At least one weekend night at home usually ends up as a movie night for Mr. F and I. While we love comedies and well told drama, we like to mix in interesting documentaries occasionally. After hearing about it on NPR, we sat down to watch Twenty Feet From Stardom a few weeks ago, a film chronicling the stories of the backup singers who literally stand behind some of the biggest names in popular music. After watching, not only did I have He’s a Rebelstuck in my head for days, it also prompted a good many thoughts on how we define artistic success.
The film follows several back-up singers and their stories, the most interesting aspect to me being how they each defined being successful. I think most of us might assume that the “star” is the pinnacle of success and what all are striving for. But I found it interesting that in the case of one singer, Lisa Fischer, fame, fortune and all the trappings were within reach, yet her idea of success was more in dedication to her art than in becoming a household name.
Recently, while working on art direction with an artist ( I do that ya know, among other services for artists! ), I asked her to define what success as an artist meant for her. Before we could go further, I needed to know what her goals were for her artistic career– selling work through galleries? Being her own boss artistically and selling directly from her studio? Having work accepted into juried exhibitions? Having work shown and sold to museums? Simply making work that makes her happy regardless of whether anyone else cares about it or buys it? All legitimate measurements of success.
Some artists may have a firm idea of what success is for them from the very start. For others of us, our ideas of success may grow and evolve over time. As in the Lisa Fischer’s career, sometimes a taste of what could have been changes our ideal of what we want to be.
How do you define artistic success? Has your idea of success changed over the years?
In a lot of ways, our lives themselves are made up only of memories. Whether our own memories or the remembrances people have of us, those recollections make up the way we others see us and the way we perceive ourselves. In her gouache paintings, San Francisco artist Lindsay Stripling emphasizes memory and perceived realities.
Taking inspiration from vintage photographs, Stripling’s portraits represent an entrance into another world, perhaps a reality or memory different from our own. It’s funny how, you can never have visited a place, yet have a feeling of it merely from associations like film, photographs or stories. How often have we found ourselves in a spot, knowing consciously we’d never been there before, yet having an unshakeable feeling of familiarity?
Memories of our loved ones can be much the same, over time, our associations may change, changing our perceptions and skewing our memories. Our memories are sifted through a giant sieve, so that only the strongest impressions survive.
Happy Memorial Day to all the US Artsies! Thank you to all who have served so that we may enjoy each day in freedom. Be back in full Artsy mode tomorrow!
When I was painting in college, I worked on a series of paintings of interiors. I absolutely loved doing them, but abandoned them as in my silly young mind, I thought, “Who wants to see a painting of a room?” In those days before Instagram, I didn’t realize that interior life paintings are a way of capturing the beauty in an ordinary, fleeting moment, something done so well in the work of Tollef Runquist.
I love these little glimpses he depicts in abandoned corners and tabletops. I can almost feel the presence of the person who just left the laptop to answer a call, who arose from the chair to greet a visitor at the door. His use of pattern and light truly brings these spaces to life, leaving us to guess as to the warmth of the light, whether the breeze blows cool through the sheers. Days tick by so quickly, filled with work and the monotony of living, yet even in those ordinary hours, we can still find plenty to celebrate.
To see more of Tollef Runquist’s work, please visit his website. I’ve been trying to make it a ( near ) daily habit of capturing the beauty of an ordinary moment in my Instagram feed. How are you celebrating your daily beauties?
As artists, we are pretty obsessed with our materials and mediums. Photographers baby their cameras and lenses, sculptors take precious care of their tools. And painters, well, we love paint– the way it smells, the way it looks, the way it behaves. Seattle artist Margie Livingston, whom we last heard from in October 2012 during her run as Featured Artist, has been continuing her own wild love affair with the properties of paint.
Stretching, pulling, carving, slicing, dicing, Livingston pushes paint to its ever expanding limits. This latest group of work seems to have an elegant electricity about it, in the juxtapositions of graphic black & white against super charged neon purples and pinks. Then she spins that on its head with her gloriously shroud-like draped paint sculptures.
Poured, Sliced, and Draped, a show of Margie Livingston’s latest work, opens at Greg Kucera Gallery in Seattle today, with the opening reception taking place during First Thursday on June 5th. If you’re in Seattle, don’t miss her Artist Talk this Saturday, at 11:30am, see the Greg Kucera site for details! Aaaah, some days I really miss Seattle.
