When I first saw the work of photographer Anna Pogossova on The Artful Desperado blog, I was completely enchanted by her use of color.  So I couldn’t resist featuring her in my Artist Watch on Escape Into Life!  Check out more of her work over on EIL here.

Anna Pogossova

Anna Pogossova on Escape Into Life

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Life is a journey, not a destination.”  Do you think the same is true of a piece of artwork?  We place so much value in the end result, the “finished” painting, sculpture, or photograph, that sometimes we spend little time thinking about the pilgrimage the artist undertakes to get there.  Abstract painter Charlotte Foust finds delight in each mark making expedition upon which she embarks, each painting becoming a travel journal of her creative adventure.

Untitled

Summer’s Day

Our vagabondish life has afforded us some pretty incredible adventures.  We’ve lived in the mountains, the desert, and in the city.  Every voyage to the next destination has brought us new discoveries and places to remember.  Foust uses the strokes she makes with paint, graphite and collage to mark a part of the journey of her creative process.  In finding her way through the work, she is discovering the painting that longs to be found.

Untitled

Untitled

As she explores, she invites us along for the ride.  We can the breadcrumbs of her expedition in each brushstroke and are happily taken to our final destination.

To see more of Charlotte Foust’s work, please visit her website.

All images are via the artist’s website.

Many of us have a love/hate relationship with Instagram.  Maybe we love that voyeuristic glimpse into other people’s lives.  Perhaps we hate that their lives might seem more glamorous than our own.  What I personally love is the way it allows us to communicate the beauty in simple moments.  The work of Cincinnati artist Emil Robinson carries with it the same celebration of the magic to be found in every day.

Catherine in Orange, oil on panel, 18×24

As I type this, I’m sitting at my desk and am struck by the loveliness of the orange candle sitting quietly on the deep white windowsill.  Robinson’s work reminds us of that we don’t always have to seek out what is interesting and delightful.  It is all around us, just waiting to be noticed.

Ikea Lamp, oil on panel, 30×36

Storage, oil on panel, 12×15

Pink Book, oil on panel, 24×24

It might seem strange to want to document such routine aspects of our lives, but it is these common moments that truly make up our lives– that fill the space between the extraordinary.

Man With Storage 2, oil on panel, 24×24

What ordinary moments did you see the beauty in today?  To see more of Emil Robinson’s work, please visit his website.

Artist found via Erin McIntosh.  All images are via the artist’s website.

I’ve been told I’m a good listener.  So people tend to tell me things.  Secret stuff that maybe no one else knows.  We all have that friend, the one everyone confides in and is completely confident their secrets will be taken to the grave.  In her Other People’s Secrets series, Portland artist Dorothy Goode has found a way to get those piled up secrets out, without ever truly spilling a single one.

No. 3, Egg tempera and sumi ink on panel, 32×48

No. 16, egg tempura and sumi ink on panel, 32 x48

The artist began each panel by dipping her fingers into sumi ink, then sprawling secrets over the surface of each panel, first her own and then the confidences of others came leaking out.  The letters and forms are mostly illegible, making sure that each secret is still safely hidden.

No. 1, egg tempura and sumi ink on panel, 32×48

Once the secrets are spilled, the artist then covers them with colorful, scrawling abstract gestures in paint.  In that final step, I see an analogy to the way we live with our own well kept mysteries– we hide them in plain sight, often burying them just beneath the brightly colored surface.

No. 8, egg tempura and sumi ink on panel, 32×48

No. 13, egg tempura and sumi ink on panel, 32×48

To see more of Dorothy Goode’s work, please visit her website.

All images are via the artist’s website.

May just seems to be slippin’ right through my fingers!  I can’t believe it’s time again for another  Art Association Pinterest contest! Each month, Erin of artsocial and I team up with an artist to inspire you AND give you a chance to win an awesome piece of artwork!

If you’re new to Art Association, here’s the way it works– You create a Pinterest board around one work of art ( which we provide ), filled with anything and everything that pops into your mind while gazing at the catalyst piece.

Our catalyst piece for this month is Lily by Kuzana Ogg ( below )!  Gorgeous, right?!

Lily by Kuzana Ogg

Step 1|  We give you a piece of artwork, this month’s work is Lily by Kuzana Ogg ( above ).

Step 2 | You create a Pinterest board titled Art Association, like mine here, where you pin any and all images you associate with the featured artwork ( like word associations, only visual

Step 3 | Leave a link to your Art Association pinboard in the Comments section of this post

Step 4 | Follow both art social and Artsy Forager on Pinterest ( if you already are, you’re ahead of the game! )

Here’s what you can win–

Isn’t that a sweet little piece of artwork?!

The winning pinner  ( *NEW– we are now choosing a winner at random instead of judging the boards ) will be chosen on Wednesday, May 22nd at 5pm (mountain standard time).  Hope your fingers are set to pin!

**So sorry but the contest is open to US residents only.  Stupid laws.

Would you like your artwork to be featured as an Art Association subject?  Shoot me an email atartsyforager@att.net or Erin an email at artsocialonline@gmail.com for more info.

Art images via Kuzana Ogg.

It feels like things are sort of finally getting back to normal.. almost.  After being gone for what seemed like an eternity, I’m back on Escape Into Life today sharing the work of Nicolas Kuligowski in my Artist Watch.  Head on over to EIL to see more!

Untitled by Nicolas Kuligowski

Nicolas Kuligowski on Escape Into Life

Image via the artist’s website.

This Featured Artist post is coming a bit late due to the craziness of adjusting to our new digs.  Being born a flat-lander ( Sunshine State, represent! ), I continue to be amazed by the change in perspective that comes from living among the mountains.  Whether you’re in a valley looking up or gazing down from the top of a hill, your way of seeing changes.  The work of this month’s Featured Artist, photographer Pamela Viola moves our eye in much the same way into new perspectives.  Her way of seeing gives us a new manner of looking.

