Excerpts from the book “Inspiration Tuscany”
The cultural landscape of Tuscany exerts a special pull on art lovers. As if it was a painter’s composition, its scenery tempts them to embark on a hedonist art and culture tour from town to town. With the rhythmical wave shapes of its cypress and pine studded hill ranges and its unequalled light, it is so much more than your regular holiday destination. Drawing on ideas from the ancient world, the Italian Renaissance also heralded the separation between crafts and fine arts. As the creative act became art’s central focus, people’s understanding of what “art” meant underwent a significant change.
Author Archives: Kurt Ries and Gabriele Walter
‘Enter into Art’ book design awards 2024
The book design prizes are awarded according to the requirements of the book design, whereby the quality of the works of art naturally plays an important role. These prizes are awarded as part of a book project. The winning images will be selected solely from the participating images in the respective book. In our LOUNGE series we usually have about 40 to 70 participants per book. The artworks of the participants automatically take part in the respective competition.
Continue readingPaul Klee: Journey of Longing to a Realm of Magic and Poetry
Excerpts from the book “Poetry of Travel”
Visual artists have always traveled because for people who create art, it is essential to unlock new sources of inspiration. In Paul Klee’s artistic career, traveling played an especially large part. Time and again, he went to Italy, France and Switzerland. Both his trips to Tunisia and Egypt had a major impact on his work. On his quest to overcome the limitations of sensual experience and explore the secrets of nature, he encountered progressive European painters’ movements and eventually found his own style, which brought him world success.
Venice – Lost in an Enchanted Dream
Excerpts from the book “Inspiration Venice”
Venice stirs admiration and wonder and exerts a strange power over the imagination. At times its appearance resembles a theater production, at times a mirage from 1001 Nights. Strolling through it feels like sliding into a daydream – shimmering like mother-of-pearl, everything solid dissolves into water and colors. For centuries, the poetic melancholy of the lagoon city has been challenging artists and poets with its magic. Even its name stirs up associations with “Venus” who sprang from the foam of the sea. As Goethe’s “Venetian Epigrams”, this book also features artworks that lack any direct connection with Venice because inspiration may be expressed in the most diverse facets.
Continue readingFree Christmas greeting cards – Merry Christmas!
You can download the Christmas greeting cards on this website free of charge and send them as email attachments. You can also print them out in color and send them by post. The range of free greeting cards and gift books is continually expanding. Just stop by again!
You are also welcome to send a link to our online book “Congratulations” (Relaxing with Flowers, Colors, Poetry, and Art). You can find more information about the book in the foreword. If you wish, you can include relaxing music while viewing the online book. The book is bilingual: English and German.
The relaxing book “Congratulations!“ is also available as a printed gift book.
Free birthday greeting cards – Happy birthday to you!
You can download the birthday greeting cards on this website free of charge and send them as email attachments. You can also print them out in color and send them by post. The range of free greeting cards and gift books is continually expanding. Just stop by again!
You are also welcome to send a link to our online book “Congratulations” (Relaxing with Flowers, Colors, Poetry, and Art). You can find more information about the book in the foreword. If you wish, you can include relaxing music while viewing the online book. The book is bilingual: English and German.
The relaxing book “Congratulations!“ is also available as a printed gift book.
Free greeting cards for every festive occasion and event – All the best!
You can download the greeting cards for every festive occasion and event on this website free of charge and send them as email attachments. You can also print them out in color and send them by post. The range of free greeting cards and gift books is continually expanding. Just stop by again!
You are also welcome to send a link to our online book “Congratulations” (Relaxing with Flowers, Colors, Poetry, and Art). You can find more information about the book in the foreword. If you wish, you can include relaxing music while viewing the online book. The book is bilingual: English and German.
The relaxing book “Congratulations!“ is also available as a printed gift book.
Free Easter greeting cards – congratulations Happy Easter!
You can download the Easter greeting cards on this website free of charge and send them as email attachments. You can also print them out in color and send them by post. The range of free greeting cards and gift books is continually expanding. Just stop by again!
You are also welcome to send a link to our online book “Congratulations” (Relaxing with Flowers, Colors, Poetry, and Art). You can find more information about the book in the foreword. If you wish, you can include relaxing music while viewing the online book. The book is bilingual: English and German.
The relaxing book “Congratulations!“ is also available as a printed gift book.
Free Valentine’s greetings – Happy Valentine’s Day!
