My hubby and I have the best conversation over drinks. Not necessarily alcoholic beverages, coffee will do. It’s something about being out and having nothing to do but sit and sip and talk. A recent conversation led us to the topic of art. Now, my husband is kind of new to this whole art world thing but he is a voracious student and always eager to learn something new. His great love is music, so naturally he made the connection between the evolution of art and the evolution of music. Artist Amy Mass, like many artists, listens to music while she paints. What sets Amy’s work apart is that she paints to the music. So each piece is a direct result of the music being played during the painting process.
West Side Story, acrylic on canvas, 36x48
Like the musical scores which inspire them, Amy’s paintings are filled with rhythm and expression. You can almost see the staccato of the notes, the resounding beat of the drum.
Cocktails With Cole Porter, acrylic on canvas, 40x40
Layers of color and texture mimic the overlapping cacophony of sounds inherent in a symphonic composition.
A Single Man, acrylic on canvas, 48x60
UnNamed, acrylic on canvas
To see more of Amy Maas’ melodious work, please visit her website. Have some fun and put the inspiration tunes on while you peruse her work!
Featured image is Celtic Woman, acrylic on canvas, 48×36. All images are via the artist’s website.
Confession: I love fashion magazines. The beautiful imagery of gorgeous people wearing couture, sporting watches and handbags that cost as much as a car, is like crack to me. Maybe in the intellectual artsy realm I am not supposed to taken with such trivial and superficial fluff, but I just can’t help it. Nor can NYC artist Hooper Turner.
High Noon, oil on canvas, 18x24 ( via Skidmore Contemporary )
Turner, whose latest exhibition, Glamorama, opens at Skidmore Contemporary in Santa Montica, CA this Saturday, chooses to focus his fascination and truly study these portraits of consumerism, painting them and in turn, seeing them with new eyes.
The Crusaders, oil on canvas, 30x40
Turner doesn’t take the imagery out of context, like many might, instead the images are unabashedly commercial, some complete with the text juxtaposed over the image, just as it would be in a magazine. It is in this honest confrontation of our voluntary manipulation by advertisers, creative directors, etc., that his work finds its most poignant power.
Solstice 2005, oil on canvas, 30x36 ( via Skidmore Contemporary )
Spiced Egg Nog Cardigan, oil on canvas, 20x24 ( via Skidmore Contemporary )
Be sure to check out Hooper Turner’s website to see more images of his work. If you’re in Southern California, make plans to see his show in up close & personal at Skidmore Contemporary Art.
Featured image is Calvin Klein Underwear, oil on canvas, 51×36. All images are via Skidmore Contemporary’s website.
‘Tis a new year and with that comes all sorts of lists documenting the good, the bad and the ugly from the past 12 months. While there’s certainly no bad or ugly here at Artsy Forager, I thought it would be a kick to award our featured art some high schoolish superlatives. Put your mittens on your kittens and away we go!
We are a world that loves stuff. One look at the tv show Hoarders will confirm that, as human beings, we develop emotional and psychological attachments to objects. Certain things may represent for us the physical manifestation of the memory of a time, a place, a relationship. Canadian artist Christopher Stott celebrates this connection by elevating every day objects to the subject of portraiture.
Good Times, oil on canvas, 30x30
Stott takes simple objects, isolating them against a neutral, traditionally lit backdrop, he treats them his subjects tenderly, as another portrait artist might portray the innocence of a child or quiet strength of a grandmother.
GE Vintage Electric Fan, oil on canvas, 22x28
Compositions containing multiple objects take on an interesting dynamic– they seem to communicate, to regard and relate to each other in an almost human-like way.
Candlestick Phone and Electric Fan, oil on canvas, 24x24
Remington, Overwhelmed, oil on canvas, 36x24
By choosing subjects with an already inherent history, the artist celebrates the lives of these every day objects– the people they have served, the differences they may have made to a human life, the treasured memories that may be associated with their torn pages and chipped paint.
Baggage, oil on canvas, 30x30
To see more of Christopher Stott’s work, please visit his website. Maybe these portraits will inspire you to look at your “stuff” a bit differently!
Featured image is Quartet, oil on canvas, 48×24. All images are via the artist’s website.
I am a firm believer in buying art at whatever level you can afford and I’m not talking about the framed art aisle at Target. While there are certain levels of art collecting which some of us may never reach ( I’ve reconciled myself to the fact that I’ll never own an original Georgia O’Keeffe, just keepin’ it real ), there is fabulous art available for every budget! Just because your budget is limited, that’s no excuse for blank walls! For this installment of [ Insert Art Here ], we’ll take a look at 3 art options for the same space– all fab, each fitting a particular budget level. Here we go!
Let’s begin with our blank( ish ) canvas–
From www.nestdallasdesign.com, home of Bradley Agather, designed by Beth Dotolo, photo by Kevin Dotolo ( artwork removed, to see the original design, click on this photo )
For the Beginning Collector:
Artwork by Ann Tarantino via 20x200
Prints are the easiest and most budget friendly way to begin an art collection and these days there is no shortage of sources for quality limited editions. These Ann Tarantino prints ( Far and Wide [ left ] and Flying Colors [ right ] ) are archival pigment prints, $200 each ( not including framing ) and are available through 20×200. Pretty sweet, right?
