artsy forager

Category: Daily Artsy

Artists featured in a solo spot on Artsy Forager

  • High Marks: Camille Hannah

    High Marks: Camille Hannah

    For an artist or avid art lover, often the joy and specialness of a work of art is to be found not in the overall meaning or composition but in the mark making.  Those little strokes that mean so much.  The work of Australian artist Camille Hannah gives us pause to consider how each mark of the brush is made.

    Venus Tactus by Camille Hannah
    Venus Tactus, oil and acrylic on aluminum, 204×203 cm

    In each squiggle, the light and shadow moves along with the paint.  These strokes create form, line and texture, all through choice of paint loaded onto the brush and the way in which the hand of the artist guides it.

    Caecus Macula by Camille Hannah
    Caecus Macula, oil and acrylic on aluminum, 204×203 cm

    This adept “play with paint” is always what draws me in.  There is such beauty in the way the paint swirls from the bristles of the brush, the way the colors mix together on the surface, catching the light and deepening not just the visual but the visceral experience of the painting!

    Austramythicus Patternus by Camille Hannah
    Austramythicus Paternus, oil and acrylic on aluminum, 204×203 cm
    Orexis by Camille Hannah
    Orexis ( Between Skins ), oil and acrylic on aluminum, 204×203 cm

    To see more of Camille Hannah’s work, please visit the website of her representing gallery, the Nellie Castan Gallery.

    All images via the Nellie Castan Gallery. 

  • Artsy on Escape Into Life: Sarah Giannobile

    The nights here in the desert are full of stars!  The work of Sarah Giannobile, featured in my Artist Watch on Escape Into Life today, reminds me of the constellations hovering above us.  See my Artist Watch featuring Sarah here! 

    Sarah Giannobile on Escape Into Life

  • Edge Effects: Daniel Kukla

    The end of our time in the desert is quickly coming to a close ( we’re now at less than three weeks to go! ).  The desert is a place of strong lines.  Folks either love it or hate it.  Jagged mountains cut across clear blue skies.  Tropical oasis spring up amid the arid sand.  Last year, photographer Daniel Kulka spent an artist residency in Joshua Tree National Park studying the juxtapositions of desert elements, The Edge Effects.

    By positioning a glass mirror on an easel among the desert terrain, Kukla captures the harsh beauty of Joshua Tree.  What is seen may be the stark contrast of a cobalt sky amid the beige or the glass may seem to disappear as it captures what can be a confusing landscape.

    The imagery of the single easel, alone in the desert recalls the abandonment seen everywhere in this place.  Empty homesteads left to ruin, leftover junk discarded among the cholla and joshuas.  In the openness of this place, what is cast away is not hidden, it is stranded for all to see.

    To see more of Daniel Kukla’s work, please visit his website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Artful Wanderings: Catherine Beaudette

    Artful Wanderings: Catherine Beaudette

    When you travel as much as Mr. Forager and I do, there is always a danger of confusing memories of where we’ve been and when!  One of our favorite post-dinner-over-a-glass-of-wine past times is watching the screensaver slideshow of all our adventures.  The Global Cities series of paintings by Toronto artist Catherine Beaudette seem to be an artful conglomeration of urban wanderings.

    Funnel by Catherine Beaudette
    Funnel, oil, 36×27

    In Beaudette’s paintings, buildings, interiors, and vistas overlap one another, so that we’re never quite sure exactly where we are.  Its as if the artist is painting the most special memories of each place.. the way the light and shadows feel through a window, beautiful lines of architecture, the warmth of a spring day.

    Strada by Catherine Beaudette
    Strada, oil, 36×27
    Corridor by Catherine Beaudette
    Corridor, oil, 36×27

    The farther we travel from some places, the more fuzzy our memories become.  Like Beaudette’s work, we may remember the most beautiful parts of each place, taking with us only the good and happily leaving behind any darkness.

    Balustrade by Catherine Beaudette
    Balustrade, oil, 36×27

    To see more of Catherine Beaudette’s work, please visit her website.  Mr. F & I definitely have a few places we’ve been that we’ve grown fonder of over time, thanks to good memories overshadowing the bad.  How do you keep track of your travels?  Old fashioned photo albums, post card collections?

    Artist found via Sopa Fine Arts.

  • Artsy Lately: The Deep South and Other Stories by Gigi Mills

    Artsy Lately: The Deep South and Other Stories by Gigi Mills

    Having lived the first ahem, three decades, of my life in the South, I completely understand why people are drawn to it.  There is a co-mingling of worlds in the South, some owing to its sordid history, others a product of the atmosphere and the people who find themselves there.  New Mexico artist Gigi Mills, having grown up with her family in the circus on the West Coast of Florida, far from the “traditional South”, finds herself repeatedly drawn to its charms.  In her latest series, The Deep South and Other Stories, which debuted at Gallery Orange in New Orleans two weeks ago, the artist explores her attachment to a life that could have been hers.

