Happy Birthday!

What do Paul Gauguin, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Damien Hirst all have in common? Well, of course, they are all well known artists. But they were also all born on this day, 7th June.

Despite sharing this birthday, the three artists have entirely different styles in their art.

Gauguin was born in Paris in 1848 but spent his early childhood in Peru. He was always interested in art but after returning to France and serving in the navy, he became a stockbroker. It wasn't until 1885 that he began to paint full time.

Tiring of expressionist painting, he developed his own style influenced by Cloisonnism as well as African and Asian art. His works show bold images and colours. Many of his later paintings are of people in the Polynesian Islands, where he died in 1903. Read more about Paul Gauguin.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh was born in Glasgow in 1868. He may be best known for his architectural work but he was also an accomplished artist. He produced many drawings and watercolours and had a particular interest in landscape and floral and themes (see picture).

He was one of "The Four", a group including his wife, Margaret Macdonald, her sister, Frances and his friend and work colleague, James Herbert McNair, who together influenced the Glasgow Style of Art Nouveau graphic and decorative design. A couple of years ago we enjoyed a visit to the Mackintosh House at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow to see furniture and interior designs that he had produced. Read more about Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Damien Hurst was born in Bristol in 1965. He may not be everybody's favourite artist but he certainly makes an impact on the art world. His controversial works include dead animals in tanks of formaldehyde. More conventional work includes print making. We visited an exhibition by Damien Hirst at Bowes Museum earlier this year. You can also read more about Damien Hirst on Wikipedia (his official site is under construction at the time of writing).

Interestingly, two other artists that we hadn't heard of were also born on 7th June.

Malcolm Morley, born in London, was the first Turner Prize winner. He is known for his photo-realistic paintings. Read more about Malcolm Morley.

And Red Grooms, whose works include sculpture, pop-art, printmaking and multimedia, was born in Nashville. Read more about Red Grooms.

Vicky And Vince,

Love Your Art.