artsy forager

Category: Daily Artsy

Artists featured in a solo spot on Artsy Forager

  • Artsy Lately: Christina Foard

    Artsy Lately: Christina Foard

    I know I should be unbiased and objective.  But art is subjective ya’ll and I have my faves.  And this artist, dear Artsies, is one of them.  If you’ve been reading the blog for awhile, you’ve seen her work before.  If you’re new, well then I’m happy to introduce you!  Jacksonville, FL ( soon to be Athens, GA ) artist Christina Foard continues to amaze me each time she puts brush to canvas.

    Foard_That Sweet Night Foard_Oil Spill Garden Foard_Sliding Falls Foard_The Not So Still Life Foard_Tangled Below the Surface

    Christina creates work that is so incredibly layered with texture and color, with physical and visual depth, photos on a digital screen barely do them justice.  Not to mention size– Christina often works on a large scale, Sliding Falls, 3rd down is downright monumental at over eight feet wide.

    There is so much to see, so much to take in on each canvas, your eye almost isn’t sure where to begin.  But once you dive in, it is so wonderful to get lost in beautifully interconnecting lines and shapes.  Your eye will eventually find its way through to the lovely, light filled swaths of color, a beautiful respite among the glorious chaos.

    If you’d like to see more of Christina Foard’s latest work, please visit her website.  If you’re in North Florida, Christina will be showing work in the upcoming Our Shared Past exhibition at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, opening December 17th.

    All images are via the artist’s website or Facebook page.

  • Drawing the Journey: Mel Prest

    Drawing the Journey: Mel Prest

    At the end of our traveling, I think it might be interesting for Mr. Forager & I to map out all of our journeys, connecting the places we’ve lived and visited.  As we enter into our 3rd year of traveling together, I have a feeling our map might eventually look like one of these mixed media pieces.  San Francisco artist Mel Prest uses an eccentric system to plot out grids of dots corresponding to Japanese metro routes, connecting the dots to reveal a complex system of connections.

    VSCJP Berlin S-Bahn by Mel Prest VSCJP NY Metro I by Mel Prest VSCJPLZ_Amsterdam Metro + Rock and Roll by Mel Prest VSCJP NY Metro 2 by Mel Prest VSCJP Berlin U-Bahn by Mel Prest

    Grid points are based on spelling out map relationships as Japanese characters.  The artist connects the grid points, including mistaken lines ( in gold ) so that the mistake, instead of detracting from the beauty, adds to it.

    I am especially intrigued by this aspect of Prest’s work.  Although the path we take or the place where we find ourselves wasn’t necessarily what we wanted or intended, it can still add meaning and beauty to our life’s journey.

    To see more of Mel Prest‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images via the artist’s website.

  • The Softness Under the Surface: Sara Maragotto

    The Softness Under the Surface: Sara Maragotto

    When an artist chooses to concentrate their attention on one certain subject, I’m always amazed by the diversity of ways in which they explore that form. Especially when an artist is  seeking to look beyond representation to abstraction.  In this series of Minerale paintings by  Italian artist Sara Maragotto, the artist delves into the world of rocks, examining their opposing qualities of solidity and vulnerability.

    Maragotto_minerale_8 Maragotto_minerale Maragotto_minerale_17 Maragotto_minerale_4 Maragotto_minerale_6

     

    We think of mountains and rocks as solid, immovable objects.  But they have their vulnerabilities, just like everything else on this earth.  Rocks can break and erode, sometimes quickly, but more often slowly over long periods of time.

    In this series of mixed media paintings, I see Sara Maragotto, examining these characteristics in an abstract way.  She retains the hard, sharp lines and surfaces, yet diffuses them with soft brushstrokes and washes of color.  We can see what may be a weaker area beneath the surface, ready for exploitation by water or wind.  I have no idea if this is what the artist had in mind when creating these works, but it is what my own eye has found.  What do you see?

