Design Foraging Sculpture

Friday Finds: A Little Birdie Told Me So

Posted on July 20, 2012

One of our favorite things about living at the lake this summer has been our evening walks.  Once the heat begins to wane, all the birds begin to sing.  We often end our walk by making our way down to the dock where we sit and watch birds both great and small as they hunt for dinner.  I’ve even told George I’m going to take up serious bird watching.  I’m going to be a funny old lady with her huge hat and binoculars watching all the birds that fly by.. So today’s round up is brought to you by some pretty little birds of the artsy kind that I’m admiring this week!

Mindy Hawkins

Maribel Angel

Abigail Brown

Sophie Woodrow

Mindy Hawkins | Maribel Angel | Abigail Brown | Sophie Woodrow 

What say you, Artsies?  Want to grab a big floppy hat & your sunnies and join me on the dock for some birdwatching?  Happy weekend!

Featured image is by Abigail Brown.  All images are via the artists’ websites, linked above.

Daily Artsy Exhibitions Figurative Galleries Paintings

Slow Build: Mel McCuddin at Art Spirit Gallery

Posted on July 19, 2012

I can only imagine the courage it takes for an artist to create in front of a group of people.  Heck, even one other person would terrify me.  But at The Art Spirit Gallery in Coeur d’Alene, ID ( our hometown for just another 6 weeks ), their new featured artist for the month gives a demo on the Saturday following their opening.  It is a fantastic way to gain a real “behind the art” glimpse into the creative process!  I can’t believe it took me this long to attend one, but I’m so glad I did.  The work of Spokane artist Mel McCuddin is striking online, luminous up close, but to see it in progress was truly inspiring.

Matchmaker, oil on canvas, 52×48

Reveries, oil on canvas, 48×44

Each canvas begins as an exercise in Abstract Expressionism– it is all about the paint, texture and color.  Slowly, as formations evolve in clouds, a figure emerges on the surface.

The Old Dog, oil on canvas, 36×40

Black Dirt Farmer, oil on canvas, 48×48

McCuddin thoughtfully builds his layers, alternating patches of light and dark.  Deliberate smudging of large swaths of canvas give way to areas of delicate and careful application.

The Late Bus, oil on canvas, 52×48

His finished works are often left with an eerie glow, giving them a slightly alien quality yet they are approachable and likable.  His subjects stare back at us with curious wisdom.  You can see a slideshow of images of Mel McCuddin in action here ( Artsy Forager now has a YouTube channel! ).  His solo show can be seen at The Art Spirit Gallery in Coeur d’Alene until August 4, 2012.  I highly recommend a visit if you’re in the area!

Featured image is Three in a Tub, oil on canvas, 48×52.  All images are via The Art Spirit Gallery website.

Daily Artsy Photography

Woodland Delicacies: Kari Herer

Posted on July 19, 2012

As you may have gathered by now, hubby and I spend a lot of time in the woods.  Which means we’ve had our fair share of wildlife sightings, heck, we have deer visiting our yard every night at our current lakeside rental.  The sight of a moose, elk or bear is thrilling in a yikes-if-he-wanted-to-he-could-take-me-down kind of way.  But for me, it’s the lovely quiet and grace of smaller woodland creatures that captures my heart.  These prints from photographer and artist Kari Herer really impart their impish qualities I love so much.

No. 9893 Fox & Flower

No. 9889 Fox & Flower

Even though deer sightings are pretty frequent for us, I still get a thrill when I look up and see them grazing in the woods around our yard.  Their quiet, peaceful movements always entrance me.  Rabbits and foxes are less frequent visitors, but we’ve had our glimpses..

Rabbit No. 0048

Rabbit No. 0031

Herer’s mix of whimsically sketchy drawings juxtaposed with elegantly styled florals truly speaks to the dignity of these creatures and how we delight in them.

To see more of Kari Herer’s work, please visit her website.  You can purchase prints of her work in her Etsy shop— a series of these would be lovely in a nursery!

Featured image is No. 9894 Fox & Flower.  All images are via the artist’s Etsy shop.

Abstract Art Daily Artsy Paintings

Between a Rock and a Soft Place: Emily Gherard

Posted on July 18, 2012

Rocks are hard.  Anyone whose ever stepped on one knows this.  But I can remember a dream I once had as a little girl sleeping with a rock as my pillow.  Seattle artist Emily Gherard’s paintings provide us with a different way of seeing these often immovable objects.

Untitled, oil on canvas

Untitled, oil on canvas, 30×32

Gherard presents us with rocks, mountains and cliff faces that though they are rigid to the touch, these stones are vulnerable.  The smallest crack can create a weak point, endangering the stability of the structure.

Untitled, oil on canvas, 30×32

We thinks of rocks as unyielding and impenetrable, yet they are shaped over time by the elements.  It may take eons to see the change but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t taking place.

Untitled, oil on canvas, 30×32

Untitled, oil on canvas on panel, 9×12

To see more of Emily Gherad’s work, please visit her website.  If you’re in the Seattle area, you can see her work in person at the Francine Seders Gallery.

