Art+Event1+-+Semester+II+Visiting+Artist,+David+Bottini

Creekside Leaning By: David Bettini This is an acrylic painting on canvas with a golden frame. I chose to write about htis painting because it really reminds me of a river bed at my house. I can really relate to it, eventhough it is a painting of nature. One thing that catches my eye about this piece is the detail all over. There is major detail in the water and in the undergrowth. I like how one of the tree trunks cuts across the diagonal of the painting. It draws the eye to the undergrowth and its detail. I also like the contrast and variety in shades and the overall content of the piece. Another subtle effect I enjoy is the gloss finish. It makes the image look almost 3D and makes it look more springy and bright. -Sally Swiatek

2/24/11 Art Event 1 David Bottini ‘for Gabriel’ My favorite thing about David Bottini’s works were their ability to effect my mood. The images are so romantic and so realistic and beautiful that I completely lost myself in them. Hearing him speak about his sense of place as well as his ability to interpret and re-create a place that is vague enough to be molded and shaped in the recollections of the observer is amazing. I felt like I could relate on a personal level to almost every painting; like I had a memory from each place and I was being transported back to the beauty of that moment. This piece (below) was one of my favorites, as Bottini’s expression of light and autumn color captivated my attention. Like he said, his dramatic background lighting really brightens the image and draws the viewer into it. The leading lines in the creak also give the painting realistic depth. I am also intrigued by the light playing in the creak, as well as the wobbly realistic reflections of the trees. The dark color of the trees offers nice contrast to the vibrant colors of the leaves, and the reflections of the trees in the creek offers nice balance. I love the luminosity and vibrancy in all of Bottini’s work that casually demands your attention and evolves into embodiments of the viewer’s personal memories. (Annaleise G.)



JULIA NELSON



In David Bottinni's artwork, there was a lot of saturated color as he talked about. Although, I loved the bright colors in each of his paintings, I thought the color made the painting look unrealistic and almost too perfect. The painting above called "Mud and Snow Trail" of 2012 was a painting that did not have the over dramatic coloring and it really appealed to me. I really like how he really brought out the shadows of the branches and the trees to add more variation in the ground. If you look closley there is a lot f repetition in the ground frm the patter of the mud and the snow which adds great detail the the painting. THe pathway acts as a leading line to the BRIGHT blue sky, which is difficult to see in this photo. The sky is a light blue that is in fact very very blue but for this paiting I really like the saturated blue because there isn't too many other colors to make it overwhelming. He was correct when he said his paintings are very universal because this painting and many of the ther paintings look as though they were created on Madeira's campus.

Ines Castillo On Thursday February 24th I attended “Quiet Wandering,” an exhibition by David Bottini held at the Madeira School. At the exhibition there were several amazing nature paintings. My favorite Paining was “All souls day” which was a 30’’x 40’’ acrylic on canvas. What called my eyes to this paining is the way shadows and lights were used to create a timeless space. The paining is of a forest in which the foreground is dark and the background is lit with sunlight which cast shadows on the ground. The branches and shadows draw your eye into the paining. The focal point, a red/orangy pile of leaves is relatively centered but somewhat to the right. The detail and vibrant colors contrast with the rest of the paining and make it stand out. This paining makes me think that I’ve been there. The artist talked about how he turns a real nature scene into someone everyone to can connect to in order to interest the viewer. I enjoyed the show a lot because it’s unique nature solitude casted a quiet mood.

Kate Woloshin David Bottini's Summer Silhouette displays his keen sense of lighting and saturated colors in his landscape oil paintings. This lighting in most of his pieces is concentrated in the dynamic times of day, like the early morning and dusk to create interesting shadows. The lighting also creates a focal point by creating a darker background of silhouetted trees enveloping a lighter focal point. His process is interesting to me because it involves straight oil paint on canvas, la prima, no pencil sketches before hand, with only a photograph aiding him. The layering of underglaze and glaze in Mr. Bottini's work adds a more three dimensional effect to the images as well as a high gloss finish. The use of saturated tones is evident in his work, as well as his use of the whole color palette to create contrasts and shadows. The dedication to his work is indisputable through these detailed and realistic images.

Alexis Osei Last month, David Bottini held an exhibition of his art work at The Madeira School. All of Bottini’s pieces depicted elements of nature and the seasons of the year. I was impressed by the painting that depicted winter. Bottini successfully conveys a winter Blizzard through his use of strong and harsh colors. The artist’s painting titled Summer Silhouette was another one of my favorites. Bottini creates an enchanting piece through his usage of beautiful shades of green and painiting of an intricate abundance of leaves on the tree. I found all of Bottini’s pieces to be whimsical and enchanting because of their vivid detail and alluring spin on nature. Seeing this collection of artwork made me appreciate nature more because Bottini portrays the beauty of nature in all of his pieces.



Natalie Reneau

 Last week, Madeira’s art opening featured artist and former teacher, David Bottini. The exhibit featured clear and realistically rendered scenes from nature. The sentiment behind his work was that his grandfather, Gabriel, taught him what he knew about appreciating and embracing nature. He manifested his tribute into his artwork by signing each piece, “Gabriel”.

 His piece, “Autumn Sparkle” was my favorite, because it departed most from the stark realism that the rest of the show displayed. The painting shows an autumn river seen with a dim tree overlaying the scene. If you look closely, the leaves on the left were painted in a monochromatic and texture-less burgundy. In nature, the leaves would be individually shadowed and colored, but Bottini’s interpretation is whimsical, and enhances the rich autumn color palette of the piece. Additionally, I found this to be the most inviting composition, with the dark tree enticing the viewer to breach its leaves and explore the bright landscape beyond.

Sophia Breyfogle On  February 24, 2011, Painter David Bottini's art was exhibited at The Madeira School. Bottini works mostly with acrylic on linen canvas, with a gloss finish. The art work shown has rich saturation and beautiful lighting. When talking to Bottini, I realized that the purpose of his photos was to always portray images that were universal to the viewers. He wanted to create paintings and scenes that were relevant and relatable to all of the people who saw his art. Bottini enjoyed working with nature and landscapes as well as with bright sunlight from the background. "Autumn Poison Ivy" was one of Bottini's images that I specifically liked a lot. This one does happen to look like somewhere I've been, but aside from that I really enjoy the lighting and shadows of this painting. Bottini's paintings are so realistic because they incorporate so many lively qualities. The shadows, depth and color make his paintings come a live. Many of his paintings were extremely 3 demensional because of his use of gloss. Bottini applied gloss over all his images once they were complete to give them a shiny effect that reflected all the colors in his paint that made them brighter and brought the color out. The glossy effect added demension and texture to his paintings.