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Category: Paintings

Unruly Surfaces: Howard Sherman

Last week, while Mr. F and I were out with a few of his work colleagues, we discovered that, at a table of four adults in their 30s/40s, every single one of us came from a divorced family. It seems that we all become torn and tattered as life gets ahold of us. Not just the kids of divorce, but anyone who’s gone through pain, suffering, and loss. But it’s how we deal with our circumstances that determines the people we become. In his mixed media work, artist Howard Sherman uses a process of addition and subtraction to create unruly surfaces that result in a beautiful mess.

Just as we react to our own situation, Sherman describes his work process as a bit of “call and response”.. Each action creates a reaction, and it is up to the artist whether the result is something to keep or cover up. Just as we act and react to people, events, and circumstances in our lives, it is up to us to decide how we are affected and what our own final composition will be.

To see more of Howard Sherman‘s work, please visit his website.

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

July 2, 2014
The Artsy Nature: Joshua Tree & Karen Silve

While Mr. F and I were reluctant desert-dwellers and are sure to steer clear in the summer months, I’ll be the first to admit that spring in the desert is absolutely enchanting. What has been dry and dormant for months on end comes to life with color!

This post is the second in a new series, The Artsy Nature, in which I pair a photograph from our travels and forays into the wild with a work of art in which I find a reminder of that moment.

photo | cholla blooming in Joshua Tree, CA

art | Wildflowers 1 by Karen Silve

Though I have no idea the original inspiration for Karen Silve‘s Wildflowers 1 ( cropped above ), the palette of yellows and greens instantly takes me back to our desert spring. It was a time when we knew our own arid wandering would soon come to end and life was filled with dreaming of new beginnings. That spring was also a time of renewal for both of us, I remember us both brimming with energy and creativity, just as Silve’s painting is awash in lively movement.

Check out The Artsy Nature archives for more in the series!

Photo by Artsy Forager, art image credit linked above.

July 1, 2014
July Featured Artist Carlos Lopez

Humboldt County, our temporary home of the moment, is apparently known for its oysters ( among other things, ahem.. ). Their fame and abundance is pretty much completely lost on me. I’ve just never been much of a fan, will only eat them fried ( hello, southern girl ) or baked with champagne and brie ‘cuz I’m fancy like that and Mr. F makes them this way and they are not only palatable but to die for delicious! If there were any other way to make me love them, it would be through the work of this month’s Featured Artist Carlos Lopez, who finds amazing beauty in their jagged shells.

I’ve featured the work of this young New Orleans painter before and he is constantly “painting, painting” as his daily Facebook status attests, cranking out new, inventive ways of seeing his signature subject. Most recently, he’s taken to isolating his oyster shells on bright, bold backgrounds, giving them a contemporary pop quality that is especially striking. You’ll be seeing more from Carlos all through this month, so stay tuned!

To see more work from Carlos Lopez, please visit his website and the website of his representing gallery, Gallery Orange in New Orleans. Be sure to head over to the Artsy Forager Facebook page where Carlos is our cover artist and I’ve put together an album of my Lopez faves!

All images via the artist’s website.

July 1, 2014
Dream States: Marie Rosen

Mr. Forager and I love to share dreams. I’m not just talking about the speculative, what if, kind of dreams, but the productions put on by our subconscious while we’re sleeping. If either of us has an interesting or unusual dream, we always share it. The work of Belgian artist Marie Rosen has the same surreal, things are not quite what they seem feeling, so often found in our dreams.

Flat planes and barren landscapes defy reality and keep us from knowing for certain how the elements of each piece fit together– landings leading to nowhere, tiny feet gather beneath a giant covered table. It’s that same incongruity that so often leads us feeling out of sorts following a particularly vivid dream. Things seem almost real, yet we know they are only imaginings.

To see more of Marie Rosen‘s work, please visit her website.

All images are via the artist’s website. Artist found via Art Hound.

June 30, 2014
Bought & Paid For: Jaye Schlesinger

We live in a world of labels. Where the things we consume are linked to who we are– our personality, our political views, our wealth. Yet we make assumptions based on the consumption habits of other people all the time, whether consciously or unconsciously done. We gather around us these symbols of status and wealth, often more important to our perception of ourselves than anyone else. Michigan artist Jaye Schlesinger captures in paint the tokens of consumption that are often prized as much as the products themselves.

In the past, I’ve been as guilty of this as anyone, hoarding bags from my favorite luxury stores, even carrying my lunch to work in one occasionally. There is nothing wrong with nice things, of course, and if we can afford luxuries, why not treat ourselves? But the danger comes when we begin to judge others on the basis of what they can’t afford. For me, traveling with Mr. F has been incredibly freeing for my own magpie tendencies. We can only carry so much with us and, as we move from place to place, we find that more often than not, the people we meet are much more interested in who we are than in the car we drive or the clothes we wear. It is teaching me a lesson in perception that I’m not sure I would have learned otherwise.