    Some Days by Gigi Mills
    Some Days, oil on panel, 20×16

    A childhood in the circus, while filled with color, charm and adventure, doesn’t offer much in the way of stability.  For Gigi, it is that sense of permanence of place, of generations of history that leads her again and again to southern places.

    Somewhere on Esplanade Interior by Gigi Mills
    Somewhere on Esplanade Interior, oil on paper, 21×24
    Laundry in a Dark Landscape by Gigi Mills
    Laundry in a Dark Landscape, oil on panel, 24×20
    Interior with Baker and Cake by Gigi Mills
    Interior with Baker and Cake, oil on paper, 22×25

    In her work, as in many areas of the South itself, there is an enchanting sense of elegance and charisma that completely bewitches us.  But it is the complexities of this world that we find most intriguing– the secrets kept, the stories told and untold.

    Lagniappe of Pearls Conversation with Carlos by Gigi Mills
    Lagniappe of Pearls, Conversation with Carlos, oil, 12×16

    If you’d like to see more from the Deep South and Other Stories series, please visit the Gallery Orange website.  Gallery Orange also has beautiful Gigi Mills books available for purchase through their website– a lovely way to learn more about the artist and enjoy her work, even if a painting is out of reach.

    All images via Gallery Orange.

  • Bright Cravings: Kelly Nicolaisen

    Bright Cravings: Kelly Nicolaisen

    As I mentioned on Monday, I am battling a doozy of a cold.  I’m on my third day of confinement and first day of being out of bed before 10am ( although I’m writing this at 10:37am and I’m ready to crawl back in ).  I’ve been consoling myself with Pinterest and guilty pleasure tv marathons on Hulu.  But the bright colors and quirky compositions of the work of San Francisco photographer Kelly Nicolaisen remind me that there is fun and life to be had on the other side of this temporary yuckiness.

    Nicolaisen is an art photographer with an incredible eye for color and composition.  Each image is carefully balanced yet they still feel like the capturing of a fleeting, ordinary moment.

    Just in case we’d forgotten, Nicolaisen’s imagery reminds us of the color, joy and humor to be found in this life.  We aren’t meant to live in worlds of taupes and greys.  We need and crave the bright spots.  Living in the desert has taught me that.  For it is in those moments that we remember there is still delight to be found.

    To see more of Kelly Nicolaisen’s work, please visit her website.

    All images via Saatchi Online.

  • Artsy on Escape Into Life: Karen Darling

    Artsy on Escape Into Life: Karen Darling

    These abstracts by Canadian artist Karen Darling are so full of contradiction– love the contrasting dark black surfaces mixed with translucent brights!  I’m featuring Karen’s work in my Artist Watch on Escape Into Life today, so head on over and check it out here!

    Karen Darling on Escape Into Life

    Image via artist’s website. 

  • Floral Flow: Alicia Tormey

    Floral Flow: Alicia Tormey

    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 by Alicia Tormey
    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 by Alicia Tormey
    Fly Away, encaustic, shellac and ink on panel, 36×36
    Floral Form V by Alicia Tormey
    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 by Alicia Tormey
    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.

  • April Featured Artist: Hooper Turner

    April Featured Artist: Hooper Turner

    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 by Hooper Turner
    #129, oil on catalog page, 12 3/4×9 7/8
    #85 by Hooper Turner
    #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 by Hooper Turner
    #130, oil on catalog page, 12×19 1/4
    #166 by Hooper Turner
    #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 by Hooper Turner
    #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! ).

  • Design Foraging: Tangled Up

    Design Foraging: Tangled Up

    Mr. Forager & I like to browse through thrift stores occasionally.  He’s always hoping to score something or other needed for beer making and I love finding great deals on vintage and designer clothes.  Every once in awhile, in our perusing, I spy a crocheted wall hanging, usually a bit worse for the wear, but it immediately takes me back to my aunt and uncle’s 1970s apartment!  There are artists & artisans who are embracing the homespun weaving craft and giving it a decidedly artsy and modern edge.  Here are a few contemporary woven tapestries I’ve spied recently–

    Try Angles by Liz Toohey-Wiese
    Try Angles by Liz Toohey-Wiese

    source

    Woven Tapestries by Maryanne Moodie
    Woven Tapestries by Maryanne Moodie, photo by Brooke Holm

    source

    Maze by Hannah Waldron
    Maze by Hannah Waldron

    source

    Pink Windows by Mimi Jung
    Pink Windows by Mimi Jung

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    I just love how these weavings do warm and folksy in a way that is completely current!  Have a wonderful weekend, Artsies!

    All image sources linked above.