Can’t believe I almost forgot to let you all know about my post today over at Escape Into Life! Better late than never, I suppose.. Be sure to click on over there and check out today’s feature on artist Mia Brownell. I think you’ll find her work as intriguing as I did!
In our modern and sleek world, we find fascination in old things and places. These are objects with a story, subway walls wallpapered with layer upon layer upon layer of poster ads or the stratum of paints on a bedroom wall, showing us the history of its owners. These are the ideas New Jersey artist Jill Ricci strives to convey in her work, those hidden discoveries.
By combining elements of advertising ephemera, fabric, wallcoverings and abstraction, Ricci’s work manages to feel at once ancient and modern.
With contemporary graphics layered under the patina of paint, these pieces almost feel like we are peeling back the scales from the antiquated to find that what is hidden beneath is not obsolete, but avant-garde.
The artist’s layering collected materials mirrors society’s ever abiding search for the next big thing. We are constantly looking for the latest gadget, fashion or whatchmacallit that will give us joy. But perhaps, joy doesn’t come from the newest thing, but looking back with fondness and learning from what has come before.
To see more of Jill Ricci’s work, please visit her website. Her work can currently be seen in shows at Jules Place in Boston, MA and at Parlor Gallery in Asbury Park, NJ. Check these artsy spots out if you’re nearby!
Featured image is Cherish, mixed media on canvas, 48×30. All images are via the artist’s website.
‘Twas the week before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a bird-mouse..? The work of today’s artist captures the whimsy and fantasy that defines this time of year. French artist Corine Perier creates hybrid creatures that, despite the works’ surrealist quality seem completely real, not to mention irresistibly charming.
Though whimsical in feel, these contemporary portraits remind us of the very real problem of species extinction on our ever changing planet.
Her amalgamated creatures stare out at us with wide, vulnerable eyes. They appear kind and wise, resembling characters from fantastical lands like Narnia and Middle Earth, here to guide witless humans on their journey.
But in the eyes of some, there is an additional element.. perhaps fear, perhaps resignation to their fate at the hands of the very humans they wish to help?
To see more of Corine Perier’s gentle enchanters, please visit her website. A big thank you to Myra Wexler aka YO MOMMA for introducing me to Corine’s work. Be sure to check out Myra’s blog, too. It’s full of awesome sauce.
All images are via the artist’s website.
I am busy spreading holiday cheer today ( OK, actually running around like crazy trying to get stuff done ), which is kind of fitting for the work of today’s featured artist. Sarah Spitler’s abstracts come from the artist’s concern with chaos manifested. And because of aforementioned chaos of my own today, I’m going to let Sarah’s work speak for itself.
Be sure to check out more of Sarah Spitler’s work on her website and don’t miss reading her artist statement— deep stuff there, definitely read it and then go back and look at her work again.
Featured title image is Monomythical Geopolitika, ink, acrylic, spray paint and graphite on Mylar, 28×22. All images are via the artist’s website.
I LOVE this time of year. It’s a few weeks out of our lives that we take the time to beautify our surroundings, making sure everything sparkles with a holiday glow. We all become artists, creating vignettes of tinsel and holly, making our homes magical for our loved ones, our children, ourselves. A wonderful trend that I’m seeing is holiday decorating that is inspired by what we love to surround ourselves with every day. ( Oh, there’s still room for those homemade childhood ornaments! )
I thought it would be fun to pair some beautifully decorated Christmas trees with a work of art. I’m no stranger to art-inspired tree decorating, take a look at these trees I decorated for the gallery where I was working a few years ago. Just goes to show, any piece of art can inspire your holiday decor. So let’s deck our Artsy halls!
the art:
the tree:
the art:
the tree:
the art:
the tree:
Hope you’re inspired to think about your art collection when decorating for the holidays. If it’s too late for this year, there’s always 2012.. it will be here before we know it!
Featured image is via SimplifiedBee. All art images are via the artists’ websites.
I’ve been so busy painting this morning ( Yes, you read that right! I may or may not share the finished work with you. Depends on how I feel about them.. ), that I almost forgot to let you know about today’s Escape Into Life feature. Now, that would just not do at all, because I am a huge fan of today’s artist, Liz Tran.
Joy positively radiates from Liz’s work. They twinkle and wink and flirt with you. So at what can be a stressful time of year, fill a cup of egg nog and enjoy some happy time.
And just in case you missed it, check out her recent Artsy Forager feature here.
Life is a series of transitions. Change is a huge part of my own life these days. Due to my husband’s job, we currently travel to a new home every three months, so I was immediately drawn to the transitory nature of Amanda McCavour’s work.
Drawn to thread for it’s combination of vulnerability and strength, the artist describes her work as “a process of making as a way of tracing and preserving things that are gone, or slowly falling apart.”
