artsy forager

Category: Drawing

  • Woodland Treasures: Marilla Palmer

    Woodland Treasures: Marilla Palmer

    When we go out hiking, Mr. Forager is, with the exception of gorging on huckleberries and the like, strictly a leave-it-as-you-found-it hiker.  I am too, for the most part, although I sometimes find myself so very tempted by that perfectly shaped leaf or beautiful wildflower. A stone does occasionally find its way into my pocket, but with our traveling, my hoarding of rocks is limited.  Last week, I came across the work of Marilla Palmer, whose delicate constructions examine the intricacies of the forest and man’s hand upon it.

    Stella Maris Driftwood 2 by Marilla Palmer Sitting Birch by Marilla Palmer Collage With Stitching by Marilla Palmer Queen Anne's Lace by Marilla Palmer Stella Maris Driftwood 1 by Marilla Palmer

    The artist tenderly renders wispy branches, then adds in embroidery, sequins, glitter, and such.  The resulting compositions have the feeling of modern botanical renderings, a celebration ( or perhaps condemnation? ) of the coming together of man and nature.

    If you’d like to see more of Marilla Palmer‘s work ( be sure to check out some of her sculptural pieces! ), please visit her website.

    Artist found via Kathryn Markel Fine Arts.  Images via the artist’s website & Kathryn Markel website.

  • Guest Forager: Gab AKA The Artful Desperado

    Guest Forager: Gab AKA The Artful Desperado

    I just discovered the most horrible accident!  It seems that WordPress in all her annoying glory never posted this Guest Forager feature back in April!  And I just discovered the “missed schedule” post.  For shame!  So today you get a bonus post, one that should have posted oh so many moons ago.  Mucho apologies to Gab who wrote such a wonderful post!

    Today’s Guest Forager is Gabriel Cabrera, whose art blog The Artful Desperado is chock full of deliciously lovely artwork as well as artfully inspired food, florals, fashion and more!  Be sure to check it out!

    Hello artsy foragers!  This is Gab from The Artful Desperado.  Fancy meeting you here.

    Wiebe1

    It’s no secret how much I love quirky art, and today I’ll be sharing some of that love with ya. Say hello to Gordon Wiebe and his cheerful collage illustrations!

    Wiebe2

    Mr. Wiebe is a Toronto-based artist (yay Canada) whose work has been honored by the Society of Illustrators in NY and LA, among many others. He’s well known for his bold, conceptual images that are influenced by childhood memories and even some political affairs.

    Wiebe3

    I love how there’s always some sort of smiley face painted in his illustrations. It’s always nice to find a happy surprise when you’re looking at art, yes?

    Wiebe4 Wiebe5

    Check out the rest of his work over here: http://gordonwiebe.com/.

    Enjoy!

    All images are via the artist’s website. 

     

     

     

     

     

  • Exploratory Escapes: Jaime Derringer

    Exploratory Escapes: Jaime Derringer

    One of my favorite things about social media is being able to watch an artist blossom and discover their voice.  Maybe you recognize the name of today’s artist, perhaps better known as the founder and editor of the amazing design blog, DesignMilk, artist-blogger-poet(!), Jaime Derringer.

    Composition #5 by Jaime Derringer
    Composition #5, acrylic and pencil on heavy canvas paper, 12×16
    Why Can't I Be You? by Jaime Derringer
    Why Can’t I Be You?, mixed media on wood panel, 8×8

    I wasn’t aware of the scope of Jaime’s artistic talent until she began posting her A Shape A Day project on Instagram.  Immediately, I was like, “Hold the phone!  She’s an artist, too??”  The short answer? Yes.

    Untitled by Jaime Derringer
    Untitled, ink, marker and watercolor on watercolor paper, 9×12
    Smoke Monster by Jaime Derringer
    Smoke Monster, ink, marker and acrylic on heavy canvas paper, 16×12

    For Jaime, her work is an exploration and escape.  Perusing her work, you can see the progression, the playing with style, medium and composition that marks each creative expedition.

