A: Charles Dickens introduced these words into the English language.

February 7^th was the birthday of Charles Dickens (1812-1870), widely considered one of the greatest writers and novelists of all time.

During his life, his work was hugely popular. By the 20^th century, Dickens was seen as a literary genius by the majority of critics. His novels and short stories continue to sell well today, and there are many film adaptions of his most popular tales. His stories contain some of the most famous and beloved fictional characters, such as Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and Ebenezer Scrooge.

Born in Portsmouth, England, Dickens was forced to leave school and work in a factory when his father was jailed because he was unable to pay back his debts. Although Dickens’ education was minimal, he went on to edit a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 5 novels, 5 novellas, hundreds of short stories and many non-fiction articles. The most popular books of his include Great Expectations, Oliver Twist and David Copperfield.

If you haven’t read any Charles Dickens books yet, why not head to your local or school library and pick up a copy of A Christmas Carol or Oliver Twist.

Fun facts:

• Charles Dickens had a pet raven called Grip, which he had stuffed when it died in 1841.

• He always insisted on sleeping with his bed aligned north-south, with his head facing north.

• The Oxford Dictionary credits Dickens with introducing 247 new words or usages.

• A toothpick Charles Dickens once used sold for over $5,000 at an auction in 2009.

Pablo who?

Even people who have no interest in art can usually recognise a Picasso painting. Pablo Picasso’s style is often noted for being child-like, other-worldly and for breaking all the rules.

The video below shows some examples of Picasso’s portraits, shown in chronological order. Picasso was continually changing and developing his style. Note how the earlier, more conventional portraits become weirder and weirder as time goes on.

Cubism

Picasso is the co-founder of Cubism, an art movement which is often seen as heralding the birth of modern art. At the time, cubism was a completely new way of seeing the world.

With cubism, conventional ways of composition were dismissed. Picasso and other cubists preferred to cut up, dissect and reassemble their compositions to produce something highly original and visually captivating. When you look at a cubist painting you can instantly recognise what you are looking at – whether it’s a still life of a bowl of fruit or a portrait of someone – the difference is that you have never ever seen it look like that before.

Want to learn how to draw like Picasso?

Watch this video.

Fun Facts about Picasso

• Picasso (1881-1973) was a child prodigy. Apparently he could draw before he could talk.

• Although Picasso was Spanish, he spent most of his life living in France. He was particularly fond of Paris.

• Picasso’s painting Le Rêve sold for US$155 million in 2013, making it currently the 4^th most expensive painting of all time.

• 1,147 of Picasso’s works are reported as stolen or missing, more than any other artist.

Source(s): Philip Scott Johnson, raeart

These paintings of Neymar, Messi and Ronaldo are amazing, especially when you find out what the artist used instead of a paintbrush.

Traditionally, most famous paintings were completed with a paintbrush, and who are we to argue with tradition when such beautiful pieces of art have emerged over time. However, it’s now the 21st century, where initiative and thinking outside the box are essential. Meet an artist who thinks so far outside the box, she’s not even on the pitch anymore!

Meet Hong Yi, or Red, as she likes to call herself. Red is an artist from Shanghai who uses all sorts of unusual materials and methods to create her masterpieces. She has previously created sculptures of Adele out of candles and Jackie Chan out of chopsticks.

This time, Red has taken on three of the biggest names in world football and decided to paint their portraits using a soccer ball.

Red described her dribbling skills as “questionable”, but, with the precision displayed in the video footage, we think she may be an expert.

Source(s): ohiseered,com, Red Hongyi