You can download the Valentine’s greeting cards on this website free of charge and send them as email attachments. You can also print them out in color and send them by post. The range of free greeting cards and gift books is continually expanding. Just stop by again!
You are also welcome to send a link to our online book “Congratulations” (Relaxing with Flowers, Colors, Poetry, and Art). You can find more information about the book in the foreword. If you wish, you can include relaxing music while viewing the online book. The book is bilingual: English and German.
The relaxing book “Congratulations!“ is also available as a printed gift book.
Free New Year’s greeting cards – free congratulations Happy New Year!
You can download the New Year greeting cards on this website free of charge and send them as email attachments. You can also print them out in color and send them by post. The range of free greeting cards and gift books is continually expanding. Just stop by again!
You are also welcome to send a link to our online book “Congratulations” (Relaxing with Flowers, Colors, Poetry, and Art). You can find more information about the book in the foreword. If you wish, you can include relaxing music while viewing the online book. The book is bilingual: English and German.
The relaxing book “Congratulations!“ is also available as a printed gift book.
Free wedding greeting cards – Congratulations on your wedding day!
You can download the wedding greeting cards on this website free of charge and send them as email attachments. You can also print them out in color and send them by post. The range of free wedding greeting cards and gift books is continually expanding. Just stop by again!
You are also welcome to send a link to our online book “Congratulations” (Relaxing with Flowers, Colors, Poetry, and Art). You can find more information about the book in the foreword. If you wish, you can include relaxing music while viewing the online book. The book is bilingual: English and German.
The relaxing book “Congratulations!“ is also available as a printed gift book.
Christmas video – free Christmas card with candle light and haiku poem
With the first beautiful candlelight here the Christmas season has begun, and we wanted to surprise you with two free Christmas greetings cards and a Christmas video with music. You can download the Christmas cards for free, each with a Christmas haiku, and then forward them as email attachments. Surprise dear people with a wonderful gift book! See below!
Continue readingFree greeting cards for health – Get well soon!
You can download the greeting cards for health on this website free of charge and send them as email attachments. You can also print them out in color and send them by post. The range of free greeting cards and gift books is continually expanding. Just stop by again!
You are also welcome to send a link to our online book “Congratulations” (Relaxing with Flowers, Colors, Poetry, and Art). You can find more information about the book in the foreword. If you wish, you can include relaxing music while viewing the online book. The book is bilingual: English and German.
The relaxing book “Congratulations!“ is also available as a printed gift book.
Video ‘International artworks 2023’ with relaxing music
Video for the first 20 participants in our book projects 2022
The images in the video represent a bonus selection of 20 images per book that have been published in 2022-23 in the bilingual Enter into Art – gift book series:
‘Enter into Art’ book design awards 2023
The book design prizes are awarded according to the requirements of the book design, whereby the quality of the works of art naturally plays an important role. These prizes are awarded as part of a book project. The winning images will be selected solely from the participating images in the respective book. In our LOUNGE series we usually have about 50 to 70 participants per book. The artworks of the participants automatically take part in the respective competition.
Continue readingRetracing the Paths of Famous Artists and Poets in Paris
Excerpts from the book “Magic of La Bohème”
Critics regard Puccini’s works as sentimental, but the fact of the matter is: They are enchanting! Whilst working on Mimi’s dying scene, Puccini is said to have burst into heavy sobbing. The spiritual and sensory origin of his aesthetic sensitivity was Tuscany. It was in Torre del Lago, a romantic village near Lucca, that he lived and suffered with the heroes and heroines of his operas. “La Bohème” made the maestro world famous. Its success entirely freed him from financial worries. Nevertheless, he continued to hold the bohemian lifestyle in high regard, and even founded a bohemian club. His opera is marked by Baudlairesque anti-bourgeois aesthetics. The composer had read Henry Murger’s novel in one sitting. The subject allowed him to express exactly what he felt inside.
Continue readingColor Symphonies for Gauguin and van Gogh
Excerpts from the book “Color Symphonies for Gauguin and van Gogh”
Without color, life would be gray. This book explores the question why so many people around the world hang reproductions of Vincent van Gogh’s and Paul Gauguin’s paintings on their walls and do not mind waiting in line to see their originals. It is easy to forget that the origin of the artists’ social conflicts was first and foremost a kind of self-sacrifice, as reflected in the color eruptions of their paintings. Brightening daily life with their unconditional artistic passion, the fragrances of the South Sea and La Provence, seeing life as colorful and diverse, and respecting other cultures and their “primitive” ways as a precious asset doubtlessly constitutes their legacy. Both have had a significant influence on modern art and inspired fauvists and expressionists to use strong colors.