    To see more work by Sara Maragotto, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • In Sunshine and Shadow: Jill Sykes

    In Sunshine and Shadow: Jill Sykes

    As you may have noticed if you read my recap of the past few weeks, we’ve experienced a myriad of climates and landscapes recently.  While the sunny skies of Southern California were a welcome sight, there is still something so enchanting about the starkness of winter branches against a cloudy sky.  It seems ironic then, that these paintings by Los Angeles artist Jill Sykes should remind me so much of wonderfully overcast days.

    East by Jill Sykes Arden by Jill Sykes Ai Fiore by Jill Sykes Skylark by Jill Sykes Saffron by Jill Sykes

    When the sun is high in the sky, of course, it creates the most lovely shadows.  Yet sometimes it feels as if the individual forms of the landscape get lost in the blue.  On a day filled with clouds, though, everything stands in deep contrast with the whites and greys.  The individual branches of each tree are so much more pronounced, we can see the world without the distraction of color.  As lovely as any old black and white film.

    The way Sykes silhouettes her branches creates an intriguing tension between the subject and background.  Leaving us to wonder in some cases which is which.

    If you’d like to see more of Jill Sykes‘ work, please visit her website.

  • Moving In Shadow: Nanna Hanninen

    Moving In Shadow: Nanna Hanninen

    Do you ever feel like life isn’t quite real?  Like you’re sleep walking or drifting in and out of a surreal existence.  Occasionally, I get the strangest sense of deja vu.  Its like finding yourself in a place you experienced in a dream, but this time in reality.  These photographs by Finnish artist Nanna Hanninen have that same kind of unreal fluidity.

    Hannanin_People2 Hanninen_Prayer Tree I Hanninen_Plant VI Hanninen_People III Hanninen_People I

     

    Her figures are obscured, seeming to float on the surface, wandering in and out of the frame.  I feel like there’s a parallel somewhere for our lives, the way we roam from place to place, whether physically, mentally or spiritually.  How often do we find ourselves in one place, but feeling like we belong to another?  We are physically present but the mind and soul are elsewhere.  It happens, too, in our daily interactions.  Are we truly present in each and every conversation?  Or are we allowing ourselves to be someplace else?

    To see more of Nanna Hanninen‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images via the artist’s website.

  • From the Outside: Todd Hido

    From the Outside: Todd Hido

    I love the warm glow of window light at night.  In fact, when I lived alone, I used to put my lights on timers so that I came home at night to a welcoming glowing light.  In his Homes at Night series, photographer Todd Hido focuses his lens on the glow of evening abodes.

    Todd Hido Todd Hido Todd Hido Todd Hido

    Todd Hido

    There is a strange phenomenon that happens in the dark of night.  Some things become softer, more welcoming in the night, while others take on a more oppressive, sinister air.  Hido’s work strikes me as having elements of both, making me wonder what is going on beyond those lit windows.  Warmth and laughter?  Loneliness and despair?  I love the ambiguity of these photographs.  Each one seems to be the beginning of a story.

    More work by Todd Hido can be seen on his website.

    All images via the artist’s website.

  • Surrendered Textures: Patricia Larsen

    Surrendered Textures: Patricia Larsen

    I have to stop myself from running my fingers over paintings in galleries and museums.  I’m such a sucker for the texture of paint and the way it informs and enhances a piece of work. Sometimes, the texture is merely a by-product of the artist’s process, but for artists like Patricia Larsen, the texture is the star.

    Water Gardens by Patricia Larsen Painting No. 38 by Patricia Larsen Painting No. 11 by Patricia Larsen Painting No. 21 by Patricia Larsen Breathing Under Water by Patricia Larsen

    I know that often, for me, when I’m painting, I get caught up in the deliciousness of the juxtapositions of texture and color.  There is a certain zen like state that happens when an artist surrenders to what is happening on a canvas.  A kind of stream-of-consciousness type of painting tempered with a thoughtful composition results in a wonderful tension.

    To see more work by Patricia Larsen, please visit her website.  If you happen to be in the Tulsa area, you can see her work in person in the current exhibition at Exhibit by Aberson.

    Artist found via Exhibit by Aberson.  Images via the artist’s website and Exhibit.