Wow, heavy stuff for a Friday, eh? Jaye Schlesinger has more beautiful paintings of ordinary things ( my fave! ) on her website. Be sure to check it out!

All images are via the artist’s website. Artist found via the Elliot Fouts Gallery.

June 27, 2014
Summer Lovin’: Elizabeth Lennie

Summer is officially here! ‘Tis the season we take to the water! Perhaps as an escape from the heat, but even more so, we are drawn to watery places this time of year because of the calming effect of water upon our souls and spirits. In summer, we give ourselves permission to pause and it’s tough to be stressed and harried when gazing out over the ocean’s horizon. Toronto artist Elizabeth Lennie captures the way summer draws us to the water and out of our depths.

While Lennie’s portfolio is filled with more typical watery palettes of blues and greens, it was to these warmer pieces that I found myself most drawn. Something about these peachy tones reminded me so much of the slowing down we do in the summer time. Perhaps they recall the glow of sunset over a day spent in nothing but play, with no plans to stop any time soon. A day when we let ourselves linger, whether on the beach or simply over dinner on the patio at home, we relish relaxation in summer, a lesson we could all carry over into every other season.

To see more of Elizabeth Lennie‘s work, please visit her website. Mr. Forager & I have lots of waterside backpacking and camping planned for this summer. How are you relaxing this summer?

All images are via the artist’s website.

June 23, 2014
Flora Unleashed: Laurence Amelie

It seems I’ve been more obsessed with flowers this spring than ever. Perhaps because here in Northern California, everything has been blooming like crazy! I’m constantly discovering new floral delights, both of the cultivated and wild varieties. Our favorites are the wildflowers that can only be discovered by hiking into the woods, where they grow freely and without abandon. These paintings by French artist Laurence Amelie capture the untamed beauty of flora unleashed.

When we’re hiking, I often wonder how a certain flower came to be in the place we find it. Was it’s seed dropped by an overhead bird? Or carried on the wind to arrive at its destination? Whatever the method, the result is a beautifully haphazard garden where flowers grow content and untethered. On her website, the artist refers to this as “poetic disorder”. Such a lovely turn of phrase for the way in which wild things grow.

To see more of Laurence Amelie‘s work, please visit her website.

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

June 19, 2014
Liquid Amore: Mallory Page

We’ve all been there. Those incredible moments when we first fall in love– like walking on clouds, floating on the gentle rock of a warm ocean. We are consumed in total by our love, seeing the world through a veil of ardor. In her large scale abstract paintings, New Orleans artist Mallory Page allows thoughts of the different kinds of love we experience to guide her through the mystical world of abstraction.

From the passion of first love to the warmth of a lasting friendship, Page captures the way our emotions flow into and out of one another, gradual shifts often happening before we even notice them. Intense, dark color gives way to translucent light. Aren’t these just stunning? Just like love, they’ve totally drawn me in.

To see more of Mallory Page‘s work, please visit her website.

All images are via the artist’s website.

June 17, 2014
Artsy Lately: Lee Price

This artist’s work always gets me. Not just because it’s incredibly gorgeous and highly skilled, it is. But each piece is filled with so much emotion and narrative, it’s like a beautiful punch in the gut. I first featured the paintings ( that’s right, paintings!! ) of Lee Price way back in January 2012 while I was writing Artist Watch posts for Escape Into Life. The work effected me so much that it took another three months before I could write a full feature for the blog.

These new pieces are similar to Price’s older work, in that we still see isolated women in the bed or bath, but the work has evolved to either a more positive or more sinister perspective, depending on your interpretation. We still seem to see a woman in struggle, yet these seem much more subversive. Instead of a woman surrounded by the detritus of a cupcake binge, instead, we’re confronted with women enveloped by artificial representations of treats or even more telling, an empty bowl.

We have such a powerful relationship with the food and drink we consume. It literally has the power to nourish or destroy. And in the world of fast, highly processed food and GMOs, the choice of what we eat has never seemed more fraught with danger.

To see more of Lee Price‘s work, please visit her website.

All images via the artist’s website.

June 17, 2014
Spatial Longings: Caroline Sharpless

In our travels, Mr. F and I have moved into and out of nine homes so far. Each move in day is filled with excitement and a bit of nervous energy in finding ourselves in a new place and each move out being filled with a bit of sadness in leaving what’s been home. In her work, artist Caroline Sharpless paints empty spaces that seem to anticipate the departure or arrival of their inhabitants.

The perspective of the paintings are often looking through the room and out the window view, that can give them a slightly melancholy feeling, and the muted palette seems to long for human vibrancy. After all, buildings are merely vessels of steel and concrete until they are brought to life by people wandering their halls and gazing out their windows.

To see more of Caroline Sharpless‘ work, please visit her website.

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

June 13, 2014

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artistic pathfinding by lesley frenz

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