Holy cow, where did May go?!  I know we still have several hours before June begins, but we’ll be out hiking tomorrow, so thought I’d give you a little artsy Saturday treat.  For Mr. Forager & I, May was a whirlwind of traveling to Seattle, frantically searching for an apartment, moving in, buying furniture, job searching for moi and just generally getting settled into our new life here.  What’s been keeping me sane this past month?  Spying new work from artists I love around the interwebs.  This month’s Featured Artist Deann Hebert has been on a roll lately, spicing things up with bolder color and looser compositions.  And I’m lovin’ it all!

Get Your Color On I, mixed media on canvas, 36×36

You might remember Deann’s work from the City Mouse | Country Mouse show in the found gallery recently.. D was the Country Mouse.  Being a country gal, Deann paints the rusticity and warmth she is surrounded by each day.  Yet these aren’t your grandma’s chicken paintings.  This artist is giving country the modern treatment.  She’s totally Faith Hill-ing it.

Seagrove, mixed media on canvas, 30×30

Rustic Restored, mixed media on canvas, 36×48

The latest work coming out of Deann’s studio is just a bit bolder, a bit more free.  She’s getting comfortable and coming into her own as an artist and it is truly a joy to watch!

Get Your Color On 2, mixed media on canvas, 36×36

Want to see more of Deann Hebert’s work?  Check out her website and Facebook page!  And don’t forget to stop by the Artsy Forager page while you’re on Facebook to see some of my personal faves from Ms D.

All images are 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.

May always feels like the month when we truly transition out of winter and into the glory of the warmer months!  Mr. Forager and I are now in Seattle, though, so I’m not sure how warm we’ll be this May.  But we have the work of this month’s Featured Artist, Pamela Viola to keep us glowing!

Whizz 2 by Pamela Viola

Be sure to head over to the Artsy Forager Facebook page, where Pamela’s work will be gracing our cover AND check out the Facebook album full of my favorite Violas!  Want to see even more?  Peruse Pamela’s website and blog.

Image via the artist’s website.

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! ).

The limited palette and tight scope of the work of this month’s Featured Artist, Peri Schwartz is what continues to keep me enthralled with her paintings.  An artist whose work shares these same characteristics is Lily Stockman, whose work I’ve featured twice here on the blog.

Lily and her sister, Hopie, have teamed up to create Block Shop, a textiles company creating hand block printed, naturally dyed scarves crafted in India by the Chhipa family of master printers ( more about the process here ).  Doesn’t it seem fitting that if you love Peri’s focus on her place of inspiration, creation, and process that you would wear an artist designed, hand crafted and created scarf?  Of course it does!

art | Studio III by Peri Schwartz

scarf | Mosaic [ marigold + black ]

Because they are hand crafted, only a limited number of Block Shop textiles are created at one time.  The entire inventory sold out in less than a week when Block Shop launched back in December!  So Lily & Hopie have restocked and are taking pre-orders for April 1st shipping.  And if you love these as much as I do, you’d better get your order in now before they’re gone!

See more from Peri Schwartz and Block Shop on their websites, linked here and here.

Image sources linked above.

I may have mentioned Mr. Forager has taken up beer making. Lately he has been obsessed with finding out the best methods and practices for brewing the perfect beer. He recently told me about a fellow brewer he found online that worked for over twenty years to perfect one particular brew recipe. Talk about practicing and perfecting your craft! This month’s Featured Artist, Peri Schwartz is equally tenacious in striving to capture every nuanced surface, angle and corner in her own studio.

Studio IX, color monotype, 30×34.5

Studio XXX, oil on canvas, 38×48

By narrowing her scope of work and field of vision, Schwartz frees herself to carefully explore her space, the forms inhabited therein, and the light that enters and retreats each day. Although her overall style and palette remains consistent, we can see her exploring how the space and objects are represented.. sometimes they are mere planes of color, other times their shapes are more concrete.

Studio 12, ink and charcoal on mylar, 12.34×27

Studio #13, ink and charcoal on mylar, 13.30x28x25

In other instances, as in her black and white drawings above, she is carefully studying the effect of light on the familiar surfaces, carefully watching and interpreting the reflective play between light and shadow.

