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.

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!

Yes, I just quoted Bob Ross.  But the whimsical trees of Seattle artist Liz Tran are miles beyond Ross’s prosaic “happy trees”.  Tran’s trees practically shout with joy.

Encircle, mixed media on panel, 36×36

With her use of bright colors and whimsical patterns, these trunks and limbs capture the fun spirit of yarn-bombing in paint!

Winter Drop, mixed media on panel, 48×48

August Bloom, mixed media on panel, 36×24

These transporting works take me back to the feeling of being a kid, lying on my back in the grass and looking up into a canopy of trees with sunlight bursting through.  There is no other feeling more peaceful and happy.

Summer Stripes, mixed media on panel, 36×36

In a lesser hand, these candied conifers could turn a bit too sweet, but Liz gives them just the right modernity to keep up the fresh and contemporary feel.  To see more of Liz Tran’s creations, please visit her website.

Featured image is Traveling Two, mixed media on panel, 36×24.  All images are courtesy of the artist’s website.

While Mr. Forager & I wind our way up the Pacific Coast Highway to Seattle, I’ve asked a few of my fellow art bloggers to step in and share some of their own artsy finds.  

You’re already familiar with Erin of artsocial as my partner in artsy pinning for the Art Association contest we hold every month.  But did you also know she has her own fabulous art blog?  It’s like a party every day.  With art!  Without further ado, take it away, Erin!

Abstract is IN this season in a big awesome way. Everywhere I turn, I’m seeing amazing paintings, rugs, pants – you name it – all decorated with incredible abstract designs… and I love it.

Mini Interior 9, mixed media collage on paper, 6×4

A newfound favorite of mine is abstract artist, Pamela Staker.  Her intense color combinations, bold patterns, and expressive brushstrokes infuse her work with an undeniable and irresistible energy.

Mini Interior 10, mixed media collage on paper, 6×4

Starting with simple shapes and vibrant colors, Pamela builds up her playful abstractions with mixed media and unconventional materials like duct tape, rope, and vinyl wall covering. Isn’t contemporary art the best?

Mini Interior 11, mixed media collage on paper, 6×4

Her work beautifully expresses a balance between energetic spontaneity and carefully structured compositions. Which one is your favorite?

Mini Interior 12, mixed media collage on paper, 6×4

This is only a small sampling of Pamela’s amazing work. Her shop is FULL of incredible pieces.

P.S. there’s a whole section of abstract cats! Not to sound too much like a cat lady, but it’s pretty awesome. You can also find larger works on Cureeo.

See more from Pamela Staker on Etsy and her website.

Ordinary things explored with interesting color and texture.. I love the simplicity of the work of artist Megan Dorien, being featured in my Artist Watch on Escape Into Life today.  Head on over and check it out!

Fire Hydrant by Megan Dorien

Megan Dorien on Escape Into Life

Image via the artist’s website.

I always remember my first visit to Seattle in the springtime.  The cherry trees were blooming in the neighborhood where Mr. Forager was living ( this was before I became Mrs. F ) and then it rained, as it is always wont to do in Seattle.  After the rain, the blossoms weren’t quite as fluffy and perfect as they’d been, but we were left with a magical blanket of pink petals dotting the sidewalks.  The wind would eventually sweep each petal into its breeze and carry it away to some unknown place.  As I look at the floral encaustics of Seattle artist Alicia Tormey, I’m reminded of the delicate strength it takes to withstand the storms.

Floral Study IV, encaustic with mixed media, 10×10

Tormey’s flowers have a wonderful, swirly diaphanous quality as translucent strands float from and around them.  In some, we see look to be veins coming through, as if these are the angels of flowers loved and pressed between book pages as a remembrance.

Fly Away, encaustic, shellac and ink on panel, 36×36

Floral Form V, encaustic, shellac and ink on panel, 24×24

Each flower almost takes on the personality of a dancer’s movements.. wild yet graceful.. controlled chaos, passionate yet maintaining an elegant line, always.

Floral Study III, encaustic with mixed media, 10×10

To see more of Alicia Tormey’s work, please visit her website.

Images via Gilman Contemporary and Chase Young Gallery.

Happy April, Artsies!  I’m excited to welcome in the month of April for many reasons, A | we finally leave the desert this month!, B | I get to celebrate one of my favorite days of the year, the day Mr. Forager was born ( never mind that my own b-day is in there, too, ugh ) and C | the celebration of a fabulous new Featured Artist!  You may remember New York artist Hooper Turner from my post featuring work from his Catalog and Fashion series n which he meticulously depicts the imagery found in luxury catalogs and fashion magazines.

#129, oil on catalog page, 12 3/4×9 7/8

#85, oil on catalog page, 10 5/8×14 3/4

In his latest body of work, Typeforms, Turner continues his fascination with fashion and found imagery, this time extending his reach into the commodified art world.  In choosing to paint letters and numbers directly onto found art auction catalog pages, the artist is perhaps speaking to the struggle of contemporary artists to find their own voice in among the masses.

#130, oil on catalog page, 12×19 1/4

#166, oil on catalog page, 10 5/8×8 1/4

Although I’ve chosen to focus on his auction catalog pages, Turner also gives found imagery of celebrities and models the same treatment.  Perhaps in doing so, he is reflecting upon the artist as celebrity and what that elevated status means for the art marketplace.

#99, oil on catalog page, 11 3/4×8 3/8

Bold and striking, whatever their message, these pieces are saying it loudly and proudly.  To see more of Hooper Turner’s work, please visit his website and be sure to stop by the Artsy Forager Facebook page to see his cover image and an album of a few of my favorite Turner pieces ( in addition to these, of course! ).

