artsy forager

Category: Still Life

  • Win Artsy Stuff! The April Art Association Contest is Here!

    Win Artsy Stuff! The April Art Association Contest is Here!

    Yep, it’s back!  The time has come once again for your monthly Pinterest image association bonanza AKA the Art Association Pinterest contest, wherein Erin of artsocial and I team up with an artist to get your own creative juices flowin’ AND give you a chance to win an awesome piece of artwork!

    If you’re new to Art Association, here’s the haps– You create a Pinterest board around one work of art ( which we provide ), filled with anything and everything that pops into your mind while gazing at the catalyst piece.

    Our catalyst piece for this month is Untitled by Jessica Brilli ( below )!  I can hear all your wheels turning already..

    Untitled by Jessica Brilli
     Here’s how Art Association works–

    Step 1|  We give you a piece of artwork, this month’s work is Untitled by Jessica Brilli ( above ).

    Step 2 | You create a Pinterest board titled Art Association, like mine here, where you pin any and all images you associate with the featured artwork ( like word associations, only visual )– here’s a sneak peek at some of my associations

     

    Step 3 | Leave a link to your Art Association pinboard in the Comments section of this post

    Step 4 | Follow both art social and Artsy Forager on Pinterest ( if you already are, you’re ahead of the game! )

    Here’s what you can win–

    Voss, limited edition print on paper, 8×10 ( edition size 200 )

    I mean seriously, how fun is this print?!  Perfect addition to an artsy office, I say!

    The pinner with the best Art Association board ( as judged by me and Erin ) will be chosen on Wednesday, April 24th at 5pm (mountain standard time).  Now GO– PIN!!

    **So sorry but the contest is open to US residents only.  Stupid laws.

    Would you like your artwork to be featured as an Art Association subject?  Shoot me an email atartsyforager@att.net or Erin an email at artsocialonline@gmail.com for more info.

    Art images via Jessica Brilli.

  • Artsy on Escape Into Life: Megan Dorien

    Artsy on Escape Into Life: Megan Dorien

    Ordinary things explored with interesting color and texture.. I love the simplicity of the work of artist Megan Dorien, being featured in my Artist Watch on Escape Into Life today.  Head on over and check it out!

    Fire Hydrant by Megan Dorien

    Megan Dorien on Escape Into Life

    Image via the artist’s website.

  • Artsy Lately: The Deep South and Other Stories by Gigi Mills

    Artsy Lately: The Deep South and Other Stories by Gigi Mills

    Having lived the first ahem, three decades, of my life in the South, I completely understand why people are drawn to it.  There is a co-mingling of worlds in the South, some owing to its sordid history, others a product of the atmosphere and the people who find themselves there.  New Mexico artist Gigi Mills, having grown up with her family in the circus on the West Coast of Florida, far from the “traditional South”, finds herself repeatedly drawn to its charms.  In her latest series, The Deep South and Other Stories, which debuted at Gallery Orange in New Orleans two weeks ago, the artist explores her attachment to a life that could have been hers.

    Some Days by Gigi Mills
    Some Days, oil on panel, 20×16

    A childhood in the circus, while filled with color, charm and adventure, doesn’t offer much in the way of stability.  For Gigi, it is that sense of permanence of place, of generations of history that leads her again and again to southern places.

    Somewhere on Esplanade Interior by Gigi Mills
    Somewhere on Esplanade Interior, oil on paper, 21×24
    Laundry in a Dark Landscape by Gigi Mills
    Laundry in a Dark Landscape, oil on panel, 24×20
    Interior with Baker and Cake by Gigi Mills
    Interior with Baker and Cake, oil on paper, 22×25

    In her work, as in many areas of the South itself, there is an enchanting sense of elegance and charisma that completely bewitches us.  But it is the complexities of this world that we find most intriguing– the secrets kept, the stories told and untold.

    Lagniappe of Pearls Conversation with Carlos by Gigi Mills
    Lagniappe of Pearls, Conversation with Carlos, oil, 12×16

    If you’d like to see more from the Deep South and Other Stories series, please visit the Gallery Orange website.  Gallery Orange also has beautiful Gigi Mills books available for purchase through their website– a lovely way to learn more about the artist and enjoy her work, even if a painting is out of reach.

    All images via Gallery Orange.

