I am loving the illustrative quality to these watercolors by Massachusetts artist Michelle Morin! I’m sharing more of Michelle’s work in my Artist Watch on Escape Into Life today.. head over to EIL to check it out here.
Author: Lesley
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The Synthesis of Complements: Natalia Wrobel
In every life and any artist can tell you, in every work of art is filled with highs and lows. We struggle through the valleys and rejoice on the mountaintops. The work of New England artist Natalia Wrobel expresses those polarities in paint.
The World is a Waterfall, oil on canvas, 77×77 
Marked Surrender, oil on canvas, 24×24 Wrobel’s work intuitively explores the push and pull of creating something from nothing. The layering of color, line, and shape create swirls of movement and texture while leaving areas of glowing and restful light.
Angels at the Ready, oil on canvas, 36×60 
Abundance, oil on canvas, 96×48 In each piece, we can almost see the search, the struggle between letting go and holding on, knowing when to keep moving forward and when to stop in your tracks.
Echo, oil on canvas, 42×42 To see more of Natalia Wrobel’s work, please visit her website. And don’t forget to follow her on Facebook and Twitter, too!
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![This Artsy Life: Weekend 5 [ Friends, Playgrounds, Farmers Markets ]](https://artsyforager.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/20130204-125131.jpg)
This Artsy Life: Weekend 5 [ Friends, Playgrounds, Farmers Markets ]
A very large part of the reason Mr. Forager took a work assignment in Joshua Tree, CA was to be close to his best friend, Mike and his family. Mike, Mr. Forager & I have all known each other since our swingin’ single days back in Florida. He was the best man at our wedding and his wife, Veronica was unable to travel at the time being very pregnant with twin boys. We drive over to San Diego about once a month to spend the weekend with Mike, Vero & the boys. M & V had barely adopted their oldest, Caleb when they found out they were pregnant with twins, Alex & Noah. Needless to say, weekends with them are filled with craziness and laughter, but can be exhausting for those of us who aren’t used to the insanity that comes with a household full of toddlers!
Part of living an artsy life is to embrace each day as it comes, finding the joy even in the simple moments. This weekend was filled with the pleasure of being allowed to just be. Aren’t those the times and people we love best?
[ view from terra nova park, chula vista, ca ]
[ this is what sheer joy looks like ]
[ restful moment ]
[ balanced rocks, seaport village ]
[ farmers market band jam ]
Want to see more from the This Artsy Life series? Check ’em out here. You can also follow me on Instagram for all kinds of Artsy Life goodness. Lots of simple moments in the life of this particular Artsy.
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February Featured Artist: Diana Lemieux
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!
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Kickin’ Off the Weekend & a New Month With a New Featured Artist!
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!
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Friday Design Finds: bkb ceramics
Sometimes, I happen upon the loveliest artsy things when I’m not looking. Last Sunday, Mr. F & I were enjoying a quiet day at home and decided to take a little walk down the hill into Joshua Tree. We explored a few of the storefronts we hadn’t seen yet and tucked away in a corner was a new little shop, bkb ceramics. I immediately fell for the modern, simple shapes and the deep rich raku glazes. The shop is new, but artist/sculptor/ceramicist Brian Bosworth has already made waves at the Dwell on Design show in LA last year.
Ball Planters, ceramic 
Small Architectural, ceramic, 4×6 
Gold Raku Extrusions, ceramic, 6x5x4 
Medium Blue Raku, ceramic, 6x6x4 Each piece is unique, hand carved, completely affordable and functional, with a drain hole in the bottom. Just add rocks & your choice of succulent and voila, instant desert garden! We’re seriously thinking we’ll go back and pick our favorite as our artsy reminder of our time in Joshua Tree.. I’m leaning towards the Medium Blue Raku beauty above!
All images are via bkb ceramics’ website.
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Insert the [ Artsy ]: Fuzzy Sculptures and Sunsets
Holy wow, it’s been a long time since I did an Insert the Artsy post! I’d forgotten how much fun they can be, dreaming and scheming what piece of artwork I would place in a room. When I saw this room designed by Erin Martin, on Pinterest, I loved the warm sparseness of it, those wood beams, high ceilings and that magnificent hanging sculpture! But then I thought, oh, maybe that space above the bed could use just a little cool, saturated color– not too much and nothing too textural to take away from what’s happening above.. enter the work of New York photographer Eric Cahan.
room design | Erin Martin
photo source | Eye on Design by Dan Gregory
art | Eric Cahan
I love the way the deep turquoise of Cahan’s work plays off the subtle browns and oranges in the wood, while the purple adds just the right touch of coolness. The quiet sleekness of the photograph is a perfect foil for the shaggy texture of the hanging sculpture and rusticity of the wood beams.
What do you think, Artsies? What piece of artwork would you like to wake up to in this room?
All image sources linked above.
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Elusive Suggestiveness: Sherie Franssen
I admit, I’m a scaredy cat. I turn on lights as soon as I enter a dark house. It’s something about the fear of what is unseen. The power of suggesting what might be lurking is enough to give me chills. The work of California artist Sherie Franssen weaves a visual tension between what lies beneath and what is merely suggested.
Fool For Love, oil on canvas, 43×65 Her expressive abstract works begin with a figure, then through expressive gestural brushstrokes and saturated color, the figurative presence recedes, like a shadow, into the swarm of color and movement.
Return of the King, oil on canvas, 78×86 
Barnyard, oil on canvas, 78×80 While perhaps, if we gaze long enough and look closely enough, we may catch a glimpse of the figure among the fray. But it will be the searching that our eyes most remember as we take in the excitement of each moment and movement. We may even forget what it was we were anticipating.
Sherie Franssen, oil on canvas, 78×90 To see more of Sherie Franssen’s work, please visit her website. Her work can be seen in person at Dolby Chadwick Gallery in San Francisco.
All images are via the artist’s website. Artist found via Dolby Chadwick Gallery.
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Guest Foraging for UGallery: Curated Persona: Your Snow Bunny Sister
After a little holiday hiatus, my Curated Persona series for UGallery is back! I happen to have a lot in common with this month’s persona.. which is why Mr. Forager keeps threatening to move us to Alaska ( which I might be secretly OK with! ). Check out my Curated Persona: Your Snow Bunny Sister on UGallery’s blog here!
Reindeer by Valerie Chiang, available from UGallery.com Image via the UGallery website.
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Isolated Moments: Elisa Noguera Lopez
I used to have two cats ( who now live with Mr. Forager’s mom ). One of said cats, Simon, used to occasionally turn his back on me and just sit very still, and at those times, there was a sense of sadness that always seemed permeate the scene. But then he would suddenly start chasing the sunlight or stretch out for a long nap. London photographer Elisa Noguera Lopez creates a similar sense of isolated moments in her series, Perhaps Finally Alone.
In this series, the artist places domesticated animals against a simple decorative background atop a plinth-like stool. Capturing her subjects in ambiguous, seemingly-headless poses creates a sense of lonely disquiet to each scene. Their backs to us, the subjects are disengaged, leaving us longing for acknowledgement.
While the scenes may feel lonely at first, the longer I study them, the more of an anticipatory feeling I get.. the cat is watching a lizard on the floor below, ready to pounce at any second.. the woman has just flipped her head upside down and will whip it back up Rita Hayworth-style.
What do you think, Artsies? Do you find these headless bodies charming or disturbing? Let me know in the comments! To see more of Elisa Noguera Lopez’s work, please visit her website.
All images are via the artist’s website. Artist found via It’s Nice That.