Continue reading‘Enter into Art’ LOUNGE – jury contest 2022
The international “LOUNGE” contest is divided into the following award categories:
- 1 – 3 prize and Honorable Special Prize
- Excellence Jury Prizes
- Honorable Mentions
- Amber Awards
- Finalists
- Artists Nominee
‘Enter into Art’ book design awards 2022
The book design prizes are awarded according to the requirements of the book design, whereby the quality of the works of art naturally plays an important role. These prizes are awarded as part of a book project. The winning images will be selected solely from the participating images in the respective book. In our LOUNGE series we usually have about 50 to 70 participants per book. The artworks of the participants automatically take part in the respective competition.
Continue readingArchitecture as a Synthesis of all Art Forms
Excerpts from the book “Art in Dialogue with Nature”
When Antoni Gaudí took over as main architect of the Sagrada Familia in 1883, his feelings towards Christianity– not unlike those of Daniel Defoe’s fictional hero Robinson Crusoe – were rather ambiguous. His scepticism notwithstanding, he went on to create the monumental stone bible that is now a staple landmark of Barcelona. Inspired by his dedicated study of liturgy and the spiritual dialogue between art and nature, Gaudi finally found his faith as an architect. Similarly, Robinson on his lonely island developed a relationship with God through his conversations with nature.
Continue readingGerman online show and other related links:
German online gallery and German online archive:
Pictures will be shown for one year in our free German online show (embedded in our meditative color concept).
Information about our free services: German online show, rewards – winner blog posts for the annual jury awards in German, tips and offers, “Enter into Art” bonus video, book presentations – on-screen art shows, public relations / networking on the Internet
Continue readingVideo “International Artworks 2022” with relaxing music
Video for the first 20 participants in our book projects 2022
The images in the video represent a bonus selection of 20 images per book that have been published in 2022 in the bilingual Enter into Art – gift book series:
Our unique characteristics – summary of the ‘Enter into Art’ exhibitions, 2016
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Attention is the key to success! If you get no attention, it is hard to deserve something, which is why attention is also known as the leading currency. Nothing ensures lack of success like having no attention. If an artist does not want be lost in the crowd, then he takes care to do something special, something new, spectacular or never done before. With our art installations, we will relieve you not only of this work by offering an exceptional exhibition concept, but also integrate your images within the impetus of attentiveness as a PR concept!
About the art book
A Modern Odysseus on the Trail of Homer’s Epics
Excerpts from the book “Odyssey of Life – Homage to Homer”
This book was conceived and planned in early 2021 out of enthusiasm for the art and culture of ancient Greece. Homer has inspired both archeologists and artists from antiquity to the present day. Today, the hill of Hisarlik in western Turkey is considered the actual site of the city of Troy described in his epics. It was the German archeologist Heinrich Schliemann (1822 – 1890) who finally discovered it, even though he initially took a wrong turn, accidentally destroying part of the place he longed so much to discover. To honor the English archeologist Frank Calvert, the monument of the Trojan Horse was erected at the former site of the British consulate. With a clever move, Schliemann got Calvert to hand over his excavation plans to him.
Continue readingThe way we work?
As editors and experts in public relations, we generally do not sell books. Instead, we aim to create books that contain good ideas and high quality artwork that will appeal to an international audience.
Continue reading‘Enter into Art’ book design awards 2021
The book design prizes are awarded according to the requirements of the book design, whereby the quality of the works of art naturally plays an important role. These prizes are awarded as part of a book project. The winning images will be selected solely from the participating images in the respective book. In our LOUNGE series we usually have about 50 to 70 participants per book. The artworks of the participants automatically take part in the respective competition.
Continue readingBook presentations with on-screen show 2022 in Cologne
Foyer of the Town Hall Gallery in Cologne-Kalk
We are very pleased that – despite the difficult Corona situation – we are able to carry out 6 book presentations with on-screen shows in the Cologne-Kalk cultural center. This applies to the “Enter into Art” books that were published in 2021 with works of art from all over the world.
