Category: Paintings

  • Everywhere There’s Signs. Kellie Talbot

    Everywhere There’s Signs. Kellie Talbot

    For the last century or so, signage has become a ubiquitous part of the American landscape. In the mid twentieth century especially, neon signage became not just advertising but an art form unto itself.  These letters in light have been slowly fading from view and Seattle artist Kellie Talbot  captures their spirit in her work.

    Kellie Talbot | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Kellie Talbot | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Kellie Talbot | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Kellie Talbot | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Kellie Talbot | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart

     

    In her oil paintings, Talbot crops closely into the neon letters, where we can see not only the bright paint, but the signs of age and wear.  In daylight, we see not bright colored lines of light, but milky white tubes and bulbs.  What I love most about Talbot’s work is the way the pieces are composed, slight glimpses of shapes that we can just make out as letters.

    To see more of Kellie Talbot‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Distilled Visions. Micah Crandall Bear

    Distilled Visions. Micah Crandall Bear

    The other day Mr. F and I hiked up a hill in nearby Trinidad to a spot looking out over the ocean.  As we gazed out over the Pacific, I wondered at the way the colors in the water faded into each other in distinctive strips.  Sacramento artist Micah Crandall-Bear paints color field paintings that distill the landscape into saturated lines of color.

    Micah Crandall-Bear | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Micah Crandall-Bear | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Micah Crandall-Bear | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Micah Crandall-Bear | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Micah Crandall-Bear | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart

    Gentle washes of color sweep over the canvases, light filtering softly through, each piece recalling a moment in time and place, never to be experienced again.  Saturated skies reflect their colored light and bathe every other hue.

    To see more of Micah Crandall-Bear‘s work, please visit his website.  His current solo show at  Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento is up through the end of July, see it if you can!

    Images via the artist’s website, the Elliott Fouts Gallery website & the EF Facebook page.

  • Painted Air. Clara Fialho

    Painted Air. Clara Fialho

    It’s true, I love work filled with deep color and contrast.  But occasionally I crave something that feels fresh and light as air.  The work of Brazilian born, New York based artist Clara Fialho feels like such a breath of fresh painted air.  A balm for this artsy’s spirit.

    Clara Fialho | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #abstractart #contemporaryart Clara Fialho | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #abstractart #contemporaryart Clara Fialho | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #abstractart #contemporaryart Clara Fialho | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #abstractart #contemporaryart Clara Fialho | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #abstractart #contemporaryart

     

    While some of Fialho’s work has a much more saturated palette, it was to these lighter paintings and drawings I found myself drawn.  There is such a delicacy to them, not just in the lightness of hue but in the way many of the shapes seem to float weightlessly above the surface.  There seems a sense of freedom to these pieces, the shackles of saturation cast away and a dance of joy begun.

    To see more of Clara Fialho‘s work, please visit her website.

    All work via the artist’s website.

  • Camp Camo: Tara Lee Guild

    Camp Camo: Tara Lee Guild

    ‘Tis the season for camping!  While Mr. F and I are currently tent campers, we have a soft spot for Airstreams.  We aren’t the only ones, though, these aluminum beauties have fans all over the world.  Vancouver artist Taralee Guild captures the way their reflective surfaces camouflage and distort their surroundings.

    Taralee Guild | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Taralee Guild | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Taralee Guild | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Taralee Guild | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Taralee Guild | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart

     

    Mr. F and I are definitely low-impact campers– we try not to disturb our surroundings much when we camp.  That kind of philosophy may seem to be at odds with these kinds of campers, yet the Airstreams mirror-like surface make them seem almost holographic, taking in and then reflecting back their surroundings.  They blend in, yet are still set apart.

    To see more of Tara Lee Guild‘s work, please visit her website.  We’re heading out to do some of our own sleeping under the stars this weekend.  What kind of camper are you?  Tent or trailer?  RV or cabin?

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Blocked In: Louise Belcourt

    Blocked In: Louise Belcourt

    We are down to seven more weeks left in Eureka.  That is, if Mr. F’s contract doesn’t get extended, which we think it will.  Mr. F always knows exactly how many weeks we have left in one spot.  He is such a wanderer, too long in one place and he begins to feel a bit hemmed in.  And I admit, it’s rubbed off a bit on me.  Living in someone else’s home, with their stuff, a view that I didn’t choose, will often leave me a bit unsatisfied, too and ready to move on in our adventures.  In her work, Brooklyn artist Louise Belcourt explores her own views in the shapes and forms she sees and the one’s that block her vision.

    Louise Belcourt | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Louise Belcourt | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Louise Belcourt | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Louise Belcourt | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Louise Belcourt | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart

    Belcourt takes her inspiration from the views she sees, using color and form to play with their spatiality and physicality.  Forms seem to recede and advance at the same time, just as our time in one place seems both long and short-lived.

