Category: Abstract Art

  • The Artsy Nature: Yellowstone & Amy Donaldson

    The Artsy Nature: Yellowstone & Amy Donaldson

    Judging from the blog’s title & if you’ve been reading for awhile, you’ve probably guessed that Mr. F and I are the outdoorsy types.  We both thrive on time spent among the quiet beauty of the outdoors, whether surrounded by snow-capped mountains or digging our toes into the black sand of Northwest beaches.  I’m finding artistic inspiration in nature for my own series of work, so why not find it in the work of other artists, too?  Often when I see an artist’s work, my mind connects it to the memory of a place I’ve been or a detail observed or sometimes, an outdoor scene will call the artist’s work to mind.  It’s the whole chicken vs. egg thing, but this time, with art and nature.

    So with this post, I’m launching a new series, The Artsy Nature, in which I pair a photograph from our traverses in the great outdoors with a piece of artwork.

    TAN_Donaldson collage

    photo | spring at The Black Sand Basin, Yellowstone National Park by Artsy Forager

    art | Purpose by Amy Donalson

    One of my absolute favorite features in the wondrous beauty that is Yellowstone were the geysers and hot springs.  Algae and micro bacteria create gorgeously saturated coloration in the most heavenly palette.

    Nature is the most spectacular of canvases, isn’t it?  Look for more The Artsy Nature posts coming your way!

    Photo by Artsy Forager, art image credit linked above.

  • June Featured Artist: Deb Haugen

    June Featured Artist: Deb Haugen

    There are certain artists whose work just instantly resonates with me.  Perhaps it’s their style or subject matter, but in the case of this month’s Featured Artist, Deb Haugen, it’s both.  When I first saw her work waaay back in 2011, I immediately responded to the free flowing naturalness to her work.

    Deb Haugen | artsy forager #art #artists #abstractart #contemporaryart Deb Haugen | artsy forager #art #artists #abstractart #contemporaryart Deb Haugen | artsy forager #art #artists #abstractart #contemporaryart Deb Haugen | artsy forager #art #artists #abstractart #contemporaryart Deb Haugen | artsy forager #art #artists #abstractart #contemporaryart

     

    Since then, Deb’s work has evolved beautifully, in some cases incorporating graphic drawing as in her ink pieces featured above.  These intuitive drawings have a delicious tension between the concrete illustrative quality of intricate patterns and the bright, watery world surrounding them.

    I’m not the only one who is drawn to these organic beauties– Neiman Marcus and Crate & Barrel have both carried Deb’s prints ( currently available through Neiman Marcus, new large print to come for C&B! ).  But you can also purchase Deb’s work directly through her own website shop!  Gorgeous work at super affordable prices, you can’t go wrong!

    To see more of Deb Haugen‘s work, please visit her website and be sure to follow her on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram to keep up with what she’s up to!  You’ll be seeing more of Deb’s work around the blog & Artsy Forager social media all June long!

    All images via the artist’s website.

  • Finding My Own Artsy: Feminine Wiles, Painting Ten

    Finding My Own Artsy: Feminine Wiles, Painting Ten

    It’s been a while since I shared a new Feminine Wiles piece with you!  I’ve been so distracted by the gorgeous weather, hikes with Mr. F, and my new series on paper, that I let the FW pieces slip a bit.  But then Sunday came and along with it a warm and sunny afternoon, so I spent some time painting out on our little deck.  When I was ruminating on starting this series,   iconic feminine film icons were popping into my noggin’ and Rita Hayworth‘s Gilda was among the first to come to mind.

    Feminine Wiles, Painting Ten: Rita Hayworth as Gilda #art #artists #paintings #abstractart #contemporaryart

    found here

    In the 1946 black & white film noir, Rita Hayworth plays title character Gilda, the passionate and beautiful songstress wife of an illegal casino owner.  The film plays out a dark love triangle between Gilda, casino owner husband Mundson, and Gilda’s former love, and indebted confidante to Mundson, Johnny Farrell.

    The 40s film is teeming with tension– crime, secrets, anger, revenge.  It’s not wonder costume designer Jean Louis outfitted the femme fatale character is slinky black, reminiscent of Sargent’s Madame X.

    Feminine Wiles, Painting Ten: Rita Hayworth as Gilda #art #artists #paintings #abstractart #contemporaryart

    Rita Hayworth as Gilda Mundson Farrell in Gilda, acrylic on canvas panel, 6×6

    My darkest FW piece yet, it also has a slightly looser feel– something that I thought fit the characterization of Gilda so well– full of turmoil and contradiction.