The magic of public relations
Reputation PR with art books
With the help of reputation or so-called image PR, one can generate public attention quite cheaply and sustainably. Sometimes it goes hand in hand with advertising and yet has to be clearly distinguished from it. The so-called “white PR” works with completely clean methods and is to be understood as a brilliant tool of public relations work. It is considered to be the most important success tool of the new millennium. Above all, extraordinary events play an important role. But do you have to divorce twice a year or hire VIPs and opinion makers in order to make a career as an artist or to increase your level of awareness?
Continue readingFree internet documentation, online PR
En plein air – Claude Monet in Giverny
Excerpts from the book “Flowers for Monet”
Don’t we all long to live like flowers, alive with perfect beauty? The work of Claude Monet (1840 – 1926) is a seed that has firmly taken root in the world’s artistic heritage. As an artist and editor of intercultural art books, the occasion of Monet’s 180th birthday and my visit at his garden in Giverny inspired me to create an homage for him – in the form of a book featuring flower paintings. Flowers possess a lyrical aura; trees are said to be antennae connected with the universe. Rejoicing in the beauty of a flower or a picturesque landscape often makes us feel like we, ourselves, are bursting into bloom. Every flower has a “deva”, a “higher spirit” possessing a mysterious power of attraction that can be further intensified by the spiritual aura of artworks. Like Claude Monet’s Giverny, like his paintings, this gift book, too, emanates its own, unique scent.
Continue readingEnter into Art – LOUNGE jury contest 2021 for larger artworks
Book design awards:
(cover, backcover, title page, music pages, chapter pages)
The book design awards are part of the “Enter into Art” book projects. For more information please see the title page and also the chapter pages in the books! Click on the red links for the books below!
Continue readingVideo “International Artworks 2021” with relaxing music
Video for the first 20 participants in our book projects 2021
The images in the video represent a bonus selection of 20 images per book that have been published in 2021 in the bilingual Enter into Art – gift book series:
On Ludwig van Beethoven’s „Moonlight Sonata“
Excerpt from the book “Moonlight Sonatas for Beethoven”
Name a tune you want to listen to again and again, because it goes straight to the heart. Millions on the internet click “Moonlight Sonata” in response to this call. At the same time, both the title and the history of this work have long been subjects of debate. The fact is that Beethoven reversed the conventional sequence of the first and the second movement, thus breaking with the classical sonata form, which may explain this word choice of “fantasy” in the original title. Based on this idea, 69 artists from 26 countries got together at the occasion of Beethoven’s 250th birthday and – with boundless sensitivity – interpreted the “Moonlight Sonata” in visual terms. Was it not the image of a landscape, after all, that led to the work’s famous epithet?
Continue readingA Fine Art Journey – Thoughts on Traveling
Poets and artists are interested in experiencing selected places with a specific atmosphere, because their talent is based on their special power of perception and their sensitivity. Most of them are experts at zooming in on impressions that move their imagination and lead to the release of poetic sparks. Whenever Hermann Hesse went on a trip, for example, he brought home what he referred to as “some large or small treasure”. These treasures included the deep insights he had gleaned from eastern spirituality. He also had a clearer understanding of the social injustices in the world than many of his contemporaries.
Continue readingGuillaume Apollinaire’s Words Set to Music and his Time in the Rhineland
Excerpt from the book “Art Retreat 2019”
Apollinaire and Music
As it seemed fitting, we decided to return to the theme of our “Hommage à Guillaume Apollinaire“ during the exhibition period of 2018-2019. This time, we are honoring the great French poet with our latest book. Each chapter is dedicated to a color and begins with the name of a composer followed by a piece of music set by the same to one of Apollinaire’s poems. This is yet another way to continue our tradition of bringing together visual arts with poetry and music in our events and art books. Doubtlessly, our artistic creativity also draws on the poetic soulscape inhabited by the famous poet, art critic, and friend of Picasso’s for an entire year.
Continue readingGerman online show and other related links:
German online show
German online gallery and German online archive:
Pictures will be shown for one year in our free German online show (embedded in our meditative color concept).
‘Enter into Art’ book design awards 2020
The book design prizes are awarded according to the requirements of the book design, whereby the quality of the works of art naturally plays an important role. These prizes are awarded as part of a book project. The winning images will be selected solely from the participating images in the respective book. In our LOUNGE series we usually have about 50 to 70 participants per book. The artworks of the participants automatically take part in the respective competition.
