Hubby and I are treehuggers. Not in a holier-than-thou, I-always-recycle, never-ever-use-plastic-grocery-bags kind of way ( though there may be a little of that ), we’re more the Babe!-did-you-see-the-size-of-that-tree, doesn’t-that-tree-trunk-look-like-the-Venus-de-Willendorf, oh-I-want-to-hug-it variety. As the days get longer and the weather gets slightly warmer, we’re beginning to plan lots of treks into the woods to do some tree-gazing. One of our favorite things to do is lay on the ground and look up at the trees and their branches. So to get you in the mood for perhaps a little tree-gazing of your own, here are a few artists who share our woodsy love!
Rumis Ladder by Adam Shaw, oil on canvas, 64×70Rusted by Liz Ruest, digital collage, prints availableAll Things Great and Small by Angie Renfro, oil on panel, 30×24Eastern Redbud II by Susan Goldsmith, white gold leaf with pigment print, oil pastel, oil paint & resin on panel, 36×36
The creative minds of artists are an unending source of fascination for me. They way they each devise their own visual language in order to express to the world what they find most important and intriguing amazes me. Sharing a common human nature, we often see overlapping meaning and ideas, yet the method by which those views are interpreted and conveyed is as unique as each artist. In her work, Portland artist Tamara English explores how our own inner atmosphere informs the way we experience the world, but she does so in a marvelously distinct fashion.
Pomegranate Laughing, oil on canvas, 40×30 ( via Portland Fine Art )
From the artist:
“The paintings integrate the visual vocabularies of quantum physics, Islamic tile-work, illuminated manuscripts, and abstracted forms derived from the natural world. In particular the multi-layered paintings reference the rhythm and movement of the decorative elements found in mosques, Turkish dervish lodges, and medieval European books of hours, which for me evoke the unseen energies that move in our lives.”
The Promise of Spring, oil on canvas, 40×30
Through the use of abstract texture, forms and movement, English references the “ocean of particles in constant motion informing the physical and subtle world” which characterize her take on quantum physics. Her use of naturalistic elements associated with Islamic tile-work and illuminated manuscripts manifest for us those physical symbols of inner life. Within each of us exists that same push and pull, our conflict between the wonder of either our faith in or the possibility of the divine and the concrete certainty of what we can see with our own eyes.
Now the Nightbirds Will Be Singing, oil on canvas, 24×24 ( via Portland Fine Art )Presence, oil on canvas, 72×60 ( via Portland Fine Art )
To see more of Tamara English’s work, please visit her website.
Featured image is The Queen’s Birthday ( detail ), oil on canvas, 18×18, All images are via the artist’s website unless otherwise noted.
We all know what it is like to wait. Wait to grow up. Wait in line for coffee. Wait on hold for customer service. Wait for a new life to come into the world. Sometimes it seems that life is a series of transitioning from one type of waiting to another. Toronto artist Shaun Downey captures fleeting occasions of expectancy in his subtly emotional scenes.
Kelly and the Red Dots, painting on canvas, 65×42
How many of us have consoled ourselves with the monotony of the every day while we long for the arrival of what we have been waiting for? Even when we have no idea what or who it may be.
Last Glance, painting on canvas, 32×48
How do we console ourselves when it seems our waiting is in vain? We wait and wait and wait, but the door never opens.
The Tooth Fairy, painting on canvas, 65×42
Perhaps we are too distracted when our awaited arrives to even notice and before we know it, the opportunity is gone. Or maybe it remains and is just watching for us to awake to its presence. And sometimes, once the waiting is over, the transition is bittersweet. Because who knows what is around the corner? More waiting, perhaps more wonderful.
The Old Apartment, painting on canvas, 18×24Packing Up, painting on canvas, 48×48
To see more of Shaun Downey’s work, please visit his website. I’m waiting for spring to finally arrive here in North Idaho. What are you waiting for today?
Featured image is Packing Up, 48×48. All images are via the artist’s website. Found via artist Brad Kunkle.
One of the things I loved about studying art history in college was learning the backstories and narratives behind works that seem, on the surface, simply decorative. Throughout the history of art, still lifes have been used to convey deeper meaning through the symbolism of the objects they portray. In her Peek series, Chicago artist Claudia Smalley looks past the narrative to distill the still life into its simplest values– color, shape and light.
Still Life I, oil on canvas, 48×36
Smalley successfully interprets what some might consider a mundane subject ( not me, though! ) into exciting, contemporary abstract interpretations full of movement and texture.
Still Life 6, oil on canvas, 48×36
She captures the essence of the genre in terms of composition ( what every art student studies still lifes for! ) and that glorious chiaroscuro employed by masters of the staged vignettes. Her canvases move and glow with the same delicate rhythm.
