Hi , welcome to issue #5 of the Tasart newsletter. We would like to take this opportunity to not only wish all of our customers a Happy Holiday Season, but to thank you all for the support over the last three years and eight months. Because of your patronage, encouragement and interest we have managed to completely change the dynamic and quality of service to our stores.
The addition of our online store nearly two years ago has given us the opportunity to make friends around the country, and we get a real buzz when customers make an effort to drive all the way from Hamilton, for instance, just to shop in our store. Many of you have also dropped by when you're in Auckland and it's always great to put a face to an "order". We felt privileged when several of our Christchurch customers called or emailed saying they were having difficulties coping with the stresses of aftershocks and wanted us to send them supplies to calm their nerves.
So, thank you all for making our jobs enjoyable and learning & growing experiences. We have many plans for next year and will be utilizing more of our space next door, The Auckland Art Studio. We will also continue to import artist supplies that you've inquired about and continue to grow our selection of supplies offered both online and in-store. (already we're offering over 10,500 items and over 100 different brands!)
Product Spotlight
Professional Artist Acrylics & Oils 20% off Online
As a thank you, we have reduced our Online Professional Artist Acrylics by 20%. Plus, 20% off of our Online Art Spectrum and Winsor & Newton Oils, giving the customer a chance to experiment with different brands, like le Stig! And, this special will run online until further notice with additional specials added throughout the year.
Artist Spotlight
Haddon Sundblom (1899 - 1976)
Santa Claus, as the modern world sees him, was born in 1931. Featured on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post, Chicago Illustrator Haddon Sundblom, under the art direction of The Coca-Cola Company, painted the first image of Santa Claus to accompany the line, "The Pause that Refreshes". Never before had Santa been portrayed as a real person. He had only been illustrated as an elf-like man or a man dressed in a Santa suit. Sundblom's painterly, cheery, colorful style lent itself to Jolly Ol' Saint Nick; so much so that when his live model and friend, Lou Prentis, passed away and he started using his own reflection in a mirror as reference, people would write letters to Coca Cola concerned that Santa's belt was "upside down". Or, when he forgot to paint on Santa's wedding band, letters of concern for Mrs. Claus would start pouring in. People really connected with the Santa in the paintings, like he was the real thing. Haddon Sundblom continued to paint Santa for three decades. What a great gig! (The painting featured above was painted in 1951)
Haddon Sundblom was born in Michigan into a large, poor Finnish family. When his mother died, 13yr old Sundblom quit school and went to work for a construction firm, attending art classes in the evenings. He eventually attended The Art Institute of Chicago and later the American Academy of Art. He is well known for starting a studio that trained many successful artists who were often referred to as the "Sundblom Circle". Early on though, he accepted an apprenticeship for $10 a week and quickly absorbed enough from other illustrators to start landing jobs himself. One of his early assignments was to create the character/logo for Quaker Oats which went without major changes for over 60 years.
Influenced by John Singer Sargent and Andres Zorn, Haddon Sundblom dominated the world of advertisement for over 40 years. He was inducted into the Illustration Hall of Fame in 1987. Sundblom's Original Santa Paintings have toured the world, including the Louvre, and many of his original paintings can be seen on display at World Coca-Cola, Atlanta.
Have you noticed the current Coca-Cola television ad which is running this 2010 Christmas Season? Sundblom's Quintessential Santa is done in C.G! He would have never expected that kind of legacy. He certainly created a classic.
Auckland Art Studio
Some of the work produced over the past 3 months...
To have peeks of the work produced in our Saturday workshops, please sign up for our facebook page (takapuna art supplies)
Like Santa, we are having a much needed "Pause to Refresh" and our physical and online store will close between Christmas, reopening on the 5th of January. We hope you also have a Refreshing, Safe and Fun Christmas and Healthy, Happy New Year.
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Thanks again,
Sandy, Jim, Julie, Ben and le Stig
Takapuna Art Supplies
www.tasart.co.nz