Our lives don’t exist in a glossy, one dimensional universe. We are surrounded each day by a myriad of patterns and textures. From the paint on our walls, to the weave of our garments, even the skin covering our bodies, texture fills our vision every day. In his work, Virginia artist Duane Cregger heaps layer upon layer of painted texture and pattern to create canvases that are a feast for the eyes.
But not only is life full of physical texture and pattern, but it’s there mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, too. We fill our heads and hearts up each day with the sights, sounds, and thoughts surrounding us, so that they become one with who we are. On any given day, our spirit might be quenched by the sounds of nature and the warmth of light, or worn down by the incessancy of a ringing phone and arguing children. Each “texture” piles, one on top of the other, some peeking through more than others, to create a pattern of self that is unique to each one of us.
Oh Artsies, have I got a treat for you! Can you imagine traveling to a tropical locale solely for the purpose of meeting and discovering artists? Sounds like an exhilarating heaven to me! That’s exactly what arts writer Ellen Caldwell did and she will be guest foraging in a new Artsy Abroad column and sharing her discoveries with us! You can read more about Ellen here. Now let’s see some of the fruits of her Balinese artsy foraging!
The Lush Yayasan Bali Purnati grounds hosting the writer’s arts residency. Photo by Ellen C. Caldwell.
In February of 2014, I departed for Bali on a month-long arts writing residency, sponsored by the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. This residency included a month’s stay at the beautiful, lush grounds of Yayasan Bali Purnati – and when I arrived I could tell it would be magical.
My grant proposal laid out my goals of scouting local artists in the contemporary scene, interviewing them, and writing about them. I proposed to use my writing to make a small bridge between the art of LA (my hometown-with-my-heart) and Bali. When I found out I had won the grant, I was ecstatic until it dawned on me that I did not have a any real plan for finding artists there – at all.
Knowing from my experience with arts writing, whether here in LA or abroad on previous trips to Australia and Bali, though, I rest assured that I would find the artists, or that the artists would come to me. And as it happened, something right in the middle of those two potential outcomes occurred…
My first week there, I spent my days rising early to write – first just opening thoughts about traveling and leaving home and then the more arduous task of scouting artists to meet in my coming weeks. I decided to use a three-prong approach: email gallerists I found online, reach out to artists I liked individually via social media outlets like Instagram and Facebook, and ask friends of friends to put me in touch with people. Sounded like a great plan, right?
Flash to two weeks later, though, and I had one interview on the books. An emotion that lay somewhere between fear and frustration was starting to sneak up on me.
Thankfully, I met a couple of artists and one gallerist who ended up acting as artistic hubs for me, putting me in touch with other artists, and serving as the key (saviors) to my success in artsy foraging abroad.
Made Budhiana’s beautiful and airy studio in Denpasar. Photo by Ellen C. Caldwell.
First, I was introduced to artist Ketut Jaya Kaprus. He then introduced me to the famed Made Budhiana and talented Wayan Sunadi. I spent a day at Kaprus’ studio and then at Budhiana’s ethereal, light-filled barn-like studio, listening to classic rock, playing with puppies, and talking about art.
Ni Nyoman Sani’s studio space at her family’s Muja Art Studio. Photo by Ellen C. Caldwell.
Next I met the talented, gracious, and contagiously happy Ni Nyoman Sani of Seniwati Art Space. She introduced me to three more wonderful female artists including Komang Emy Agustriani, Ni Ketut Ratnasih, and the eminent Kamasan-style painter Mangku Muriati. Sani also showed me around her family’s art collective, Muja Art Studio. Here, three generations of family members work in their studio and gallery spaces to showcase their work, ranging from paintings to sculpture to carving.
Paintings by Ketut Teja Astawa and I Made Wiradana showcased at Tonyraka Art Gallery in Mas, Ubud. Photo by Ellen C. Caldwell.
And finally I met Tony Hartawan, owner of Tonyraka Art Gallery, who helped me to line up interviews with six artists represented in his gallery, including Ketut Teja Astawa, I Made Wiradana, and Wayan Suja. I also reconnected with painter Federico Tomasi whom I had met on my first trip to Bali, about 16 months prior.
Through this international foraging foray, I was able to explore artworks I would have never otherwise seen and get to know artists I would have never otherwise met. In a nutshell, it was an aesthetic experience of a lifetime.
