How long has it been since I’ve done an Artsy Lately feature? Way too long, if you ask me! Especially since sooo many of the artists whose work has been featured on AF are continually amazing me! This young artist has been working hard and when I saw what she’s been up to, I just had to let you see. Tallahassee artist Anna Kincaide knows that the way to grow as an artist is to continually practice your craft and experiment. She’s playing with color and pattern these days and I’m loving this direction!
Catwalk is part of a series the artist completed for the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority at Florida State University. Perfect! If you’d like to see more of Anna Kincaide‘s work, please visit her website and Facebook page. Want to see more of what AF featured artists are up to? Follow the Artsy Lately Pinterest board! If you’re an artist whose work I’ve featured and you haven’t received an invite to participate in the board, shoot me an email at lesley(at)artsyforager.com!
Back in my gallery days, the gallery owner I worked for had a way of describing work that I’ve held onto ever since– it either has soul or it doesn’t. Work either grips you by the heart and spirit or leaves you cold. These figurative paintings by Seattle artist Olivia Pendergrast are filled with raw, honest emotion.
The artist has traveled through Africa and Haiti, immersing herself in the people and culture of each place. Indeed, each portrait captures the mingled innocence and heartache of the people she encountered.
The muted palettes and sketchy lines bring to mind the sadness that permeates each country, and elongated limbs and fingers bely the fragility of life.
Do you ever have days when it feels like you wake up one minute and it’s time to go back to bed the next? Days when the time just passes, too busily or hastily, and all too quickly it’s gone. And we hardly remember it. The paintings of Zurich artist Andy Denzler draw us into a world where time seems to stand still.
Couple Sharing Bed, oil on canvas, 140×120 cmBedroom Portrait Face Down, oil on canvas, 120×140 cm
Denzler’s work is based in classical representation of the figure but the artist incorporates gestural twists through each canvas, leaving us with the impression of a paused moment.
Across the Shallow Stream, oil on canvas, 120×140 cmSomething Waits For You to Breathe Again, oil on canvas, 120×140 cm
Captured forever is the loveliness of each instant, the simple moments of the mundane, the stillness of a stretch of quiet and calm.
I know today is a holiday for most folks here in the US, so you’ve probably out picnicking, enjoying your last bit of summer beach time or barbecuing with the fam. But I just couldn’t wait to share with you our new Featured Artist for September! I am an enormous fan of this artist’s work. Seriously, I fall more in love with the work of Susan Hall every time I see it.
Wing, oil on panel, 35×40
Every painting transports me to such a calm and peaceful place– it’s like a visual dip into a cool spring on a hot day. Each figure, whether human or animal, seems lit from within and the canvases radiate with serenity.
Devotion, oil on panel, 43×51Morning Light, oil on panel, 35×40
And I’m sure you’ve noticed her use of texture– each piece has subtle textural patterns overlaying the composition, lending to the ethereal, gossamer-like quality.
Listen, oil on panel, 43×48Harmony, oil on panel, 43×51
Owning one of Susan’s pieces would be like having your own personal serenity portal. Just a few moments’ gazing and my stress levels plummet!
Sometimes, all it takes is just a little somethin’ somethin’ to take an ordinary image and transform it into something unexpected. UK artist Guy Catling has found that adding some well placed color and pattern can lead to some pretty spectacular imagery.
Black and white vintage photographs are beautiful, but add in brightly colored faces and floral patterned mountains and they take on a whole new modern life. Bright shots of geometric shapes in these scenic photos mimic the lines of the photographs simply yet beautifully.
The patterns added to this trio of well dressed men adds not only a bit of pizazz, but with the Victorian-floral and Native American inspired patterns these guys are sporting, the story behind the image has possibly changed. Ah the power of color and pattern!
Want to see more work by this talented artist? Check out Guy Catling‘s website here.
While the world tweets about Miley’s twerking, understandably, I’ve seen lots of folks online upset that the antics of a 20-something spoiled starlet are making bigger headlines than little things like wars and children dying. Admittedly, I love my guilty pleasures as much as the next gal, but find myself wondering, how do we draw more attention to real, impactful events happening around the world? Leave it to an artist to figure it out. Irish photographer Richard Mosse brings the civil war in the DR Congo to life using bright pink tones to colorfully engage the viewer into the country’s story.
Men of Good Fortune, North Kivu, Eastern Congo, 2011Growing Up in Public, North Kivu, Eastern Congo 2011
Mosse’s use of an ifrared Aerochrome dia-film gives his photographs their striking hot pink hue. That sugary, Victoria’s Secret hue belies the tragic story behind these photos, one of decades long conflict, government corruption, and innocence lost.
Even Better Than the Real Thing, North Kivu, Eastern Congo, 2011Ruby Tuesday, North Kivu, Eastern Congo, 2011
The photographer takes documentary war photography and imbues it with a strange sense of playfulness. The Pop Art pinks are surely what will draw our attention, but it is the faces there and the stories behind them that will keep it.
