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, 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, mixed media on paper, 40×40 cmCarta, 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, mixed media on paper
To see more of Paz Lopez’s work, please visit her website.
Holy cow, where did May go?! I know we still have several hours before June begins, but we’ll be out hiking tomorrow, so thought I’d give you a little artsy Saturday treat. For Mr. Forager & I, May was a whirlwind of traveling to Seattle, frantically searching for an apartment, moving in, buying furniture, job searching for moi and just generally getting settled into our new life here. What’s been keeping me sane this past month? Spying new work from artists I love around the interwebs. This month’s Featured ArtistDeann Hebert has been on a roll lately, spicing things up with bolder color and looser compositions. And I’m lovin’ it all!
Get Your Color On I, mixed media on canvas, 36×36
You might remember Deann’s work from the City Mouse | Country Mouse show in the found gallery recently.. D was the Country Mouse. Being a country gal, Deann paints the rusticity and warmth she is surrounded by each day. Yet these aren’t your grandma’s chicken paintings. This artist is giving country the modern treatment. She’s totally Faith Hill-ing it.
Seagrove, mixed media on canvas, 30×30Rustic Restored, mixed media on canvas, 36×48
The latest work coming out of Deann’s studio is just a bit bolder, a bit more free. She’s getting comfortable and coming into her own as an artist and it is truly a joy to watch!
Get Your Color On 2, mixed media on canvas, 36×36
Want to see more of Deann Hebert’s work? Check out her website and Facebook page! And don’t forget to stop by the Artsy Forager page while you’re on Facebook to see some of my personal faves from Ms D.
The other day, Mr. F & I were listening to Rick Steves on NPR as he interviewed a woman who, when she entered places in Scotland where her ancestors had dwelt, she felt like she knew the buildings intimately– even going so far as to identify rooms that were not open to the public. Have you ever experienced that degree of deja vu? I can’t say that I have, but I can certainly relate to arriving in a place and feeling as if you’ve known it all your life. In her Field Notes series, Santa Fe artist Karina Noel Hean draws in collage what that experience might be like.
Field Notes XXI, collage, acrylic, graphite, etching and ink on vellum, 17×11
In these abstracted, dream-like landscapes, what we see are glimpses of places, fragments of details that our minds may be remembering. Whether it be from this lifetime or somewhere buried in our ancestry ( or past lifetime, if you believe in that sort of thing ), the artist is conjuring up a visual representation of what those perceived memories may be like.
Field Notes XV, mixed media on vellum, 17×11Field Notes XVI, mixed media on vellum, 17×11
Shapes collide, morph, twist and turn around and upon each other. They feel like landscapes from another world and in a sense, they are.
Field Notes XX, collage, acrylic, graphite, etching and ink on vellum, 17×11
To see more of Karina Noel Hean’s work, please check out her website here. How about you? Where have you been that felt like you’d been there before?
When we were in San Francisco, the famous San Fran fog had taken the day off in exchange for record setting heat. But that didn’t stop us from experiencing it thanks to artist Fujiko Nakaya’s Fog Bridge. There was something mysterious and magical about walking through the fog, then emerging into the bright sunlight. In his work, self-taught artist Spencer Herr embraces the power of the emerging figure.
Roman Trip
Herr’s figures, starkly enshrouded within their backgrounds seem to be just breaking through the surface. Or perhaps the opposite is happening. Are they being enveloped by their surroundings?
Tally Mark, acrylic on birch panel, 48×36Slow Draw, acrylic on birch panel, 36×48Beloved, acrylic on birch panel, 48×36
Keeping the compositions simple allows the viewer to compose his own story. Like stills from a movie whose story we do not know, we are left to ponder who these figures might be and from what place they are emerging.
Trip, acrylic on birch panel
To see more of Spencer Herr’s work, please visit his website.
It feels like things are sort of finally getting back to normal.. almost. After being gone for what seemed like an eternity, I’m back on Escape Into Life today sharing the work of Nicolas Kuligowski in my Artist Watch. Head on over to EIL to see more!
Seattle, Seattle, Seattle ( Marcia Brady voice ).. we arrived on Saturday and are completely in love with the city but overwhelmed by apartment hunting. So this week, I’m re-running posts featuring some favorite Seattle artists. Sorry for the repeats, hope to be back to normal artsy blogging next week!
Yes, I just quoted Bob Ross. But the whimsical trees of Seattle artist Liz Tran are miles beyond Ross’s prosaic “happy trees”. Tran’s trees practically shout with joy.
Encircle, mixed media on panel, 36×36
With her use of bright colors and whimsical patterns, these trunks and limbs capture the fun spirit of yarn-bombing in paint!
Winter Drop, mixed media on panel, 48×48August Bloom, mixed media on panel, 36×24
These transporting works take me back to the feeling of being a kid, lying on my back in the grass and looking up into a canopy of trees with sunlight bursting through. There is no other feeling more peaceful and happy.
