Thick, interlocking lines of paint layered over obscured black and white imagery? Could I be more intrigued? Check out the work of Portland artist Alex Steckly in my Artist Watch over on Escape Into Life. Because I need to know I’m not the only one obsessing over these. Check out the post here!
Alex Steckly on Escape Into Life.
At times, there is much disparity in the art world between skill and talent level vs. level of fame and success achieved. There are some mediums in which it seems easier to get by on mediocrity than in others. Drawing skills, however, are very hard to fake. And artist Gillian Lambert has the skill in spades.
In her Self-Deception series, Lambert finds beauty in the vulnerable and grotesque. Female faces ( hers ) are partially hidden or disfigured in some way, yet not completely concealed.
In the same way, we try to deceive ourselves, don’t we? We put on this costume or that mask, hoping the world doesn’t see through. Not knowing how much more accepted we might be if we just threw back the veil.
To see more of Gillian Lambert’s work, please visit her website.
All images are via the artist’s website.
![This Artsy Life: Weekend 4 [ Artsy & Mr. Forager Go to LA ]](https://artsyforager.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/20130128-104256.jpg)
Following a rough, partially sleepless Friday night ( hey landlord, just because your rental is in the desert, doesn’t mean it never rains.. puddles in the bed are no fun ), Mr. Forager & I arose early Saturday morning, fueled up on coffee and pancakes in Joshua Tree and hit the road to escape to LA for the day. On the agenda: The LA Art Show, The Pie Hole, and the Arts District.
[ away we go! ]
[ unsophisticated ]
[ found: Damien Hirst ]
[ these were fun, magnifying glasses required ]
[ desire, obtain, cherish ]
[ speaking of desire ]
[ The Sweater contemplates.. is it art? ]
[ so long, Sheperd Fairey ]
Want to see more photos from our LA adventure? Oh, I’ve got ’em! Check out my Instagram feed for lots more artsiness form the City of Angels!
Sometimes, work just catches my eye because it’s interesting and well executed. Then the more I look at it, the more I’m amazed by it. And then, I read the artist’s statement about his work and I’m left speechless at the way the creative mind weaves and works. Tennessee paper artist Charles Clary uses layer upon layer upon layer of hand cut paper to render intricate worlds that “mimic viral colonies and concentric sound waves“. ( !?! )
Recognizing the similarities in pattern between microbial outbreaks and sound waves, Clary’s work shows us, in a way, what could be lurking under any surface. We are lulled into a sense of ease and complacency by the smooth, unblemished surface of the canvas, yet what is revealed is a complex system of layered, interconnected shapes.
Despite their slightly menacing associations, for me, the work is reassurring rather than disturbing. I find it comforting to think that despite appearances, there is always more than meets the eye. What is taken for granted as simple, may very well be extremely complex. Like peeling back an onion, it’s only when we look beyond the surface that we see the layers.
To see more of Charles Clary’s work, please visit his website.
All images are via the artist’s website.
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, to everyone who pinned their artsy hearts out for our January Art Association contest! With 22 entries and hundreds, maybe nearly a thousand ( ! ) pins, you guys gave it your all and then some. But our chosen winner, Karen Schnepf, pinned like mad, pinning over 300 images! But there was a beautiful method to her madness as each pin was associated not just by subject to what she saw in the painting, but by color palette as well, which created an amazingly lovely selection of images. I’ve repinned a few on my own boards! Here’s just a sample of the gorgeousness on Karen’s board– you can see the entire board here.
Lucky gal, that Karen, as she will soon be the new owner of Christina Baker’s Bridge Over Roses and I think I can safely say we are all GREEN with envy! Congratulations, Karen! PS– Karen is a pretty wonderful artist– be sure to check out her website!
I wish we could have given you all a piece of artwork.. but there is always next month’s Art Association! If you’re an artist who would like to be considered for AA, please contact me at artsyforager@att.net or Erin from artsocial at artsocialonline@gmail.com. Thanks everyone for joining in the fun!
It’s like fries and ketchup.. chips and salsa.. hot wings and ranch.. the design trend of dipping objects in any array of colors makes something good even more tasty! Here are a few examples I dug up this week..
