Artsy Forager Featured Artist Exhibitions Mixed Media

Steve Williams in Sustainotopia

Posted on April 27, 2012

I hope you guys have wandered over to the Artsy Forager Facebook page to check out this month’s Featured Artist, Steve Williams!  It’s been so much fun sharing Steve’s work with you over the month of April.  With the Month of Steve is coming to a close, I wanted to share with you a few new pieces from the irrepressible Mr. Williams.

Cap Tossing Over the Wall of Space

These latest works were created for the Sustainotopia conference, which happened in Miami this week.  Sustainotopia is “an impact conference that encourages people to really consider how social relationships between investing, finances, and environmental sustainability can become more collaborative, creating a global community that benefits economically from doing what is, essentially, the right thing.”

A Slender Acquaintance With the World

National Soil Destruction Leading to Self Implosion

You can read more about Sustainotopia on their website ( and make plans to attend next year! ) and read about Steve’s thoughts on living an impactful life on his blog, Making Cheddar.  And if you’re new here or haven’t already done it, be sure to check out Steve’s website!

Design Foraging Mixed Media Paintings

Friday Faves: Circle Circle Dot Dot

Posted on April 27, 2012

Pretty sure I read in the latest InStyle Magazine ( we all have our guilty pleasures! ) that polka dots are big for spring.  Maybe it’s the influence of Damien Hirst’s spot paintings.  Here are some more artists marking the spot!

Small Spots by Georgia Gray, acrylic on canvas, 10x20cm

Patterns With Purpose O by Paul Ecke, mixed media on panel, 48x60

Cut 11-034 by Michelle Y. Williams, metal/plexiglas, 15x15

#562 by Tory Cowles, mixed media, 48x48

Georgia Gray  | Michelle Y. Williams | Paul Ecke | Tory Cowles

Have a fantastic weekend!  If you spot some dots over the weekend, post a photo on the Artsy Forager Facebook page!

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

Photography

LoveThisLandia: This Is Oregon

Posted on April 26, 2012

My husband and I love Oregon.  George lived for a while on the Northern Coast of Oregon and last year, we lived in Southern Oregon while he worked in Grants Pass.  The beauty and natural diversity there is just absolutely incredible.  So when Joe Stevens of Shwood Eyewear emailed me about This is Oregon, a photo project “to inspire others to get up, go out and start exploring”, I told him I was more than happy to share it with you!

This Is Oregon, photo by Julian Bialowas

Shwoood Eyewear teamed up with photographer Julian Bialowas to photograph 10 magificient locations, all within a 90 minute drive from downtown Portland, Oregon.  The project’s aim is to “showcase the awe-inspiring landscapes waiting to be explored.”

Columbia River Gorge by Julian Bialowas

There will be a This Is Oregon photo show and party at The Ace Hotel in Portland on May 3rd, admission is free and so is the beer! ( If only we were closer, we would be there for sure! )  Super cool prints of Julian’s This Is Oregon work can be purchased here.  I can’t decide which one I love best.  Each one is more beautiful than the next, just like the landscape in Oregon. ( I’m leaning toward the Columbia River Gorge piece above– it’s one of our favorite OR places! )

I hope you’ll check out the This Is Oregon website and see for yourself.  If you haven’t been to Oregon– plan a trip.  NOW.  You’ll never regret it.

And make sure you watch this video.  It’s almost like being there.  But you need to see it for yourself!

Abstract Art Daily Artsy Landscapes Paintings

Serene Strength: Claire Sherman

Posted on April 26, 2012

There is a quiet power that abides in certain landscapes that compels us to humilty.  No cell phone reception, no internet, no traffic whizzing by.  Nothing to make us believe we are the center of the universe.  Just earth and rock and water and light.  It is in these places that the earth is welcoming, yet can be strong and unyielding.  The work of New York artist, Claire Sherman captures the essence of the quiet, raw power of our natural world.

Boulders, oil on canvas, 86x78

Sherman’s overall cool palette, tinged occasionally with warm tones conveys the earth’s reticent beauty.  It wants us to explore and appreciate its wildness, but fears the mark our hand often leaves.

Butte, oil on canvas, 72x84

Ravine II, oil on canvas, 84x96

This is still a dangerous place.  We often forget, wrapped safely in suburban cocoons, thinking we are master of all that we survey.  Yet still in many places, one wrong step and we may become prey to the earth’s power.  The artist’s linear, often jagged brushwork reminds us to tread carefully.  She is beautiful, yes, but we must never forget her untamed nature.  Try as we might to use her up, certain parts of the earth will always remain wild and inhospitable to man.

Holes, oil on canvas, 72x60

Trees III, oil on canvas, 78x84

These places are for her renewing and for moments ours, but they belong to her.  That we will do well to remember.  To see more of Claire Sherman’s work, please visit her website.  Her work can be seen in person at the Kavi Gupta Gallery in Chicago.

Featured image is Pile of Rocks, oil on canvas, 72×78.  All images are via the artist’s website.

