artsy forager

Category: Figurative

  • Contemporary Muses: Hope Gangloff

    There are certain times, especially when he lays on the floor for a power nap, that I long to break out my charcoal and sketch my husband.  I’m moved to capture the beauty of his face and his peaceful position.  As I’ve mentioned, figure drawing took me a while to master but once I did I truly began to see the magic in the body of each person.  Our expressions, our posture, our countenance is all unique to who we are.  The paintings of Hope Gangloff capture every day moments of ordinary people, rendering them in an extraordinarily beautiful way.

    Her figures in repose, bear stylistic resemblance to masters such as Schiele, Matisse, Cassatt and Toulouse-Lautrec.

    Queen Jane Approximately, acrylic on canvas, 108.5×67.5

    But these are contemporary muses, this is the way we live now.  Friends come over and take their shoes off and relax with us, the parlor has been replaced by the kitchen and the patio.  Conversations remain unchanged– we talk politics, relationships, art and music.

    Catherine Despont, acrylic on canvas, 48×72
    Upstate Neighbor ( Gavin Anderson ), acrylic on canvas, 84×56

    Gangloff’s figures are familiar.  They are our friends, our neighbors, our world.  To see more of Hope Gangloff’s work, please visit her website.

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

  • Dreams of Doris Day: Tracey Sylvester Harris

    Dreams of Doris Day: Tracey Sylvester Harris

    In my much younger years, many a Sunday afternoon was spent glued to the television, enraptured by the movies of my parent’s generation.  Each one filling my impressionable mind with images of the perfectly coiffed hair, sophisticated fashions and charming coquettishness of starlets like Doris Day, Audrey Hepburn and Leslie Caron.  The work of California artist Tracey Sylvester Harris hearkens back to those glamorous days of my dreams.

    Convertible, oil on canvas, 24×30

    Those old films and their heroines led me to believe in a world in which women wore heels to the swimming pool, men were redeemable rakes and an awkward bookworm could be transformed into a beautiful swan.

    Light Blue Slip, oil on canvas, 60×40
    Starlet, oil on canvas, 60×40

    They caused me to prance around our house in my mom’s high heels and a floating negligee dreaming of the glamorous and romantic life I would lead when I grew up.  But soon, reality taught me its hard lessons and I realized that the worlds I so admired weren’t real after all and the world of my dreams began to look a little different.  A bit more earthy and down to earth.  A little less frothy but a lot more fun.

    Cocktail Hour, oil on canvas, 36×48

    But that doesn’t mean I don’t still occasionally long to thrown on a little black dress and pearls.  Old dreams die hard.

    To see more of Tracey Sylvester Harris’ work, please visit her website.  You can also see her work in person, if you’re in the Los Angeles area, at Skidmore Contemporary.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Artsy on Escape Into Life: Sherry Karver

    The minute Lisa Harris Gallery in Seattle posted images of Sherry Karver’s work, I knew I wanted to learn more about it.  I hope you’ll be as intrigued as I was ( am! ).  I’m featuring Karver’s work in my Artist Watch over on Escape Into Life today.  You can also see her work in Lisa Harris Gallery’s group show, Photographic Wanderings, August 2nd- September 2nd.

    First Impressions by Sherry Karver

    Sherry Karver on Escape Into Life

  • Artsy on Escape Into Life: Jhina Alvarado

    If you’ve been an Artsy Forager reader for some time, you’ve probably noticed my attraction to art with a vintage spin.  This week’s Artist Watch over on Escape Into Life is no exception!  Like Amy Pleasant, Jhina Alvarado also takes her artistic inspiration from old photographs, lending them an anonymity by “black-barring” the faces.  Love!