Just imagine wearing that blouse.. wouldn’t you feel like a brush dipped in paint?! Love it. Happy weekend, Artsies! Mr. Forager and I are taking a little road trip over to La La Land for the LA Art Show. So excited and can’t wait to share the adventure with you on Monday!
I’m a little sneaky sometimes. You know, like a mouse. You may have noticed the found gallery page pop up in the top navigation last week.. or maybe you noticed the found logo in the sidebar.. or saw the Facebook & Twitter posts on Sunday. If you haven’t picked up on my not-so-subtle hints, you can find more on found here.
found is an online exhibition gallery featuring curated collections of small works, quarterly, for limited engagements. It’s just another way for me to share artists’ work with you, but in a more focused, specific, special way and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity and promise lots of wonderful artsiness will come to found!
The very first found exhibition will open on Thursday, February 21st! The show, City Mouse | Country Mouse will showcase two Nashville area artists, Christina Baker and Deann Hebert, who, in their respective work, are drawn to very different perspectives of their Tennessee home. The show will be sponsored by the artists’ representing gallery, Gregg Irby Fine Art and a portion of the proceeds will benefit The Nashville Zoo.
Mark your calendars! These two talented artists are creating some beautiful work to share with you!
Just in case you don’t speak text short-hand, 2G2B4G = too good to be forgotten. Which very aptly describes the work of today’s artist, Denver’s Shawn Huckins. The artist’s current series, An American Revolution Revolution combines 18th Century American portraiture with 21st Century lexicons such as tweet and text acronyms, creating diverting and provocative images.
Like the historical portraits he uses in his work, the text slang has become a part of our own period in history. Will we still be using this jargon to communicate in a hundred years? Or will future generations look back and see us as stodgy, stuffy, and hopelessly formal? Hard to believe that we could denigrate any further than we have, but perhaps our ancestors thought they were just as hip and happening as we believe ourselves to be.
My first thought when looking at this series was similarities between traditional portraiture, often created as a remembrance of a certain person for a special occasion, and our modern obsession with texting and tweeting, and the impressions and memories of ourselves we are creating.
I’m not sure I would want to be remembered for my texts. Would you? To see more of Shawn Huckins’ work, please visit his website.
All images are via the artist’s website.
Sometimes, OK if you’re me, often, we fall so in love with a piece of artwork, we want to live in it, breathe it, and yes, WEAR it. The Wear the Artsy series imagines doing just that.. what if I could become my favorite work of art? Today, I’m longing to put on the garb of Featured Artist Christina Baker’s Dinner Mints. Classic, sophisticated, yet laid back yummy.. just like Christina’s painting!
art | Dinner Mints by Christina Baker, acrylic on canvas, 6×6*
necklace | Supernatural Necklace by Lina Lundberg
cuff | Braided Turquoise Leather Cuff by Justlena
sweater | Striped Merino Crewneck Sweater by The Limited
shirt | Faded Chambray Popover by JCrew
skirt | No. 2 Pencil Skirt in Sequins by JCrew
bag | Bag MH 130 by Margarete Hausler
heels | Nalo Heels by Anthropologie
*Dinner Mints is just one of the pieces Christina will be showing in our very first found exhibition! I’ll be giving you the lowdown on the show later this week!
You know the old wives’ tale: oysters are an aphrodisiac. How many single guys have taken a gal out for beer & oysters hoping to make a lil magic happen? If it’s sensual magic you’re hunting, look no further than the work of New Orleans artist Carlos Lopez. His elegant, nearly surreal still lifes of oysters will make your mouth water and pulse quicken before you ever bite into the real thing.
For a New Orleans native, oysters, so abundant in the area seem a natural still life subject, yet there is nothing prosaic about Lopez’s treatment of the common bivalve. These works carry the sensuality of Georgia O’Keeffe, the smooth surrealism of Dali, yet glow with the light and crispness of classical still lifes.
These mollusks seem to take on a life of their own, the work is so full of emotional charge, we can feel the sadness, the joy, the hope or shame the oyster seems to be feeling. Or perhaps we are seeing our own reflection in the pearly surface of its shell.
To see more of Carlos Lopez’s work, please visit the website of his representing gallery, Gallery Orange in New Orleans.
All images via Gallery Orange.