  • Floral Flow: Alicia Tormey

    Floral Flow: Alicia Tormey

    I always remember my first visit to Seattle in the springtime.  The cherry trees were blooming in the neighborhood where Mr. Forager was living ( this was before I became Mrs. F ) and then it rained, as it is always wont to do in Seattle.  After the rain, the blossoms weren’t quite as fluffy and perfect as they’d been, but we were left with a magical blanket of pink petals dotting the sidewalks.  The wind would eventually sweep each petal into its breeze and carry it away to some unknown place.  As I look at the floral encaustics of Seattle artist Alicia Tormey, I’m reminded of the delicate strength it takes to withstand the storms.

    Floral Study IV by Alicia Tormey
    Floral Study IV, encaustic with mixed media, 10×10

    Tormey’s flowers have a wonderful, swirly diaphanous quality as translucent strands float from and around them.  In some, we see look to be veins coming through, as if these are the angels of flowers loved and pressed between book pages as a remembrance.

    Fly Away by Alicia Tormey
    Fly Away, encaustic, shellac and ink on panel, 36×36
    Floral Form V by Alicia Tormey
    Floral Form V, encaustic, shellac and ink on panel, 24×24

    Each flower almost takes on the personality of a dancer’s movements.. wild yet graceful.. controlled chaos, passionate yet maintaining an elegant line, always.

    Floral Study III by Alicia Tormey
    Floral Study III, encaustic with mixed media, 10×10

    To see more of Alicia Tormey’s work, please visit her website.

    Images via Gilman Contemporary and Chase Young Gallery.

  • A Special Ordinary: Elaine Pamphilon

    A Special Ordinary: Elaine Pamphilon

    What did we do before the days Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to record the beauty of every day life?  How would anyone know how lovely my lunch might be on any given day?  I don’t think UK artist Elaine Pamphilon has ever asked that question.  Her lovely mixed media works capture the ordinary in an incredibly special way.

    Cornish Window Sill by Elaine Pamphilon
    Cornish Window Sill, mixed media on panel, 80×60 cm

    Often dividing her surfaces into planes of color, Pamphilon treats us to glimpses of moments that, though simple as they may be, draw us in with their sweetness and humor.

    Blackbird Eyeing Up Sleeping Lily.. by Elaine Pamphilon
    Blackbird Eyeing Up Sleeping Lily Wondering If He Can Borrow Crumbs From Phillip’s Plate, mixed media on canvas, 50×40 cm
    Studying India by Elaine Pamphilon
    Studying India, mixed media on panel, 30×30 cm
    Indian Seed Pods and Chai by Elaine Pamphilon
    Indian Seed Pods and Chai, mixed media on panel, 30×30 cm

    There is such a sense of collected spontaneity about her work, as if each finished piece is just a quick little sketch in her journal, a remembrance of the day, sights, sounds, and findings.

    At the Old Rising Sun by Elaine Pamphilon
    At the Old Rising Sun, mixed media on panel, 40×30 cm

    Sigh.  Her work makes me wish I was a better journal keeper.  Guess I’ll have to settle for Instagram. To see more of Elaine Pamphilon’s work, please visit her website.

    Artist found via Christina Foard.  All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Making Seen the Unseen: Bannon Fu

    Making Seen the Unseen: Bannon Fu

    The wind is howling outside. That’s the thing about desert storms. Not much in terms of rain, but holy cow the wind is enough to peel the paint off your house. Truly, I think that’s what happens to many of the little houses here in Joshua Tree! So as I was deciding on my artist for today, I came across the work of Chinese American artist Bannon Fu. Meant to be.

    Fu_Skirts Dancing in the Wind
    Skirts Dancing in the Wind
    Two Ruffled Skirts in Wind by Bannon Fu
    Two Ruffled Skirts in the Wind

    Bannon Fu, deaf from the age of one year, chooses to paint the wind. So how do you paint what is not seen, but only experienced? By painting the effect of that force on the objects it touches.

    Clothes Dancing in the Wind #8 by Bannon Fu
    Clothes Dancing in the Wind #8
    Dancing Clothes in Wind #9 by Bannon Fu
    Dancing Clothes in Wind #9

    For Fu, the beauty of the swelling and swaying of fabric in a breeze is a profound and moving sight. Wind carries with it energy, whether with the destructive force of a hurricane or the soft whisper of an summer breeze. We know its presence not because we see it, but because we feel its energy.

    Sunlight on Clothes by Bannon Fu
    Sunlight on Clothes

    The artist is helping us to see what is unseen, we see what the motion of the fabric and know the force behind it. Mysterious yet obvious.