For the Mid-Range Artsy:
Artwork by Michelle Armas
So you’re ready to put your money where your mouth is and begin a serious art collection? Original work by emerging artists is a great place to start. Atlanta artist Michelle Armas has become something of an art & design blog darling and with that comes a certain ( well deserved! ) notoriety which makes her work highly collectible. Her abstract paintings are riotous and painterly, filled with joyous color. The piece above,Eggplantis an acrylic work on canvas, 30×40 inches. It is available through Gregg Irby Fine Art at $1000. An awesome price for a piece of that size and quality! Forego your daily $4 chai-mocha-frappawhatever from Starbucks and you will be able to purchase a piece like this, too. It’s all about priorities, ya’ll. 🙂
For the Serious Artophile:
Artwork by Christina Foard
Christina Foard is a painter’s painter. She paints intuitively and revels in the materials, not afraid to get her hands dirty. There is an emotionality to her work that, along with its glorious physical texture, provides a depth that you don’t always find in abstract compositions. The piece above, Floating Invasion( acrylic on canvas, 40×30 ) provides this space with a certain amount of gravitas, while still giving just the right amount of color and movement. But Foard’s works are pieces you buy because you can’t stop thinking about them.. you have to have them.. If they happen to match your throw pillows, well, that’s just a bonus. ( FYI– Floating Invasion is no longer available, but Foard pieces in a similar size are usually in the $3000 range )
My final word.. as Dan Fear said “Buy art because you like it and because it moves you, and because it enhances your life.” This has been a little exercise that I hope will inspire you to purchase a piece of art that you love this year. Now that’s a new years’ resolution I can get behind!
Hey ya’ll! It’s Tuesday, so don’t forget to mosey on over to Escape Into Life to check out my post featuring the work of Hilary Williams. You might remember Hilary from my Artsy Forager post on her work here.
Good Neighbors, acrylic & screen print on fabric & wood panel, 24x24x2
Many folks are using the advent of the new year to organize and simplify their world. Editing can be one of the most difficult tasks, especially for visually creative types, who find such stimulation in what we take in with our eyes. San Francisco artist Mia Christopher creates interesting, elegant compositions by sticking to simple shapes and a limited palette. In this work, less is most definitely more.
Ink on paper, 2011, 11x12
Stacks of simple shapes call to mind fantastical characters, books, organic forms or whatever might come to mind.
Ink on paper, 2011, 10.5x14.5
The beauty in these works is in the color combinations, the fluid visual texture of the ink, the whimsically natural feel of the forms.
Ink on paper, 2011, 11.5x16
Ink on paper, 2011, 11x14
To revel more in this gorgeous simplicity, please visit Mia Christopher’s website.
Featured image is Mia Christopher, ink on paper, 11×9.25. All images are via the artist’s website.
Welcome to 2012! As much as I love the sparkles and coziness of the holidays, with a new year comes time for thoughtful reflection on what was, along with plans and hopes for what is to come. To kick off the year, the work of Charlotte, NC artist Duy Huynh ( pronounced yee wun ) is just the right combination of quiet contemplation and dreaminess to fit the mood of a new beginning.
Metamorphosis of a Metaphor, acrylic on wood, 40x40
Duy Huynh is no stranger to new beginnings, having come to the U.S. from his native Vietnam in the early 80s. Finding himself immersed in a completely new world and language, he learned to use art to make connections.
Metamorphosis of a Metaphor, acrylic on wood, 32x40
He continues to engage through his work by using symbols such as butterflies, boats, pianos, etc to create narratives just enigmatic enough to allow the viewer to imagine their own visual tale.
The Organ Donor, acrylic on ceramic tile, 16x16
His work is beautiful in its ethereal simplicity, like the small coo of a dove or the drifting of a feather on the wind. This is an artist who works with a gentle, light hand and the results are peaceful and reflective painted stories.
Eggscapism, acrylic on wood, 24x24
Boundlessness in Bloom, acrylic on canvas, 36x36
I hope the coming year will be a time when you paint your own story. Make this year exactly what you want it to be.
To see more of Duy Huynh’s work, please visit his website and the website of his Charlotte gallery, Lark & Key.
Featured image is A Kindred Spirit Will Lead Her Out of the Woods, acrylic on wood, 48×36. All images are via the artist’s website.
Happy early New Year, Artsies! I had a wonderful surprise this week, one of my favorite people in the world, my dear sister-in-law, came all the way to Coeur d’Alene, ID from Florida to visit. So I’ll be unexpectedly away from the blog until the new year to spend lots of quality time with my sis-in-law!
If you are an artist, you know the joy and delight your materials bring. The smell of fresh paint, the glow of molten glass, the feel of earthen clay. Seattle artist Margie Livingston is one artist who obviously enchanted with her unique properties of her chosen medium– paint.
198 Angles, Mostly Yellow, acrylic, 33.5x29
Her paintings are not only explorations into the characteristics of the paint– color, texture, sheen, etc., but also studies in shape, form, line and space.
263 Angles, Neutral Over Red, acrylic, 33x24.5
She’s also taken this investigation of medium a step further– creating actual sculptures from paint, genius!
Paint Strip Tied In a Knot With the Ends Tucked In, acrylic, 4x13x10 ( via Greg Kucera Gallery )
Study for Spiral Block #3, acrylic, 6" cube
To see more of Margie Livingston’s adventures in paint, check out her website. If you’re in Seattle, you can see her work in person at Greg Kucera Gallery.
Featured image is 414 Angles, Mostly Red and Yellow, acrylic, 32×24. All images are via the artist’s website, unless otherwise stated.
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