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Category: Abstract Art

Superfluity. Amanda Krantz.

If I could think of any one way to honor my mom’s memory in my life going forward– it could be summed up in one word. MORE.

These paintings by Melbourne artist Amanda Krantz teem with color, movement, and life, seeming ready to burst from their canvases. They embody what I would like my own life to be.

In the last year of Mom’s life, there was less of the good, less of what she loved and enjoyed. That was perhaps one of the toughest challenges we, as those who loved her, faced. Watching that light fade as she couldn’t eat what she wanted, couldn’t go and do as she had always done, her life seemed merely a struggle for survival.

For her, and for myself, I want what is left of my own existence to be abundantly more. More colorful, more adventurous, more days spent doing what I love rather than merely surviving.

To see more of Amanda Krantz‘s work, please visit her website.

All images are via the artist’s website.

July 16, 2015
Crevices. Sean Newport.

As humans, none of us are one dimensional. We are a mashed up conglomerate of peaks and valleys, opposing polarities that often don’t make sense. It is when we reach below the surface, into the crevices where the true self often hides, that we see ourselves and our fellow beings in reality, for better or worse.

In his wood sculptures, San Francisco artist Sean Newport begins with individual geometric shapes, building them up and arranging them into a finished whole.

Varied colored surfaces reinforce patterns and illusions created by the undulating geometrics. Our perception of the shapes changing with differing perspectives. Just as opening our eyes to a different view of another may alter the way we see them, or at the very least, help us to understand the crevices behind their own facade.

To see more of Sean Newport’s work, please visit his website.

All images are via the artist’s website.

July 14, 2015
Swirls. Rosalind Breen.

A dear friend told me a few years ago that I seemed swirly happy. It was less than a year after Mr. F and I had married and started traveling. My world had completely changed and though I was still getting used to the changes, my giddiness at my new life must have been pretty obvious.

Mr. F still makes me swirly, as does our crazy adventure filled life. But over the last few years , we’ve encountered a few storms that have left us whirling instead of swirling.

Back in those early days, we were working to pay off debt, but otherwise pretty carefree and swirly. Then Mr. F thought he might go back to school– whirl. We thought staying in Seattle would be for us, but it turned out it wasn’t– whirl. I started picking up freelance work– whirl ( and swirl, but somedays more whirl than swirl 😉 ). We began seriously saving for a home– whirl. The Mr.’s stepmom got sick, our best friends’ sister/sister-in-law was diagnosed with cancer and their son diagnosed with a form of muscular dystrophy, my mom began her own fight with cancer and is losing– whirl whirl whirl whirl.

These days it often seems the whirls outnumber the swirls. It’s easy to get swept up in the tornado of stress and worry that plagues each day. But then we go for a walk under a gentle breeze and a bright blue sky and the swirls return.

The paintings featured above are by Providence artist Rosalind Breen. To see more of her work, please visit her website.

All images are via the artist’s website.

June 11, 2015
Immersions. Kathleen Holder.

As we travel, each place becomes a part of who we are, who we are becoming. We carry their influence with us. Some penetrate and saturate us more than others. These pastels by Texas artist Kathleen Holder catch me right in the soul with their soft light and eerie depth.

Every person has a different way of experiencing each place. The way we are affected might be due to the place itself or some other influence. Some eyes are drawn to stark contrasts, while others look more for the slight changes in light and tone around them. Through burnished layers of pastel, Holder creates monochromatic, saturated abstracts that seem to go on into infinity. It almost seems that if we stepped into their plane, we might come out covered in color.

To see more of Kathleen Holder‘s work, please visit her website.

Artist found via David Lusk Gallery. All images via the David Lusk website.

June 10, 2015
Discordants. Caroline Bullock.

It’s funny how we try to make sense of everything these days. The mystery has been removed from so many elements of life that we have this need to have an explanation for everything. We ask why and then are frustrated if we can’t find the answer. In her series of works on paper, Atlanta artist Caroline Bullock explores the hidden geometries in nature and how we connect ourselves within these structures.

It’s fascinating to think about how everything in the natural world often seems so random, yet there is so much order to be found. This flower blooms at this time every year. These animals only like this particular area of a vast world. Orcas know instinctually to migrate thousands of miles each year. Why can’t we be more like that? We rely so much of facts and perceived truths, we rarely seek out answers by our own faith and intuition. Perhaps if we did we might be as successful at life as those redwoods reaching for the sky.

