Art By Roger Morgan

Abstract art is art without a recognizable subject – works that don’t relate to anything external or aren’t trying to “look like” something. It’s the colors and the form that become the subject of the abstract work.

“We are all hungry and thirsty for concrete images. Abstract art will have been good for one thing: to restore its exact virginity to figurative art.” – Salvador Dali

Abstract art is non-representational and subjective.

There are two basic types of abstract art – geometric and fluid.

Figurative abstractions (recognizable objects with no detail, leaving only the essence) and works of art that represent things such as emotion, sound, or spiritual experience are also considered abstract art.

“There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality.” – Pablo Picasso

In the early 20th century, Western art starting to break away from the idea that a painting had to actually represent something. During this time, art movements such as Cubism, Fauvism, and Impressionism broke the “rules” of art that painters had followed since The Renaissance.

The idea developed that color, form, line, and texture could themselves be the subject of the painting.

“Of all the arts, abstract painting is the most difficult. It demands that you know how to draw well, that you have a heightened sensitivity for composition and for colors, and that you be a true poet. This last is essential.” — Wassily Kandinsky.

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The bright orange California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica) was named for doctor-naturalist Johann Friedrich Gustav von Eschscholtz (somehow the “t” in his name got dropped), who was the surgeon for the Russian expedition team that dropped anchor in San Francisco in 1815 in a bay surrounded by hills covered with the golden flowers.

Early Spanish settlers called it copa del ora (cup of gold) after the legend that the orange petals, turning to gold, filled the soil with the precious metal.

It was designated the state flower of California in 1903, and is now protected by state law prohibiting anyone from picking or destroying it.

On the hillsides of California, California poppies tend to make their greatest shows on grazed lands since the animals avoid eating the bitter-tasting plants and eliminate most of the poppy’s competition.

Today, Southern California’s best public poppy shows are in three locations: The “Grapevine,” along Interstate 5 where it winds its way past Gorman at the northern edge of Los Angeles County; north of Lake Elsinor, off I-15 at the end of the Lake Street exit; and at the 1,700 acre high desert grassland area, Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve in the Mojave Desert.

The indigenous California Indians used this poppy as both a source of food and medicine. Several groups boiled the plant, or roasted it on host stones, to eat as a green.

The Costanoan Indians rubbed a decoction of the flowers in the hair to kill lice; the Indians of Mendocino County used a poultice of fresh root for toothaches and a topically applied extract for headaches and sores; and Cahuilla women used the pollen as a cosmetic and the whole plant as a sedative for babies.

Medicinally, California poppy is a plant with sedative, analgesic and antispastic activities, but unlike the alkaloids of the opium poppy, it does not seem to induce tolerance and dependence. It is touted by some for the treatment of anxiety and to induce sleep in patients affected with insomnia.

California Poppy history and facts courtesy of the Master Gardener.

Roger Morgan is constantly creating new and wonderful works of art. Below are just a few of the acrylic paintings recently created in 2009.

Acrylic paint is fast-drying paint containing pigment suspended in an acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry. Depending on how much the paint is diluted (with water) or modified with acrylic gels, media, or pastes, the finished acrylic painting can resemble a watercolor or an oil painting, or have its own unique characteristics not attainable with other media.

Acrylics were first made commercially available in the 1950s. These were mineral spirit-based paints called Magna offered by Bocour Artist Colors. Water-based acrylic paints were subsequently sold as “latex” house paints, although acrylic dispersion uses no latex derived from a rubber tree. Interior “latex” house paints tend to be a combination of binder (sometimes acrylic, vinyl, pva and others), filler, pigment and water. Exterior “latex” house paints may also be a “co-polymer” blend, but the very best exterior water-based paints are 100% acrylic.

Soon after the water-based acrylic binders were introduced as house paints, artists (the first of whom were Mexican muralists) and companies alike began to explore the potential of the new binders. Water soluble artist quality acrylic paints became commercially available in the early 1960s, offered by Liquitex.

Prior to the 20th century, artists mixed their own paints to increase the longevity of the artwork and achieve desired pigment load, viscosity, and to control the use of fillers, if any. While suitable media and raw pigments are available for the individual production of acrylic paint, due to the fast drying time, hand mixing may not be practical.

