August 3rd, 2024

Happy Saturday! I apologize for skipping an issue last week. The wife and I were out of town for the weekend attending a concert and enjoying some time in a different city. We had a memorable dinner at one of the best sushi restaurants we’ve ever been too, including NYC. If you find yourself in Omaha Nebraska, yes Omaha, do yourself a favor and check out Yoshitomo. It’s truly an unexpected gem.

With the release of the new AI model FLUX, I’ve added a 3rd example for the artist style section. If you haven’t heard the news, I’ll share some more info later and how I got it set up super easily with StableUI.

We’re visiting the Norwegian landscape for this week. Let’s get into it.

Artist Spotlight - Kitty Lange Kielland (1843-1914)

Career

Kitty Lange Kielland was born on October 8, 1843, in Stavanger, Norway, into a prominent and cultured family. Her father, Jens Zetlitz Kielland, was a successful businessman and politician, and her mother, Christiane Lange, was known for her cultural interests. Growing up in an environment that valued education and the arts, Kitty was exposed to literature, music, and painting from a young age.

Despite the limited opportunities for women in the arts during that time, her family supported her artistic inclinations. In 1868, at the age of 25, she decided to pursue her passion more seriously and began taking private art lessons. Her early education was influenced by local artists and tutors, who introduced her to the fundamentals of drawing and painting.

In 1873, Kielland moved to Karlsruhe, Germany, to study under the renowned landscape painter Hans Gude at the Karlsruhe Academy. Gude, known for his dramatic and detailed landscapes, had a significant influence on her approach to painting. Under his mentorship, she developed her skills in depicting natural scenes with a particular focus on light and atmosphere.

After her time in Karlsruhe, Kielland moved to Munich in 1875, a major center for artists at the time. Here, she joined a community of Norwegian artists who were also studying abroad, including her brother, the famous novelist Alexander Kielland. The two siblings often exchanged ideas about art and literature, influencing each other's work. This period was crucial for her artistic development, as she was exposed to the latest trends in European art and was able to refine her techniques and broaden her stylistic range.

In 1879, she traveled to Paris, where she studied at the Académie Colarossi, one of the few art academies that accepted female students. Paris, being the heart of the art world, provided her with endless inspiration and opportunities to engage with the contemporary art scene. She exhibited her work at the Salon, gaining recognition and acclaim for her landscapes.

In the later years of her career, Kielland continued to produce significant works and remained an active participant in the art community. She returned to Norway and became involved in the Norwegian Artists' Association, advocating for the rights and recognition of artists. Her efforts contributed to the growing appreciation of Norwegian art both domestically and internationally.

Her legacy extends beyond her paintings. As one of the few successful female artists of her time, she paved the way for future generations of women in the arts. Her perseverance and dedication to her craft serve as an inspiration, demonstrating that talent and hard work can overcome societal barriers.

Contributions to the Art World

Kielland was one of the first Norwegian women to gain professional recognition as an artist. At a time when women had limited opportunities in the art world, her success helped pave the way for future generations of female artists. Her determination to pursue a career in art, despite societal constraints, served as an inspiration for other women to follow their artistic ambitions.

Her works of the Jæren landscape, a coastal region in southwestern Norway, captured the unique beauty and character of this area, with its flat terrain, sandy beaches, and dramatic skies. By highlighting this region, she brought attention to the diverse and often overlooked aspects of the Norwegian landscape.

She was also an active member of the Norwegian art community and played a significant role in the Norwegian Artists' Association. She advocated for the rights and recognition of artists, contributing to a more supportive and equitable environment for artistic practice in Norway.

Style

Kielland’s style is often described as natural realism. She had a remarkable ability to depict the natural world with accuracy and precision, capturing the fine details of landscapes, flora, and atmospheric conditions. Her works are characterized by a lifelike quality that invites viewers to experience the scene as if they were there.

One of the defining features of Kielland’s paintings is her masterful use of light and atmosphere. She paid close attention to the changing qualities of light throughout the day and in different weather conditions. Whether it was the soft, warm glow of an evening sunset or the cool, silvery tones of moonlight, Kielland’s ability to render light added depth and dimension to her landscapes.

She often worked en plein air, creating sketches and studies directly from nature. This method allowed her to capture the immediate impressions of a scene, including the nuances of light and color. These on-site works served as the foundation for her larger studio paintings, ensuring that her depictions remained true to life.

Influences and Lessons

Kielland was deeply influenced by the Norwegian landscape painting tradition, which emphasized the natural beauty of Norway's scenery. Artists such as Johan Christian Dahl and August Cappelen, who focused on capturing the rugged and serene aspects of the Norwegian environment, set a precedent that Kielland followed and built upon in her work.

Her journey as a female artist in the 19th century was fraught with challenges. Despite societal constraints and limited opportunities for women in the arts, she pursued her passion with determination and resilience. Her success teaches us the importance of perseverance and breaking through barriers to achieve our goals.

Style Representation

Collectors Corner - wblut, qt, peng1

Final Thoughts

Alright, let’s talk about FLUX. Announced on August 1st, FLUX is a brand new open-source model from Black Forest Labs and comes in three different versions. The team behind the model is essentially ex-StabilityAI researchers who created the original Latent Diffusion and Stable Diffusion models and left SAI to create their own company.

Their business model seems to well thought out, with the largest and most capable FLUX.1 Pro model available via paid API and the FLUX.1 Dev and FLUX.1 Schnell model available for free. Creating a sustainable business model around free open-source models is obviously challenging (and is proving to be SAI’s downfall), but this hierarchy seems to be the best way to generate cashflow while still providing the community with models that can run on consumer hardware for free.

So how does the model perform? I got FLUX.1 Dev up and running pretty easily on SwarmUI (formerly StableSwarm) using this tutorial from Reddit. You can also run it in ComfyUI. I have a 3090, and it uses around 20GB of VRAM at about 30 seconds per image but there are reports of it working with as little as 10GB of VRAM. I find the quality of images to be quite good, with better results for photorealistic prompts.

It can even do hands without turning them into a mangled mess!

It’s no slouch at more artistic images either, although sometimes they can have a rather odd plastic texture. I’m experimenting with negative prompts to nudge it away from that.

We definitely have a new contender for the throne of top image generation models with FLUX. I’m excited to test it more and can’t wait to get my hands on the next release from Black Forest Labs, a SOTA video generation model.

As always, if you enjoyed this edition I would really appreciate if you shared it. Just hit the share button below. And if you’re not following me on X yet, I’d love to follow you back. I’m also on Warpcast!

On that note, I’ll leave you with a quote that reminds us that the world needs more love:

Enjoy your weekend, friend!

P.S. If you have feedback I’d love to hear it! A reply to this email goes directly to me.

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