    To see more from the Feminine Wiles series, check out the series portfolio page.  Up next?  I’m thinking a little Monroe. 😉

    Film image source linked above, painting by Lesley Frenz.

  • Gestural Forces: Zachary Keeting

    Gestural Forces: Zachary Keeting

    For many an abstract painter, there is a tense push and pull between artist and material.  What makes their heart race is the predictable inquietude of the way the paint will respond and react.  The work of artist Zachary Keeting is filled, layer upon layer, with painted gestures carefully considered yet surrendered to the forces of material.

    Zachary Keeting | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #abstractart Zachary Keeting | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #abstractart Zachary Keeting | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #abstractart Zachary Keeting | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #abstractart Zachary Keeting | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #abstractart

     

    Keeting’s planes of paint are built up like high rises jammed into a cityscape, one on top of the other, but retaining such distinction that the resulting paintings have almost a collage-like feel. Paint is pushed, poured, pulled, manipulated this way and that so that a beautiful chaos ensues.

    To see more of Zachary Keeting‘s work, please visit his website and make sure to check out his documentary art project, Gorky’s Granddaughter.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Artsy Lately: Margie Livingston

    Artsy Lately: Margie Livingston

    As artists, we are pretty obsessed with our materials and mediums.  Photographers baby their cameras and lenses, sculptors take precious care of their tools.  And painters, well, we love paint– the way it smells, the way it looks, the way it behaves.  Seattle artist Margie Livingston, whom we last heard from in October 2012 during her run as Featured Artist, has been continuing her own wild love affair with the properties of paint.

    Margie Livingston | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #paintings Margie Livingston | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #paintings Margie Livingston | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #paintings Margie Livingston | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #paintings Margie Livingston | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #paintings

     

    Stretching, pulling, carving, slicing, dicing, Livingston pushes paint to its ever expanding limits.  This latest group of work seems to have an elegant electricity about it, in the juxtapositions of graphic black & white against super charged neon purples and pinks.  Then she spins that on its head with her gloriously shroud-like draped paint sculptures.

    Poured, Sliced, and Drapeda show of Margie Livingston’s latest work, opens at Greg Kucera Gallery in Seattle today, with the opening reception taking place during First Thursday on June 5th.  If you’re in Seattle, don’t miss her Artist Talk this Saturday, at 11:30am, see the Greg Kucera site for details!  Aaaah, some days I really miss Seattle.

    And of course, be sure to check out Margie Livingston’s website for more of her work.

    Top, second & fifth image via the artist’s website.  Other images via the Greg Kucera website.

  • Pattern Recognition: Duane Cregger

    Pattern Recognition: Duane Cregger

    Our lives don’t exist in a glossy, one dimensional universe.  We are surrounded each day by a myriad of patterns and textures.  From the paint on our walls, to the weave of our garments, even the skin covering our bodies, texture fills our vision every day.  In his work, Virginia artist Duane Cregger heaps layer upon layer of painted texture and pattern to create canvases that are a feast for the eyes.

    Duane Cregger | artsy forager #art #artists #abstractart #paintings Duane Cregger | artsy forager #art #artists #abstractart #paintings Duane Cregger | artsy forager #art #artists #abstractart #paintings Duane Cregger | artsy forager #art #artists #abstractart #paintings Duane Cregger | artsy forager #art #artists #abstractart #paintings

     

    But not only is life full of physical texture and pattern, but it’s there mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, too.  We fill our heads and hearts up each day with the sights, sounds, and thoughts surrounding us, so that they become one with who we are.  On any given day, our spirit might be quenched by the sounds of nature and the warmth of light, or worn down by the incessancy of a ringing phone and arguing children.  Each “texture” piles, one on top of the other, some peeking through more than others, to create a pattern of self that is unique to each one of us.

    To see more of Duane Cregger‘s work, please visit his website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.  Artist found via House of Turquoise.

  • Atmospheric Excitations: Macarena Ruiz Tagle

    Atmospheric Excitations: Macarena Ruiz Tagle

    If you’ve been following along my own little artistic journey, then you already know I’ve been a bit obsessed with color lately.  Color has an incredible psychological effect on mood and atmosphere and when I saw the work of Chilean born, Berlin based artist Macarena Ruiz Tagle on The Jealous Curator last week, I immediately fell in love.

    Ruiz Tagle1 Ruiz Tagle2 Ruiz Tagle3 Ruiz Tagle5 Ruiz Tagle4

     

    The series, aptly titled Atmosphere is a collection of works of acrylic and watercolor on paper.  Amazing, right??  With their deep, tunnel-like darker center, we are plunged into these worlds of color.  As the hue radiates out from the middle, lightening toward the paper’s edges, the fields of color almost seem to be these moving and vibrating auras.  These are pieces it may be tempting to just pass by, but with a second look, there is so very much to see.

