artsy forager

Category: Daily Artsy

Artists featured in a solo spot on Artsy Forager

  • Finding the Light: Elise Morris

    Finding the Light: Elise Morris

    It’s funny how the shorter days of winter effect our psyche.  Less daylight has us longing to curl up and hibernate until the spring.  When the sun is out and shining, we turn our faces toward it, soaking up every precious ounce that we can.  For artist Elise Morris, seeking and finding the light is a part of her process, resulting in paintings that are positively luminous.

    Flourishing Patience by Elise Morris Impermanent Levity by Elise Morris Sky's Trellis by Elise Morris Surface Flutter I by Elise Morris Abundance in Bloom by Elise Morris

    In Morris’s paintings, the light fairly flutters across the canvas, darting in and out of the shadows like a firefly.  Those flickers of light shine through to give her paintings the magic of light being filtered through a forest canopy– alluring and glowing, giving us reassurance that the light will find its way through the darkness.

    If you’d like to see more of the work of Elise Morris, please visit her website and Facebook page.

    All images via the artist’s website.

  • Confused Identities: Winifred Johnson Brewer

    Confused Identities: Winifred Johnson Brewer

    Its so easy sometimes to lose sight of exactly who we are.  Circumstances bend and shape us in ways we didn’t foresee and then one day, we glance in the mirror and don’t recognize the face looking back.  The work of Los Angeles based artist Winifred Johnson Brewer seems to address issues of confusion in the environment and within ourselves.

    Winifred Johnson Brewer Winifred Johnson Brewer Winifred Johnson Brewer Winifred Johnson Brewer Winifred Johnson Brewer

    On her website, the artist recounts a story of confusion happening among honeybees.  Although the bees are not attracted to artificial light like moths might be, the artist witnessed the insects circling a bare lightbulb in her studio, then dying in a pool on the floor.  The bees seem to be forgetting their very innate nature, then suffering the consequences for it.  How often have we done the same?  Lost sight of our own talents or goals in order to fit in or succeed?  If we continue to don our masks, our real selves are likely to go the way of the honeybee.

    To see more of Winifred Johnson Brewer‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Translucent Mountains: Ellie Malin

    Translucent Mountains: Ellie Malin

    The snow is beginning to fall in the upper elevations on the Olympic Mountains here in Washington.  Something about the steep crags covered in snow melts my heart and captures by soul every time I see it.  I love that Mr. F always points it out to me, when the snow begins to appear, to make sure I don’t miss it.  In her woodblock prints, Melbourne artist Ellie Malin reduces the mountainous landscape to their most simple pointed forms.

    Radiant Mountain IV by Ellie Malin Sundown Landscape I & II by Ellie Malin Reflective Landscape by Ellie Malin Moving Mountain, Steep Slope I & II and Translucent Landscape by Ellie Malin Sundown Landscape by Ellie Malin

    The way she uses opaque and translucent shapes to echo the varying planes of the mountains captures the mysterious layers perfectly.  These prints make me want to hike through each canyon and over each peak!  There is always something about breaking forms down to their very simplest shapes and planes that I find so satisfying.

    To see more of Ellie Malin‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Life, In Abundance: Naomi Okubo

    Life, In Abundance: Naomi Okubo

    It’s so easy to forget how good we have it.  We get so caught up in what isn’t going right in our lives or what is challenging us that we neglect to remember how very full of wonder and sparkle life is.  The work of Japanese artist Naomi Okubo is so full of layered jubilant pattern that you can’t help but remember your lost joie de vivre.

    Naomi Okubo Naomi Okubo Naomi Okubo Naomi Okubo Naomi Okubo

    I love that it feels like you’ve walked into the middle of some kind of fabulous party, completely with confetti and streamers.  The flat layering of texture and pattern give her paintings a collage like feeling to them, snaps of life pieced together to create irresistibly charming work.

    To see more work by Naomi Okubo, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Awaiting the Return: Kiana Mosely

    Awaiting the Return: Kiana Mosely

    We are now well into November and the holiday season is approaching at lightning speed ( see yesterday’s Artsy Holiday post, early I know, but I couldn’t resist! ).  The brilliant October color has yielded to the breezes and leaves are now scattered across the landscape.  Nature has begun her winterizing and it seems a good long time before the flowers show themselves again.  These watercolors by Northwest artist Kiana Mosely have the feel of flowers pressed between the pages of books to remind us that spring will begin again.

    Boho by Kiana Mosely Boho by Kiana Mosely Boho by Kiana Mosely Boho by Kiana Mosely Boho by Kiana Mosely

    Kiana’s flowers have such a flowing simplicity and the characteristic “bleedy” quality of watercolors reinforces their pressed flower sensibility.  Its almost as if these flattened floral shapes are here to remind us that though the spring seems far away, the flowers are still there, waiting for the thaw.

    If you’d like to see more of Kiana Mosely‘s work, please visit her website and Facebook page.  Prints of these gorgeous watercolors are also available in her Etsy shop!

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Shapes and Structures: Agnes Barley

    Shapes and Structures: Agnes Barley

    I’ve always been fascinated by the way our minds inform our eyes.  How our brains connect   the proverbial dots to tell us that when we see certain shapes configured this way or that, we’re seeing three dimensional planes out of what is actually two dimensional surface.  In the abstract paintings of artist Agnes Barley, we see that by placing certain shapes against one another just so, the illusion of three dimensional space is created.

