Artists to Know: Odd Nerdrum & Carol Marine

Odd Nerdrum (born April 8, 1944 in Helsingborg, Sweden), is a Norwegian figurative painter. Themes and style in Nerdrum's work reference anecdote and narrative, while primary influences by the painters Rembrandt and Caravaggio place his work in direct conflict with the abstraction and conceptual art considered acceptable in much of his native Norway, and in opposition to the art of the time. Nerdrum creates six to eight paintings per year categorized as, Still life paintings of small everyday objects like bricks, portraits and self portraits whose subjects are dressed as if from some other time and place, and large paintings, allegorical in nature that present a sense of the apocalyptic, and again reference another time. Nerdrum's approach to painting is based on traditional methods: mixing and grinding his own pigments, working on canvas stretched by himself or assistants rather than on pre-stretched canvas, and working from live models often himself, and in many cases members of his own family. Nerdrum says that his art should be understood as kitsch rather than art as such. "On Kitsch", a manifesto composed by Nerdrum describes the distinction he makes between kitsch and art. Initially, Nerdrum's declaration was thought to be a joke but later, and with the publication of articles and books on the subject, Nerdrum's position can be seen as an implied criticism of contemporary art.

Carol Marine Daily Painting Demo No. 2 from Carol Marine on Vimeo.

Carol Marine was born in Sheridan, Montana, and raised in the very small town of Harper, Texas. After graduating from Harper high school, Carol spent four and a half years at the University of Texas in Austin. She graduated in the fall of 2001 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Studio Art, and a focus in painting. During Carol’s college days she met and married David Marine, with whom she now lives in Austin, TX. On October 5th, 2006, Carol began the practice of doing one small painting a day and posting them on her blog. Each of these small paintings is for auction on Ebay & through her ebay store. Since then Carol has begun teaching workshops across the country about daily painting, and is a member of Daily Paintworks, a distinguished group of daily painters. Carol divides her time between painting in and out of the studio (out with Plein Air Austin), teaching and family adventures.