To see more of Caroline Bullock‘s work, please visit her website.

All images are via the artist’s website. Artist found via Amy Parry Projects.

June 9, 2015
Depths. Vicky Barranguet.

We find ourselves in a superficial world. Most days, the bulk of our interactions may be on the “like/dislike” spectrum. We send quick quips on social media to people we barely know or haven’t actually spoken to in years. Because we seem to know so much about the surface lives of the people in our networks, it can be challenging to go deeper.

These paintings by New York artist Vicky Barranguet reminded me of the beautiful messiness that can come when moving beyond the surface. We might be initially drawn to someone through shared interest or similar personalities but when we are brave enough to pass through the layers, the more common ground we find. Things may get a bit messy as we reveal ourselves and others do the same but there is great beauty to be found in the deeper chaos.

To see more of Vicky Barranguet‘s work, please visit her website.

All images are via the artist’s website. Artist found via Saatchi Art.

June 4, 2015
Obstacles. Page Jones Davis.

It’s easy to get thrown off balance when life plunges an obstacle into our path. We feel like we’re moving along, making progress and then BAM! Roadblock. These paintings by Spartanburg artist Page Jones Davis, with their layers and visual depth, reminded me that although we’ll be met with obstacles, the road ahead remains the same.

Maybe we need to circumvent to get around what’s blocking us. Or perhaps the obstacle isn’t as insurmountable as it might seem– given enough determination we can just plow right through! It can be so easy to just give up, though, can’t it? It’s too hard, there’s too much in the way. But there is always a pay off once we get to the other side, even if it is just in knowing we could do it.

To see more of Page Jones Davis‘s work, please visit her website.

All images are via the artist’s website.

June 3, 2015
Multiplicity. Jackie Phillips AKA Precious Beast.

I think we all know the feeling of wanting to clone ourselves, to be able to be in several places at once, to be all things to all people, at all times. But try as we might, the truth eventually sinks in that it just isn’t possible. These prints by Jackie Phillips, also known as Precious Beast, with their mirrored, Rorschach-like patterns seem to do what we can not– multiply themselves.

These colorful kaleidoscopes feel like they could be portraits of how we feel we should be– a new and different yet exactly the same version of ourselves reborn each day. We’re pressured to multi-task, multi-hyphenate ourselves– mother-wife-daughter-artist-professional-and so on and so on.

To see more of the work of Precious Beast, please visit her website. Click on each image above to purchase prints through the Artsy Forager gallery on Great.ly!

All images are via Great.ly.

June 2, 2015
Sweetness. Anna Membrino.

Everyone wants to be known as the “sweet one”, right? We all have that friend, the one who never seems to say a word in anger, always kind and generous no matter what. I wish I could say that was me.. but I think my, uh, salty side comes out more often than not. It’s that typical angel on one shoulder, devil on another type of situation– I want to be sweet and gentle, but I also refuse to be misunderstood, misaligned, or abused in any way. I’m sweet but I won’t melt.

I was drawn to the Sugar Series by Bay Area artist Anna Membrino not just for the confectionary palette but for the way these cotton candy colored forms take on monumental status on her canvas. These sweets are anything but shrinking. In fact, they seem downright mountainous. I think there’s a lesson in there for me and anyone else who struggles with sweet versus strong– just because you are one doesn’t mean you can’t be the other.

To see more of Anna Membrino’s work, please visit her website.

All images are via the artist’s website.

May 27, 2015
Microcosms. Ashely Peifer.

One of my favorite things about the West Coast that I didn’t grow up with on the Florida coast is tide pools. Mr. F and I spend lots of time exploring and examining these little microcosms teeming with life. Tide pools always seem so precious, not just because of their importance to the environment, but for their temporal state. They are only exposed for a certain amount of time, then once the tide comes in, they disappear again.

These mixed media paintings by Minneapolis artist Ashely Peifer remind me of the multitudes of creatures living together in pools between the rocks. Elements float in and around each other, patterns intersperse and lay one on top of another like seastars clinging to barnacles.

To see more of Ashely Peifer‘s work, please visit her website.

All images are via the artist’s website.

May 26, 2015

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