Continue readingIsao Kobayashi: Mysterious Worlds
We are pleased to announce the solo art and gift book “Mysterious Worlds” of our artist friend Isao Kobayashi from Japan. The trademarks of Kobayashi’s works are their multi-layered depth and their tonal beauty. The artist is an excellent observer of hidden details. In a world full of secrets and mysteries, his paintings are signposts towards the truth. With his novelistic and dramatic touch, he takes observers into a mysterious universe, opening the door to our imagination. The introduction of a musical work aims at inspiring readers to expand their perception to the tonal aspects of art and poetry. Inspired by the artworks and a topic-related selection of her haiku poetry, the editor chose the koto piece “Akikaze no Kyoku” (Melody of the Autumn Wind), for which the composer developed a specific way of tuning the instrument – the “autumn wind scale”.
Art gift book “A Fine Art Journey – Weltreise mit Kunst”
Editors: Gabriele Walter, Kurt Ries
With its purposefully structured content, unusual perspectives, and deep insights, and incorporating the sensitivity of people who create art, this art and gift book unravels the subject of traveling and invites readers to examine it in more depth. Eighty artists from thirty-two countries have come together to interpret traveling with their boundless imagination. Poets and artists are interested in experiencing selected places with a specific atmosphere, because their talent is based on their special power of perception and their sensitivity.
Solo events in the period 2019 – 2020
Exhibition and book presentation Cologne-Kalk: A Fine Art Journey
Small-format pictures, on-screen presentationof larger artworks and book presentation
Town Hall Gallery in Cologne-Kalk: March 09 – April 03, 2020
Group exhibition with 36 artists from 26 countries (3 – 10 small-format artworks of each artist)
‘Enter into Art’ book design awards 2019
The book design prizes are awarded according to the requirements of the book design, whereby the quality of the works of art naturally plays an important role. These prizes are awarded as part of a book project. The winning images will be selected solely from the participating images in the respective book. In our LOUNGE series we usually have about 50 to 70 participants per book. The artworks of the participants automatically take part in the respective competition.
Continue readingArt Book KUNSTRETREAT 2019 – ART RETREAT 2019
Fascination of Worldwide Art and Color
The gift book in German is also the exhibition catalog 2019. The foreword, the table of contents, the poems and further chapters are also in English. In addition to 292 images and the winning pictures in the larger format, the art book contains chapters on the topics “Apollinaire and His Time in the Rhineland”, “Apollinaire and Music”, “Exhibition Concept” and a detailed guide for mindful and enjoyable viewing of art and colors. In addition, there are 38 haiku poems (featuring the voices of birds), images with art objects, photos of the exhibitions and illustrations included. The book also contains a chapter on the topics “Polish Students visiting Cologne” and “Enter into Art-Information”. Last year saw the introduction of the new category “Featured Artists”. Eight artists get to present their work on double pages.
Photos and tours 2018 / 2019
Photo mosaics of the exhibition period
August 2018 until July 2019
5th ‘Enter into Art’ International Installations 2018-19 on three rivers
Continue readingParticipating artists 2019 – main and traveling exhibitions (miniprint + mixed media)
Gallery – artworks 2019
Awards, winners, rewards, finalists and jury 2019
Book project, contest, art show “A Fine Art Journey”
The book A Fine Art Journey is based on our test project “Touring the World Through Art” (link to the previous events of “Touring the World through Art”). The older test project has been expanded and continues under the new book title!
The book will be printed in both soft- and hardcover versions. The artist can then choose what he or she prefers. It is, above all, the poetic context that sets our art books apart from others. This art book will be a gift book with travel-inspired poems and an entertaining preface. The book and the numerous awards are powerful PR tools. All winners received a German blog post as a gift (see below).
Art gift book ‘Excellent Art – Exzellente Kunst 2019’
Book series LOUNGE 3 – volume I
The book project “Excellent Art” emerged from the two winner exhibitions in Weißenthurm “Excellent Art” and “Nominee and Won”. The art gift book “Excellent Art – Exzellente Kunst 2019” is being released in March 2020 (publisher edition).
‘Enter into Art’ text service – about our professional text concept
In our publications we abstain from the usual CV with listings of exhibitions and biographical data. These can be read on your website. On request, we add to our aesthetic consideration of your works a short vita in the form of an elevator pitch. If necessary, the vita can be incorporated into the consideration of art in a way that is both concise and entertaining. (The consideration of a sophisticated vita-text is however an extra service.) Undoubtedly, the interplay of poems, gifts and refined statements raises the value of your pictures. It is above all the poetic context that sets our art books apart from others.
Continue reading