Still Life 5, oil on canvas, 20×24
While I was in painting studio in college, I remember my favorite instructor telling us to squint in order to see how strong our light and composition was. Smalley’s Peeks extracts the strongest elements of detailed compositions and redefines them in an equally elegant, though much more modern way.
Fruit 3, oil on canvas, 24×36Still Life 20, oil on canvas, 36×24
To see more of Claudia Smalley’s interpretational work, please visit her website.
Featured image is Still Life 2, oil on canvas, 36×24. All images are via the artist’s website.
Sometime in my late 20s I went through a slight obsession with the Irish part of my heritage & Irish culture in general. I think it stemmed mainly from too many Maeve Binchy books and multiple PBS viewings of Riverdance. Add to that the fact that my husband thinks Guinness is the greatest thing since, well, Guinness, and it isn’t any surprise that we love St. Patrick’s Day. So to get you in the mood for a little Erin Go Bragh, how about some artwork to remind us of the Emerald Isle?
Runaway Trees by Christina Baker, acrylic on canvas, 48×48Ives Pond I by Susan Morosky, acrylic on canvas, 30×30Cold Feet by Casey Matthews, mixed media, 24×24Covenant Commitment by Steve Williams, mixed media on canvas, 84×84
If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, then you know that I have a few absolute favorite artists. These are the artists whose work I absolutely adore and return to again and again. Today’s artist, Maribel Angel is high on my list of favorites. From the first time I saw her work, during my gallery career in Florida, it was delight at first sight.
Bird Park, acrylic on panel, 34×24
The irresistible charm of Maribel’s work is pretty obvious, but even more so when she begins explaining the inspiration behind each one. For these latest paintings, she found unknowing muses in the form of all the birds congregating on her lakeside property in North Florida due to such a mild winter ( even for Florida! ).
Fruit and Bandits, acrylic on panel, 12×12
From the artist: “..all those feathered creatures that flew south for the winter used our yard as their tourist destination for several months. Not to mention all the local birds who had no reason to fly further south – so we had double the population than usual and I could hear them chattering and chirping non stop from dawn till dusk while i was working in my studio. It wasn’t like song birds keeping a tune and creating a beautiful orchestra of sound – it was just full on chatter! Similar to the sound you would hear of camp kids shouting and playing at the pool. I enjoyed their company and while I was painting I would imagine the stories they were sharing with each other. ”
Gentle Whisper, acrylic on panel, 34×24
The way she renders animals in such stylized simplicity is so appealing. Her horses stand lean and graceful, birds are bright and cheerfully scattered. She enriches each with beautifully layered color and texture– as stunning as they are online, her work is even more wonderful in person!
Crossing Over, acrylic on panel, 12×12New Nest, acrylic on panel, 12×12
To see more of Maribel Angel’s work, please visit her website and the Gallery Orange website. If you’re lucky enough to be in New Orleans, you can stop in at Gallery Orange to see her work in person or in Florida, check out Maribel’s work at Southlight Gallery.
Featured image is Shangrila, acrylic on panel, 48×12. All images are via Gallery Orange, Maribel’s representing gallery in New Orleans. For more on Gallery Orange, check out the recent Artsy Spot feature on the gallery here.
Happy Wednesday, Artsies! I have a little treat for you today.. Kaitlyn Patience, curator of the wonderful blog, isavirtue, is doing a little guest post for me today. I think you’ll find her to be a kindred-artsy-spirit!
Hi! My name is Kaitlyn Patience and I blog at isavirtue. When I first discovered Lesley’s blog, Artsy Forager, I was beyond delighted because art blogs are few and far between. One literally has to forage for art amidst the endless supply of lifestyle, fashion and food blogs! Like Lesley, I share a penchant for contemporary art – which in this sense simply means art that is happening now.
In order to inject the world wide web with just a little more art, I created an internet gallery. This online space, in which users can scroll sideways through the images, is entitled “lowercase gallery” (link: www.sunnyoasis.com/Kate) because I believe “art” can be friendly, accessible and inspiring. I use the space to practice my real life curating skills.
Currently being featured in the lowercase gallery is Sara McIntosh-Robichaud. I worked with Sara in the spring of 2009 and curated a presentation of her MFA artwork in a group exhibition. She was inspired by the height of one wall and decided to bring in one of her largest pieces – “Sluggard.” When she finally brought the 95”x 48” painting into the gallery – I was shocked. There appeared to be a man in a halo…and also a penis.