Ketut Jaya Kaprus painting Caldwell’s portrait in his studio in Batubulan. Photo by Ellen C. Caldwell.
Federico Tomasi’s studio space and current projects. Photo by Ellen C. Caldwell
My next guest posts will more fully explore the art and studios of Ketut Jaya Kaprus and Made Budhiana, Ni Nyoman Sani and her family’s Muja Art Studio, and Federico Tomasi’s current projects – and I look forward to having all of you fellow artsy foragers along for the ride!
There are so many things I’d never experienced before living on the West Coast. In Florida, I don’t think I ever experienced “marine layer“, these air masses create the most beautiful foggy formations above the coastal waters. Of course, everyone loves bright, clear skies, but there is a mysterious beauty to life seen through a fogged lens. In his Steam Portraits series, photographer David Ryle creates these sensitive captures of portraits seen through or looking through a curtain of steam.
We all have our days when it feels like we’re moving through the fog. Bogged down, without a clear vision of the road ahead. What’s so lovely about these portraits is that although the subjects are seen gazing through the vapor, in most cases much of the haze is already depleted. There is something incredibly hopeful in that– to know that although we may be temporarily socked in, slowly, surely, the fog will lift and all will be revealed.
If you’re following along with my Foraging on social media, you may have seen me let a little cat out of the bag last week.. Since the end of last year, I’ve been working on a limited edition collaboration with the Seattle based online art & framing company, Mantle Art, and I’m thrilled to announce that the Artsy Forager Collection for Mantle Art is now live!!
In partnership with the folks at Mantle Art, I’ve pulled together this first collection of four emerging artists, each one of whose work I feel speaks strongly and beautifully a unique visual story. Allow me to introduce you!
alexandra bellissimo | Alexandra is one of my favorite finds of the past year and was the Artsy Forager Featured Artist just last month. Her work has an edgy elegance to it that I am particularly drawn to. That top left piece is perhaps one of my all time favorite pieces of work, EVER. I can’t get enough of it.
click the image above to shop Alexandra’s collection on Mantle Art!
kelda martensen |Kelda was a new discovery for me through this process, but the minute I saw her work, I fell in love with it. In her original mixed media pieces, Kelda is seeking to define what home may be and though the answer for each of us is different, her work speaks a universal language. Look for an Artsy Forager feature on Kelda soon!
click the image above to shop Kelda’s collection on Mantle Art!
matt sawyer | Mr. F had a circle of really super cool friends during his Tulsa days. And photographer Matt Sawyer just happened to be among them. When I was putting together artist options for the collection, I wanted a photographer who was treating traditional imagery in a modern, fresh way so I was thrilled when the folks at Mantle Art loved Matt’s work as much as I did!
click the image above to shop Matt’s collection on Mantle Art!
anna kincaide | One of the most thrilling things about writing Artsy Forager has been the joy of finding an artist and following the growth of their work. Anna is one of the artists I’ve been most excited to watch emerge! I fell in love with her work the first time I saw it and she has only gotten better and better since. Her compositions are always stunning and the playfulness of pattern, as well as her use of light just create such lovely juxtapositions.
click the image above to shop Anna’s collection on Mantle Art!
Each piece in the Artsy Forager for Mantle Art Collection is available as a limited edition print on Hahnemuhle fine art paper and is available in three sizes 11×14, 16×20, and 20×24. Edition sizes are limited to 200 pieces per size, and each piece will be shipped with a certificate of authenticity. Mantle Art also offers matting and framing options for each piece– one stop shopping, ya’ll!
I hope you’ll wander through the collection, perhaps you’ll fall in love and add one of these beauties to your collection!
*This post contains affiliate links. As curator of the Artsy Forager for Mantle Art Collection, I receive a small commission on each piece sold from the collection.
If you’ve been following along my own little artistic journey, then you already know I’ve been a bit obsessed with color lately. Color has an incredible psychological effect on mood and atmosphere and when I saw the work of Chilean born, Berlin based artist Macarena Ruiz Tagle on The Jealous Curator last week, I immediately fell in love.
The series, aptly titled Atmosphere is a collection of works of acrylic and watercolor on paper. Amazing, right?? With their deep, tunnel-like darker center, we are plunged into these worlds of color. As the hue radiates out from the middle, lightening toward the paper’s edges, the fields of color almost seem to be these moving and vibrating auras. These are pieces it may be tempting to just pass by, but with a second look, there is so very much to see.
