artsy forager

Category: Mixed Media

  • Inherent Abstractions of the Natural World: Haley Farthing

    Inherent Abstractions of the Natural World: Haley Farthing

    The moment I walked through the doors of Davis & Cline in Ashland, I fell hard for the work of Haley Farthing.  Immediately, they drew me in, I had to take a closer look.  What exactly was I seeing?  Her palette is so subtle, the shapes so fluid, these are works that are best examined at close range.

    Pulse, pastel and ink on wood, 48×24

    For Haley, “abstraction and ambiguity of a subject is much more powerful when it is a part of it’s inherent nature”.  She takes organic subjects, such as driftwood, plants, etc and magnifies the view, creating a perspective that highlights their intrinsic abstraction.

    Constant, pastel on wood, 24×12

    Her limited, neutral palette allows the texture and pattern of these natural materials to be showcased and celebrated.  Mere leaves appear to be angel’s wings or folds of rich satin flowing from the bodies of ancient Greeks.  She constructs her work in such a way that these organic forms take on classical compositions.  While allowing the grain of the wood surface to show through reminds us that these are earthly manifestations, their beauty inherent in their creation.

    Untitled, pastel and ink on wood, 9×12
    Growth, pastel and ink on wood, 48×24

    Please take the time to check out more of Haley Farthing’s work on her website.  Her Out of the Woods show can be seen at Davis & Cline until November 26th.  It is a beautiful, inspiring show– I highly recommend checking it out if you’re in Southern Oregon.

    Featured image is Nestle, pastel and ink on wood, 60×24.  All images are via the artist’s website.

  • The Magical Maggie Taylor

    The Magical Maggie Taylor

    The art world is a strange, small place.  How else do you explain that I saw an artist’s work on the website of a Boston gallery, which I stumbled upon through searching for another artist, only to discover that the artist I found has connections to my former neck of the woods in Florida?  Call it fate, call it kismet, call it Al, if you like, but it means that I must feature the work of Gainesville artist Maggie Taylor on Artsy Forager.

    Ever After, pigmented digital print, 15×15

    Her technique of scanning and layering images in Photoshop ( read more on her technique here ), give these haunting works the visual texture and depth of paintings.

    Hornet's Nest, pigmented digital print, 15×15

    The works are dreamlike, in that way where nothing in dreams seems completely logical, yet feels very real.  The rich, luminous colors add to the intense emotionality and daguerreotype quality.  It’s like looking through a stereoscope into another world.

    Garden, pigmented digital print, 8×8
    No Right Answer, pigmented digital print, 15×15

    Maggie Taylor’s work is available for viewing on her website and Facebook page.  She has upcoming shows at the Center of Creative Arts in St. Louis and the Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles.  Her work can also be seen at Lanoue Fine Art in Boston, as well as other galleries throughout the US and a few in Europe and Asia.

    Featured image is The Rehearsal, pigmented digital print, 15×15.  All images are via the Lanoue Fine Art website.

  • Ravage and Repair: Nava Lubelski

    Ravage and Repair: Nava Lubelski

    There is something so poetic about the restoration of an object that has been destroyed.  A beauty in the scars, a rejuvenation in the renewal.  It is this juxtaposition that Asheville, NC artist Nava Lubelski seeks to explore in her work.  Seeking to “explore the contradictions between the impulse to destroy and the compulsion to mend,”  she first destroys in order to resurrect.

    Sweet Chewy, thread on stained canvas, 12×12

    Her initial damages to the surface, through ripping, cutting, spilling of paint/stain are then painstakingly “repaired” by hand-stitching embroidery over and around the holes.

    The Sum of Parts, thread on stained canvas, 12×12

    Just as when people’s souls, minds, bodies are wounded, the healing process is slow and not always complete, so are the stitched “repairs” in Nava’s work.  The initial destruction has been stopped, but the material can never fully be restored.  What she leaves us with instead, is a new surface, still showing signs of mutilation yet renewed.

    003, thread on stained canvas, 24×24
    Like Those Monsters, thread on stained canvas, 12×12

    To see more of Nava Lubelski’s work, please visit her website.  She is currently showing in NYC, Asheville, Shelbourne, VT and Sydney, Australia.