Sluggard, acrylic on canvas, 48×95
Being a young curatotrial intern at the time, I didn’t feel equipped to make the decision on whether this piece could be hung in a public, school gallery. Despite the fact that the painting was clearly “abstract,” I had heard the gallery director expunge on the impossibility of exhibiting nudes in the space because it was a public gallery and children’s groups often visited. So I called the director and said “There is a phallic image within this painting we are planning to hang, is that ok with you?” He responded with “Pardon? What do you mean?” And so I stuttered “You know, like…a penis.”
Nuclear Family, acrylic on canvas, 72×72
The director came to the gallery to see for himself and said “Oh that? that’s fine.” And that was it. I was surpremely embarassed at having mentioned it at all since it was clearly a non issue. To this day I blush when I think about that painting but I remind myself that should the situation have been reversed (I.e. I didn’t say anything and he did care), it could have gone exponentially worse!
Occular, acrylic on canvas, 33.5×37
That incident doesn’t keep me from loving Sara’s work however. Just as some of her works are titled “A Moment 1” and “A Moment 2,” she has managed to capture all of my emotions ranging from pure joy to sullen despair. She makes unique choices that I admire, particularily in colour, shape and texture. Perhaps the reason I am most drawn to her body of work is because of the clean lines and the perfect finishing. Should I ever become a painter I suspect my obsessive compulsivity to be ‘neat’ would result in something similar. I hope you enjoy her work as much as I do!
Polly’s Fiddle, acrylic on canvas, 33×37
P.s. Five months later the gallery director was assigned to be my thesis supervisor.
As much as I LOVE winter and though we still have snow on the ground here in Coeur d’Alene, I find my heart longing for spring. Maybe it is because, since moving from Florida and experiencing my first real winter, it’s March and I feel ready to trade my fur-lined boots for sandals. Or perhaps it is because since visiting George in Seattle two years ago, I know how utterly beautiful a Northwest spring can be! And we’ve heard that as gorgeous as these snow-covered mountains are, Coeur d’Alene is the place to be in the warmer months.
My anticipation for spring is likely pretty obvious in this week’s posts.. The latest series from Brooklyn artist, Lily Stockman have me longing to grab a few pencils and a sketch book and take off into the woods to see what wildflowers I can find.
Garden Club, acrylic on unstretched canvas, 156×96
Following in the footsteps of her plant-loving family and Victorian-era amateur botanists, Stockman examines her own existence in the natural world. The works are, at times, modern interpretations of botanical illustrations whose style has been made familiar by naturalist artists such as Ernst Haeckel. Others, much more loose and abstracted, remind us more of the feeling of being connected to the natural world– its brightness and simplicity.
Brooklandia, oil on panel, 24×18
She is examining the natural Renaissance we seem to find ourselves in– the reaction perhaps to the pervasiveness of technology. We are planting gardens in our backyards, enjoying farm-to-table dinners and find ourselves yearning for engagement with nature like never before.
The Way We Remember It, oil on canvas, 60×72
Advances in technology have led us far, far away from living our daily lives entwined with the natural world. Instead of being essential to survival, our relationship with nature has changed to one of pleasure and preservation. When we spend time cultivating that relationship, it is not just helping preserve the earth, but to preserve our own natural souls.
Concord Silhouette, oil on canvas, 60×72Clover for Ajay ( Jaipur at Night ), oil on canvas, 72×60
To see more of Lily Stockman’s work, please visit her website. Her work can be seen in the NYU 1st Year MFA Show at The Commons Gallery in New York, opening tomorrow March 7, 2012.
Have you ever been so enraptured by the natural beauty surrounding you that you feel as if the wonder of it actually becomes a part of you? I have suspect Pakayla Biehn has encountered this feeling. Her dreamlike works tell me she is one who also has visions of laying in a field of flowers and floating down sparkling streams.
Ten Thousand Times, oil and acrylic, 28×18
Biehn’s work has such a quiet, poetic beauty. To look upon them seems as if we are encountering a hidden, magical place, filled with fairies and wood nymphs.
All the Time I Was Making This I Was Thinking of You, oil and acrylic on canvas, 36×24
They remind me of the enchantment of the most beautiful places I’ve seen and of places from my dreams I have yet to visit.
People in Love, oil and acrylic on canvas, 22×14Hope There’s Someone, oil and acrylic on canvas, 28×19
To see more of Pakayla Biehn’s work, please visit her website. If you’re in Cali, you can see her work at Gallery Hijinks in San Francisco or at Thinkspace Gallery in LA.
Spring is almost upon us, artsies! Did you lose yourself in a lovely place over the weekend?
Featured image is The Study of the Structure of Subversive Existence, oil & acrylic on canvas, 28×20. All images are via the artist’s website.