Bottles and Jars XII, oil on canvas, 30×20

To see more of Per Schwartz’s work, please visit her website. You can also see an album of Peri’s work on the Artsy Forager Facebook page. Peri will be a busy bee soon with three openings– at Davis & Cline Gallery in April, Garvey/Simon Art Access in May, and Gerald Peters Gallery in July. Whew! Hope you’ll be able to catch one!

All images are via the artist’s website.

March is here! Where in the world did February go? Sneaky little short month catches me off guard every time. But I’m excited to welcome a new month because it means welcoming a new Featured Artist to Artsy Forager! Please help give a warm artsy welcome to New York artist Peri Schwartz!

Studio XXXII by Peri Schwartz

Be sure to head on over to the Artsy Forager Facebook page where Peri’s work will be gracing the cover for the month of March! And don’t forget to check out her Facebook album, where you’ll see a combination of her latest work and a few of my personal favorites. Happy month of March!

Image via the artist’s website.

Sometimes I wonder if fine art photographers read art blogs and think “Painting, painting, painting!” ( cue Jan Brady voice ).  But painting doesn’t just happen with oils and acrylics.  An artist paints their composition with whatever medium they choose and this month’s Featured Artist, Diana Lemeiux paints with a camera.

Lemieux creates and captures scenes from our dreams, mysterious and fleeting.. we see just a glimpse of a moment, not knowing what happened just before or what could arise in the next breath.

Her limited palettes help foster the emotion she is bringing forth in each image– moody, somber neutrals or bright, warm saturated hues give us a sense of each scene and the story it has to tell.

To see more of Diana Lemieux’s work, please visit her website and Facebook page.  Diana’s work will be in the starring role on the Artsy Forager Facebook page all this month and be sure to check out the FB album full of my favorite Diana Lemieux photographs!

Happy weekend and happy February, Artsies!  Mr. F and I are excited because  1) it’s the weekend.. duh, 2) we are heading to San Diego tonight to spend the weekend with dear friends, always a good time! and 3) a new month means we are that much closer to leaving the desert and heading back toward our beloved Northwest!  But before I leave you to start packing for our weekend away, please allow me to introduce you to February’s Featured Artist, Diana Lemieux!

Balancing Act

Head on over to the Artsy Forager Facebook page to see more of Diana’s breathtaking photography!  Then come on back to this spot on Monday for more!  You’ll be seeing lots of Diana this month here on the blog, as well as the Artsy Forager Facebook & Twitter feeds.  Looking forward to a February full of photography!

This month’s featured artist, Christina Baker, is a painter whose work I’ve followed since we were both living in Florida.  Christina now resides in Tennessee, while at the moment you can find me in California..  While we are geographically distant, I’ve enjoyed watching her artistic career flourish from afar.  It has been such an amazing journey to watch as Christina grow into her own style as her work has blossomed into sophisticated expressions of her own visual language.

Manhattan Memories, acrylic on canvas

Runaway Deer, acrylic on canvas, 40×40

Christina’s work harnesses the power of color and emotion as she translates the feelings of a moment onto canvas.  Her palette goes through phases and cycles, just as our psyches do.  In many cases, you can truly see the joy she was feeling as warmth and light bounces around the canvases.

Mint Chocolate, acrylic on canvas, 20×20

White Chocolate, acrylic on canvas, 20×20

Often in her work, there is a sense of fluidity and movement, possibly a byproduct of so much time spent near the ocean in Florida.  Shapes float among the light like drops of ocean spray or falling leaves.  Whatever the moment, wherever the place, it is a happy one.

Love Letters, acrylic on canvas, 40×30

To see more of Christina Baker’s work, please visit her website.  You can see her work in person at her representing galleries, Gregg Irby Fine Art in Atlanta and Imagine Gallery of Fine Art in Franklin, Tennessee.  Be sure to follow Artsy Forager all month long for more Christina Baker goodies!

All images are via the artist’s website.

PS– this post was published by mistake last Wednesday, my apologies to Christina and anyone who saw it and then went back to find it gone!  Blog operator error.