Summer Stripes, mixed media on panel, 36×36
In a lesser hand, these candied conifers could turn a bit too sweet, but Liz gives them just the right modernity to keep up the fresh and contemporary feel. To see more of Liz Tran’s creations, please visit her website.
Featured image is Traveling Two, mixed media on panel, 36×24. All images are courtesy of the artist’s website.
While Mr. Forager & I wind our way up the Pacific Coast Highway to Seattle, I’ve asked a few of my fellow art bloggers to step in and share some of their own artsy finds.
You’re already familiar with Erin of artsocial as my partner in artsy pinning for the Art Association contest we hold every month. But did you also know she has her own fabulous art blog? It’s like a party every day. With art! Without further ado, take it away, Erin!
Abstract is IN this season in a big awesome way. Everywhere I turn, I’m seeing amazing paintings, rugs, pants – you name it – all decorated with incredible abstract designs… and I love it.
Mini Interior 9, mixed media collage on paper, 6×4
A newfound favorite of mine is abstract artist, Pamela Staker. Her intense color combinations, bold patterns, and expressive brushstrokes infuse her work with an undeniable and irresistible energy.
Mini Interior 10, mixed media collage on paper, 6×4
Starting with simple shapes and vibrant colors, Pamela builds up her playful abstractions with mixed media and unconventional materials like duct tape, rope, and vinyl wall covering. Isn’t contemporary art the best?
Mini Interior 11, mixed media collage on paper, 6×4
Her work beautifully expresses a balance between energetic spontaneity and carefully structured compositions. Which one is your favorite?
Mini Interior 12, mixed media collage on paper, 6×4
This is only a small sampling of Pamela’s amazing work. Her shop is FULL of incredible pieces.
P.S. there’s a whole section of abstract cats! Not to sound too much like a cat lady, but it’s pretty awesome. You can also find larger works on Cureeo.
See more from Pamela Staker on Etsy and her website.
Ordinary things explored with interesting color and texture.. I love the simplicity of the work of artist Megan Dorien, being featured in my Artist Watch on Escape Into Life today. Head on over and check it out!
I always remember my first visit to Seattle in the springtime. The cherry trees were blooming in the neighborhood where Mr. Forager was living ( this was before I became Mrs. F ) and then it rained, as it is always wont to do in Seattle. After the rain, the blossoms weren’t quite as fluffy and perfect as they’d been, but we were left with a magical blanket of pink petals dotting the sidewalks. The wind would eventually sweep each petal into its breeze and carry it away to some unknown place. As I look at the floral encaustics of Seattle artist Alicia Tormey, I’m reminded of the delicate strength it takes to withstand the storms.
Floral Study IV, encaustic with mixed media, 10×10
Tormey’s flowers have a wonderful, swirly diaphanous quality as translucent strands float from and around them. In some, we see look to be veins coming through, as if these are the angels of flowers loved and pressed between book pages as a remembrance.
Fly Away, encaustic, shellac and ink on panel, 36×36Floral Form V, encaustic, shellac and ink on panel, 24×24
Each flower almost takes on the personality of a dancer’s movements.. wild yet graceful.. controlled chaos, passionate yet maintaining an elegant line, always.
Floral Study III, encaustic with mixed media, 10×10
To see more of Alicia Tormey’s work, please visit her website.
Happy April, Artsies! I’m excited to welcome in the month of April for many reasons, A | we finally leave the desert this month!, B | I get to celebrate one of my favorite days of the year, the day Mr. Forager was born ( never mind that my own b-day is in there, too, ugh ) and C | the celebration of a fabulous new Featured Artist! You may remember New York artist Hooper Turner from my post featuring work from his Catalog and Fashion series n which he meticulously depicts the imagery found in luxury catalogs and fashion magazines.
#129, oil on catalog page, 12 3/4×9 7/8#85, oil on catalog page, 10 5/8×14 3/4
In his latest body of work, Typeforms, Turner continues his fascination with fashion and found imagery, this time extending his reach into the commodified art world. In choosing to paint letters and numbers directly onto found art auction catalog pages, the artist is perhaps speaking to the struggle of contemporary artists to find their own voice in among the masses.
#130, oil on catalog page, 12×19 1/4#166, oil on catalog page, 10 5/8×8 1/4
Although I’ve chosen to focus on his auction catalog pages, Turner also gives found imagery of celebrities and models the same treatment. Perhaps in doing so, he is reflecting upon the artist as celebrity and what that elevated status means for the art marketplace.
#99, oil on catalog page, 11 3/4×8 3/8
Bold and striking, whatever their message, these pieces are saying it loudly and proudly. To see more of Hooper Turner’s work, please visit his website and be sure to stop by the Artsy Forager Facebook page to see his cover image and an album of a few of my favorite Turner pieces ( in addition to these, of course! ).
