When I was a little girl, I spent many nights at my grandparent’s house. Before bed, my brother & I would curl up with my Mimi while she read to us from a book of fairytales. The fanciful and fantastic stories fed and fueled my imagination. Seattle artist Brian McGuffey’s work reminds me of the imaginary worlds I would dream of when I drifted off to sleep, my grandmother’s voice still in my ears.
Pleased to Meet You
A world in which a horse’s head could talk, princesses danced all night in a secret castle and magic beans lead to adventure and riches.
Swing MoodMore Sugar in My Bowl
McGuffey’s use of muted palettes and layered textures give his work a wonderful, dreamlike atmosphere. And of course, where else but in our dreams do deer wear dresses and mountain goats sport top hats?
Goat MagicDay Dreamer
To see more of Brian McGuffey’s work, please visit his website. Hope your week is filled with fairytales of the best kind!
Featured image is Pleased To Meet You. All images are via the artist’s website.
Please pardon the Homer Simpson impression! What is it about those little round, doughy rings? Frosted or glazed, we love them all. Here are a few artists who’ve captured the spirit of our passion for these sweet treats.
Fade to Blonde by Emily ElevethBoxed Donuts by Peter AntonKrispy Kreme Dozen by Joel PenkmanDonut Tower by Larry Preston
I’m drooling now, how about you? Think I’ll try to talk the hubby into a visit to the Donut House this weekend. I don’t think it will take much arm-twisting. 😉 Happy weekend, Artsies!
All images are via the artists’ websites, linked above.
Something interesting happens on our cloudy days here in the Northwest. The grey softens and disguises the landscape so that details are normally left unseen and undercover are brought to the fore. The paintings featured from Elizabeth Terhune today remind me of those days when the light is at its softest.
About the Moon, oil on linen, 22×22
Sure, we live for sunny days here in the Northwest. When the sun shines, the landscape is absolutely breathtaking! But when the clouds roll in, everything, even the sky becomes quiet. A hike in the woods on a cloudy day offers a study in contrasts, much like Elizabeth Terhune’s abstract paintings.
In the Realm of Mutability, oil on linen
Dark tree trunks stand tall, silhouetted against a cloud-filled sky. Above we see a mass of dark leaves, but the vibrant yellow flowers entwined along our path suddenly pops out at us, happy to have been given a chance to shine. As in Terhune’s paintings, the complex becomes simple. Shapes blend into one another but the darkest and brightest of them all demand our attention.
Giraffe, oil on linenCrosshair’s Gaze, oil on linen, 22×23
To see more of Elizabeth Terhune’s work, please visit her website. I’m hoping to take a cloudy day hike or bike ride today. I’ll be thinking about Elizabeth’s work!
Featured image is In the Realm of Mutability, oil on linen. All images are via the artist’s website.
Sorry for the reposting, turns out there was a little hiccup with EIL last week and Sean’s work didn’t get posted last Tuesday! Uh oh. So you’ll find it on EIL today!
There are artists whose work just sticks with me. I still remember when I first saw the work of Sean Mahan, way back during my gallery days in Florida. We all loved his work, but it wasn’t quite the right fit for the more conservative, corporate-ish gallery I was working in. So when I happened to see his work featured over on The Art Cake, I was super excited for him. He has such a unique style and vision, I just had to share his work with the Escape Into Life readers today. Please take a little jaunt over to EIL to see more!
PS– I know I usually post twice on Tuesdays, but since things have been sooo hectic lately, this will be my only post today. Hope to have blog life back to normal next week!
Last weekend, while we were visiting Whitefish, MT with friends from Florida, we spotted the biggest, most orange moon I’ve ever seen. Its glowing intensity loomed over the distant mountains, seeming close enough to touch. Rana Rochat’s encaustic work reminds me of the seemingly random beauty and chaos that surrounds and surprises us.
