artsy forager

Category: Landscapes

  • Outskirts. Ian McLean.

    Outskirts. Ian McLean.

    A sense of belonging.  We grow up seeking it.  From the start, we are a part of our family, but as we grow and mature, we look outside of those familiar faces to find our community.  For some, it happens quickly and remains unchanged, for others it fluctuates with time and seasons and the search is a longer, more arduous effort.  These paintings by Ian McClean seem to be manifestations of that feeling of being on the outside, trying to find your way in or perhaps, deciding whether you’d like to go in at all.

    Ian McLean | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings Ian McLean | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings Ian McLean | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings Ian McLean | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings Ian McLean | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings

     

    We all know what it’s like, that dissatisfaction with where you are but the uncertainty of exactly where you belong.  In younger years, it seems easy to find “our people”, circumstances often do it for us.  But as we move through life and decide for ourselves where and how we spend our time, finding where we belong becomes more of a challenge.  To a certain extent we’ll all feel like a square peg in a round hole, maybe forever.  Could that be so that we’ll never get too comfortable?

    To see more of Ian McLean‘s work, please visit his website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Floating. Amy Bennett.

    Floating. Amy Bennett.

    I think, in this world there are perhaps three kinds of people– those who love the desert, ocean lovers, and lake/river people.  Mr. F and I are definitely not desert people and it’s taken us a while to realize we aren’t ocean people either.  Both have their beauty, yes, but neither stir our souls the way a crystal clear mountain lake or river can.  The love of lakes, for me, happened I think in childhood.  I spent a good deal of time every summer on a lake– either at camp or with my aunt and uncle who lived on a tiny lake in Northern Florida.  Two years ago we spent a summer on a lake in Idaho and it remains one of my favorite spot in all of our travels.

    There is an easiness to lake life that creates an ease with the people around you– neighbors seem more neighborly, interactions are more likely to take place from boat to shoreline than by telephone or email.

    Amy Bennett | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #fineart Amy Bennett | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #fineart Amy Bennett | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #fineart Amy Bennett | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #fineart Amy Bennett | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #fineart

     

    Maine artist Amy Bennett‘s paintings capture the feeling of this unique existence.  The artist begins by meticulously creating dioramas, which she then paints in oil on panel.  The scale of the dioramas, when recreated in paint, gives the feeling of a world created by a child– doll houses and toy boats and tiny people.  It makes me recall the innocence of those days, how everything appeared very soft, and fresh, and innocent and I was discovering a world that would come to be a part of me.

    To see more of Amy Bennett‘s work, please visit her website.

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

  • Dualities. Doug Freed.

    Dualities. Doug Freed.

    I find it amazing to experience a place through different days, different seasons.  As Mr. F and I travel, such encounters are a rare treat, for we are usually only in the same spot for a season.  But as life and light shifts, so too, does the atmosphere of a place.  In his large scale paintings, Missouri artist Doug Freed brings us into the aura of light and mood in the landscapes around us.

    Doug Freed | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings Doug Freed | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings Doug Freed | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings Doug Freed | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings Doug Freed | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings

     

    In these intensely hued, yet softly toned paintings, we seem to be viewing the world through varying filters and lenses, the landscape changing ever so slightly with an alteration in light and shadow.  The paintings seem to quietly call upon all of our other senses– can’t you feel the mist on your face, hear the gentle lapping of the water against the shore?

    To see more of Doug Freed‘s work, please visit his website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • What the Water Gave: Jessica Pisano

    What the Water Gave: Jessica Pisano

    While Mr. F and I are camping in Yosemite, I’m resharing some posts you might have missed the first go ’round!  Enjoy!

    If there is one thing we learned during our time in the desert, it is that Mr. Forager & I are water people.  We need to see it, smell it, hear it.  Whatever form it make take, whether the ocean, the Puget Sound, a lake, or river, something about it is essential to us.  In her work, Rhode Island artist Jessica Pisano invites us into the sense of stillness and timelessness the water gives us.

    Watermark by Jessica Pisano
    Watermark, oil and silver leaf on panel, 60×48

    In water, there is such a delicate balance.  It’s presence, when contained, calms us, but when loosed, it can be an incredibly destructive force.  It is essential for growth and life, yet slowly erodes what is in its path.