    JoJo the Wonder Dog by Jhina Alvarado

    Jhina Alvarado on Escape Into Life

  • Stranger Rememberings: Amy Pleasant

    Stranger Rememberings: Amy Pleasant

    There is a wonderful phenomenon that happens to me from time to time.  I call it “name serendipity”.  Every so often when I search an artist’s name on Google, I happen upon the work of another talented artist by the same name!  Which is exactly how I happened upon the work of Seattle artist Amy Pleasant.

    Free Spirit, mixed media, 36×36

    Like Amy, I too, have a collection of vintage photographs from my grandparents’ collection and they are among my most treasured possessions.  In her latest series, Lost and Found, Amy was inspired by the discarded memories of strangers.  Namely old family photos found in thrift shops and antique stores, now being sold along with old tablecloths and broken lawnmowers.

    Three Graces, mixed media, 40×30
    Kindred, mixed media, 40×30

    Captured moments of past lives now cast away like any other piece of household paraphernalia.  Pleasant rescues these memories that have been tossed aside, giving them new life in paint.

    Night’s Nest, mixed media, 36×36

    In them, we see not the memories of strangers but our own ancestral rememberings staring back at us.  To see more of Amy Pleasant’s work, please visit her website.  Her work can be seen in her show, “Looking For the Coolidges” opening August 2, 2012 at the Shoreline City Hall Gallery in Shoreline, WA.  And on August 1st, she  will be the featured artist (along with Dutch artist Janneke Van Leeuwen) at the Visual Thinking Strategies European Symposium in partnership with the Rijks Museum and will be showing at a gallery on site at a large hospital in Amsterdam(! ).

    Featured image is Three Graces, mixed media, 40×30.  All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Slow Build: Mel McCuddin at Art Spirit Gallery

    Slow Build: Mel McCuddin at Art Spirit Gallery

    I can only imagine the courage it takes for an artist to create in front of a group of people.  Heck, even one other person would terrify me.  But at The Art Spirit Gallery in Coeur d’Alene, ID ( our hometown for just another 6 weeks ), their new featured artist for the month gives a demo on the Saturday following their opening.  It is a fantastic way to gain a real “behind the art” glimpse into the creative process!  I can’t believe it took me this long to attend one, but I’m so glad I did.  The work of Spokane artist Mel McCuddin is striking online, luminous up close, but to see it in progress was truly inspiring.

    Matchmaker, oil on canvas, 52×48
    Reveries, oil on canvas, 48×44

    Each canvas begins as an exercise in Abstract Expressionism– it is all about the paint, texture and color.  Slowly, as formations evolve in clouds, a figure emerges on the surface.

    The Old Dog, oil on canvas, 36×40
    Black Dirt Farmer, oil on canvas, 48×48

    McCuddin thoughtfully builds his layers, alternating patches of light and dark.  Deliberate smudging of large swaths of canvas give way to areas of delicate and careful application.

    The Late Bus, oil on canvas, 52×48

    His finished works are often left with an eerie glow, giving them a slightly alien quality yet they are approachable and likable.  His subjects stare back at us with curious wisdom.  You can see a slideshow of images of Mel McCuddin in action here ( Artsy Forager now has a YouTube channel! ).  His solo show can be seen at The Art Spirit Gallery in Coeur d’Alene until August 4, 2012.  I highly recommend a visit if you’re in the area!

    Featured image is Three in a Tub, oil on canvas, 48×52.  All images are via The Art Spirit Gallery website.

  • Life in Pairs: Amanda Blake

    Life in Pairs: Amanda Blake

    John Donne wrote “No man is an island“.  And of course, no woman is either.  We come into the world needing other human beings to survive and very often, we go out the same way.  All throughout our lives, we are seeking, finding, nurturing relationships.  Madison, WI artist Amanda Blake’s work explores these connections, both the ones we choose and the ones into which we are born.

    When we are very young, our parents and siblings supply most of our relational needs, along with the ocassional imaginary friend.  As we mature, we begin to seek more and more outside our tiny familial sphere to find friendship among others, some very much like us, others very different.  Eventually, most of us begin looking about for a partner, someone to share our lives with.