    Jellyfish by Jaime Derringer
    Jellyfish, ink on paper, 25×19

    With each journey, the artist is discovering her own uncharted territory and finding new paths.  Personally, I’m enjoying being along for the ride.

    Want to see more of Jaime Derringer‘s work?  Be sure to check out her website here.  Oh and bonus– originals and prints of her work are available at super affordable prices!

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Unraveled Ties: Steven Vasquez Lopez

    Unraveled Ties: Steven Vasquez Lopez

    Sometimes we get so tied to a certain idea, person, or place, that we hold onto it so very tightly.  That thing we’ve longed for finally comes to us, but it isn’t what we expected.  And although things begin unravelling, we are still holding tight, even as the threads become ever more loose.  These incredible ink drawings by San Francisco artist Steven Vasquez Lopez got me thinking about how we allow ideas to weave themselves into our psyche.

    Patches 004 by Steven Vasquez Lopez
    Patches 004, ink on paper, 9.5×13.25
    Patches 005 by Steven Vasquez Lopez
    Patches 005, ink on paper, 9.5×13.25

    We tend to think of ourselves in a certain light, I this way or that, I could live here but never there.  But then a funny thing can happen.  We grow, we evolve, we experience life in different ways and we end up surprising ourselves.  The weavings unravel and we realize that idea we were so in love with was just that– an idea, not a reality.  Those strings aren’t so tightly woven after all.

    Patches 013 by Steven Vasquez Lopez
    Patches 013, ink on paper, 9.5×13.25
    Patches 008 by Steven Vasquez Lopez
    Patches 008, ink on paper, 9.5×13.25

    Or maybe they were there to connect us in a different way altogether.  Want to see more of Steven Vasquez Lopez’s work?  Please visit his website.

    All images via the artist’s website.  Artist found via Design Milk.

     

  • Sophisticated Sketching: Paz Lopez

    Sophisticated Sketching: Paz Lopez

    While I appreciate masterfully drafted, detailed drawing as much as the next artsy, what really gets my heart pumpin’ is a looser, more child-like style.  So the work of Spanish artist Paz Lopez immediately caught my eye when I spotted it on the Anthology Magazine blog!

    Venir 2 by Paz Lopez
    Venir 2, mixed media on paper, 40×40 cm

    These quick, sketchy mixed media pieces have the feeling of those frenetic, emotion filled pieces of artwork we created as we tore through a stack of drawing paper as children. ( Tell me I wasn’t the only child who did that! )

    Ladra by Paz Lopez
    Ladra, mixed media on paper, 40×40 cm
    Carta by Paz Lopez
    Carta, mixed media on paper, 40×40 cm

    Yet compositionally, these are so much more than child-like sketches.  Lopez’s use of color and texture perfectly balance the lines and text, the elements fitting onto the page just so.

    Untitled by Paz Lopez
    Untitled, mixed media on paper

    To see more of Paz Lopez’s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

     

  • March Featured Artist: Peri Schwartz

    March Featured Artist: Peri Schwartz

    I may have mentioned Mr. Forager has taken up beer making. Lately he has been obsessed with finding out the best methods and practices for brewing the perfect beer. He recently told me about a fellow brewer he found online that worked for over twenty years to perfect one particular brew recipe. Talk about practicing and perfecting your craft! This month’s Featured Artist, Peri Schwartz is equally tenacious in striving to capture every nuanced surface, angle and corner in her own studio.

    Studio IX, color monotype, 30×34.5
    Studio XXX by Peri Schwartz
    Studio XXX, oil on canvas, 38×48

    By narrowing her scope of work and field of vision, Schwartz frees herself to carefully explore her space, the forms inhabited therein, and the light that enters and retreats each day. Although her overall style and palette remains consistent, we can see her exploring how the space and objects are represented.. sometimes they are mere planes of color, other times their shapes are more concrete.

    Studio 12 by Peri Schwartz
    Studio 12, ink and charcoal on mylar, 12.34×27
    Studio 13 by Peri Schwartz
    Studio #13, ink and charcoal on mylar, 13.30x28x25

    In other instances, as in her black and white drawings above, she is carefully studying the effect of light on the familiar surfaces, carefully watching and interpreting the reflective play between light and shadow.

