Category: Mixed Media

  • Serendipitous Journeys: Jan Zoya

    Serendipitous Journeys: Jan Zoya

    21st century humans are over thinkers.  In this age of almost unlimited information access, we Google it, Wikipedia it, overanalyzing most anything and everything that comes our way.  The moments in which we just lose ourselves to what is happening right that very secondare increasingly rare.  Los Angeles artist Jan Zoya intentionally strives to keep the intellect out of her work, resulting in abstract paintings that are free from constraint.

    Castle in the Sky by Jan Zoya
    Castle in the Sky, oil on canvas, 23×23
    Ramshackle Harbor by Jan Zoya
    Ramshackle Harbor, oil on canvas, 30×30

    Her journeys in paint become a conversation on canvas, a talk between color, texture and what emerges.  Between the path the artist decides to pursue and the road not taken.

    City at Night by Jan Zoya
    City at Night, mixed media on canvas, 36×48
    Garden of Earthly Delights by Jan Zoya
    Garden of Earthly Delights, mixed media on canvas, 17×23
    Daisychains Around the Maypole by Jan Zoya
    Daisychains Around the Maypole, mixed media on canvas, 36×36

    As I mentioned in a post last week, I’m learning how to have these conversations in paint.  To let your brain take a vacation while you paint is very difficult to do!  We’re always wanting to know, what will the outcome be?  Where is this going?  When will we get there?  But as in Zoya’s work, I found that it was when I stopped thinking that the magical combination of instinct and intuition took over.  And the journey became much more interesting!

    Passage by Jan Zoya
    Passage, mixed media on canvas, 36×36

    To see more of Jan Zoya’s work, please visit her website and give her Facebook page a like, too!

  • Bundles of Blossoms: Christy Kinard

    Bundles of Blossoms: Christy Kinard

    Happy Valentine’s Day, Artsies!  Back in my singleton days, February 14th brought out the snarky cynic in me.  I even owned and regularly sported a “Love Stinks” t-shirt.  But ever since Mr. Forager finally realized he loved me, I’ve retired my sarcastic tee and look forward to this celebration of love. For millions of people, this day is all about sending and receiving beautiful bouquets of flowers. What could be more romantic?  I say nothing says love like a painted bundle of blooms by Atlanta artist Christy Kinard!

    Stripes and Roses by Christy Kinard
    Stripes and Roses, mixed media, 36×36

    Kinard is obviously an artist painting what she loves and having the most fabulous time doing it!  Her work is filled with such joyful energy, it is impossible to look upon it and be sad.  Go ahead, try.  See?  The candy colored palette alone makes me want to sing silly love songs and dance in the kitchen with Mr. Forager.

    Peacock Roses by Christy Kinard
    Peacock Roses, mixed media, 48×48
    Yellow II by Christy Kinard
    Yellow II, mixed media, 36×36

    Kinard’s bouquets aren’t perfect and polished, they’re a bit messy and layered with textures.  This isn’t modern, sophisticated, too cool for school kind of love.  It’s your grandparents’ love.  The kind that sits on a porch swing every evening.  The kind that still holds hands after sixty years.  This is what love is really like.

    Pink, Yellow, Orange XOXO by Christy Kinard
    Pink, Yellow, Orange XOXO, mixed media, 36×36

    How are you celebrating love today, Artsies?  To see more of Christy Kinard’s work, please visit her website and show her some love on Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest!

    All images are via the artist’s website.

     

  • Fanciful Fascinations: Delphine Lebourgeois

    Fanciful Fascinations: Delphine Lebourgeois

    As a young girl, my favorite books where those filled with delicately drawn illustrations portraying the fantastical world of dancing princes, ogres and pretty maidens.  Those drawings would become so ingrained in my mind that if I dreamed of those stories, the illustrations came to life.  The work of French born artist Delphine Lebourgeois brings to mind those fanciful visionary worlds in which nothing is ordinary.

    Deesse I by Delphine Lebourgeois
    Deesse I

    Upon first glance, Lebourgeois’ work may appear purely decorative, but the artist takes decorative elements and patterns incorporating them into the work in such a way as to stir our imagination.  We enter into her surreal fairy tale, taking in the wonderful strangeness and reveling in the magic to be found.

    Butterflies by Delphine Lebourgeois
    Butterflies
    Deesse VIII, Photo de Classe by Delphine Lebourgeois
    Deesse VIII, Photo de Classe
    Sky of Chandeliers by Lebourgeois
    Sky of Chandeliers

    As with most fairy tales, these works are not merely pretty pictures.  There is a message in each fable, and it is left to the viewer to discern what that may be.

