There is a temporary, transitory nature to drawings that always make them seem much more loose and free than their painted counterparts. The pastel work of Memphis artist Pinkney Herbert explodes with the energy of an artist unfettered.
Fanfare 2, pastel on paper, 29×41
Maybe it’s the relative inexpense of paper vs. canvas or the fact that work on paper is usually seen as merely preparation and practice for more permanent work. Herbert’s work on paper, for me, has a frenetic energy that is incredibly appealing and engaging ( not that his painted work isn’t– check out his paintings here! )
Tower 1, pastel on paper, 29×41Tower 2, pastel on paper, 29×41
You can practically see the artist’s movement as his hand sweeps feverishly across the surface of the paper.
Attune, pastel on paper, 29×41
To see more of Pinkney Herbert’s work, please visit his website.
While I adore abstracts full of wild, expressive brushstrokes, sometimes abstracts with a focus on quiet shapes and patterns are a welcome respite. In today’s Artist Watch over on Escape Into Life, I’m featuring the work of Lucy Mink, whose paintings feature muted tones and the comfort of repetitive patterns. See Lucy Mink’s Artist Watch here!
What He Does and He Thinks About Notches, oil on linen over panel, 8×9
Because of the transitory nature of my life currently, many times Mr. Forager and I will purposely seek out coffee shops, art openings, and pubs merely for the opportunity to interact face to face with other people. Baltimore based artist Laura Hudson takes such opportunities a few steps further, cultivating events in order to draw people together, observe their scenes of interaction, then distilling selected scenes as life-scale paintings.
It’s no secret that colors can have an effect on our mood. There are certain shades that just make me happy and artwork that concentrates on the interaction of colors and their properties make my heart sing. Chicago artist Judy Ledgerwood’s work explores the ways in which the placement of color creates graphic interplay and the illusion of light.
Is This an Audience or..?, acrylic gouache & oil on canvas, 60×54
Ledgerwood’s large scale works are drenched in saturated color, focusing on simple shapes and patterns. The eye isn’t distracted by detail but can concentrate on the sheer beauty of color and shape.
Floridita, oil on canvas, 38.1×38.1Tangerine Sun and Summer Sea, oil on canvas, 15×15Tequila Sunrise, oil on canvas, 80×96
She uses the placement of color to play with pattern and light. Shadows and movement emerge through the simple interaction of color.
Garden Gate, oil on canvas, 50×60
To see more of Judy Ledgerwood’s work, please visit her page on ArtSlant.
I’ve always had a fascination with Asian cultures, especially Chinese folklore and familial traditions. Chinese American artist Hung Liu’s work evolves from her background in socialist realism taking traditional “mythic poses” of Chinese propoganda photography and reshaping them into visual stories of feminine strength.
Calendar Girl, mixed media, 41×60
The women in Liu’s paintings are not victims. They are towers of strength, their fortitude existing not in brute force but in quiet dignity.
Green Mountains, mixed media on panel, 41×41Soul Mates VII, mixed media, 13.5xx13.5
Series V, mixed media, 13.5×13.5
To see more of Hung Liu’s work, please visit her website, as well as the website of her representing gallery, Diehl Gallery, where I first discovered her work.
All images are via the artist’s representing Jackson Hole, WY gallery, Diehl Gallery.
There is so much cynicism to be had in this world, that sweetness and innocence seem to get lost in the shuffle. What drew me to the work of Scottish artist Catriona Miller is its charming purity.
Brighton Belle
Her figures gaze coyly to the side, just a hint of a smile on their lips. It’s as if they carry a delicious secret they cannot tell.
Daisy DaisySmall WorldRiver Man
Isn’t it interesting how we might often feel sorry for “simple” folks, yet how much more happy might they be than we?
Jack Jarrett
To see more of Catriona Miller’s work, please visit her website.
In the book I’m currently reading, The Opposite of Fate, author Amy Tan writes a great deal about the concept of fate, how much of what happens is in our own control or predetermined or even mere chance? In that same vein, how much control does an artist truly have in the creative process? Yucca Valley, CA artist William Loveless takes his own chances with the action & reaction of his materials in his series of glue paintings, which I first saw ( and fell in love with ) last weekend at The Red Arrow Gallery here in Joshua Tree.