    For some like me, this journey takes longer than we anticipate.  But it is during this time that all of those other relationships are nurtured the most.  We spend our time bonding with friends over adventures and over shared memories with siblings.

    Eventually, we may perhaps find the other half of our pair.  Once we do, we’ll take everything that we learned while cultivating those other relationships to care for this one.  And the cycle begins again.

    To see more of Amanda Blake’s work, please visit her website.

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

  • Friday Finds: ¡Feliz cumpleaños, Frida Kahlo

    Friday Finds: ¡Feliz cumpleaños, Frida Kahlo

    I used to deliberately fight against liking the work of Frida Kahlo.  You see, in my college painting studio there was an older Bolivian woman who was auditing the course and she LOVED Kahlo and seemed to fancy herself as the next Frida.  Which wouldn’t have been a big deal except that she was mega annoying about it.  She bugged the bejeezus out of everyone in the studio.  So she tainted Frida for me.  It wasn’t until years later that I rediscovered her work and came to develop my own artist crush on Frida.  Today would have been her 105th birthday.  So in honor of Frida Kahlo de Rivera, here are a few artists who also found her inspirational!

    Viva La Vida by Emma Gale
    Frida Kahlo by Judy Kaufmann
    Frida by Tara Jacoby
    Daft Punk Frida by Fabian Ciraolo
    Frida Dog by Clair Hartmann

    Emma Gale | Judy Kaufmann | Tara Jacoby | Fabian Ciraolo | Clair Hartmann  

    Happy birthday, Frida!

    All images are via the artist’s websites, linked above.  Be sure to check out each artist’s website for more examples of their work!

  • Searching for Self: Anibal Vallejo

    Searching for Self: Anibal Vallejo

    I’ve always heard that it isn’t until we hit our 40s that we really come to know and understand ourselves fully.  While I’ve just entered my fourth decade, I can say, I wholeheartedly believe this is true.  The work of Colombian artist Anibal Vallejo reminds me of the searching for self that we do in our younger years.

    Untitled, acrylic, graphite and hand embroidery on canvas, 150×120 cm

    We might try on different styles of self– whether that be in trying out varied careers, trying on different types of relationships or merely figuring out just who we are and where we fit.

    Untitled, acrylic, graphite and hand embroidery on canvas, 120×150 cm

    Often we may feel like we’ve found the right fit at the time, but eventually, the “suit” loses its novelty and we look back, seeing how very far we were from who we really are.  We may look on that younger self as putting on the most ridiculous of costumes on our road to discovering ourselves.

    Untitled, graphite, acrylic and hand embroidery on MDF, 60cm

    In some cases ( but by no means all! ), with age and maturity comes a better understanding of who we are and a confidence in being exactly the person we were meant to be.

    Untitled, acrylic, graphite and hand embroidery on canvas, 120×150 cm
    Untitled, graphite, acrylic and hand embroidery on canvas, 120x150cm

    Maybe you’re one of the lucky ones.  You were born knowing exactly who you are and what you were meant to be.  But most of us spend our lifetimes figuring it out.  I feel like I’m getting closer each day.  How about you?

    To see more of Anibal Vallejo’s work, please visit his website.

    Artist found via Escape Into Life.

    Featured image is Untitled, graphite, acrylic and hand embroidery on canvas, 120×150 cm.  All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Artsy on Escape Into Life: Aaron Reichert

    Tracy Geilbert at Gallery Orange in New Orleans has a fantastic eye for art.  It isn’t any wonder that many of my faves have come from her gallery or made their way into it!  Today on Escape Into Life, I’m featuring an incredible young figurative artist, Aaron Reichert, whose work can be seen in person at Gallery Orange.  I think you’ll love his graphic portraits!

    Wasted and Wounded, Portrait of Tom Waits, acrylic on canvas, 60×48

    Aaron Reichert on Escape Into Life