Abstract Art Daily Artsy Mixed Media

Sensual Flora: Megan Cosby

Posted on July 17, 2012

There are some artists whose careers I’ve had my eye on for quite some time.  Florida artist Megan Cosby definitely falls into that category.  I’ve always loved her figurative work, but when I saw her beginning to move in a more abstract direction, I knew she was really getting into a beautiful groove.

Bouquet Toss, mixed media, 40×30

This new series of abstracts, inspired by flowers, is soft, sophisticated and sensual.  In these mixed media paintings, I see abstract representations of the emotion of flowers.  The happiness they bring, their lingering scent and fleeting beauty.

Gardenia Perfume, mixed media on canvas 40×40

Flowers, with their delicately temporal nature, are associated with both life and death.  An early sign of spring’s renewal, as well as a token of abashed apology.

Bouquet Confetti One, mixed media on canvas, 18×14

Bouquet Confetti Two, mixed media on canvas, 18×14

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

Daily Artsy Figurative Paintings

Life in Pairs: Amanda Blake

Posted on July 16, 2012

John Donne wrote “No man is an island“.  And of course, no woman is either.  We come into the world needing other human beings to survive and very often, we go out the same way.  All throughout our lives, we are seeking, finding, nurturing relationships.  Madison, WI artist Amanda Blake’s work explores these connections, both the ones we choose and the ones into which we are born.

When we are very young, our parents and siblings supply most of our relational needs, along with the ocassional imaginary friend.  As we mature, we begin to seek more and more outside our tiny familial sphere to find friendship among others, some very much like us, others very different.  Eventually, most of us begin looking about for a partner, someone to share our lives with.

For some like me, this journey takes longer than we anticipate.  But it is during this time that all of those other relationships are nurtured the most.  We spend our time bonding with friends over adventures and over shared memories with siblings.

Eventually, we may perhaps find the other half of our pair.  Once we do, we’ll take everything that we learned while cultivating those other relationships to care for this one.  And the cycle begins again.

To see more of Amanda Blake’s work, please visit her website.

Artist found via The Jealous Curator.  All images are via the artist’s website.

Daily Artsy F/Stop Artsy Photography

Friday Finds: Young Photosnappers

Posted on July 13, 2012

There is something about the art of photography that has always made it appealing to the young.  These days maybe, it is the advanced technology often involved.  But most of all, I think photography provides a relatively accessible mode of self-expression, which as we all know, is such a huge part of discovering who we are and who we are meant to be.  I’m happy to wrap up F/Stop Artsy week with a round-up of some amazingly talented young photographers!

Eleanor Leonne Bennett

Kristen Cates

Brian Oldham

Cristina Otero

Alex Stoddard

Eleanor Leonne Bennett | Kristen Cates |  Brian Oldham | Cristina Otero | Alex Stoddard  

I hope you’ll check out the websites of these young talents, linked above.  Let’s encourage the next artsy generation!

All images are via the artists’ websites, sourced above.

Artsy Dwelling F/Stop Artsy Photography

Artsy Dwelling: A Photoshopped Home

Posted on July 12, 2012

For many folks, the only photographs on display at home are family portraits and vacation snaps.  This afternoon, I’d like to get your creative inspiration going with some beautiful examples of the way art photography can have an amazing impact on your home’s artsiness!

Using photography can give an edge to an ultra-feminine space–

Home of Philip Leeming & Leong Ong

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Photograph of Beirut by Elger Esser

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You can make a big impact in a small space like a dining room with an oversized photograph–

Interior design by Design Loft Interiors; photo mural by Alex Turco

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Interior Maison Magazine, Oct/Nov 2010

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Designer: Thom Felicia; Featured photograph: Roberto Dutesco

To add graphic texture to a neutral space, monochromatic photography does the trick–

Interior design by Julia Starr Sanford; Art photography by Thomas Hager

via the artist

**be sure to check the Artsy Forager Facebook album, Artsy Dwelling, for more of Tom’s residential installations!

Interior design and styling by Lisa McGraw; art photography by Daniele Albright

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How about personalizing your space by commissioning an art photographer to document your little ones?

Interior photography Llama’s Valley Magazine

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Interior photography by Bieke Claessens

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Or even better, enlarge a favorite photo of them and fill an entire wall!

Design by Brian Patrick Flynn

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How are you living with photography, Artsies?

Image sources linked below each photo.

Daily Artsy F/Stop Artsy Photography

A Curious Haunting: Kisa Kavass

Posted on July 12, 2012

I love a good mystery.  Not the throat-slasher kind, but the good ol’ Nancy Drew, Wilkie Collins, Daphne Du Maurier variety.  In this world of over sharing, there is something so magical and magnetic to be found in the mysterious.  The work of Tennessee based artist Kisa Kavass brings to life her own cryptic yet enchanting imaginings.

Kavass’ sepia-tinged images are full of misty light, curious shadows and haunting visages.  There is an other-worldly spell cast by them that though shrouded in enigma, we sense that in this world we are safe.

Though things may be as they seem, the mysteries are innocuous.

Like strange dreams from which we awaken not startled or scared, but wishing we could revisit with each slumber.

To see more of Kisa Kavass’s work, please visit her website.

Thank you to artist Christina Baker for introducing me to Kisa’s work!  All images are via the artist’s website.