#116 ( Resonance Strategy ), mixed media on panel, 36×36
Through this work, Loveless is able to “probe the intersection where the creative act meets the mystery of creation itself. Through experimentation with materials and their various autonomous interactions, I seek an organic empathy with the complex patterns and processes of the physical world.”
#12-53, mixed media on panel, 3.5×3.5×1.5#12-13, mixed media on panel, 3.5×3.5×1.5
Although the primary way in which the materials will react is known, what cannot be foreseen is the unique end result of every interaction. The final result being a record of a unique synergy to be found between the materials in that one moment.
#1204, mixed media on panel, 10x10x1.5
I see these interactions as similar to the way in which we connect with the world around us. Each moment we exist is a unique interchange between other individuals, other creatures, and the world around us.
To see more of William Loveless’s work, please visit his website/blog. If you’re Southern California, you can see his work in Culver City, in the exhibition ELEMENTal at Fresh Paint Art and in Joshua Tree at The Red Arrow Gallery.
I grew up around Mid-Century culture way before it was hipster cool. No, I’m not old enough to have experienced it first hand! But my dad did and we were heavily involved in a 1950s classic car club, one that celebrated mod style by restoring vintage cars, showing them off and even putting on the occasional sock-hop. Needless to say, when I spotted the California pop-tastic abstract work of New York artist Gary Petersen, it reminded me of the innovation and fantastic design that came from the atomic age.
What’s Between Us, acrylic and oil on masonite board, 16×20
Petersen uses overlapping and intersecting lines to create forms that play with our sense of perspective and place.
Step Up, acrylic and oil on masonite panel, 16×20Passage, acrylic and oil on masonite board, 16×20Don’t Go Anywhere, acrylic and oil on masonite board, 16×20
While perhaps the shapes may seem random, they create a palpable sense of movement across the canvas and even between each other. To see what I mean, try scrolling through down & up the post kind of quickly. The shapes seem to move, don’t they? Totally groovy.
Surround Sound, acrylic on masonite panel, 16×20
To see more of Gary Petersen’s work, please check out his website.
You may have noticed that moving over the website didn’t happen yesterday.. things didn’t quite go as planned. Working on it again today!
In just a few days, I’ll be seeing my beautiful nieces for the first time in over a year. They’ve gotten older and taller and I can tell from photos that they are on the brink of leaving childhood behind. The work of Houston artist Kevin Peterson looks at that the journey out of childhood and into a fractured world.
Oil on panel, 27×34Acrylic, metallic paint on panel, 36×36
As children, we’re so quick to want to grow up, we can’t wait to go on our first date, get our driver’s license, go off to college, be able to sit at the “grown-up table”. But isn’t it amazing how swiftly we would go back to swing sets and school holidays, once we get a glimpse of the cynicism and cruelty of life among the full grown.
Bubbles, oil on panel, 27.5×31Lovely, oil on panel with corrugated metal, 40×57
While entering adulthood has its carefree qualities ( hello, ice cream for dinner! ), there is a delicious freedom when you’re a kid that only grown-up children can recognize.
To see more of Kevin Peterson’s work, please visit his website.
I’ve been out to lunch Art to Inspiration-wise lately. I love this collaborative exercise, but alas, there just wasn’t time for it last month with our moving 1300 miles south and all. But this month’s inspiration piece is so lovely, I couldn’t resist! The inspiration artwork for November, The Other Side by painter Linda Monfort, is full of the vibrant color I’m longing for after my first few weeks of living in the desert.
The Other Side by Linda Monfort
I’ve put together a gallery of work of varied styles that tie in beautifully with the palette, texture, and energy of Monfort’s piece. I give you, Color Riot! Hope you enjoy!
Glow One by Liz TranLove Me Two Times by Kirra JamisonAvant Garden by Karen KlassenSquare ( Equipose ) by Michael VelliquetteCUBEN series by Simon C Page
To see more from each artist, check out their websites, linked above.
You can find more information on Art to Inspiration here and if you would like to participate in the next Art to Inspiration, just fill out this form! Follow me and all the other Art to Inspiration bloggers on Twitter by subscribing here. Let the inspiring begin!
