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Category: Daily Artsy

Artists featured in a solo spot on Artsy Forager

This Artsy Life: Weekend 16 [ Our Last in Joshua Tree ]

Happy Earth Day, dear Artsies! I wish I could tell you that in anticipation of the celebration of our beautiful planet that Mr. Forager & I got out and did some hiking during our last weekend in Joshua Tree. But alas, there were errands to run, boxes to pack, and it was close to 90 degrees here in the desert, which when hiking with little shade feels like triple digits!

As we prepare to bid farewell to JT, I thought you might enjoy a few peeks inside our past forays into JT National Park to celebrate Earth Day!

It’s been lovely, Joshua Tree. I wish we could say we will miss you like crazy, but you deserve folks who love you like we never could. It’s not you, it’s us. Farewell.

To see more images from This Artsy Life, follow Artsy Forager on Instagram! We don’t have any adorable kitties or pups to fill up our feed, but there is the occasional super cute image of the gosh darn handsome Mr. Forager.

All images by Artsy Forager.

April 22, 2013
Finding Place: Robert Josiah Bingaman

As you know, dear Artsies, our time in the California high desert is quickly coming to an end. We are this very moment packing and preparing to leave Joshua Tree on Saturday. As much as we’ve been looking forward to this day, anytime you make yourself at home anywhere, leaving can be the slightest bit bittersweet. In each new spot, we find ourselves searching, contemplating.. could we live here permanently? Could this be home? Very often we find the answer to that question rather quickly, but it doesn’t diminish how unique we find each place and how each one carries its own memories. The work of Kansas City artist Robert Josiah Bingaman resonates with the recollections of moments we find with each place we visit.

Texas, acrylic on linen, 102×61

I-70 Drive-In, acrylic on birch, 24×18

Bingaman captures the magic of those flashes in time, when we become engrossed in the scene in which we find ourselves, instead of thinking of where we are headed next. We see the beauty in the simplicity of neon against a night sky or a small corner of a big world.

Trex Northwest, acrylic on panel, 20×16

Trex Southwest, acrylic on panel, 20×16

It’s so easy to focus on what isn’t right about a place. Especially as Mr. F and I always know that for now, each spot is just a temporary home. But we’ve found that once a place is just a memory, we tend to recall it more fondly. Its flaws fade and we learn to love it from afar.

Nevada, acrylic on linen, 120×54

To see more of Robert Josiah Bingaman’s work, please visit his website.

Artist found via New American Paintings. All images via the artist’s website.

April 22, 2013
Design Foraging: Wonky Pots

I don’t know about you, but I love anything that’s just a bit off.. wonky if you will. So of course, I’m loving this collection of Wonky Pots by Anthropologie Featured Artist Vanja Bazdulj. A little odd, a little irregular, a whole lot wonderful! Here are a few of my favorites!

Small Yellow Wonky Pot

Large Jug Handle Wonky Pot

Large Coral Kingdom Wonky Pot

Large Riptide Wonky Pot

Small Pink Strip Wonky Pot

Normal is completely underrated! ( see yesterday’s post 😉 ) I’ll take my artsy a little on the wonky side any day. Happy weekend, Artsies!

All images via Anthropologie here.

April 19, 2013
Deceptive Beauty: Olaf Hajek

There has been a poignant video being posted all over social media this week. By now, you’ve probably seen the Dove Real Beauty Sketches on YouTube. In it, we are confronted with the disparity between the way others see us and how we perceive ourselves. As I was watching it this week, it brought to mind these portraits by German artist Olaf Hajek.

In these portraits, we see women of African descent adorned in the extravagant style of Marie Antoinette, the standard of beauty and opulence in her day. These women look every bit as refined and elegant as Antoinette ever did, yet there is a discomfort and sadness about them.

To put on the trappings of another person’s beauty is to not embrace what is truly beautiful about ourselves. We all buy into the lies being told that we need to look a certain way to be considered attractive. Do the birds in all their glory worry about the way their feathers are arranged?

We are constantly in search of the next fashion trend, face cream or make-up that will transform us into the beauty we hope to be. But instead, why don’t we embrace our beauty for what it is? We are each uniquely lovely in a way that no other person in the world could be.

To see more of Olaf Hajek’s work, please visit his website. For a laugh, check out this parody of the Dove Real Beauty Sketches. 😉

Images via the artist’s website.

April 18, 2013
Win Artsy Stuff! The April Art Association Contest is Here!

Yep, it’s back! The time has come once again for your monthly Pinterest image association bonanza AKA the Art Association Pinterest contest, wherein Erin of artsocial and I team up with an artist to get your own creative juices flowin’ AND give you a chance to win an awesome piece of artwork!

If you’re new to Art Association, here’s the haps– You create a Pinterest board around one work of art ( which we provide ), filled with anything and everything that pops into your mind while gazing at the catalyst piece.

Our catalyst piece for this month is Untitled by Jessica Brilli ( below )! I can hear all your wheels turning already..

Untitled by Jessica Brilli

Here’s how Art Association works–

Step 1| We give you a piece of artwork, this month’s work is Untitled by Jessica Brilli ( above ).

Step 2 | You create a Pinterest board titled Art Association, like mine here, where you pin any and all images you associate with the featured artwork ( like word associations, only visual )– here’s a sneak peek at some of my associations

Step 3 | Leave a link to your Art Association pinboard in the Comments section of this post

Step 4 | Follow both art social and Artsy Forager on Pinterest ( if you already are, you’re ahead of the game! )

Here’s what you can win–

Voss, limited edition print on paper, 8×10 ( edition size 200 )

I mean seriously, how fun is this print?! Perfect addition to an artsy office, I say!

