There are certain artists’ work that I am just dying to see in person.. Yellena James’ work is definitely near the top of that list! But since I’m far away from anywhere she’s currently exhibiting, today I’m settling for featuring her over on Escape Into Life. Head on over and check out her amazingly beautiful drawings!
I don’t always read Artist Statements but sometimes one just describes the artist’s work and vision so perfectly that I don’t feel like there is any way my words can improve upon it. Such is the case of New York artist Stanford Kay. His artist statement was so completely lovely, I’d like to let him speak for his own work.
“At first, there is paint and desire. Paint is applied, removed, and applied again. It makes suggestions. It is edited without mercy. The image and the need to signify arrive later. Books as images within these paintings offer formal modernist possibilities while also serving as an embodiment of content.”
To see more of Stanford Kay’s work, please visit his website. Doesn’t his work make you want to cozy up in a library and read all day?
Featured image is What I Know About Her ( detail ). All images are via the artist’s website.
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.
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.
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?
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.
Emily Eleveth | Peter Anton | Joel Penkman | 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.
Thanks again to everyone who entered to win a copy of Geoff Mitchell’s book, Moon Rabbits. Geoff thought you guys would enjoy a sneak peek at the story inspired by the contest winner’s favorite piece, Trinket. Click on the link below to see a full-sized version of the book spread. Enjoy!
Trinket with story by Amy Hicks
PS– If you’d like to order your very own copy of Moon Rabbits, contact Geoff via his website here.
PPS– Once you click the link above, you may need to zoom in a bit, depending on how good your eyesight is. 😉
As they always seem to be in the habit of doing, Facebook pages recently changed! If you’re a fan and don’t want to miss any news, go to the Artsy Forager page and hover over the “Liked” button and select “Show In My Newsfeed”. Otherwise, you may not receive updates in your feed from Artsy Forager. Sorry for the extra step, but I don’t want you to miss out on any of the inspiring artsy stuff being posted on Facebook!
PS– If you aren’t following Artsy Forager on Facebook, please join in the fun! Lots of artsy goodies are posted over on Facebook between the features here on the blog.
I have always been a lover of things past. Some of my favorite places have been cities or towns that truly celebrate their history, even revel in it. To walk into a building that has been repurposed and restored is such a delight. But it seems that more often than not, older buildings and homes instead of being loved and revered are neglected and then torn apart to make way for the shiny and new. The sculptural work of Aaron Moran uses pieces of found architectural wood to create works that are as complex and chaotic as our history.
Each piece becomes a small monument to our collective history. Just scraps might be affixed to repair a dying structure, so these scraps from buildings long gone are bound together physically in each work and spiritually in their shared destiny.
Instead of languishing at the bottom of a landfill, these relics become sculptural harbingers of what we hope may be our fate– to leave behind a little of ourselves, to know that our existence is remembered and celebrated.
To see more of Aaron Moran’s work, please visit his website. My husband and I used two pews from the church where my grandparents were married for our outdoor wedding last year. It meant so to have that continuity and share in the past as we began our future. Is there a building from your past you wish you had a part of?
Featured image is Tier 2, found wood, acrylic, house paint, graphite and varnish, 10x13x14. All images are via the artist’s website.
As I may have mentioned, my hubby and I are renting a little apartment on a lake here in Northern Idaho for the next few months. We’ve taken a few meals down to the water, eating and drinking wine on the dock, waiting for that bewitching hour when the light begins to turn. New England artist Henry Isaacs’ work captures the magical pink light of dusk and the abstract beauty to be found in every landscape.
Isaacs’ work beautifully captures the simplicity of form to be found in our surroundings and how when the light changes color, so too, does the landscape take on a new hue.
In the brightest warmth of day, yellows dominate, then, as the sun softens the colors slowly fade and the light becomes softer.
To see more of Henry Isaacs’ work, please visit his website.
Featured image is View East From the Terryberry’s, oil on linen, 40×30. All images are via the artist’s website.
The work of South African artist Karin Miller caught my eye on Pinterest and I was blown away after visiting her website. Check out the examples of her work I’m featuring over on Escape Into Life today!
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.
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.
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.
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.