Andrew Sandberg's Fine Art

Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1526 – 1593) was an Italian Renaissance painter famous for his imaginative and unconventional portraits. Born in Milan, he served as a court painter for the Habsburg emperors in Vienna and Prague. Arcimboldo's unique style is characterized by his "composite portraits" which used a combination of objects, fruits, vegetables, and other elements, arranged to portray a human face. These whimsical and highly detailed works are often interpreted as allegorical representations of the seasons, elements, or human attributes. The Four Seasons  1563-73 Arcimboldo's most famous series of paintings is "The Four Seasons"  where he cleverly arranged items like flowers, fruits and branches to capture his enigmatic visages. Today, Arcimboldo is popularly known primarily for his influence on the surrealists. But Arcimboldo's influences is more far-reaching than that. From the chalk cliffs of Germany to the American Southwest, Arcimboldo has helped sha...

Edgar Alwin Payne,  Canyon de Chelly , specific date unknown, ca. before 1947      Nature falls into the happy rhythm of human steps in this beautifully romanticized oil painting by Edgar Alwin Payne. The cliffs provide the wanderers a pleasant shade, while the clouds shine benevolently in the sky. The shadows in the background are like children peeking around corners to see what the grown-ups are doing.       The way the light rakes across the rock face, it makes the cliffs appear to be follow the wayfarers around the curve of the valley. The way the rocks sink back into themselves counters this forward rhythm and creates the impression that they are reluctantly curious about the horsemen. The clouds overhead seem less connected to the wanderers but are playful with each other. Continuing the horizontal rhythm of the rock walls, the clouds have a peculiar shape that draws one in to wonder what Payne was trying to communicate. Though the clouds s...

Testimony 27x46," presents the moral courage of a justice seeker in an environment that both guards and menaces her. Painted in matte acrylic on canvas, I used both contemporary news reports and imaginative romanticism to create the image. The figure herself is based on the testimony of Christine Mackinday in the case against Jon Koppenhaver who was convicted of battery, kidnapping and sexual assault of Miss Mackinday. I was inspired by her testimony and recontextualized it for this image, placing her in an environment that suggests both heaven and hell. I've included photos below, my latest video about the painting and the full playlist the documents the whole painting process. 

On Day 1, I worked in black and white, covering the garage in white gesso and sketching in my design with black paint. I started with a rough sketch and then refined it over the course of the day. I constantly walked up and down the driveway so that I could see the whole composition. This is the original concept for the design which I made in watercolor on paper.  Here it is photoshopped onto the garage door and extended into the distance with atmospheric perspective. On Day 2, I painted these distant trees, defining their structure by painting in hollows using titanium white.  I also refined the overall composition of the trees and their branches. Part of this refinement is erasing areas that I don't want, which I did by overpainting with white gesso. My goal for this day was to have a grayscale rendering of the entire composition so that tomorrow I could begin with color. Honestly, I would have been satisfied to leave it like this.  I think it looks awesome in black and...

I've been producing short videos about drawing lately and I enjoy the format. It's a chance to show off my working process without having to write a script or try to create a lesson out of it. And I'm getting a lot of good practice drawing people, which I need for my next major painting.  Right now it has about a dozen figures and will definitely have more. I'll post more about that soon. If you like these videos I'd love it if you'd like and subscribe!  

  Carolus Duran taught that, “In art, all that is not indispensable is unnecessary." Carolus Duran,  Mademoiselle de Lancey I agree with Carolus, but the word "indispensable" is hard to define in art, and basically amounts to: that which is important to the artist . As such, it is difficult to tell how strictly Carolus adhered to his own principle. Especially in portrait art, an artist is inundated with the particulars of his sitter's personality, and does not necessarily have free reign to paint only that which he cherishes. Nevertheless, Carolus Duran proved canvas after canvas that he was devoted to producing clear, essentialized images. Duran,  Spanish Woman His student, John Singer Sargent was equally devoted to this idea, particularly in regard to the depiction of tones, which was Duran’s special insight and concern in teaching. Duran taught that: “Objects in nature relieve one against each other by the relative values of light and shade which accompany and are...

I put together this video discussion of a topic that is super important to me. The authorship of this painting, The Girl with a Flute  has recently come under serious question. I don't know whether or not it is a genuine Vermeer, but I offer some thoughts on the basis of stylistic analysis and thematic comparison to a similar painting, Vermeer's Girl with the Red Hat .