Artsy Fodder Fashion Wear the Artsy

Artsy Fodder: Art Gets Bejewelled

Posted on January 24, 2012

Artists and designers have been inspiring each other for centuries. Whether we realize it or not, much of the clothes we wear, jewelry we sport and objects we use are a result of the symbiosis between art and design.  And I for one, love to celebrate such connections!  For this first feature in the new Artsy Fodder series, let’s have some fun with artfully inspired jewelry designs.  These pieces may not have directly influenced each other, but there is an unmistakable resemblance.

Art…

Friday Night 27848 by John Duckworth

Bejewelled…

Kate Spade, City Lights Idiom Bangle

Art…

Oceanic Series by Thomas Hager

Bejewelled…

Anthropologie, Jumbled Loops Necklace

Art…

Untitled by Amy Pleasant

Bejewelled…

Paige Novick, White Howlite Cuff

Art…

Yin and Yang by Jennifer Bain

Bejewelled…

Jill Schwartz, Mosaic Pin

Art…

Screen ( Barn Owl ) by Kevin Appel

Bejewelled…

M. Missoni, Chain Necklace

Do find yourself buying pretty baubles that remind you of your favorite artwork?  Take a look inside your own closet or jewelry box and I’ll bet you’ll see some similarities!

Design Design Foraging Paintings Photography

Friday Faves: With Tangerine Trees and Marmalade Skies

Posted on January 20, 2012

Each year, Pantone announces its “Color of the Year”.  The color authority combs the world looking for influential color and its Color of the Year proclamation affects design decisions in fashion, interiors, products, packaging, you name it.  This year’s color is a bold and vibrant reddish-orange, Tangerine Tango.  Artists, always ahead of the curve, have been embracing orange for quite some time.  I know it’s always been one of my own favorite hues.  Take a peek at some of these lovely examples of tangerine dreams!

Orange Ocean Edge by Christina Foard

An Incomplete Dictionary of Show Birds by Luke Stephenson

Spring Flowers by Susan Melrath

Clickety Clack by Pamela Viola

Without You by Margaret Glew

Any orangey hued works you’re loving lately?  Would love to hear about them!  Have a great weekend, Artsies, and if you’re snowed in and in need of some warming, check out today’s featured artists’ websites!

1.  Christina Foard 

2.  Luke Stephenson 

3.  Susan Melrath 

4.  Pamela Viola 

5.  Margaret Glew 

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

Daily Artsy Figurative Paintings

Collecting Glances: Kris Lewis

Posted on January 19, 2012

George and I are people watchers.  Sometimes when the hubby and I are stuck in a public place with time to kill, we love to watch the people go by, making up stories about who they are, where they are going.. Occasionally, in the course of observing, we may make eye contact with a stranger.  Just a glance, but in the moment, there is a recognizable connection between souls.  Los Angeles artist Kris Lewis shares his own experiences in human observations with his wonderfully moody portraits.

Scintillating Venuses, oil on wood, 24x23

If you’ve read the blog for a while, then you know I’m a sucker for interesting portraiture.  Lewis follows in the footsteps of portraitists that came before him, his figures are beautifully drawn and rendered.  But what sets his work apart is the capturing of the fleeting emotion of a moment, whether conveying a sense of vulnerability, power, sadness, even resolution.

Destruction Period, oil on canvas, 24x24

The faces portrayed often seem decidedly modern, but when juxtaposed with costumes of another era and surrealish landscape backgrounds, as one blogger put it, the result is “modern spooky”.  These aren’t prosaic traditional portraits to hang above the fireplace.  They are explorations of experience, revelations of hidden narratives.

Fire Tower, oil on wood, 12x16

Low Tide, oil on board, 24x36

It’s almost as if, in carefully observing his subjects, the artist sees them in another life.  A life previously lived in a different time and place.

Red, oil on wood, 20x24

Which makes me wonder.. how would such an artist depict me?  Or you?  Wouldn’t you love to know?!  Visit Kris Lewis’s website to see more and while he’s in the process of updating it, you can find his latest work on his Facebook page.  Speaking of Facebook, have you “liked” the Artsy Forager Facebook page?  If not, you may be missing out on all sorts of fun & interesting tidbits not shared on the blog!

Thank you to Christine at Bijou and Boheme for introducing me to this incredible artist!

Featured image is Weathered Oak, oil on wood, 24×20.  All images are via the artist’s website.

 

 

Artsy Dwelling Interiors

Artsy Dwelling: Go BIG or Go Home

Posted on January 18, 2012

Good things come in small packages.  But sometimes, really awesome things come in large packages!  Although there is definitely a trend in the interior design world toward showcasing collections of small artwork, sometimes, you just gotta go big to make a statement.

Photography by Miles Redd

Donna Karan’s Manhattan Apartment, photographed by Richard Powers

Image via Apartment Therapy, interior design by Fran Keenan, artwork by Amy Pleasant

via Lonnymag.com

There have been several large pieces I’ve coveted over the years.. one day!  Any larger than life artwork you’re loving right now?

PS– Artists– Do you have images of your work in a client’s home you’d like featured in Artsy Dwelling on Artsy Forager?  Shoot me an email with the jpeg or a link to the image online!  Merci beaucoup!

Featured image is via Marcus Design Inc.

Abstract Art Daily Artsy Paintings

Odyssey Through the Land of Color: Kerry Irvine

Posted on January 17, 2012

Over the weekend, following a walk in the brisk January air, I was consumed with a desire to paint.  Although I’d recently cranked out seven (!) paintings as Christmas gifts for my nieces, I really haven’t painted consistently since college.  As I set out to create a little study of an Idaho Locust seed pod found on our walk, my underpainting, nothing but brushstrokes and color was so much more interesting than anything I would create out of it.  Artist Kerry Irvine understands the potent power of color to invoke emotion, mood and form.