    Spores 3 by Agnes Barley Swelling Waves 6 by Agnes Barley Early Waves 7 by Agnes Barley Early Waves 4 by Agnes Barley Swelling Waves 7 by Agnes Barley

    Her shapes twist and turn and create shadows of themselves upon the painted surface, further reinforcing the dimensionality of the forms.  The objects created by putting these pieces together feel so architectural, they seem as if they could be studies for structures or sculpture.  I kind of want to climb on one and sit atop it, taking in the view.

    To see more of Agnes Barley‘s work, visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Foggy Gazes: Alyssa Monks

    Foggy Gazes: Alyssa Monks

    Here in the Northwest, we’re no strangers to the rain.  Months and months of time goes by seeing life through a haze of drizzle and mist.  Although the rain can be a bit tedious, Mr. Forager and I are always struck by the beauty it brings out in the way the landscape becomes distorted.  In her work, Brooklyn artist Alyssa Monks began with hyperrealistic depictions of women bathing and now finds the figures being pulled into a more abstract world.

    Blind by Alyssa Monks Still Wet by Alyssa Monks White ( study ) by Alyssa Monks Squeeze by Alyssa Monks Chance by Alyssa Monks

    Always interested in the distorting characteristics of figures seen through a veil of water, steam and glass, Monks’ latest work is pushing the figures further into the mist, leaving the figure secondary to the surface behind which she hides.  As the tall cedars peek out timidly from the fog, so do these figures seem hesitant to reveal themselves, adding the voyeuristic feel of Monks’ work.

    You can see more of Alyssa Monks’ work on her website and Facebook page.  If you’re near Rockville, MD, the artist will be giving a lecture and conducting a workshop with Capitol Arts Network this Friday and Saturday, November 8th & 9th.  You can find more information on the Capitol Arts Network website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Orbital Organics: Pamela Sunday

    Orbital Organics: Pamela Sunday

    I’m always fascinated by artists who find inspiration in nature.  What excites me even more is coming across an artist who interprets organic forms into work that is decidedly modern.  Brooklyn artist Pamela Sunday creates contemporary ceramic sculptures that nod to the biological forms found all around and inside us.

    Globoid by Pamela Sunday Gunmetal Sprocket by Pamela Sunday White Oculus by Pamela Sunday Blastoid by Pamela Sunday Black Cellular Sphere by Pamela Sunday

    Out of clay, the artist sculpts these magnificently strong yet delicate forms, so much like the environmental elements from which they take their inspiration.  Our bodies and the nature around us can withstand so much, but we still have to keep reminding ourselves that each body, each habitat has its own tipping point.  Life really is such a precarious balance, isn’t it?

    To see more of Pamela Sunday‘s work, please visit her website.

    Images via the artist’s website. Artist found via The Jealous Curator.

  • Longing for Eden: Lauren Matsumoto

    Longing for Eden: Lauren Matsumoto

    Being nature loving outdoorsy types, Mr. Forager and I sometimes discuss what it would have been like for Adam & Eve– to dwell peacefully with wild animals.  Mr. F hopes that being able to interact safely with wild creatures will be one of the perks of heaven.  He really really wants to hug a grizzly bear.  In her mixed media work, New York based artist Lauren Matsumoto uses unexpected elements to focus on nature and how we relate to it.

    Matsumoto_Oracle Observatory Matsumoto_mushroom patch Matsumoto_winter bloom Matsumoto_Pet Matsumoto_Flowerburst

     

    The artist uses female figures from vintage erotica among playful and whimsical flora.  But  there is an element of the looming industrial age, as planes, satellites, and automobiles threaten to intrude and destroy our love affair with nature.  How often do we completely unplug?  No wifi, no cell phones, no cable t.v.  It’s definitely easier said than done, but maybe if we try it, we can recapture some of that peaceable kingdom that once was.

    Please visit Lauren Matsumoto‘s website to see more of her work.

    All images are via the artist’s website and Facebook page.  Artist found via Uprise Art.

  • November Featured Artist: M.A. Tateishi

    November Featured Artist: M.A. Tateishi

    It’s the end of the week, but the beginning of a brand new month!  Oh, October, did you have to go so soon?  I’ll forgive you, though, because November means a new Featured Artist and she is one of my long-time faves!  The work of Vancouver, BC artist M.A. Tateishi explodes with color and movement, so its fitting that the artist would find recent inspiration in the undersea realm.

    M.A. Tateishi M.A. Tateishi M.A. Tateishi M.A. Tateishi M.A. Tateishi

    Following a trip to the Vancouver Aquarium, the artist has been cranking out these jellyfish inspired works. ( if you’re up Vancouver-way, there’s a special jellyfish exhibit but it’s only on exhibit until November 14th! )  The graceful, flowing creatures are a perfect vehicle for Tateishi’s bold, fluid style.  The jellyfish are part of a new Pure series, in which the artist combines drawing and pure, transparent colored resin.  Stunning, right??

    All this month, I’ll be featuring M.A.’s work here on the blog and the Artsy Forager social media pages.  Be sure to head over to Facebook where her work will be gracing the cover of our page and I’ve put together an album of my personal Tateishi faves.

    Another note for you Vancouverites ( Vancouverians? ), M.A. Tateishi will be participating in the Eastside Culture Crawl with 400 fellow artists November 15-17th.  Don’t miss out on the chance to see these beauties in person!  Want to see more?  Make sure you visit M.A.’s website and Facebook page.

    All images via the artist.