The pinner with the best Art Association board ( as judged by me and Erin ) will be chosen on Wednesday, April 24th at 5pm (mountain standard time). Now GO– PIN!!

**So sorry but the contest is open to US residents only. Stupid laws.

Would you like your artwork to be featured as an Art Association subject? Shoot me an email atartsyforager@att.net or Erin an email at artsocialonline@gmail.com for more info.

Art images via Jessica Brilli.

April 17, 2013
Chloro-Forms: Erin McKenna

In this world, it’s difficult sometimes to find something truly genuine. Everything seems to be derivative of some earlier idea. In her We’re Going on Vacation series, sculptor Erin McKenna takes fragments of hot tubs and plays with their inherent imitator qualities to create sculptures recalling sea life, both of the artificial and organic variety.

Brominator, altered piece of hot tub, glitter, flocking, sculptamold, enamel paint, 19x9x13

So hot tubs are designed to look like the inside of shells– thinking that somehow our simple minds might be fooled into thinking we are in some sort of tropical hot spring instead of where we really are, a plastic box full of chlorinated water. McKenna takes broken pieces of jacuzzi plastic and reminds us of the artificiality they represent by recreating them into artificial representations of actual seashells.

Crest, altered piece of hot tub, glitter, flocking, sculptamold, Great Stuff, enamel paint, 19x12x15

Clam, altered piece of hot tub, resin, glitter, flocking, paper mach, enamel paint, 31x23x15

Shell, altered piece of hot tub, resin, glitter, flocking, paper mache, enamel paint, 15x8x9

I think that’s what I find most interesting about McKenna’s Vacation series.. the glorification of imitation. Taking an object that emulates nature and fashioning it into objects that parody that same nature. There’s a parallel with our own lives in there somewhere. How often do we borrow ideas only for them to echo back to us their counterfeit nature?

Crustacean, altered piece of hot tub, glitter, flocking, sculptamold, enamel paint, 12x16x8

To see more of Erin McKenna’s work, please visit her website.

All images via the artist’s website.

April 17, 2013
Artsy on Escape Into Life: Megan Dorien

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!

Fire Hydrant by Megan Dorien

Megan Dorien on Escape Into Life

Image via the artist’s website.

April 16, 2013
Twisted Takes: Russ Noto

What does an artist do when he is gifted with classical skills yet wants his work to be modern and exciting and relevant? For painter Russ Noto, it means creating figures who strike traditional poses, but adding elements of the absurd.

Figure with Painted Horse, oil on canvas, 33×43

Push/Pull, oil on panel

Classically posed figures in contemporary clothing are placed in incongruous situations. Kind of leaving us to wonder.. where does traditional work and style fit in? Is it still pertinent to the conversation?

New Quixote, oil on canvas, 33×43

Venus in Exile, oil on canvas, 33×43

There is an inherent sadness to Noto’s work. It’s as if his archetypal characters have been set down in unfamiliar territory and now find themselves isolated and despondent.

Beauty and Violence No.2, oil on canvas, 33×43

But is the future of classical work and traditional themes so bleak? Is there truly room for all in contemporary art? Deep thoughts for a Monday. If you’d like to see more of Russ Noto’s work, and I highly recommend you do, please visit his website.

April 15, 2013
Design Foraging: Cloud Illusions, I Recall

Monday morning, as Mr. Forager & I were leaving home, we both got excited at how grey and blustery a morning it was here in the desert. A “Northwest kind of day!” we both exclaimed. Perhaps you might think us a bit odd, but we really miss the grey and the rain. Cool days spent reading in a coffee shop, wandering through used bookstores and galleries. Those days just don’t seem to happen here in the desert. So as I’m finding myself longing for clouds, I rounded up a few artsy finds of the cumulus variety!

Cloud Slivers Lamp at Anthropologie

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Animal Clouds Pillow by SCHOP

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Tiny Cloud Necklace by Boutique MI

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White Cloud Teaspoon Rest by JD Wolfe Pottery

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Rainy Day Wool Throw at Leif Shop

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Hope you have a wonderful weekend and may all your clouds end in rainbows. See you Monday, Artsies!

April 12, 2013
Seeing Askew: Travis Collinson

One of my favorite things is to discover new views just by changing my angle of perspective. How much more interesting some things become when we look at them with different eyes! The work of San Francisco artist Travis Collinson challenges us to see consider simple scenes from a new aspect.

Scatter, oil on canvas, 48×48

Collinson’s figures, often caught in moments of what seems to be a trance-like state, are seen by the viewer in a sometimes voyeuristic perspective. We may feel as if we are walking in upon a moment of private reflection, or intruding on the subject’s privacy.

Marcy, acrylic on linen, 14×12

The Pornography of Nature, acrylic on canvas, 18×20

Upside Down, acrylic on canvas, 66×90

In each composition, there is always the tiniest detail that almost goes without notice. Yet once it has been seen, we can’t un-see it. And it captures our attention with each glance, changing how we consider everything else we’re taking in.

Rutso, acrylic on canvas, 56×32

To see more of Travis Collinson’s work, please visit the websites of his representing galleries, Eli Ridgway Gallery and Maloney Fine Art.

Artist found via New American Paintings. Scatter via Maloney Fine Art, all other images via Eli Ridgway Gallery.

April 11, 2013

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