painting Tagged Articles at Cinematical

If you've ever seen a painting by Margaret Keane, you'll probably agree that Big Eyes is the only logical choice for the title of a biopic about the artist. Variety reports that Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski have signed to direct their own script about the relationship between Margaret and her husband Walter. The story will focus on Keane struggling to succeed as an artist while her husband is taking credit for her work.

Walter was a strong businessman with a serious lack of artistic talent. Instead, he took advantage of his wife's abilities and made millions off her paintings of 'large-eyed waif's'. In 1965 the couple divorced and during a dramatic court case, both parties were put in front of an easel to prove who the real artist was -- Walter balked at the challenge and claimed he was suffering from a shoulder injury. After the divorce was granted, Margaret Keane moved to Hawaii where she continues to paint. Alexander told Variety, "Her rebellion coincided with the feminist movement, and when he began calling her his crazy ex-wife, she sued him."

Alexander and Karaszewski brokered the deal for Keane's life story with the artist herself. The filmmakers have been making some inroads into horror flicks lately, but they are probably best known as the writers for Ed Wood, Man on the Moon and The People vs. Larry Flynt. Nightclub mogul-turned producer, Andrew Meieran, told Variety, "We've looked through hundreds of scripts, but this felt like just the right project to launch a brand". Alexander and Karaszewski are already working on another fact based film, Ripley's Believe it or Not with Jim Carrey. They are also still attached to write the screenplay for Eli Roth's big screen version of Stephen King's Cell -- that's if Roth can bring himself to start working again.

If you're going to be in Miami from January 5th to 8th, you might want to stop by the Art Miami Fair at the Miami Beach Convention Center and behold a new painting of the Virgin Mary -- actually, make that the Virgin Angelina. Artist Kate Kretz is presenting a new oil and acrylic painting on linen entitled "Blessed Art Thou." It presents Angelina Jolie and her three children as the Virgin Mary and offspring, hovering in heavenly repose over a typical American Wal-Mart with flags draped from the rafters and plus-sized shoppers obliviously gazing at the merchandise. A sickly green hue fills the air over the shoppers, one of whom seems to be staring in the general direction of a copy of Us Weekly, which is wedged in the magazine rack next to a "For Dummies" book. A frothy cloud cover forms a dividing line between the serene celebrity heaven above and the hell below.

In conjunction with the unveiling, Kretz has been keeping a blog on her website, detailing the step-by-step creation of the painting. The blog seems to be in the same "too much information" spirit as the painting itself, giving us an excess of detail about her artistic process. Here's a sampling: "hair and sash are not the only dark values, so the grouping is more unified against the clouds. I think the clouds have lost some impact, as the blue dress is stronger than the blue of the clouds...."