  • Wild Beauty: Jane Rosen

    Wild Beauty: Jane Rosen

    There is nothing quite like a quiet day surrounded by wilderness to get us in touch with the wildness inside.  Even more thrilling is to spot an elusive animal on its own turf.  California artist Jane Rosen sculpts wild creatures in all their quiet, untamed beauty.

    Rosen_4 Morandi Rosen_Red Tale Rosen_Fox Girl and Wolf Girl collage Rosen_Accipiter Series Installation Rosen_Sebastians Bird Installation

     

    Rosen’s sculptures have a caged serenity about them, as if reigning in their innate wildness for the spectator.  I bet they come to life the minute your back is turned!  The artist’s choice of materials bring a purity and etherealness to each piece.  They almost seem to be representations not of the animal itself, but of its spirit.

    See more of the beautiful work of Jane Rosen on her website.

  • Weird Figurations: Jansson Stegner

    Weird Figurations: Jansson Stegner

    An artist who draws upon art history for his inspiration then gives it his own unique, modern spin speaks my language and immediately draws my interest.  The work of New York artist Jansson Stegner reflects his attraction to the “weird figurations” and exaggerated forms of artists like El Greco, Schiele, and Ingres, yet infuses them with distinctly contemporary style.

    Volleyballers VI ( Tulane ) by Jansson Stegner Great Plains by Jansson Stegner The Nature by Jansson Stegner Artist in His Studio by Jansson Stegner The Peacekeeper by Jansson Stegner

    Unlike historical portraiture, these aren’t portraits of actual people.  The artist creates a conglomeration of figures in order to arrive at the figure to fit his vision.  Elongated limbs, distorted torsos and amplified eyes give Stansson’s figures a caricature like quality, yet the portraits somehow have more gravitas for it.

    If you’d like to see more of Jansson Stegner’s work, please visit his website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • December Featured Artist: Casey Matthews

    December Featured Artist: Casey Matthews

    December is here!  Mr. F and I are back living in Idaho ( Moscow, ID to be exact ) for the next three months.  As we were driving up, we were treated to a spectacular display of snow juxtaposed against the evergreens, rocks and rushing waters.  These pieces by this month’s Featured Artist, Casey Matthews remind me of that wintery palette I love so much.

    CaseyMatthews_Bougie_30x40_$1525

    CaseyMatthews_Attic_30x40_$1525 CaseyMatthews_FashionGoat_30x40_$1525 CaseyMatthews_HatTrick_36x36_$1650 CaseyMatthews_InTheShadowOfVesuvius_20x24

    I’ve been in love with Casey’s work for a long time and she was one of the first artists I featured on Artsy Forager.  Her work is full of luscious texture and lots of delicious little details that don’t always come through in digital form.  Orbs and circles are a large part of her visual language and some of her latest work, she’s exploring a whirlpoolish composition in addition to her characteristic floating shapes and drips.  And I’m especially enamored of the way she is overlaying linear elements, adding yet another intriguing dimension.

    Casey lives in North Florida, so its pretty doubtful that her inspiration would have come from the snow and evergreens of Northern Idaho.  Yet these pieces have much of the atmospheric feel I was imagining as we drove through snow covered canyons and delighted in patches of white dotting the rocks along the river.  Isn’t it amazing how an artist’s work can resonate your own imagination?

    I hope you’ll mosey over to Casey Matthews’ website to take a look at more of her work, as well as heading to the Artsy Forager Facebook page to see the gorgeous piece gracing our cover for this month, plus an album of some of my latest favorites!

    If you’d like to see Casey’s work in person, you can do so at a number of representing galleries, a list can be found here.  If you’re in North Florida, Casey will be showing work at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club during the month of December, with a holiday reception on December 12th.  Or if you happen to be in the Atlanta area, her work will be a part of the annual Masterpiece & Its Minis show at Gregg Irby Fine Art, where you could snatch up a sweet smaller Casey Matthews original, what an amazing gift one would make!

    All images via Casey Matthews.