    Deesse III by Delphine Lebourgeois
    Deesse III

    To see more of Delphine Lebourgeois’ work please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

     

  • Artsy on Escape Into Life: Alex Steckly

    Artsy on Escape Into Life: Alex Steckly

    Thick, interlocking lines of paint layered over obscured black and white imagery?  Could I be more intrigued?  Check out the work of Portland artist Alex Steckly in my Artist Watch over on Escape Into Life.  Because I need to know I’m not the only one obsessing over these.  Check out the post here!

    Artist Alex Steckly

    Alex Steckly on Escape Into Life.

  • Beneath the Surface: Charles Clary

    Beneath the Surface: Charles Clary

    Sometimes, work just catches my eye because it’s interesting and well executed.  Then the more I look at it, the more I’m amazed by it.  And then, I read the artist’s statement about his work and I’m left speechless at the way the creative mind weaves and works.  Tennessee paper artist Charles Clary uses layer upon layer upon layer of hand cut paper to render intricate worlds that “mimic viral colonies and concentric sound waves“. ( !?! )

    Microbial Diddlation Movement #18 by Charles Clary
    Microbial Diddlation Movement #18, acrylic and hand cut paper on panel

    Recognizing the similarities in pattern between microbial outbreaks and sound waves, Clary’s work shows us, in a way, what could be lurking under any surface.  We are lulled into a sense of ease and complacency by the smooth, unblemished surface of the canvas, yet what is revealed is a complex system of layered, interconnected shapes.

    Radmiafungle Gestation Movement 6 by Charles Clary
    Radmiafungle Gestation Movement 6, acrylic and hand cut paper on panel
    Radmiafungle Gestation Movement 6 ( detail ) by Charles Clary
    Radmiafungle Gestation Movement 6 ( detail )

    Despite their slightly menacing associations, for me, the work is reassurring rather than disturbing.  I find it comforting to think that despite appearances, there is always more than meets the eye.  What is taken for granted as simple, may very well be extremely complex.  Like peeling back an onion, it’s only when we look beyond the surface that we see the layers.

    Microbial Diddlet Movement #4 by Charles Clary
    Microbial Diddlet Movement #4, acrylic and handcut paper on panel

    To see more of Charles Clary’s work, please visit his website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Delicate Revelations: Lisa Occhipinti

    Delicate Revelations: Lisa Occhipinti

    In our current gypsy-like state, Mr. Forager and I try to travel as lightly as possible.  But we do acquire things along the way, some we find unnecessary, contributing to a local Goodwill every where we go, but others we hold onto tightly– art and books.  Small pieces of our own art enrich each temporary home, while the books we carry with us enrich our minds, spirits, and souls.  The work of Southern California artist Lisa Occhipinti centers around books, not just their physical pages but our emotional and spiritual connection to them.

    Perfect Balance by Lisa Occhipinti
    Perfect Balance, mixed media, 12×24

    The artist incorporates pages from various tomes in her work, sometimes in a conspicuous way, like the pretty coffee table books we may buy but never really read.. or in a more subtle way, like the self-help books and other guilty pleasures we keep hidden in the nightstand.

    Un Voyage Comique by Lisa Occhipinti
    Un Voyage Comique, mixed media, 24×36
    Note on the Type by Lisa Occhipinti
    Note on the Type, mixed media, 12×12

    Delicate drawings and inky washes call to mind margin notes and doodles peppering well read stories.  Almost as if the reader of Occhipinti’s visual story is distracted not because the story doesn’t hold their interest, but they lost in becoming a part of the tale being told.

    Sargasso by Lisa Occhipinti
    Sargasso, mixed media, 36×48

    To see more of Lisa Occhipinti’s work, please visit her website.  I chose to focus on her painting work, but you’ll also find wonderful book-y sculptures and photography on her site.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Art Possessed: Chad Wys

    Art Possessed: Chad Wys

    Our currently semi-vagabond lifestyle dictates that Mr. Forager and I travel light.  Any purchase of a new object is always weighed against whether it’s truly necessary, how much room it will take up when in transit, or if it is too beautiful/wonderful/amazing to live without.  In his work, Illinois artist Chad Wys takes on our obsession with possession, questioning whether we can truly possess a piece of artwork, what our possessions say about us, and how we objectify the world around us.

    Arrangement in Skintones by Chad Wys
    Arrangement in Skintones, c-print ( edition of 10 ), 30×30
    Nocturne 111 by Chad Wys
    Nocturne 111, c-print, 24×30

    When we purchase a piece of artwork, what is our motive?  I believe the majority of art is acquired for aesthetic reasons– something about the work, whether it be the subject, the colors or the composition, appeals to us.  But what about artwork that doesn’t appeal, isn’t pretty?  Is it any less valuable?