    Featured image is A Story About Frogs, thread on stained muslin, 26×20.  All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Her Own Private Utopia: Melissa Loop

    Her Own Private Utopia: Melissa Loop

    Do you ever wish you could just escape?  From your cares, stresses, work, technology, you name it.  Take a moment to run away with me into Minnesota artist Melissa Loop‘s landscapes of fantastical refuge.  They are part wonderland, part social commentary, but fully contemporary and brilliant.

    Walmart, acrylic and enamel on panel, 36×24

    Slide down a huge pink curvy slide as tall as a skyscraper leading down to a river coming out of a mountain shaped like a bear’s head?  Don’t mind if I do!

    City Park 3, acrylic and enamel on panel, 48×36

    Her use of flat shapes, vivid colors and perspectives make these a bit reminiscent of vintage travel posters, but then the added contemporary pops of patterns such as swoopy stripes and repeating textile-like shapes add more dimensions of interest.  These truly are works that I could escape into– just to try to figure out all that is going on!  They are like a crazy dream gone wild.  And I love them.

    U.A.E. Arc Intervention, acrylic and enamel on panel, 24×36
    St. Thomas All Inclusive, acrylic and enamel on panel, 36×24

    To see more of Melissa Loop’s world, please visit her website.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to close my eyes and dream of curvy pink slides.

  • Visual Tales of Allegory and Absurdity: Jamie Baldridge

    Visual Tales of Allegory and Absurdity: Jamie Baldridge

    The fantastical work of Jamie Baldridge weaves for the viewer visually complex stories that engage the mind and entrance the spirit.

    Phrases From A Broken Language

    Baldridge, a professor of photography at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, creates his fantastical works by utilizing not only photography, but also digital manipulation and collage.  The resulting images are full of depth, texture and an extraordinary sense of light.

    The Socrates Safe Co.

    His Vermeerish palette lends the eccentric images an old-worldly feel and their dark sensibilities recall the iconography and symbolism of the Victorians.  Yet there is something inherently modern about them– perhaps it is the subtly infused humor or the fashiony bent to some of the work.

    A Confluence of Extraordinary Ideas
    A Pair of Gnostics Burdened On A Platform

    There are stories at work here, some obvious, others more subversive, but all entirely up to the viewer to complete.  Baldridge has opened up the book to a random middle page and it is up to us to find the beginning and end.

    To see more of Jamie Baldridge’s fascinating work, please visit his website.  I first saw his work this weekend at the Thomas Lee Gallery in Ashland, OR, so if you’re anywhere near the area, you could do the same.  ( Note to the Thomas Lee gallerist:  Immediately going into the archival paper, framing and pricing of an intriguing work of art is NOT the way to sell it.  Just sayin’. )

  • Friday Faves: Where The Wild Things Are

    Friday Faves: Where The Wild Things Are

    One of the many things George & I love about the Pacific Northwest is the wildlife.  In the 4 months we’ve been here, we’ve seen bear, elk, hoary marmots, sea lions, elephant seals, eagles, chipmunks and more deer than I can count.  This area of the country still feels incredibly wild and untamed.  So this week, I’m sharing all the wild artwork I’m, well, wild about lately.

    The Beast by Shira Glezerman, oil on treated wood, 35.43×55.12
    Untitled Stag With Chandelier by Miranda Skoczek, enamel and oil on canvas, 43.31×47.24
    Sweaters by Jennifer Davis, acrylic, charcoal & graphite on panel, 12×16
    Sheep Chaperone by Vicki Sawyer, acrylic on canvas, 14×11

    Have a great weekend, Artsies!  Be sure to check out each of these artists’ websites for more beastly artwork!

    1.  Shira Glezerman 

    2.  Miranda Skoczek 

    3.  Jennifer Davis 

    4.  Vicki Sawyer 

    Featured image is Climber by Annada Hypes.  All images are courtesy of artist websites.

  • Paper Moon Dreams: Leigh Wells

    Paper Moon Dreams: Leigh Wells

    When I hear the word “collage”, I think back to 2nd grade arts & crafts, safety scissors and Elmer’s Glue.  Of course, my little artsy heart was dreaming of creating beautiful art, not the actual result of magazine cut-outs wrinkled from using way too much glue.  The collage work of Leigh Wells is the stuff my paper moon dreams are made of.