    Bottles and Jars XII by Peri Schwartz
    Bottles and Jars XII, oil on canvas, 30×20

    To see more of Per Schwartz’s work, please visit her website. You can also see an album of Peri’s work on the Artsy Forager Facebook page. Peri will be a busy bee soon with three openings– at Davis & Cline Gallery in April, Garvey/Simon Art Access in May, and Gerald Peters Gallery in July. Whew! Hope you’ll be able to catch one!

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Fanciful Fascinations: Delphine Lebourgeois

    Fanciful Fascinations: Delphine Lebourgeois

    As a young girl, my favorite books where those filled with delicately drawn illustrations portraying the fantastical world of dancing princes, ogres and pretty maidens.  Those drawings would become so ingrained in my mind that if I dreamed of those stories, the illustrations came to life.  The work of French born artist Delphine Lebourgeois brings to mind those fanciful visionary worlds in which nothing is ordinary.

    Deesse I by Delphine Lebourgeois
    Deesse I

    Upon first glance, Lebourgeois’ work may appear purely decorative, but the artist takes decorative elements and patterns incorporating them into the work in such a way as to stir our imagination.  We enter into her surreal fairy tale, taking in the wonderful strangeness and reveling in the magic to be found.

    Butterflies by Delphine Lebourgeois
    Butterflies
    Deesse VIII, Photo de Classe by Delphine Lebourgeois
    Deesse VIII, Photo de Classe
    Sky of Chandeliers by Lebourgeois
    Sky of Chandeliers

    As with most fairy tales, these works are not merely pretty pictures.  There is a message in each fable, and it is left to the viewer to discern what that may be.

    Deesse III by Delphine Lebourgeois
    Deesse III

    To see more of Delphine Lebourgeois’ work please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

     

  • No Place to Hide: Gillian Lambert

    No Place to Hide: Gillian Lambert

    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.

    Shirt by Gillian Lambert
    Shirt, graphite on paper, 22×30

    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.

    Paint by Gillian Lambert
    Paint, graphite on paper, 22×30
    Hands by Gillian Lambert
    Hands, graphite on paper, 22×30

    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.

    Foil by Gillian Lambert
    Foil, graphite on paper, 22×30

    To see more of Gillian Lambert’s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Sketch & Slash: Pinkney Herbert

    Sketch & Slash: Pinkney Herbert

    There is a temporary, transitory nature to drawings that always make them seem much more loose and free than their painted counterparts.  The pastel work of Memphis artist Pinkney Herbert explodes with the energy of an artist unfettered.

    Pinkney Herbert
    Fanfare 2, pastel on paper, 29×41

    Maybe it’s the relative inexpense of paper vs. canvas or the fact that work on paper is usually seen as merely preparation and practice for more permanent work.  Herbert’s work on paper, for me, has a frenetic energy that is incredibly appealing and engaging ( not that his painted work isn’t– check out his paintings here! )

    Tower 1, pastel on paper, 29×41
    Tower 2, pastel on paper, 29×41

    You can practically see the artist’s movement as his hand sweeps feverishly across the surface of the paper.

    Attune, pastel on paper, 29×41

    To see more of Pinkney Herbert’s work, please visit his website.

    Artist found via David Lusk Gallery.  All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Artsy on Escape Into Life: Zuzka Vaclavik

    Last weekend, after our day spent art touring, Mr. Forager asked me to explain how to draw.  What a loaded question!  I hoped what got across to him the most was that it isn’t always how proficiently you do something, but the way in which you do it that makes you unique as an artist.  While the work of Zuzka Vaclavik may appear to be elaborate doodles, the lines, patterns, and forms show an artist’s eye at work.  Check out more of her work on my Artist Watch on Escape Info Life today! ( See it here and linked again below ).

    And There are Vibrations by Zuzka Vaclavik

    Zuzka Vaclavik on Escape Into Life

    Artist found via Emily Amy Gallery.