She creates these “thread drawings” by sewing thread into a fabric that will resolve in water, which allows her to build up the drawings, just as one would do with charcoal on paper. Once the fabric has been dissolved, the drawn lines remain.
These thread drawings act as a figural trace of homes that used to be, memories stored there are revisited and recreated. Homes are ours for a time, but as we all fade into and out of life, so do homes remain a part of many different lives.
To see more of Amanda McCavor’s work, please visit her website.
Thank you to the ladies at LoveFeastTable for introducing me to Amanda McCavour’s work!
Featured image is Living Room ( detail ), thread, 144x144x144. All images are via the artist’s website.
I have a weakness for objects with a past. Everyday pieces from days gone by hold the untold stories of a person, a family , a home. Toronto artist Holly Farrell’s paintings of vintage objects explore this sense of nostalgia for days gone by, while also having a strong, strikingly melancholy visual impact.
The self-taught artist isolates her subjects, often with a muted, neutral background, taking a bit out of their normal context, emphasizing their design and calling our attention to their forsaken state.
These are works that are wryly reverent. Remember that hideous sofa in Grandma’s living room? It is now immortalized on canvas, forlornly longing for the days when grandchildren used to bounce and play on it’s floral-covered cushions.
Colorful Fire King mugs, which once warmed young hands and tummies with hot cocoa are now another kind of “mug shot”… snapshot compositions feel like they could be the sales photos for an eBay or Craigslist ad. Going once, going twice.. sold.
Ken and Barbie dolls, once beloved playtime companions now seem vacant and distant.
Though there can be a definite sadness surrounding some of Holly Farrell’s work, it is tempered with charm and joy. Just as our memories should be. To see more of Holly’s work, please visit her website. On her website, not only will you find more deliciously intriguing work, but also a list of galleries in the US and Canada where you can see them live and in person.
** Thank you to The Jealous Curator for the introduction to Holly Farrell’s work via her post on SF Girl By Bay!
Featured image is Books, acrylic and oil on masonite. All images are via the artist’s website.
Christopher Marlowe wrote about “the face that launched a thousand ships“. Faces, full of expression and personality are often the most difficult subject for an artist to render. I know, I went through three semesters of figure drawing purposefully not showing the model’s face, because as adept as I was at the figure, I just couldn’t get the hang of drawing faces. Perhaps that’s why I am so drawn to the work of artists whose faces are so beautifully rendered and expressive. Today’s round-up includes a few of my current faves:
Get in some face time with these extraordinary artists by visiting their websites, linked below.
1. Aaron Smith
2. Greg Hart
3. Keinyo White
4. Nick Lepard
Featured image is Effie by Greg Hart, charcoal, gouache, gesso and acrylic on paper, 26×22. All images are via the artists’ websites.
It’s no secret that here in the Pacific Northwest, we love our coffee. Caffiing up is taken very seriously around these parts. Our coffee house experiences are not limited to the ubiquitous Starbucks. The most wonderful, interesting coffee joints are the independent shops, where they might roast their own beans onsite ( these are the places my hubby prefers ), the baristas are extremely knowledgeable and are generally a whole heckuvalotta fun. So I was very excited that Seattle artist Marsha Glaziere has created a series of works inspired by the coffee houses of Puget Sound. She’s put 13 of the series into a 2012 calendar, here’s a peek at the cover art:
The calendar is a prelude to her upcoming book, eclectic COFFEE spots in Puget Sound, a “table coffee book”. ( Get it? 🙂 ) An excerpt from the book’s introduction gives us a peek into the driving force behind this new series:
“It is very hard, if not impossible, to live in the Pacific Northwest, specifically the Puget Sound region, and not become seduced by, and ultimately become part of, the pervasive coffee culture that thrives in this part of the country—come rain or shine.
In our increasingly-fast-paced world of electronics, hyperactivity, and constant change, gathering with friends, even coffeehouse strangers, perhaps fulfills our deep-seated desire for community. Whether we engage in conversation or focus on a book, our computer or on the artwork exhibited, being anchored in the company of others may be as satisfying as a cup of coffee itself.”
As a lover of both independent coffee houses and Starbucks ( what can I say, I’m a sucker for their diabetic-coma inducing drinks ), I was so excited to see that Marsha had chosen to document these places that will surely be remembered as an important part of life and culture in the 21st century.
Marsha’s artistic style fits so well with her subject, the sketchy, seemingly fleeting movement of her lines, her use of negative space and primarily light washes of color provide a spontaneity and lightheartedness that seems perfect for capturing these modern day salons.
This calendar is ideal for the art and/or coffee lover on your gift list! You can see all thirteen calendar images and place your order here. While you’re there, be sure to wander around the rest of Marsha’s website to see more of this artist’s incredible work. And buy a calendar! You’ll be checking someone off your shopping list AND supporting an artist. Win-win!
Featured image is Starbucks, The Original at Pike Place Market ( March ). All images are via the artist or her website.