    Untitled, collage and mixed media on paper, 9.5×12.75

    Simple shapes and soft, earthly colors create striking silhouettes that invite you in to explore their mystery.

    Untitled, collage and mixed media on paper, 9.5×12.75

    The organic shapes seem to morph in and out of each other, creating forms that are both familiar and alien.

    Untitled, collage and mixed media on paper, 9.5×12.75

    Part Magritte, part Ernst, part O’Keeffe… All Leigh Wells and all beautifully elegant and engaging.

    Untitled, collage and mixed media on paper, 9.5×12.75

    To see more of Leigh’s work, please visit her website.  Hmm.. I’m inspired.  Think I just might dust off my scissors and glue.

    All images are courtesy of the artist’s website.

  • Portrait Of My Dreams: Ann Marshall

    Portrait Of My Dreams: Ann Marshall

    Confession:  I kind of have a list of artists who I would love to have paint my portrait.  These are artists through whose eyes I want to see myself.  Is that weird?  Wait, on second thought, don’t answer that.  Anyhoo… right now, near the top of the list is Ann Marshall, only behind Deborah Scott, who was the one to introduce me to Ann’s work in the first place.  This is an artist who is able to capture the essence of her sitter’s soul and bare it onto the canvas in a strong yet soft way.

    Sunshine and Molasses, pastel and paper collage on paper, 39×55

    Her detailed surfaces and the way the figures are incorporated into their surroundings give her work an ethereal, haunting quality, yet they still feel fresh and modern.

    Katherine, oil and collage on canvas, 30×40

    I definitely see a contemporary take on art nouveau and some fabulous Gustav Klimt-ish layering of pattern.

    Garden, pastel and paper collage on paper, 39×55 and 19×55

    Then there’s the Pre-Raphaelitish influence of some of the compositions and poses, which give the work a wonderfully romantic, Brontesque quality.

    I Used to be a Southern Belle, pastel and paper collage on paper, 55×39

    Her figures are rendered with stunningly quiet power and vulnerability.  Which, I think, as women is exactly how we might like to see ourselves.

    To see more of Ann Marshall’s work, please visit her website and Facebook page.

    Featured image is Wait by Ann Marshall.  All images are via the artist’s website.

    Ann Marshall’s feature was written to music by She & Him.

  • Stylin’ and Profilin’

    Stylin’ and Profilin’

    Many artists see their wardrobe as an extension of their creative personalities.  So for artsyF A S H I O NWeek, I thought it would be fun to feature a few of my favorite stylish artists side-by-side with their work.  You’ll see that often their style carries over from canvas to clothes.

    THE URBAN GENTLEMAN:  STEVE WILLIAMS

    Passion Of The World ( cropped ) with Pioneer Chaser with artist Steve Williams

    THE HIP RUSTIC:  DOLAN GEIMAN

    Artist Dolan Geiman with Made In The Shade Guitar Collection ( Large )

    THE ECLECTIC ECCENTRIC:  SHARLA VALESKI

    Liberated with artist, Sharla Valeski

    There are hints about who we are in what we choose to wear.  What are your clothes saying about you?

    To see more of these artists’ work, please visit their websites, listed below.

    Steve Williams 

    Dolan Geiman

    Sharla Valeski

  • Fashion Plate: Leigh Viner

    Fashion Plate: Leigh Viner

    What do you get when you take one part line sketch + one part abstract expressionism + a flair for fashion?  The stunning work of Denver artist/photographer/designer, Leigh Viner.  Leigh elevates what could be a simple fashion sketch to fine art by her extraordinary eye for composition, figurative expression and well-placed explosions of color and texture.

    Push

    Look closely at the women Leigh is painting.  These models aren’t faceless mannequins, each one has a story to tell.  Their faces are full of subtle emotion– vulnerability, longing, confidence.

    Perceive
    Gatsby

    The strength of her work is in it’s simplicity.  She is an artist that understands “less is more”.   In her hands, a simple line drawing becomes a striking portrait with just a few limited dashes of color.

    Draw The Line
    Abstractions Aside

    To see more of Leigh’s work, visit her website.  Her work is available for purchase in her Etsy store, jkldesign, which features original art, as well as prints of her artwork and photography.  Leigh also writes a delightful blog, CREATE.  You’ll be inspired.