Do you remember how exciting it was to receive a letter when you were young?  An envelope would arrive, addressed just to Miss So and So or Master Such and Such, so grown up!  Then we become adults and most every piece of mail is either a bill or junk mail.  Wouldn’t it be lovely to receive a heartfelt letter instead of an email?  Seattle artist Kenna Moser’s work in the current exhibition at Grover/Thurston Gallery, with its vintage postmarks and whimsical imagery makes me want to sit down an write a beautifully illustrated letter to everyone I love!

Whisper, beeswax, vintage letter and oil paint on wood, 6×6

Poem, beeswax, vintage letter and oil paint on wood, 6×6

Being a writer of sorts, I’m no stranger to the written word, but these days, like most, my correspondence consists mainly of Facebook messages, texts, and emails.  Mr. Forager and I wrote digital love letters at length during the month or so when we first began dating and he was living in Seattle and I was in Florida.  It makes me a bit sad that they are floating in cyber space somewhere instead of neatly tied together with a ribbon placed in a special box in the closet.

Traverse, beeswax, vintage letter and oil paint on wood, 5×5

Route, beeswax, vintage letter and oil paint on wood, 5×5

Moser’s mixed media works have such a whimsical quality to them.. it’s as if we’ve found that pile of secret letters hidden in a box, trying to decipher the enchanting language of images and symbols.

Address, beeswax, vintage letter and oil paint on wood, 6×6

To see more of Kenna Moser’s work, please visit her website.  Her work can be seen in the current exhibition at Grover/Thurston, along with the work of Deborah Bell until March 30th.

All images are via the Grover/Thurston website.

Nothing says spring like girls with flowery tattooes!  When I spotted this piece by Seattle artist Stasia Burrington on Artsyo, I was smitten with her work, her use of cut paper florals and girls is at once sweet and strong.  Love it!  I’m featuring Stasia’s work in my Artist Watch on Escape Into Life today, see it here!

Clementine, charcoal, ink and fabric collage on Stonehenge paper, 11×14

Stasia Burrington on Escape Into Life

Artist found via Artsyo, image also via Artsyo.

One fact presents itself to me every day:  there is an overwhelming amount of amazing art to be discovered in this world!  And sometimes, I get so caught up in finding new artists for you that I neglect to share extraordinary new work by artists who have already been “foraged” by moi.  Never fear, because those days are over!  This is the first in a new monthly series, Artsy Lately, in which I will bring you new work by an artist previously featured on the blog.  But wait, that’s not all!  If you’re on Pinterest, you’ll also find a new Artsy Forager board titled Artsy Lately, where yours truly as well as the wonderful artists themselves will be pinning new work!  Exciting stuff, ya’ll!

Now let’s get down to the business at hand.  I’ve been in love with the work of LA artist Geoff Mitchell since the first time I saw it and immediately featured him on the site.  Then I was able to see his work in person during my visit to Florida Mining back in November.  So when I saw Geoff post a new crop of work, not only did I respond with an elated gasp, I just knew I just had to share it with you.

Sunspots, mixed media on panel, 20×20

As with all of Mitchell’s work, these are images put together with more thought toward the imagery and compositions themselves rather than the associations we may make– the artist leaves that completely up to us.  He hands us the puzzle, yet there is no rightor wrong completion or conclusion.  We see what we see.

Magic Lantern, mixed media on panel, 20×20

Music Box, mixed media on panel, 20×20

Thin ice, mixed media on panel, 20×20

Mitchell’s work always has such a wonderful sense of mystery.. like pages torn from a book, we are only given a few chosen details, graphically executed from which to mold our own story.

Rose Cara Cara, mixed media on panel, 20×20

To see more of Geoff Mitchell’s work, please visit his website.  I’m hoping before Mr. F & I leave Southern California that I’ll be able to get over to LA and give you a glimpse inside Geoff’s studio.  I think there are stories awaiting there.

Be sure to also check out the new Artsy Lately board on Pinterest.  We already have 16 artists who’ve joined in and started pinning their latest work!  Are you an artist whose work has been featured on Artsy Forager?  Send me an email at artsyforager(at)att(dot)com and I’ll send you an invitation to pin!

What did we do before the days Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to record the beauty of every day life?  How would anyone know how lovely my lunch might be on any given day?  I don’t think UK artist Elaine Pamphilon has ever asked that question.  Her lovely mixed media works capture the ordinary in an incredibly special way.

Cornish Window Sill, mixed media on panel, 80×60 cm

Often dividing her surfaces into planes of color, Pamphilon treats us to glimpses of moments that, though simple as they may be, draw us in with their sweetness and humor.

Blackbird Eyeing Up Sleeping Lily Wondering If He Can Borrow Crumbs From Phillip’s Plate, mixed media on canvas, 50×40 cm

Studying India, mixed media on panel, 30×30 cm

Indian Seed Pods and Chai, mixed media on panel, 30×30 cm

There is such a sense of collected spontaneity about her work, as if each finished piece is just a quick little sketch in her journal, a remembrance of the day, sights, sounds, and findings.

At the Old Rising Sun, mixed media on panel, 40×30 cm

Sigh.  Her work makes me wish I was a better journal keeper.  Guess I’ll have to settle for Instagram. To see more of Elaine Pamphilon’s work, please visit her website.

Artist found via Christina Foard.  All images are via the artist’s website.