    If you’d like to see more of Macarena Ruiz Tagle‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images via the artist’s website.  Artist found via The Jealous Curator.

  • Finding My Own Artsy: A New Series

    Finding My Own Artsy: A New Series

    If you follow me over on Instagram, you’ve probably noticed that I’ve been a bit obsessed with  flowers this spring.  Growing up in Florida, we really only had two seasons, summer and not summer.  Until we started traveling out West, I’d never really experienced a true Fall, Winter, or Spring.  Spring in the Northwest is especially lovely given all the amazingly beautiful blooming trees, shrubs and wildflowers!  Ever since my first glimpse of cherry blossom petals littering the Seattle sidewalks, I’ve been smitten by Spring here.

    FMO_RandR_Seattle sidewalks collage

    left| cherry blossoms, right| Seattle Sidewalks, acrylic on paper, 18×24

    The juxtapositions of colors and textures inspired me to begin a new series on paper, Rain and Rhododendrons.  I’m still continuing with the Feminine Wiles series, but was itching to get back to painting in a larger format and thanks to a nice big pad of Canson Mixed Media Paper, a portable drawing board, and a sturdy travel portfolio gifted to me by Mr. F for my birthday last month, I was ready to dive in.

    Frenz_Forest Blossoms_acrylic on paper_18x24

     

    Forest Blossoms, acrylic on paper, 18×24

    Like the Feminine Wiles series, these too are color studies, but I’m enjoying experimenting with a looser style, being able to work much more quickly and freely on larger paper than I’ve been able to ( so far! ) on small panels.

    FMO_RandR_arcata marsh collage

    top| Arcata Marsh Wildflowers, acrylic on paper, 18×24, bottom| Allen Pond with wildflowers

    I haven’t had dedicated painting time in a few weeks and I am itching to get back in, especially after Mr. F and I took a camping trip this weekend up to the Trinity Alps.  I am so full of inspiration for this series, I am about to burst!  So there will undoubtedly be more to come, soon.. In the meantime, you can see full shots of each of the pieces I’ve already completed in the Rain and Rhododendrons gallery page.  And in case you missed it, there is also a Feminine Wiles gallery page, both under the My Work heading in the top navigation bar.  I’ve also added an artist statement and bio on the My Work page– so much harder to write those things for yourself than it is to help others!

  • Messy Utopias: Scott Sueme

    Messy Utopias: Scott Sueme

    Some people dream of a perfect utopian existence.  But utopias always seem more Stepford-ish to me, communities where every house looks perfectly the same, every person has the same ideals, there is never any conflict.  But where there is no conflict, there is no contrast and it’s in the differences that true life comes through and true beauty shines.  The work of Vancouver artist Scott Sueme exposes those contrasts found outside of the perfect.

    Scott Sueme | artsy forager #art #artists #mixedmedia Scott Sueme | artsy forager #art #artists #mixedmedia Scott Sueme | artsy forager #art #artists #mixedmedia Scott Sueme | artsy forager #art #artists #mixedmedia Scott Sueme | artsy forager #art #artists #mixedmedia

     

    Sueme uses landscape like compositions mixed with graffiti ideology to reference human interaction within nature.  Whether it be from overdevelopment filled with strip malls or a small cabin in the woods, landscape is different and loses its sense of balance and perfection once the hand of man has been laid upon it.  It’s hard to imagine a world without street lights and signs and parking lots.  Would we even recognize it?

    To see more work by Scott Sueme, please visit his website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Finding Truth: Michael Cusack

    Finding Truth: Michael Cusack

    One of the things that draws me again and again to abstract work is its ambiguity.  We can never know for certain the source of the artist’s inspiration and every viewer carries to the work their own interpretation.  The work of Irish Australian based artist Michael Cusack uses a consistent language of simple shapes and fields of white, each piece leaving us to determine exactly what it is we see.

    Michael Cusack | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #abstractart Michael Cusack | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #abstractart Michael Cusack | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #abstractart Michael Cusack | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #abstractart Michael Cusack | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #abstractart

     

    For each viewer, the reality of what they see is unique.  In viewing and living with abstract work like Cusack’s, we find ourselves on a quest to determine the truth of what we see.  But we all look at each work through our own goggles of perception.  Our experiences, memories and associations color our interpretation, giving these kinds of works a universal veracity unique to each viewer.

    To see more of Michael Cusack‘s work, please visit his website.

    Artist found via Art Hound.  All images via the Martin Browne Contemporary website.