Sticky Fingers, North Kivu, Eastern Congo 2011La Vie En Rose, North Kivu, Eastern Congo, 2010
Mr. Forager’s sister has been visiting with us since Saturday and it has been so fun watching this bro & sis duo together! But it’s got me missing my own brothers like crazy. Our siblings are our first conspirators in adventure, first sharers of secrets, first partners in memories. The Point of View series by Beth Hoeckel captures that time of imaginative connection we have with our earliest companions.
Glacial
There are places and objects that have deep meaning for us due to the memories they hold. Even more than that, the things that we experienced together can immediately take us back to that moment in time. To this day, anytime we hear a certain type of whistle– my brothers and I do a double take, thinking that it’s our dad, calling us home for dinner.
Count SheepMagic Carpet
As we grow older our appearance changes, yet when we look into the faces of our siblings, we still see the mischievous countenance that signaled the beginning of an adventure, a game of hide and seek or a deeply competitive game of Monopoly. We don’t see the gray hair ( or lack thereof! ), the extra pounds, the wrinkles.
Mountain RangersRanges
I was really hoping we’d be in Seattle long enough to get one or both of my brothers out to visit. They have to see this. And we need to make some new memories together!
Want to see more of Beth Hoeckel‘s work? Be sure to check out her website ( click on her name for the link ). And, bonus, she has prints of some of these pieces available at great prices in her Big Cartel shop!
Remember in the old days when you would accidentally double expose a photo and you’d be a little bummed when it didn’t turn out perfectly, but secretly pleased because the double exposure was super cool? Me too I mean, I’m not nearly old enough to remember that, but perhaps you are. 😉 Anyhoo.. these photographs by Mississippi born NYC artist Timothy Pakron have me longing for the days of happy photographical accidents.
Wash Away, archival inkjet print, edition of 5, 40×40Lazy Blue Eyes, archival inket print, edition of 5, 40×40
His blurred figures take on a bit of a ghostly quality and we can’t be quite sure whether or not we can trust our own eyes.
These could almost take on a slightly sinister quality, but I prefer to see them as a bit day dreamy. Like that hazy fog between sleep and wakefulness, there is a pleasant light-headedness to them that I completely dig.
This Side of the Blue, archival inkjet print, edition of 5, 40×40
Want to see more of Timothy Pakron’s work? Check out his website.
Have you ever had a moment so special, so perfect that you want to freeze yourself there, so that you can go back and revisit it again and again? London based artist Dan McDermott‘s paintings ( yes, paintings! ) freeze in time moments from our collective past, preserving not just the actuality of that occasion but the feeling of being in that moment.
Beauty Queens, oil on canvas, 130×100 cmGood Times I, oil on canvas, 80×60 cm
Working from an extensive archive of vintage imagery, McDermott captures what seems like frozen film frames in paint. It’s like watching those old home movies on projector ( showing my age! ). Everything is a bit distorted, but we recognize the familiar.
Yellow Dress II, oil on canvas, 80×50 cmRoller Skates, oil on canvas, 80×50 cm
The corralling of these “frozen” moments doesn’t just happen in the frenetic, blurry application of paint. It is found in the palettes, as well, we can sense the warmth of the sun, along with the faded cloth of memory.
Cocktail, oil on linen, 127×67 cm
What moment would you like to freeze in time? I can think of several! Want to see more of Dan McDermott’s work? Please visit his website.
Sometimes I have a love /hate relationship with certain blogs. While I love the pretty pictures and aspirational lifestyle, I hate how unrealistic it can seem. None of our lives are perfect and I don’t think that anyone is trying to say they are, but who wants to show the boring stuff? The embarrassing stuff? Admit your vices? These hyperrealistic, somewhat goofy paintings by Korean artist Kang Kang Hoon reinforce that when we are in our truth, not denying how silly or mundane we really are, there is magic to be found.
So in that spirit, I’ll let you in on a few of my own little secrets I might prefer to keep under that rug over there..
I bastardize my coffee. I embarrass Mr. Forager every time I order coffee at any Seattle coffeehouse and ask for “lots of room for cream”. He’s just lucky I don’t order what I really want, a Salted Caramel Mocha Frappacino.
I always wear at least a little makeup when we’re hiking. I know, totally against the outdoorsy girl code. But I look half dead without at least a little flavored Chapstick ( Cherry ) and a bit of mascara. A girl needs to look her best, even in the woods!
I frequently fall asleep during movies. These days, when we snuggle in to watch a movie, it has to be either really good and interesting or I guarantee I will doze off about mid-way. If there are a lot of dark scenes and mumbled dialogue, I don’t stand a chance.
I don’t paint much, but not for the reasons you might think. It’s not because I’m too busy ( see reality tv addiction above ), don’t have the time, space or resources. It’s that I get terrified of disappointing myself. Since no one else really sees what I work on, I’m the only one judging and I am my own harshest critic. It’s something I need to work on. After I finish this season of MasterChef.
I’ve told you my secrets. Now you tell me yours! Let’s really revel in our collective goofiness. Want to see more of these fabulous paintings by Kang Kang Hoon? Check out his website.