Untitled A108, encaustic on panel, 54×48
The universe is constantly moving, people rushing about, planets migrating, everything in constant flux and evolution. It seems that the world is never still, it is always changing creating tension between the chaos of life and the natural order of the universe.
Untitled L750, encaustic on panel, 54×48
In her work, Rochat explores this dynamic balance between regularity and impulsiveness. Each work using similar marks and complementary palettes, yet surprising in their fluid movement and arrangement.
Untitled ( 96 ), encaustic on panel, 60×35
Shapes float across the canvas and lines seem to trace movement of forms unseen. Her work feels like a visual record of migratory journeys and chaotic progression.
Untitled ( 98 ), encaustic on panel, 42×42Untitled ( L790 ), encaustic on panel, 48×70
To see more of Rana Rochat’s work, please visit her website. Her work can be seen in several galleries across the US and Canada ( see the Contact page on her website for a full list ).
I admit it. I love a pretty fashion magazine as much as the next girl. Pages and pages of beautiful people contorting their bodies into strange positions to sell gorgeous clothes can sometimes enthrall me for hours. But then, I find myself needing a break from the beautiful. That may sound strange, but so often, the perfectly styled and photoshopped images create an unreal world, one that I can only take so much of. El Salvadoran artist Luis Cornejo takes these idealized images as his inspiration but infuses them with cartoonish humor.
Paff!, oil, acrylic and charcoal on canvas, 51×75
Isolating the figures gives each painting an almost classical composition, seeming to compare the fashion models of today to the artist’s muse of the past.
Untitled ( #5 ), oil and acrylic on canvas, 47×58
The models retain their “fierce”, pouty poses, while Cornejo’s added illustrative elements remind us to not take this artificially created world too seriously.
Untitled ( #6 ), oil and acrylic on linen, 31×39Untitled ( #7 ), oil and acrylic on linen, 35×53
To see more of Luis Cornejo’s work, please visit his website.
Hi Artsies! I’m taking a tiny break for a few days, while we visit with some dear friends from Florida. Please welcome fellow art lover and blogger, Kaitlyn Patience, who blogs and creates gorgeous stationery over at isavirtue!
Hello! My name is Kaitlyn. I blog at isavirtue and I will be guest posting on Artsy Forager today!
Jovie, watercolor on paper, 8.5×11
Not to be confused with the comedic British movie character, artist Austin Power has made a name for himself as well. His unique portraits, which almost never depict an entire face, are at once eerie and intriguing.
Esther, watercolor on paper, 11×15Emmanuel 2, watercolor on paper, 12×14
I would have guessed that the artist only paints those details that have made an impression on him. For example, I feel most connected to my husband’s eyes, and my best friend is known for her ski slope nose. So I assumed that the artist was simply recording the most intimate features on his friends and loved ones (As in his series “21 Portraits of People I Miss”). But the artist has a different train of thought than I.
Amy, watercolor on paper, 10×15Jayme, watercolor on paper, 11×15
Power describes his reasoning for leaving out a nose, or a mouth, or a pair of eyes, “I am interested in showing the difficulty and discomfort in fully understanding a person. I leave my subjects incomplete to highlight their limitations, as well as my own inability to see the subject beyond the influence of myself.”
Featured image is Self-Portrait by Austin Power. All images via the artist’s website.
There are certain galleries that I’ve found are treasure troves of artists whose work appeals to me. Skidmore Contemporary in Los Angeles is one of my go-to galleries for fantastic contemporary realism. So far, I’ve featuredthreeoftheirartists and more to come. Today’s Artist Watch feature on Escape Into Life is the latest Skidmore artist whose work captured me, Dennis Ziemienski. So retro, so fresh, so California.
Happy Memorial Day, Artsies! Hope you are out celebrating with friends and family. Chances are if you aren’t completely land-locked, you’ll be spending some time in, on or near the water. Hubby & I are spending the holiday moving from our temporary rental in town to our summer rental on Hayden Lake here in Northern Idaho. It’s still been pretty chilly here, so we won’t be doing any in-water activities, but I’m sure we’ll find ourselves soaking up the sun and just enjoying lake life. Columbus, Ohio artist Laura Sanders perfectly captures the wonder of water-logged summers.
