artsy forager

Category: Drawing

  • Humanity. Heidi Draley McFall.

    Humanity. Heidi Draley McFall.

    I see it every day among my friends and family on social media.  Division.  Us vs. them.  Outright hatred. It is so disheartening to see such vitriol leveled against people we don’t even know.  It all seems so pointless.  A waste of time and energy.  We are more alike than we are different.  We were all born in the same way, we all die the same death.  We are all one race– human.

    Heidi Draley McFall | artsy forager #art #artists #figurativeart #drawings

    Heidi Draley McFall | artsy forager #art #artists #figurativeart #drawings Heidi Draley McFall | artsy forager #art #artists #figurativeart #drawings Heidi Draley McFall | artsy forager #art #artists #figurativeart #drawings Heidi Draley McFall | artsy forager #art #artists #figurativeart #drawings

     

    These hyperrealistic drawings by Heidi Draley McFall touch on that link between us all– our humanity.  We laugh, we cry, we are sad and vulnerable, angry and joyful.  Every person of every color on every inch of this planet feels these same emotions, has the same physical needs, and most of the time, we just want to be happy.  So why do we allow prejudices and judgements against our fellow humans to steal our joy?  It seems a most useless endeavor.  Imagine what kind of world this might be if we all tried to treat our fellow humans not as the enemy, but as ourselves.

    To see more of Heidi Draley McFall‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.  Artist found via the New American Paintings blog– check out Ellen Caldwell‘s Process of a Painting with the artist for a glimpse into her studio process!

  • Immersions. Kathleen Holder.

    Immersions. Kathleen Holder.

    As we travel, each place becomes a part of who we are, who we are becoming.  We carry their influence with us.  Some penetrate and saturate us more than others. These pastels by Texas artist Kathleen Holder catch me right in the soul with their soft light and eerie depth.

    Kathleen Holder | artsy forager #art #artists #pastels #abstractart Kathleen Holder | artsy forager #art #artists #pastels #abstractart Kathleen Holder | artsy forager #art #artists #pastels #abstractart Kathleen Holder | artsy forager #art #artists #pastels #abstractart Kathleen Holder | artsy forager #art #artists #pastels #abstractart

    Every person has a different way of experiencing each place.  The way we are affected might be due to the place itself or some other influence.  Some eyes are drawn to stark contrasts, while others look more for the slight changes in light and tone around them.  Through burnished layers of pastel, Holder creates monochromatic, saturated abstracts that seem to go on into infinity.  It almost seems that if we stepped into their plane, we might come out covered in color.

    To see more of Kathleen Holder‘s work, please visit her website.

    Artist found via David Lusk Gallery.  All images via the David Lusk website.

  • Parallels. Sarah Gee Miller.

    Parallels. Sarah Gee Miller.

    One of my favorite scenes when we’re road tripping is when the highway follows the path of a river.  We wind through the mountains, all the while the rushing turquoise water next to the highway seeming to follow the journey of our apple red car.  In her collages and ink and marker drawings, Vancouver artist Sarah Gee Miller “delves into the the relationship between primal shape and high-intensity colour to find balance and harmony.”

    Sarah Gee Miller | artsy forager #art #artists #contemporaryart Sarah Gee Miller | artsy forager #art #artists #contemporaryart Sarah Gee Miller | artsy forager #art #artists #contemporaryart Sarah Gee Miller | artsy forager #art #artists #contemporaryart Sarah Gee Miller | artsy forager #art #artists #contemporaryart

     

    Her bright, saturated colors run against one another, sometimes following their path, other times diverging to create their own, yet always keeping within the confines of the whole.  Just like the wild river is kept ringed in by the landscape, circles are bound inside hexagons, keeping their abandon in check.

    To see more of Sarah Gee Miller’s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Tumbling On: Leah Yerpe

    Tumbling On: Leah Yerpe

    Sometimes it feels as if we are simply tumbling through life, being swayed to and fro like a pinball or a tumbleweed.  In these incredible large scale drawings, Brooklyn artist Leah Yerpe multiplies her figures as they spill through the air.

    OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Yerpe9 Yerpe detail Yerbe_aquila Yerbe_Ceyx Yerbe_phoenicis

     

    Placing her figures on a blank background, we lose any sense of situation, leaving them to float through the air as if caught in a tornado, hurtling down toward the ground.  There’s a sense of a loss of control, yet the faces are calm and peaceful– though the winds blow, they simple let themselves be carried.

    To see more of the work of Leah Yerpe, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.  Artist found via I Need a Guide.

  • Puffball Bonsai: Alexandra Gjurasic

    Puffball Bonsai: Alexandra Gjurasic

    I am loving these little Puffball Bonsai sculptures by Alexandra Gjurasic.  They make me happy with their colorful stripes and cotton candy poufs.  I could just leave it at that.  But I like to take things a little deeper.  They’re fun and completely awesome, but what are they saying to me, besides let’s play?

    Alexandra Gjurasic | artsy forager #art #artists #drawing #sculpture Alexandra Gjurasic | artsy forager #art #artists #drawing #sculpture Alexandra Gjurasic | artsy forager #art #artists #drawing #sculpture Alexandra Gjurasic | artsy forager #art #artists #drawing #sculpture Alexandra Gjurasic | artsy forager #art #artists #drawing #sculpture

    The high level of artificiality mixed with the traditional china pot speaks to me of the pet-like nature of Bonsai’s.  They are high maintenance mini-trees cultivated mainly as a form of meditation and expression of creativity on the part of the caregiver.  They seem, to me, to be like pet trees.  Gjurasic is taking that idea even further by “dressing them up” in colorful stripes and glittery flowers.  It’s interesting to think about flowers and houseplants in this way– these living things, which thrive in their own natural environment, cut down or cultivated in order to give us pleasure.