    Golden Tea Party by Chad Wys
    Golden Tea Party, paint on found porcelain, 8.5x7x5.5
    Opus 1 by Chad Wys
    Opus 1, c-print

    And what do the objects we possess say about who we are?  And what makes the things we own or the things our ancestors owned so special?  Or are they not really special at all?

    To see more of Chad Wys’s work, please visit his website.

    Thank you to artsocial for reminding about this artist!  All images are via the artist’s website.

     

     

  • Dangerous Beauty: Jane Maxwell

    Dangerous Beauty: Jane Maxwell

    While visiting with friends in San Diego recently, somehow the topic of self-worth came up.  My friend Veronica mentioned that the Dalai Lama didn’t understand the Western issue of low self-esteem– we are not born thinking negatively about ourselves, yet something sinister creeps in.  The work of Boston area artist Jane Maxwell uses vintage fashion, advertising, and pop-culture ephemera to deconstruct the messages being sent to women and young girls by the fashion and entertainment industries.

    Runway Girls and Circles by Jane Maxwell
    Runway Girls and Circles, mixed media and resin on panel

    Our body image issues don’t always begin with someone actually telling us we’re too fat, too skinny, too pale.. we are inundated daily, especially as women and young girls, with images of stick thin fashion models and actresses, being held up as the current standard of ideal beauty.  Maxwell chooses to use silhouetted versions of these iconic figures, deconstructing them so that they become an anonymous “every woman”, which could help us to see the somber truth that these women have indeed become pawns in this game of idealized beauty.

    Blue Circle Girls by Jane Maxwell
    Blue Circle Girls, mixed media with resin on panel, 48×48
    Circle of Thought by Jane Maxwell
    Circle of Thought, mixed media with resin on panel, 48×48
    Blue by Jane Maxwell
    Blue, collage, wax & resin on panel, 36×36

    This standard of beauty seems to fluctuate with each generation, remember the days of Reuben and his voluptuous figures?  Or the curvaceousness of the iconic beauties of the 1950s?  When will we reach a point where women of every size, shape, and color are held up as quintessentially beautiful?  Maxwell’s work recognizes that struggle within us of that longing to be lauded for our unique  beauty yet we continue to strive to attain the ideal.

    Walking Girls and Bullseyes by Jane Maxwell
    Walking Girls and Bullseyes, collage, wax, and resin on panel, 70×40

    What are your thoughts on Jane Maxwell’s work or on self-image in general?  Where do you see the struggle?

    To see more of the work of Jane Maxwell, please visit her website and Facebook page.  Her work can be seen in galleries throughout the US, you can find a list of her representing galleries on her website.

    Artist found via Lanoue Fine Art.  Images via the artist’s website and Lanoue Fine Art.

  • Caught in the Act: Jim Gaylord

    Caught in the Act: Jim Gaylord

    OK, I’ll admit, I’m not a big action-movie fan.  In fact, the latest super-hero based film is usually the very last on my movie watching list ( although I end up watching them with Mr. Forager so that he’ll watch the latest costume drama/foreign film with me ).  But I might be rethinking my prejudice due to the work featured today.  The recent work of Brooklyn artist Jim Gaylord is based on action sequences in films– now there’s an action movie screening approach I could get into!

    High Muck-a-Muck by Jim Gaylord
    High Muck-a-Muck, oil on canvas, 24×20

    In Gaylord’s work, some paintings, some collage/mixed media, we are met with a cacophony of shapes, colliding upon one another.  The crashing of objects, the roar of engines.. it’s almost audible.  Can you hear it?

    Coat of Arms by Jim Gaylord
    Coat of Arms, gouache on cutout paper, 40×26
    Rat King by Jim Gaylord
    Rat King, oil on paper, 43.75×30
    Victory Lap by Jim Gaylord
    Victory Lap, gouache and soot on cutout paper, 26×36

    Pops of white amid the chaos resemble clouds of smoke, distorting the full scene from our view, while smaller forms are catapulted out from the midst like shrapnel.

    Soft Endorsement by Jim Gaylord
    Soft Endorsement, oil on canvas, 22×17

    I think I’ll be looking at action sequences a bit differently from now on, won’t you?  To see more of Jim Gaylord’s work, please visit his website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.  Artist found via Gregory Lind Gallery.

  • Artsy on Escape Into Life: Chyrum Lambert

    I am loving the mixed media work of Los Angeles artist Chyrum Lambert, featured today on my Artist Watch on Escape Into Life.  They remind me of wonderful puzzles waiting to be solved!  See more of Chyrum Lambert’s work on EIL here.

    The Artist as a Portrait of His Material by Chyrum Lambert

    Chyrum Lambert on Escape Into Life