    Fog Ascending by Jessica Pisano
    Fog Ascending, mixed media on panel, 36×36
    Fog on the Horizon No. 6 by Jessica Pisano
    Fog on the Horizon No. 6, oil and silver leaf on panel, 40×30
    Sea Legs by Jessica Pisano
    Sea Legs, oil and silver leaf on panel, 36×36

    Pisano works her water series in translucent layers, creating a depth that reminds us of how the waters overflow and overtake.

    Still Waters by Jessica Pisano
    Still Waters, oil and silver leaf on panel, 40×40

    If you’d like to see more of Jessica Pisano’s work, please visit her website.  You can see her work in person at a number of galleries in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as Stellers Gallery in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

     

     

  • Life Blurred: Monica Tap

    Life Blurred: Monica Tap

    While Mr. F and I are camping in Yosemite, I’m resharing some posts you might have missed the first go ’round!  Enjoy!

    Just the other day, I was saying to Mr. Forager, “Can you believe it’s been almost two years since..”  We seem to say that to each other a lot these days.  Time just moves really quickly, especially when you’re looking back.  In her work, Toronto artist Monica Tap  investigates the line between movement and perception, resulting in dazzling abstracted landscapes.

    Six Ways from Sunday: Tuesday by Monica Tap
    Six Ways from Sunday: Tuesday, oil on canvas, 100×60

    Tap bases her work on Quicktime videos of the streaming landscape as seen from the windows of cars, buses, and trains.  Reproducing that magical effect of obscured color and light we so enjoyed as kids.. staring out the window as the world passed us by.

    Six Ways from Sunday: Wednesday by Monica Tap
    Six Ways from Sunday, oil on canvas, 100×60
    Six Ways from Sunday: Thursday by Monica Tap
    Six Ways from Sunday: Thursday, oil on canvas, 100×60

    During those long car or train rides, we couldn’t wait to get where we were going, so often we enjoyed just letting the blur go by.  But as adults, I wish I could just stop the blur sometimes and enjoy it for the wonderful time it is.

    Six Ways from Sunday by Monica Tap
    Six Ways from Sunday: Friday, oil on canvas, 100×60

    Is life moving too fast for you these days?  Or maybe, like me, you’re impatiently waiting for a change and things don’t seem to be moving fast enough?!  Want to see more of Monica Tap’s intriguing landscapes?  Visit her website here.

    All images via the artist’s website.

  • Monumental Pop. David Pirrie

    Monumental Pop. David Pirrie

    For the first thirty-something years of this Florida girl’s life, I never really experienced mountains.  And when I did, it was only the foothills of the Smokies.  Then I visited Mr. F while he was living in Seattle and I saw the Olympics.  And the Cascades.  And we snowshoed in April on Mt. Rainier and I fell in love with Mr. F and those glorious snow-capped peaks!  This series of paintings by artist David Pirrie have me longing for those jagged, snowy crests.

    David Pirrie | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart David Pirrie | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart David Pirrie | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart David Pirrie | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart David Pirrie | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart

    Pirrie doesn’t just paint mountains, but hikes and climbs them, too, which any hiker will tell you creates a bond between man and mountain.  Hard work and endurance pays off in little seen vistas, in a feeling of intimacy with these monumental stacks of earth.  His use of dots and bright, flat color not only decontextualize the mountains from the surrounding landscape but also nods to the iconic status these looming peaks achieve.  On a sunny day in Seattle, you’ll hear locals proclaim “The mountain is out!” and every one knows what that means.  The clouds have broken and Mt. Rainier can be seen looming surrealistically over the city skyline, dwarfing everything around it.

    There is something magnetic about these formations, the mountains call to us like sirens, we see them from afar and somehow know that there is magic within their being.  The mountains are calling and we must answer.

    To see more of the work of David Pirrie, please visit his website.  You can see his current solo show, Mapping the Tetons, at Diehl Gallery in Jackson, WY, through September 3rd.