Brelly I

Viola focuses her lens, not only straight ahead, but up above, down below, over, under and every which way in between.  What we’re left with as the viewer is a capture of an angle we might have otherwise never noticed.

Gallery Place with Red Dots

Gray Light

Supreme Court Behind Bars

And it isn’t only those unique angles that draw us in.  But also the way in which the light and shadow plays differently from those unexpected perspectives.

Pyramids

To see more of Pamela Viola’s work, please visit her website and be sure to check out her work on the Artsy Forager Facebook page!

All images via the artist’s blog.

Seattle, Seattle, Seattle ( Marcia Brady voice ).. we arrived on Saturday and are completely in love with the city but overwhelmed by apartment hunting.  So this week, I’m re-running posts featuring some favorite Seattle artists.  Sorry for the repeats, hope to be back to normal artsy blogging next week!

For most of us, Crayola crayons were our very first artistic tools.  Whether it was those thick, fat ones perfect for uncoordinated, chubby little hands to grip or the de-luxe 64 pack with the built-in sharpener, those colorful little sticks were our first glimpse into the world of artistic expression.  Seattle based artist Diem Chau takes those original tools, carving them into tiny figures reminding us of how they shaped our own young imaginations.

Storytelling Crayons, installation view, carved crayons and wood base

That distinctive scent, the waxy texture, peeling the paper down so that more of the brilliant color could sweep across the paper.

Yellow Girl, carved crayon and wood base, 3×3.5×3

Girl and Dog, carved crayon and wood base, 3×3.5×2

My most distinct memory of Crayolas happened on a summer road trip with my grandparents.  A long trip in the car, of course, meant bringing along plenty to keep us busy.  For me, that meant books, crayons and paper.  My crayons ended up strewn all over the back deck of my grandparents’ green Impala and were promptly forgotten about when we stopped for a bit.  We came back to a colorful mess!  I don’t think my Mimi & Papa were ever able to completely clean the wax out of the upholstery.  Oopsie!

Boy and Girl, carved crayon and wood base, 3×3.5×3

What memories do Chau’s crayons bring back for you?  Please visit her website to see more of her work.  She’ll be showing at the Elvistravaganza during Bumbershoot in Seattle or if you’re on the other coast, you can see her carving crayons LIVE at Saks 5th Ave on Sept. 6th from 6pm-10pm.

All images are via the artist’s website.

Seattle, Seattle, Seattle ( Marcia Brady voice ).. we arrived on Saturday and are completely in love with the city but overwhelmed by apartment hunting.  So this week, I’m re-running posts featuring some favorite Seattle artists.  Sorry for the repeats, hope to be back to normal artsy blogging next week!

There are some artists whose work just sticks with me.  I first saw Seattle artist Victoria Johnson’s work during my art consulting days through art publisher Grand Image.  I loved using Grand Image for unique, stylish, colorful work and Victoria’s paintings definitely hit all those criteria.  So when I spotted a painting of hers leaning against the wall at Lisa Harris Gallery in Seattle– boom!  The love for her work came flooding back to me.

Nereides- Sea Nymphs, pigmented resin on panel, 20×20 ( via Lisa Harris Gallery )

Free-flowing, organic forms drift in and out of her canvases’ planes, creating enticing visual rhythm and movement.

Coast to Coast, pigmented resin on canvas over panel, 48×40 ( via Lisa Harris Gallery )

The placement of shapes lend the idea of landscapes to these abstracts, yet their enigmatic colors and forms keep the work abstract and modern.

Lady of the Lake, pigmented resin on panel, 80×20

A warm palette juxtaposed with muted, more neutral-hued highlights create even more depth and spatial play.

The Echo, pigmented resin on panel, 36×24

Simply Said, pigmented resin on panel, 40×50

To see more of Victoria Johnson’s work, please visit her website.  Thanks to the Lisa Harris Gallery for reminding me of Victoria’s work!

Featured image is Lady of the Lake, pigmented resin on panel, 80×20.  All images are via the artist’s representing Seattle gallery, Lisa Harris Gallery.

Seattle, Seattle, Seattle ( Marcia Brady voice ).. we arrived on Saturday and are completely in love with the city but overwhelmed by apartment hunting.  So this week, I’m re-running posts featuring some favorite Seattle artists.  Sorry for the repeats, hope to be back to normal artsy blogging next week!

I grew up in a family of motorheads.  My grandfather owned a neighborhood service station from 1961 to 1979, the kind where you didn’t pump your own gas and a fluid check and windshield wash was complimentary.  I was only seven when he retired but can still remember the sights and smells of the station.  Seattle photographer Todd Jannausch’s series Garage Evidence captures the decline and decay of these iconic landmarks.

Garage, 2009

Through Jannausch’s photos,  I can practically smell the familiar faint odor of oil mixed with orange cleaner ( my grandfather kept his place immaculate! ) and hear the ring of the station bell as a car drives over it, signaling Granddaddy to service.

Tune-Up, 2009

Little Boxes, 2009

I can remember playing on the lifts in the garage, drinking Coca-Cola in glass bottles and following my grandfather around like a puppy.

Old Pumps, 2009

Just like my grandfather’s station, these old relics have been replaced by more bigger, more efficient yet less friendly models.  Thank you, Todd, for capturing their last breaths and for taking me back to the time I spent in such a place. Be sure to check out Todd’s website for more from the Garage Evidence series, as well as his other work.

PS– Scroll down for a peek at my granddaddy, Lester ( aka L.V. ) Hamilton on the day of his retirement, April 14, 1979, the day before my 7th birthday.

Lester Hamilton, April 14, 1979

All Todd Jannausch images are via his website.