    To see more of Bannon Fu’s work, please visit his Bannon Fu website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Finding the Pearl: Carlos Lopez

    Finding the Pearl: Carlos Lopez

    You know the old wives’ tale: oysters are an aphrodisiac.  How many single guys have taken a gal out for beer & oysters hoping to make a lil magic happen?  If it’s sensual magic you’re hunting, look no further than the work of New Orleans artist Carlos Lopez.  His elegant, nearly surreal still lifes of oysters will make your mouth water and pulse quicken before you ever bite into the real thing.

    Gluttony by Carlos Lopez
    Gluttony, oil on canvas, 10×10
    Champagne with Gigi by Carlos Lopez
    Champagne with Gigi, oil on canvas, 20×20

    For a New Orleans native, oysters, so abundant in the area seem a natural still life subject, yet there is nothing prosaic about Lopez’s treatment of the common bivalve.  These works carry the sensuality of Georgia O’Keeffe, the smooth surrealism of Dali, yet glow with the light and crispness of classical still lifes.

    Passionate Affair by Carlos Lopez
    Passionate Affair, oil on canvas, 50×40

    These mollusks seem to take on a life of their own, the work is so full of emotional charge, we can feel the sadness, the joy, the hope or shame the oyster seems to be feeling.  Or perhaps we are seeing our own reflection in the pearly surface of its shell.

    Make a Wish by Carlos Lopez
    Make a Wish, oil on canvas, 16×16
    Heavenly by Carlos Lopez
    Heavenly, oil on canvas, 20×20

    To see more of Carlos Lopez’s work, please visit the website of his representing gallery, Gallery Orange in New Orleans.

    All images via Gallery Orange.

     

  • Consumptive Histories: Norah See

    Consumptive Histories: Norah See

    You can take the Art History major out of college, but you can’t take the Art History major out of the girl.  Yep, I still completely geek out on anything art historical, especially when it’s done in a dynamic way.  Enter Norah See, a New Orleans artist whose Reboot series elegantly repositions famous works of art as tiny trinkets, giving us a lesson in our history of consumption.

    The Loss of Man, oil on canvas, 18×24

    In her take on Rene Magritte’s Son of Man, Magritte’s infamous face obscuring green apple is replaced with the Apple computer logo, showing us a link between the advance of technology and the loss of human interaction, as well as a loss of our connection to our own selves outside of our technologically driven lives.

    Portrait of Madame Y, oil on canvas, 18×24

    Her Portrait of Madame Y reworks John Singer Sargent’s famous portrait into a modernized version of what a 19th century trophy wife might look like– fake tan, breast implants and all.

    The Cliff, oil, ink, gold leaf and enamel on canvas, 18×24
    Green Wall, oil on canvas, 18×24

    To see more of Nora See’s work, please visit her website.  If you’re in New Orleans, her Reboot series can be seen at her representing NOLA gallery, Gallery Orange.

    All images are via Nora See’s website.

  • Art to Inspiration: Linda Monfort

    Art to Inspiration: Linda Monfort

    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 Tran
    Love Me Two Times by Kirra Jamison
    Avant Garden by Karen Klassen
    Square ( Equipose ) by Michael Velliquette
    CUBEN series by Simon C Page

    Liz Tran | Kirra Jamison | Karen Klassen | Michael Velliquette | 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! 

  • Blueprint Constructions: Jose Betancourt with Susan Weil

    Blueprint Constructions: Jose Betancourt with Susan Weil

    Since the glory days of the Polaroid and the advent of the digital age, photography in many ways has become a bit of an “everyman’s medium”.  We all pick up our pocket digital cameras and iPhones when a scene inspires us.  Artist photographers like Jose Betancourt seek to bridge the gap between historical processes and modern sensibility.

    Danky’s Blue
    Sassafras

    In this latest series, a collaboration with artist ( and ex-wife of Robert Rauschenberg ) Susan Weil, the two artists come together using historic and experimental photo processes such as cyanotypes, photograms, and Van Dyke Brown prints to create constructions consisting of photographic images.

    Secrets, Weil’s Reflections

    Sometimes, the constructions are configured to take on the form or another aspect of the photographed subject.  In this way, the photographs aren’t just two-dimensional images but come to life in a multi-demensional way.

    Spring Sprung
    Catenary

    To see more of this series, please visit the websites of Jose Betancourt and Susan Weil.  The exhibition of this series, Blueprints, can be seen at the Tennessee Valley Museum of Art in Tuscumbia, Alabama until November 15th.

    All images are via Jose Betancourt’s website.