Obstructed Horizon, oil on canvas
I was immediately drawn to Sanders’ work, not just because George & I will be enjoying lake life this summer, but also because her work beautifully portrays the joyful memories of my own summer lake experiences as a young girl. My older brother, Jason & I used to spend a few weeks of every summer at the home of our great aunt & uncle, who were active retirees living on small Hall Lake in Northern Florida. Aunt Helen & Uncle Vernon were still fairly young, but had no grandchildren yet, so we filled the void, spending lazy days swimming, fishing, biking and just generally having the time of our lives.
Untitled, oil on canvas, 36×36
Jason was into taking my uncle’s little johnboat around the lake for a spin and biking up and down the clay road, while I, like the girls Sanders’ paints, was more the little mermaid. I loved being in the water, the feel of it on my skin, the sun beating down, heating up the inner tube until it got just hot enough to need to dunk under for a bit of relief. Uncle Vernon loved to swim, too, and spent hours in the lake with us, while Aunt Helen was the disciplinarian. She firmly believed in the no swimming just after lunch rule.. much to our chagrin. But she always brought us Fla-Vor-Ice’s while we swam, so all was forgiven.
Noon, oil on canvas, 25×27
As we grew older, our time at the lake grew shorter. We became busy with teenage life and Aunt Helen & Uncle Vernon finally had a grandson of their own to spoil. We moved on, but they held a very special place in our hearts. They’ve both passed now, Vernon several years ago and Helen just last year. But the memories we made with them live on. Every once in a while, a breeze stirs up or I’m near the water, or see paintings like Laura Sanders’ and I am immediately transported back to Hall Lake. I can feel their presence and hear Aunt Helen scolding Uncle Vernon for keeping us in the water too long, just before she rings the old dinner bell by the back door.
Cloud Cover, oil on canvas, 52×42Later Summer, oil on canvas
I hope you’ve spent this Memorial Day making some wonderful memories of your own! To see more of Laura Sanders’ work, please visit her website. For a little bonus, scroll down to the end of this post to see a special photo from my days at Hall Lake. 😉
Featured image is Girls and Plastic Floating, oil on canvas. All images are via the artist’s website or the website of her representing gallery, Rebecca Ibel Gallery.
Here’s your bonus pic!
Hall Lake, Summer 1982 l to r: My brother Jason, our friend & lake neighbor Glenn Hayhurst, his sister Shelley, yours truly
There are times I wonder if I have multiple personalities. I love big cities for all of their energy, culture and swagger. New York continues to be one of my favorite places in the world. But I also adore the sweet, slower pace and relaxed living of more rural areas. Maybe it’s my grandmother’s farm girl roots or my love of quiet and the outdoors. But whatever the cause, the work of Franklin, TN artist Deann Hebert reminds me of the glory of picnics and winding country roads.
Blessed
Obviously, Deann’s subject matter brings to mind life’s simple pleasures.. fields full of flowers, the wonder of a bird’s nest, the sweetness of a secluded little country church.
Fall Whispers
She reinforces her bucolic atmospheres by using a soft, neutral palette and layer upon layers of painted texture reminiscent of tree bark and peeling barn paint.
Nests
Her work makes me want to load up a picnic in my bike basket ( ok, I don’t have one yet, but I’m working on it! ) and ride along the fence line, saying hello to cows and horses and passersby.
The Painted FenceCountry Barn
In the words of John Denver, Country roads, take me home! At least that’s what the country mouse side of my personality is longing for today. The city mouse may show up again tomorrow. 😉 To see more of Deann Hebert’s work, please visit her website and Facebook page.
Featured image is Easter Sunday. All images are via the artist’s website.