  • Some Kind of Wonderful. Carola Schapals

    Some Kind of Wonderful. Carola Schapals

    For artists, inspiration lurks around every corner.  And sometimes, what we find amazing one day isn’t quite as captivating the next.  There’s something about that certain moment in time, the light, the shadows, the color, that enchants us, but may be as fleeting as the wind.  In her work, German artist Carola Schapals captures the moments that touch her, the scenes in which there is a hint of something wonderful.

    Carola Scharpals | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Carola Scharpals | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Carola Scharpals | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Carola Scharpals | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Carola Scharpals | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart

    I love the way Schapals captures the colorful evanescence in the way the light is falling at that given moment.  A few minutes later and the mood of each scene could be completely different.  There is something utterly magical in the capturing of atmosphere and she’s done it so very beautifully, with deep shadows and dappled light.

    To see more work by Carola Schapals, please visit her website.

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

  • American Jam: Joe Wardwell

    American Jam: Joe Wardwell

    If you were paying close attention to Don’t Miss Artsiness a few weeks ago, you may have spotted this artist’s work.  The mind-bending work of Joe Wardwell mixes classical American landscape paintings with rock lyrics and the result is just as phenomenal as you think it would be.

    Joe Wardwell | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Joe Wardwell | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Joe Wardwell | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Joe Wardwell | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Joe Wardwell | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart

     

    Music lyrics become such a huge part of our psyche.  These little soundbites pop into our head, often when we least expect it.  We can sing along with tens of thousands of other people at a concert, every voice lifted up in harmony.  We know the music we love as well as we know our own backyards.  Wardwell makes a connection between the American love of the landscape to the permeation of pop culture, creating these mirror-like stenciled scenes that remind us that music, as well as art, is just another kind of exploration.

    To see more of Joe Wardwell‘s work, please visit his website. You can see his work in the current exhibition at La Montagne Gallery in Boston.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Dream States: Marie Rosen

    Dream States: Marie Rosen

    Mr. Forager and I love to share dreams.  I’m not just talking about the speculative, what if, kind of dreams, but the productions put on by our subconscious while we’re sleeping.  If either of us has an interesting or unusual dream, we always share it.  The work of Belgian artist Marie Rosen has the same surreal, things are not quite what they seem feeling, so often found in our dreams.

    Marie Rosen | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Marie Rosen | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Marie Rosen | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Marie Rosen | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Marie Rosen | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart

     

    Flat planes and barren landscapes defy reality and keep us from knowing for certain how the elements of each piece fit together– landings leading to nowhere, tiny feet gather beneath a giant covered table.  It’s that same incongruity that so often leads us feeling out of sorts following a particularly vivid dream.  Things seem almost real, yet we know they are only imaginings.

    To see more of Marie Rosen‘s work, please visit her website.

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

  • Natural Synthetics: Shane McAdams

    Natural Synthetics: Shane McAdams

    When I was a little girl, like every other kid, I loved going to places like the zoo, Disney World & Busch Gardens.  I reveled in the feeling of being in exotic places without losing familiar comforts and conveniences.  Then as I grew older and especially since Mr. F & I have been traveling, I’ve realized that there are far more amazing places existing in their natural states than man could ever conceive of.  In his mixed media work, Brooklyn based artist Shane McAdams addresses the duality of nature versus man-imitating-nature.

    Shane McAdams | artsy forager #art #artists #mixedmedia Shane McAdams | artsy forager #art #artists #mixedmedia Shane McAdams | artsy forager #art #artists #mixedmedia Shane McAdams | artsy forager #art #artists #mixedmedia Shane McAdams | artsy forager #art #artists #mixedmedia

    In these brilliantly detailed landscapes, McAdams uses familiar mediums like ballpoint pen and Elmer’s glue in unusual applications against traditionally rendered landscapes.  The result is what appears to be a pushing in or pulling apart of the scene, symbolic of artificial forces rendering their effect on the natural world.  I love the way bright colors seem to melt from the landscape, giving to me, the effect of revealing the artificiality of a constructed scene.  What we see isn’t always what it seems, especially when touched by the hand of man.

    To see more of Shane McAdams‘ work, please visit his website.  Interested in another artist working in ballpoint?  Check out Joan Salo.

    All images via the artist’s website.