the areas where they practice at dusk are not "grisaille". They are "rouge". [So they're easier to find. :) ]
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Today's AWAD is:encaustic (en-KO-stik) adjective
A method of painting using pigments with wax fixed onto the surface by heat.
noun
A work of art produced by this process.
[From Latin encausticus, from Greek enkaustikos, from enkaiein (to burn in), from en- + (kaiein) to burn. Some distant cousins of this word are caustic, calm, and holocaust.]Examples of encaustic [per Anu]: http://www.encaustic.com/photopost/It should come as a surprise to no-one that art you can make waxing hot air is "encaustic".
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from Dr. Bill [wwh]:
One thing Anu might appreciate is some support finding words and quotes of them. He used to have a new word every day, including Saturdays and Sundays. For a while I tried imitating his posts of word and text, but I gave up because other members did not join in at that time. We have a lot of readers who must see words worth posting in context and it would be nice see more posts of this kind. I really wish we had words on the week-end as we did in the very beginning. Think about that. Bill. PS. of troy has posted urging members to find words in books and magazines they read, and post about them. Please mention her having done so. Others have done it occasionally.
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Today's AWAD is:trompe l'oeil (tromp lye) noun
1. A style of painting in which objects are rendered in extremely realistic detail, giving an illusion of reality.
2. A painting, mural, etc. made in this style.
[From French, literally "fools the eye", from tromper (to deceive) + le (the) + oeil (eye).] Examples of trompe l'oeil [per Anu]: http://trompe-l-oeil-art.com/A "trompe l'oeil" is a 'trick of the eye' which only works if you discover you've been tricked. Gotcha!That's what makes it different from other fakes. You're supposed to discover it's a fake. That's what makes "faux" fun. Now you see it. Now you don't. Get it? 
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from Dr. Bill [wwh]:I have been a bit surprised by my dogs paying so little attention to images on TV. You might stimulate some interesting speculations from members about this. I remember from when I was a kid phonograph ad "His Master's Voice" showing dog with his head cocked to one side, allegedly recongnizing his master's voice on a phonograph record. I think that was a hoax. ASIDE: Dr. Bill's PM containing this message carried the subject line trompe l;oeil. Was that wink a typo, Dr. Bill? Or part of the message? [I think it was part of the message. Very clever, wwh. I see that you're up to your old tricks. * :) ] Now BBC gives pets their own stationGuardian Unlimited Pet correspondent Thursday April 29, 2004 A spokeswoman for Crufts organiser The Kennel Club said: "We are all for anything that educates people about responsible ownership --- ."
She added that dogs cannot actually watch TV, but do respond to the sound of programmes.
"Dogs will listen to what's on TV, but can't watch, as their eyesight doesn't allow it. But dogs will sit up and listen if they here other dogs barking on TV, or sheep," the Kennel Club spokeswoman said.http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,14173,1205963,00.htmlMore about "Pet TV"Pet TV can be tried out on dogs, cats, birds and even fish, according to the BBC.
"It's a unique opportunity to find out if we really do have a nation of pet telly addicts, and if so, what are the pets' favourite shows," the BBC said.
"Do pets pick up messages from the television? See if they respond to dogs barking, wolves howling, parrots talking in English. The sound of running water might attract your fish to the screen, and the sight of fish swimming around a tank might attract your cat to the television more than the sight of mice," it said in a press statement.How are they going to do a Neilsen Rating on "Pet TV", Dr. Bill? The advertisers will never pay for the survey. * They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. But an old dog can teach us some new ones. :)
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Carpal Tunnel
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I find you a very annoying presence, and I try to avoid your posts whenever possible. But I gotta ask: what do you get out of clicking on your own posts dozens, scores, maybe hundreds of times? (cf how many other members also avoid any threads started by you* vis-a-vis the number of hits on other threads.) The same gratification you get out of replying to yourself, creating sock puppets, etc? Give it a rest, man. This is a place to discuss words, not to indulge in self-gratifying logorrhea.
~~
*and then there are the folks who have left this board altogether because of you, but that's another story
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Dear Annastrophic, I for one enjoy Plutarch's posts here. Why don't you take your own advice and either stay with the theme here or stop your personal attacks. You can always start your own thread and punch them up to popularity. Geez! What bile. 
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and then there are the folks who have left this board altogether because of you
Well, at least things have improved enough for you to return, ASp. And you're not calling me "il Plutarchi" any more. And the clicks are going to go way up on this thread, thanks to your post.
So, why not look at the bright side?
That's what I'm doing. I don't even know why we're feuding. But please feel free to fill me in in another post, if it pleases you.
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re And the clicks are going to go way up on this thread, thanks to your post.
P.S. I welcome the additional clicks because it will give you and any others who are following your example a chance to discover what it is you are shunning so religiously or otherwise ignoring. It's just Anu's daily words, unblemished by any invective -- at least until recently.
I thought I should mention this in a follow-up post, ASp, because I don't want you or anyone else to get the idea that I am grateful for the additional clicks for any selfish reason.
As I said when I began this daily discussion of Anu's daily AWAD 6 weeks ago, Dr. Bill had the idea to discuss Anu's AWAD on a daily basis many months ago. He believed it would be a good way to support our generous host, Anu, while attracting new visitors to the Board at the same time, in particular, the hundreds of thousands of people who receive Anu's daily AWAD. He saw it as a "Win Win" for everyone.
Dr. Bill tried "valiantly", as one old-timer said, to get daily discussions of Anu's AWAD going in "Weekly Themes" a long time ago, but he gave up because members declined to support it. I thought Dr. Bill's idea was a good one and I took up the effort because Dr. Bill can no longer post online himself.
I'm doing the same thing that Dr. Bill was doing except I launched this daily discussion in "Q & A" where Anu's daily AWAD would receive at least as much attention as tsuwm's obsolete words. That is not a knock against tsuwm's obsolete words, of course. Or vice versa.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Where in Sam's hill is there a formal discussion of tsuwm's words, plutarch? They are mentioned occasionally, here, right?, but I don't think there is a place where we regularly go to discuss tsuwm's words.
I think your idea of trying to pull Anu's words onto a reguarly visited forum is pretty harmless, but people tend to discuss words that are on their minds. Anu's might not always pull in interest for discussion. If they do, great. And if you want to keep up this vigil over Anu's words, great, too. And if no one happens to post, that's fine, too.
We all just come here to discuss whatever we want to discuss without feeling the onus of a homework assignment, so Anu's interest in his word of the day might just be a passing fancy for most to read, but not necessarily to study or discuss. And you sure as heck haven't made anything resembling a demand for discussion. You're just keeping up with Anu with determination. If anyone wants to join you, great.
Everything's great and fine. And one day you might find a kindred spirit who enjoys discussing Anu's choices every day. I hope you do because you'd have more fun.
In the meantime, I suppose you'll just have to take what comes your way (and Anu's way). I'm just grateful that we have this board to come to discuss whatever words catch our own fancies inclusive of Anu's choices and not exclusive of our own whimsical interests. Thank you, Anu.
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Thank you for your thoughtful and candid reply, Wordwind. Your feedback is not only welcome, it is healthy and refreshing. [It is, in fact, disarmingly notable for its tone of respectfulness.] Again, thank you. :)
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from Dr. Bill [wwh]:
One additional justification for posting Today's Word in Q&A is that by their own admission, many members never look 'below the fold'. I noticed long ago members were 'discovering' words and posting about them quite oblivious of fact they had been Today's Word long ago.
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