Idiosyncratic Art

I've a liking for odd, different art.  So idiosyncratic is the word.  I thought I'd better check the definition.  The shortest definition is 'unique to the individual', but it covers a wide range of things.  Apparently Einstein seldom wore socks, and talked to his cat.  These things made him idiosyncratic.  Some people like to smell new, or old, books.  Idiosyncratic again...I do that.  Do you know someone who always taps his/her nose when about to tell you something confidential, or what they consider 'wise'?  And so on.  A medical page informs me that the human species has a tendency to be idiosyncratic. As far as art goes it's a different way of painting, maybe the manner in which you paint or the subject matter you chose.  To a degree, I think we all have a degree of idiosyncrasy.  We all paint in our own way.  Having been on this site for a few years, I can often recognise an artist's work immediately because they paint in a way unique to them. So, it's a fairly elastic definition.  I'm about to show work I consider idiosyncratic. British artist Francis Broomfield paints with a combination of oil and tempera finished off with glazes mixed with liquin. Usually quite small, often 10 x 8 inches on board. This is Henri Rousseau's Dream Garden, her homage to another idiosyncratic artist... George Formby... The white rabbit's house... I can't leave out Beryl Cook... The brilliant Scottish artist John Byrne... Kit Williams, who also makes his own elaborate frames.... Pauline Gagnon, who paints portraits on an assembled ground of printed material... Another British artist...Sally Moore... Illustrator Peter Ferguson... I don't intend to limit this to painting.  Gargoyles and Grotesques found on Churches worldwide have always sparked my interest.  In creating these, the often unknown masons  got to exercise their creativity.  Gargoyles only function was as waterspouts to direct rain from the building, apart from that anything goes.  Grotesques have no function at all, save for decoration.  The creators let rip. Above, on the left, from the Cotswolds, a figure the locals call the 'mad hatter', and some suggest that's where Lewis Carrol got his idea from. Above from Ely Cathedral...the nose picker. This gargoyle is from Chichester Cathedral.  It's a caricature of a local lawyer. As these buildings are constantly under preservation, modern masons are continuing this ancient tradition by adding their own. Above.  Salamanca in Spain, an astronaut grotesque. Paisley Abbey, an 'alien'  gargoyle, apparently the film was a big thing when this was made. I love it that these strange creations are on CHURCHES and CATHEDRALS!! I'll finish for now with another artist...the Italian Nicola Verlato.   In his work, often huge, people and things fly around.  He's called a 'narrative' painter, and covers strange events and catastrophes.  Narrative yes, but idiosyncratic too. I like the one above very much.  The one below is entitled 'R Johnson and the Devil'.  Like it. That's it for now.  I'll add to it when the mood takes me. If you have any 'odd' paintings you like, please post them, I'd love to see them.

Thanks Paul. Jenny, I agree about the term idiosyncratic art.  It means whatever you think, I guess.  I've tried odd, offbeat and weird, they don't really define it.  The idea for this thread came from a book I recently purchased...'A Singular Vision' published by the Portal Gallery in London, celebrating their 50 years in business.  They specialise in what they call 'idiosyncratic art', but singular vision might be a better way of describing it.  Frances Broomfield and the great Beryl Cook were represented by the Portal gallery. I share your liking for offbeat pottery... Some more art that I  think falls into this category... A lot of it is edging towards the surreal, but I like some of that  too.

clumsy fingers,

Here's something I found interesting.  A painting of the Duchess from Alice in Wonderland...Frances Broomfield's version (she's featured above)... ...I think it fair to say she was influenced by Tenielle's original drawing below...   According to experts (??) he was influenced by this painting in the National Gallery... ...this is a painting by Quentin Massys entitled 'The Duchess', it dates from 1513.  In turn, it's based on a real Duchess from TWO HUNDRED years before it was painted, who was reputed to be 'the ugliest woman in the world'.  A bit unkind.  Obviously made-up I'd say.   Here's another grotesque...why did the mason make this?  Making a point?  Don't do this, biting your toenails isn't very attractive.  The mason was having a laugh most likely, you can just hear him saying to his mates 'you'll never guess what I've just done.'  From a church in Nottingham... A mason working at  the Freiburg Cathedral in Germany had to lower the tone even further... I can't get over these things are on churches. Here's work by a painter of Royalty at Louis 16th's court in France.  He's become famous for the humorous self portraits he made.  Joseph Ducreux is the name... Just to get back to normality, one from Beryl Cook...

We overlapped Jenny.  That's an interesting idea.

I meant to tell the  story behind this painting (shown previously)... ...it's by Nicola Verlato.  It concerns a real person who is supposed to have sold his soul to the devil.  He was Robert Johnson, he's on the right.  The devil, in a top hat, is on the left.  Johnson  was a would-be guitarist, he played in Juke Bars in America's deep South in the 1920/30s.  The customers at these bars were used to good music, they didn't get it from him.  They demanded he 'stop that racket'.  Then Johnson  disappeared for a year, when he came back he'd become a brilliant guitarist, the best ever.  Rumour had it that he'd sold his soul to the devil in exchange for the gift of music.  Apparently he used to practice for hours seated on a tombstone in a graveyard.  Hokum.  But what is true is that he was a lousy guitar player, and one year later an utterly brilliant one.  There are many stories like this...Paganini, the famed  violinist is said to have sold his soul.  I love these weird yarns. Some more stuff...a couple by an artist named De Angel... A really eerie painting by George Tooker.  Those faces at the eyeholes.... Stanley Spencer did a lot of strange work...the Lovers, and the Wool Shop... Some more ceramic art I like...