Acrylic painters modify the appearance, hardness, flexibility, texture, and other characteristics of the paint surface using acrylic media.

Acrylics have the ability to bond to many different surfaces, and media can be used to adjust their binding characteristics. They can also be used to build thick layers of paint: gel and molding paste media are sometimes used to create paintings with relief features that are literally sculptural.

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All works of art by Roger Morgan are available for purchase. For more information, please email roger@rogermorganartgallery.com or leave a comment in the box below.

Sure, Roger Morgan is an excellent artist – but did you know he’s a talented sculptor as well?

Most recently using a beautiful female live model from Spain, Roger has created one beautiful bronze nude after another. And, as with all of his work, each bronze is one-of-a-kind.

Roger Morgan Bronze Nudes For Sale

Purchase a Roger Morgan Bronze Nude

For about 2,000 years, from around 3,000 BC to 1,000 BC, bronze was the most important metal used for industrial purposes. Although the use of iron made tools began to increase after 1,000 BC, in the Roman world bronze continued to be an essential medium. Like the Greeks and Egyptians before them, the Romans used bronze in numerous ways. Roman cooks used bronze pots and pans; some furniture was made of bronze, as were belts and brooches for fastening clothes, and bronze armor and other equipment was used by Roman military personnel. Additionally, in private homes and gardens and in public places like the Roman Forum, bronze figurines and statues of gods, athletes, heroes, and government officials were ubiquitous.

Roger Morgan Bronze Nudes For Sale

“Bronze-working generally became associated with statues of gods. It was discovered that Ceres was the first image cast in bronze in Rome….The art then passed from representations of gods to statues and likenesses of men in a variety of forms. Over time, the methods where perfected more and more and the finishes changed some. Overall the same techniques are applied today as they where in the old Roman days. [source]

Purchase a Roger Morgan Bronze Nude

There’s an old adage that says there are no mistakes in art. Roger Morgan proves this to be true every year.

Roger paints hundreds of watercolors throughout the year. Most of them make it to the framing stage as they are; but others need to be cropped or manipulated in some way.

Roger is a big believer in recycling, so when he crops one of his watercolor paintings the removed pieces don’t go in the trash – they’re set aside to be used at a later time.

The removed pieces are cut into strips and laid out side by side. As the artist juices flow, Roger visualizes which watercolor painting strips can be placed together to create another one-of-a-kind painting.

Often times the resulting painting is a mountain landscape, as mountains are of great artistic inspiration to Roger Morgan.

The Mountain by Emily Dickinson

The mountain sat upon the plain
In his eternal chair,
His observation omnifold,
His inquest everywhere.

The seasons prayed around his knees,
Like children round a sire:
Grandfather of the days is he,
Of dawn the ancestor.
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Did you know…..?

Mountains cover one-fifth of the earth’s land surface, and can be found in 75% of the world’s countries.

Mountains are on every continent and even under oceans.

Hawaii is at the top of a volcanic mountain in the Pacific Ocean. More than half the mountain is below water.

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Roger Morgan was born in San Diego, CA and grew up in and around the San Francisco Bay Area. In the 1960s he obtained both his BA and MA in Painting from the University of California at Berkeley.

For over 45 years Roger’s love of nature has inspired him to capture the underlining beauty of the mountains and flowers around him.

Roger uses multi-media including oil, acrylic, watercolor, bronze and metal; collections of his work can be found throughout the U.S. and Australia.

Take a look at Roger’s bronze nudes at: Roger Morgan Art Flickr

With his acrylic paintings, Roger prepares the background of each painting by layering seven to ten coats of diluted acrylic paint, using a palette knife and brushes.

All of Roger Morgan’s pieces of artwork are for sale.

For information leave a comment here or email: Roger@RogerMorganArtGallery.com

Roger currently resides in Berkeley, California with his wife of over 21 years. They are the proud parents of a blended family with 6 grown children and 9 grandchildren.

The paintings shown here are only a small sampling of what is available from Roger Morgan. Check back often for more paintings and other available artwork.

We really think you’re going to like what you see!