    To see more of Louise Belcourt‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Aqua Therapy: Carol O’Malia

    Aqua Therapy: Carol O’Malia

    It hardly feels like summer.  Here on the Northern Cali coast, the temps have barely ever gotten out of the sixties– I’m still wearing scarves and boots on occasion!  In addition to the cooler weather, Mr. F and I both seem to be having trouble getting into a relaxed summer vibe these days.  There always seems to be something on the agenda, something to be done, something to plan, somewhere to go.  I feel like we’re missing out a bit on the carefree feeling that summer brings, but these paintings by Massachusetts artist Carol O’Malia bring me that much closer.

    Carol O'Malia | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart #summer Carol O'Malia | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart #summer Carol O'Malia | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart #summer Carol O'Malia | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart #summer Carol O'Malia | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart #summer

    Any time we’re able to get to the beach, a river or waterfall, any body of water, really, and I see the ripples sparkling in the sun, my mind instantly relaxes and calms.  O’Malia really captures the radiance of summer light, not just sunlight, but the way we feel more effervescent in summer.  I’m still waiting for that weightless feeling, forgetting everything that’s  happening in the world and just soak it all in.  I hope it comes soon.

    To see more of Carol O’Malia’s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • American Jam: Joe Wardwell

    American Jam: Joe Wardwell

    If you were paying close attention to Don’t Miss Artsiness a few weeks ago, you may have spotted this artist’s work.  The mind-bending work of Joe Wardwell mixes classical American landscape paintings with rock lyrics and the result is just as phenomenal as you think it would be.

    Joe Wardwell | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Joe Wardwell | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Joe Wardwell | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Joe Wardwell | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Joe Wardwell | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart

     

    Music lyrics become such a huge part of our psyche.  These little soundbites pop into our head, often when we least expect it.  We can sing along with tens of thousands of other people at a concert, every voice lifted up in harmony.  We know the music we love as well as we know our own backyards.  Wardwell makes a connection between the American love of the landscape to the permeation of pop culture, creating these mirror-like stenciled scenes that remind us that music, as well as art, is just another kind of exploration.

    To see more of Joe Wardwell‘s work, please visit his website. You can see his work in the current exhibition at La Montagne Gallery in Boston.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Wear the Artsy: Carlos Lopez + Emily Miranda

    Wear the Artsy: Carlos Lopez + Emily Miranda

    This past Sunday, following more weekend festivities than is normal for us, Mr. F and I took to the beach for the afternoon.  There is always something about the salt air, the crash of the waves, and the sand between your toes that is healing for the psyche!  Doesn’t the ocean have its own special, briny scent?  And it always seems to give sparkle to everything it produces.  The paintings of this month’s Featured Artist Carlos Lopez gives expression to the nourishing power of the sea and jewelry artist Emily Miranda‘s Oyster Cuff is the perfect sparkly companion!

    Wear the Artsy: Carlos Lopez + Emily Miranda | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #jewelry

     art | Study #1 by Carlos Lopez

    jewelry | Oyster Cuff by Emily Miranda 

    Carlos is masterful at expressing the oyster’s gentle, undulating curves in paint, mimicking the rollicking waves, just as Emily Miranda sculpts those same contours from in her cuff bracelet.  One work of art to see, one to wear.

    To see more of Carlos Lopez‘s work, please visit his website.  You can see more gorgeous jewelry by Emily Miranda on her website.  Both a feast for the eyes!

    Image sources via links above.

  • Consumer Culture: Robert Mars

    Consumer Culture: Robert Mars

    Happy Independence Day!  I hope you don’t mind if I get a little deep on you today.  The work of Robert Mars explores the idealization and fascination we as a nation have developed with pop culture, brands, and celebrity and it got me thinking this week.

    Robert Mars | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart

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    I had originally written a long rant-y post about american consumerism, but decided this morning that it just didn’t fit the positive and light-hearted vibe I try to keep up around this joint.  So I’ll let you draw your own conclusions. 😉 Hope you have an incredibly artsy Independence Day!

    You can see more of the work of Robert Mars on his website.

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

  • Unfolding Ourselves: Marcelo Daldoce

    Unfolding Ourselves: Marcelo Daldoce

    Two artist posts in one day?!  I know I don’t usually do this, but when I saw this artist’s work on Booooooom! I just couldn’t wait until next week to share it with you.  Mostly self-taught New York artist Marcelo Daldoce creates these absolutely incredible folded watercolor paintings in which the figure hides and reveals itself through the artist’s manipulation of his surface.

    Marcelo Daldoce | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Marcelo Daldoce | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Marcelo Daldoce | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Marcelo Daldoce | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Marcelo Daldoce | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart

    From his artist statement, “My work focuses on the terrain beyond the conventional two-dimensional landscape of paper and canvas. In bringing to life a flat surface, I strive to create a puzzle between what is real and what is illusion..”  Isn’t it interesting how we tend to do this for ourselves, folding in and hiding the parts of us we don’t what others to see, manipulating our own surface so that we only reveal a studied portrait of the person we’d like everyone else to assume we are.  I’d like to be more transparent, to unfold my own portrait so that I’m no longer hiding any part of me.  So that what you see is what is me.

    To see more of Marcelo Daldoce‘s work, please visit his website.

    All images via the artist’s website.  Artist found via Booooooom.