Abstract Art Daily Artsy Mixed Media Paintings

All That He Surveys: Thomas D. Aaron

Posted on April 25, 2012

Living in places with so many wild areas, whenever we go out hiking, we’re still very aware of man’s impact on the landscape.  Salt Lake City artist Thomas D. Aaron brings attention to the natural landscape and the effect of man’s hand upon it.

20, mixed media, 48x48

Bend, mixed media,66x72

Aaron uses PLSS ( Public Land Survey System ) imagery as the jumping off point of his mixed media works.  Focusing on manmade grids imposed upon the landscape and the paradigms they create with the natural order of the terrain.

Two Canyons, mixed media, 24x24 each

The painterly textures mimic the natural terrain and in some, dominating brushwork overpowers the landscape, just our infrastructure has done the same to natural wild spaces.

New Blue New, mixed media, 68x60

Like the Sea, mixed media, 68x60

To see more of Thomas D. Aaron’s work, please visit his website.  To learn more about the motivation and ideology behind his work, check out his interview with Ellen Caldwell on the New American Paintings blog.

Artist found via New American Paintings.

Featured image is Lakeside Clouds, mixed media, 36×24.  All images are via the artist’s website.

Daily Artsy Exhibitions Figurative Galleries Mixed Media Paintings

The Wild Selves: Anne Siems

Posted on April 24, 2012

As I mentioned before, there were certain shows I knew I wanted to see while we were in Seattle last weekend.  I’ve loved the work of Seattle artist Anne Siems since first seeing it online and was excited to get my chance to see her work up close and personal.  Her solo show, Guidance is showing at Grover Thurston Gallery, just up ( or down? Still don’t have my Seattle geography down pat ) the street from Foster/White, so away we went.

Wolf Girl, acrylic on panel, 48x48

Siems’ inspiration behind the show was the evolution of her daughter from childhood into adolescence and the idea that wild animal spirits may help children navigate their way through this transition.  In each of us there is a wild, animalistic-like spirit that, as we grow up and grow older gets buried under years of suppression and training in proper behavior.

Antler Girl, acrylic on panel, 40x52

In Siems’ work, we see children taking on historically grim expression and formal, constricting garb, reminding us of centuries of children whose innocence is lost all too soon.  Children whose natural wild spirits may fight against the constraints of social tradition and custom.

Bison Boy Drawing, mixed media on paper, 38x50

I was particularly drawn to Bison Boy ( above ), perhaps for the way the figure is isolated starkly against the white paper background.  He has been taken out of his environment, out of his element.  His garments are in the somewhat effeminate style of his era, yet his bison head & skin seem to be reminding us to not forget the wildness within.

George’s favorite work in the show was Lynx Cap ( below ), as this figure retains a sprightly, little girl expression in contrast to the other figures’ more suppressed, even haughty countenances.  She is still an innocent.

Lynx Cap, mixed media on paper with embroidery, 22x30

Guidance Tree, mixed media on panel, 48x48

I could go on and on about these and talk about every one– they are so interesting, visually and spiritually.  If you’d like to see more of Anne Siems’ work, please visit her website.  If you’re in Seattle, I highly recommend a visit to Grover Thurston to see these in person, a truly stunning show.

Featured image is Heart Branches, mixed media on panel, 30×30.  All images are via the artist’s website.

Daily Artsy Installations

Stringing Me Along: Anne Lindberg

Posted on April 23, 2012

Following our “stringy” theme today, check out the installation work of Anne Lindberg.  Amazingly delicate, gorgeous, saturated color.

Drawn Pink, Egyptian cotton thread, staples, 35x6x10 ft

Canto Yellow, Egyptian cotton thread, staples, 18x6x6 ft

Adante Green, Egyptian cotton thread, staples, 24x18x6

To see more of Anne Lindberg’s work, check out her website!

Design Foraging Mixed Media Paintings

Friday Faves: Climb Every Mountain

Posted on April 20, 2012

A huge part of what drew George & I to the Northwest was the mountainous terrain.  When the weather is good, every weekend is spent hiking and exploring the mountains around wherever we happen to be.  We’re gearing up for the ultimate mountain adventure this June, when we’ll take some time off to camp and explore Glacier National Park, the Tetons and Yellowstone.  So it’s only natural that I’ve got mountains on the brain these days.  Hope you enjoy these artist’s takes on the peak life!

Kate Shaw

Peace and Love by Casey Roberts, cyanotype with gouache, 60×69

Colorado Electricity by Christina Foard, oil on canvas, 36×36

Pile of Nipples by Marian Brunn Smith, oil on canvas, 24×18

One After Another, mixed media on panel, 30×24

Kate Shaw | Casey Roberts | Christina Foard | Marian Brunn Smith | Liz Tran 

What say you, Artsies?  Any mountainous adventures on the horizon?

Featured image is Magic Hour by Kate Shaw.  All images are via the artist’s websites, linked above.