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Game Of Checkers

Afternoon Checkers

~ Afternoon Checkers ~

• Tolliver’s stylized art uniquely combines the compositional principles of Cézanne, the colour of Chagall and the forms and mood of Picasso and Modigliani.


• His artwork was also a framework wherein he could convey his true subject, which was his joy in working with colour, shapes, textures, line and light.


• Tolliver emerged as a brilliant, self taught artist, who was called, a Mississippi born Renaissance man, with a creative intelligence that combined the study of formal structure with an innate sense of human observation and feeling.


• During the mid 1980s, he was recognized as a brilliant regional talent, who stressed that art was a means for documenting one's history and as such, his art expression was driven by a desire to capture the landscapes and people of his native deep South so that in his concern for thematic content, this outlook inspired him to capture scenes of rural black southern life in works that have included themes of cotton pickers, stevedores, families playing checkers, children fishing and women tending the earth by hoe.


• His themes were diverse and whether dealing with everyday workers or back alley jazzmen, they conveyed a universal message through scenes of the common human experience, as seen by his painting of a relaxed game of afternoon checkers.


• Tolliver was an artist of insight and natural ability and his works, though plaintive in mood deliver an artistic message that is spiritually uplifting and imbued with unique expression that came from deep within his creative soul.

~ Make Your Move ~

• Holston’s fine art career has spanned the latter part of the 20th and into the 21st century.


• Largely a self taught painter, printmaker and graphic artist, who finds artistic expression in a abstract cubist style that is imbued with colour to enhance the various motifs.


• His artistic endeavours display a talent in charcoal sketching, mixed media and etchings.


• Holston did also pursue formal training in Washington, which has helped the artist to develop a unique, modern style that is characterized by his careful attention to detail, form, line and composition.


• Joseph Holston's paintings do not tell a complete story but rather merely suggest a narrative, an experience or a drama, wherein the viewer is invited to become emotionally or even spiritually involved.
  
  
• His works are executed by painting simple, uncluttered shapes that reduce and refined the subjects to basic forms and figures so that his viewers become so interwoven in the art that the line between where the viewer ends and the art begins no longer exists.
  
  
• Holston’s motifs also represent the daily life of black culture in America as is depicted in the simple theme of a pleasant game of checkers (above).

~ Checker Players ~

Roger Witmer
(1944 - )
Waterloo, Ontario

"I've been painting or drawing as long as I can remember."

A Canadian artist with an exceptional talent to create heartwarming scenes with oils and a small brush.

• His artistic style is that of Impressionistic realism, where the motifs capture the essence and traditions of his native province, from the Amish countryside of southern Ontario to northern landscapes of lush, beautiful forests and colourful lakes and rivers.
  
  
• Some of the artistic scenes represent nostalgic memories for those growing up in the 1950's.
  
• Witmer’s oil paintings are quite distinctive in their simple depiction of the local heritage and rural life encompassing the Waterloo/Kitchener region, and give the viewer a real sense of daily life in the countryside.
  
  
• Many of his rural scenes depict settings with horses and Mennonite families and their activities, and are represented by clarity of composition, simple lines and colourful tones.
  
  
• The simplicity and pleasure of life is displayed in the painting above that shows an old fashioned game of checkers being enjoyed by players in front of an old stove in the country general store.
  
  
• Some of Witmer’s work also depicts old local buildings, inspired by an interest in architecture and often these structures add a distinct structure to the motif.

~ Checker Players ~

• This illustration also reflects a simple image of an every day motif of a young boy enjoying quality time in a game of checkers with his grandfather.
  
  
• The viewer’s focus is drawn to the oversized checkerboard and the atmosphere of the moment represented by the concentration displayed by both players.
  
  
• Realism is clearly defined by the detailing of the characters and surrounding setting, so much so that this drawing could easily be an artistic rendering of an actual photograph taken showing a leisurely checkers game.

A game of checkers was also a popular motif for sculpture, as seen in the work of 19th century American sculptor, John Rogers and later, in a couple of modern renditions of decorative arts.

Checkers Up At The Farm

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