    Oh and Gjurasic’s trees also spun off paintings, which are almost as enchanting!  To see more of Alexandra Gjurasic‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Earthly Balance: Hannah Chalew

    Earthly Balance: Hannah Chalew

    This planet we live on is an incredible example of a delicate balancing.  I’m always amazed to read stories about the ripple effect one tiny plant or micro organism may have on an entire eco-culture.  Often it is man whose hand begins the tidal wave.  In her work, New Orleans artist Hannah Chalew explores the tenuous relationship between nature and the built environment.

    Hannah Chalew | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #mixedmedia Hannah Chalew | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #mixedmedia Hannah Chalew | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #mixedmedia Hannah Chalew | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #mixedmedia Hannah Chalew | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #mixedmedia

     

    Hannah Chalew | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #mixedmedia

    Much like the work of Jess Riva Cooper, Chalew examines the idea of the built environment being overtaken and pushed back to the earth.  So often it is man and his development that does the encroaching, providing an interesting juxtaposition when plant life is given the opportunity to reclaim what was.

    To see more of Hannah Chalew‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • A Letter to Molly: Graeme Mitchell

    A Letter to Molly: Graeme Mitchell

    It seems such a shame that we hardly write letters anymore.  Especially love letters.  There was once a time when a couple’s main source of communication before marriage was the exchange of letters.  Putting thoughts and feelings into words, on paper, give them an importance and a permanence– and something to pour over when our love is far away.  But then there is something even sweeter about expressing your feelings in a non-verbal way.  Brooklyn photographer Graeme Mitchell created a beautiful book of drawings and photographs for his wife-to-be, Molly, presented to her on their wedding day.

    Mitchell_Sketch3 Picture 002 Mitchell collage Mitchell_Sketch4 Picture 004

    The juxtaposition of those little abstract drawings ( perhaps they are a secret short-hand? ) and tender scenes from their life together speak so much love.  It’s true that it is in those small moments that our hearts swell most, the every day glimpses of a life built together with the person you love most in the world that fortify us when things get tough.

    I imagine that when Mitchell’s wife Molly looks back at this collection of images, she doesn’t think of the spectacle of a wedding day, but of the constant, every moment of every day love her husband expressed without saying a word.  Perhaps his gift might inspire you to find ways to express the tenderness you feel to your own loved ones.

    To see more of Graeme Mitchell‘s work, please visit his website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Confused Identities: Winifred Johnson Brewer

    Confused Identities: Winifred Johnson Brewer

    Its so easy sometimes to lose sight of exactly who we are.  Circumstances bend and shape us in ways we didn’t foresee and then one day, we glance in the mirror and don’t recognize the face looking back.  The work of Los Angeles based artist Winifred Johnson Brewer seems to address issues of confusion in the environment and within ourselves.

    Winifred Johnson Brewer Winifred Johnson Brewer Winifred Johnson Brewer Winifred Johnson Brewer Winifred Johnson Brewer

    On her website, the artist recounts a story of confusion happening among honeybees.  Although the bees are not attracted to artificial light like moths might be, the artist witnessed the insects circling a bare lightbulb in her studio, then dying in a pool on the floor.  The bees seem to be forgetting their very innate nature, then suffering the consequences for it.  How often have we done the same?  Lost sight of our own talents or goals in order to fit in or succeed?  If we continue to don our masks, our real selves are likely to go the way of the honeybee.

    To see more of Winifred Johnson Brewer‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Longing for Eden: Lauren Matsumoto

    Longing for Eden: Lauren Matsumoto

    Being nature loving outdoorsy types, Mr. Forager and I sometimes discuss what it would have been like for Adam & Eve– to dwell peacefully with wild animals.  Mr. F hopes that being able to interact safely with wild creatures will be one of the perks of heaven.  He really really wants to hug a grizzly bear.  In her mixed media work, New York based artist Lauren Matsumoto uses unexpected elements to focus on nature and how we relate to it.

    Matsumoto_Oracle Observatory Matsumoto_mushroom patch Matsumoto_winter bloom Matsumoto_Pet Matsumoto_Flowerburst

     

    The artist uses female figures from vintage erotica among playful and whimsical flora.  But  there is an element of the looming industrial age, as planes, satellites, and automobiles threaten to intrude and destroy our love affair with nature.  How often do we completely unplug?  No wifi, no cell phones, no cable t.v.  It’s definitely easier said than done, but maybe if we try it, we can recapture some of that peaceable kingdom that once was.

    Please visit Lauren Matsumoto‘s website to see more of her work.

    All images are via the artist’s website and Facebook page.  Artist found via Uprise Art.

  • In Essentials: Daniele De Batte

    In Essentials: Daniele De Batte

    You have to walk before you can run.  But you see things more clearly when you’re walking, you know?  So it goes with black & white vs. color.  In art school, we were all taught to begin with a black and white sketch.  Master that, then move on to color.  But what if just those two hues– the absence of color and the sum of all colors was enough?  For Italian artist Daniele De Batte, it wasn’t color that fascinated, but composition and juxtaposition of space.

    D_012_Y_2011 by Daniele De Batte Noise 1 by Daniele De Batte Linoleum 4 by Daniele De Batte Noise 4 by Daniele De Batte Squares by Daniele De Batte

    In breaking these down to the most essential elements of line, shape, and space, the artist is able to focus our attention on the strength of composition and the way each element contributes to the overall scheme.  The absence of color and even shading ( ok, there is some shading in other work ), keep our eyes from being distracted.  The graphic forms advance and recede, changing our perception of each composition with every new glance.

    To see more of Daniele De Batte’s work, please visit the artist’s website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.