Letting Go, acrylic, gouache and oil stick on canvas, 24x36

Kerry’s use of color creates an ambience and sense of place, be it a physical, mental, emotional or spiritual destination.

Oil Pond, acrylic, gouache and oil stick on linen, 40x60

They are places we’ve been before, moments of joy, times of reflection, memories of days past, dreams real or imagined.  But all having made us who we are.

Tree of Life, acrylic and oil stick on canvas, 36x48

Kerry’s work takes us on a journey.  A sojourn through color with sidestepping adventures in texture, line and form.

Cherry Blossom Freeze, acrylic, gouache and oil stick on linen, 36x48

To see more of Kerry Irvine’s work, please visit her website and Facebook page.

Featured image is Midnight in the Garden, acrylic, gouache and oil stick on linen, 63×48.  All images are via the artist’s website.

Abstract Art Design Foraging Paintings Photography

Friday Faves: Paris Is Always A Good Idea

Posted on January 13, 2012

Perhaps it began with too many pre-teen viewings of Funny Face or Gigi.  Or maybe it was even earlier with The Aristocats.  For whatever reason, France in general and Paris in particular, have always been a source of fascination and inspiration to me, as it has to countless artists through the ages.  Recently, it seems as if Paris is just in the air.  So, today, mon chere Artsies, I bring to you a few of my recent Frenchy favorites.  Vive la France!

April In Paris by Liz Lind, limited edition, 16x16, 24x24 or 32x32

Green Chairs by Lisa Abelson/Dasken Designs

Paris by George Butler

Pretty Maps ( Paris ) by Aaron Straup Cope

Be sure to check out the websites of my fellow Francophiles below.  Have a beautiful weekend, Artsies!

1.  Liz Lind 

2.  Lisa Abelson/ Dasken Designs 

3.  George Butler 

4.  Aaron Straup Cope; Pretty Maps available through 20×200.

Featured image is Le Petit Zinc by Irene Suchocki.  All images are via the artist’s websites unless otherwise stated.

Daily Artsy Figurative Paintings

Mixing Light Into the Grey: Arabella Proffer

Posted on January 12, 2012

None other a luminary than my husband’s man crush, Eddie Vedder said, “It’s an art to live with pain.. mix the light into the grey.” Although I don’t necessarily subscribe to the notion that all artists must suffer in order to create great work, artists have long had a way of funneling hardships endured into their work.  The result is often something extraordinary.  When diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer, Cleveland artist Arabella Proffer channelled the painful endurances of modern medical procedures into research of the remedies of the past.  The result is a new series, The National Portrait Gallery of Kessa, a collection of paintings exploring the medical procedures and superstitions of the past.

Skin of the Fox Cures the Pox, oil on linen, 16x20 ( via Lee Joseph Publicity )

Being in the midst of a Frida Kahlo biography, Arabella’s work immediately struck a chord with me.  But these aren’t remade Kahlos.  There may be a similarity in style and subject, but while Kahlo’s work dealt directly with her own experiences and emotions, Arabella instead chose to portray imaginary female subjects, creating not only a visual representation but a history and backstory for each.

Violets for Heart Veins, oil on linen, 16x20 ( via Lee Joseph Publicity )

From the artist: “After having a section of my leg removed, I began researching medicine from the Middle Ages through the 18th century; this series was a good way for me to work out my anger and be even more thankful that what I’m going through is nothing compared to old remedies and techniques. My art and interests were in the way society lived in the past, but with emphasis on the defiant, glamorous, and eccentric — not daily strife. You could have been rich, important, or beautiful, but if sick, you would still receive brutal or worthless treatment.”

Sawed, oil on linen, 16x20

Black Madonna, oil on linen, 5x7

This series, along with selected works from the Black Madonna series, are now on display in a solo exhibition, Ephemeral Antidotes at Articulated Gallery in San Francisco through February 3rd.  If you’re not in the San Fran area, be sure to check out Arabella Proffer’s website for more of her work.

Featured image is a detail from Violets For Heart Veins, oil on linen, 16×20.  All images are via that artist unless otherwise stated.

Abstract Art Daily Artsy Textiles

In a World of Pure Imagination: Takashi Iwasaki

Posted on January 11, 2012

The work of Canadian artist Takashi Iwasaki  creates a bright and candy colored world, full of shapes that may seem incongruous, but are creating tableaus representing, for the artist, either completely imaginary worlds or the world he sees every day, as he sees it in shape and color.

Midoriyaamehatzga, embroidery floss and fabric (hand embroidered), 51cm x 51cm

Though the composition  may have meaning to the artist, he purposefully keeps the titles vague ( they are a combination of fragments several languages and sounds based on themes or elements in each work ), so that the viewer may drawn his own conclusion as to what is being seen.

Kamidaredentou, embroidery floss and fabric (hand embroidered,) 41cm x 41cm

Although the bright tones are decidedly cheery and the shapes often whimsical, it could be easy to interpret these with a dark sensibility.  They are at times alien-like and the Sputnik-ish motifs along with the clean aesthetic lead me to often see a kind of mid-century extraterrestrial sort of world.  One that I would happily be abducted to.

Taretentokaku, embroidery floss and fabric (hand embroidered), 30.5cm x 30.5cm

Minotogetenti, embroidery floss and fabric (hand embroidered), 35.5cm x 35.5cm

In addition to the embroidered ( ! ) works above, Iwasaki you can also see wonderful paintings and drawings on his website.  They will take you to another world!

Featured image is Nijiawapaip, embroidery floss and fabric (hand embroidered), 41cm x 41cm.  All images are via the artist’s website.

This artist found via DesignMilk.