Abstract Art Daily Artsy Sculpture

Chloro-Forms: Erin McKenna

Posted on April 17, 2013

In this world, it’s difficult sometimes to find something truly genuine.  Everything seems to be derivative of some earlier idea.  In her We’re Going on Vacation series, sculptor Erin McKenna takes fragments of hot tubs and plays with their inherent imitator qualities to create sculptures recalling sea life, both of the artificial and organic variety.

Brominator by Erin McKenna

Brominator, altered piece of hot tub, glitter, flocking, sculptamold, enamel paint, 19x9x13

So hot tubs are designed to look like the inside of shells– thinking that somehow our simple minds might be fooled into thinking we are in some sort of tropical hot spring instead of where we really are, a plastic box full of chlorinated water.  McKenna takes broken pieces of jacuzzi plastic and reminds us of the artificiality they represent by recreating them into artificial representations of actual seashells.

Crest by Erin McKenna

Crest, altered piece of hot tub, glitter, flocking, sculptamold, Great Stuff, enamel paint, 19x12x15

Clam by Erin McKenna

Clam, altered piece of hot tub, resin, glitter, flocking, paper mach, enamel paint, 31x23x15

Shell by Erin McKenna

Shell, altered piece of hot tub, resin, glitter, flocking, paper mache, enamel paint, 15x8x9

I think that’s what I find most interesting about McKenna’s Vacation series.. the glorification of imitation.   Taking an object that emulates nature and fashioning it into objects that parody that same nature.  There’s a parallel with our own lives in there somewhere.  How often do we borrow ideas only for them to echo back to us their counterfeit nature?

Crustacean by Erin McKenna

Crustacean, altered piece of hot tub, glitter, flocking, sculptamold, enamel paint, 12x16x8

To see more of Erin McKenna’s work, please visit her website.

All images via the artist’s website.

Daily Artsy Figurative Paintings

Twisted Takes: Russ Noto

Posted on April 15, 2013

What does an artist do when he is gifted with classical skills yet wants his work to be modern and exciting and relevant?  For painter Russ Noto, it means creating figures who strike traditional poses, but adding elements of the absurd.

Figure with Painted Horse by Russ Noto

Figure with Painted Horse, oil on canvas, 33×43

Push/Pull by Russ Noto

Push/Pull, oil on panel

Classically posed figures in contemporary clothing are placed in incongruous situations.  Kind of leaving us to wonder.. where does  traditional work and style fit in?  Is it still pertinent to the conversation?

New Quixote by Ross Noto

New Quixote, oil on canvas, 33×43

Venus in Exile by Ross Noto

Venus in Exile, oil on canvas, 33×43

There is an inherent sadness to Noto’s work.  It’s as if his archetypal characters have been set down in unfamiliar territory and now find themselves isolated and despondent.

Beauty and Violence No. 2 by Ross Noto

Beauty and Violence No.2, oil on canvas, 33×43

But is the future of classical work and traditional themes so bleak?  Is there truly room for all in contemporary art?  Deep thoughts for a Monday.  If you’d like to see more of Russ Noto’s work, and I highly recommend you do, please visit his website.

Design Foraging Interiors Jewelry Textiles

Design Foraging: Cloud Illusions, I Recall

Posted on April 12, 2013

Monday morning, as Mr. Forager & I were leaving home, we both got excited at how grey and blustery a morning it was here in the desert.  A “Northwest kind of day!” we both exclaimed.  Perhaps you might think us a bit odd, but we really miss the grey and the rain.  Cool days spent reading in a coffee shop, wandering through used bookstores and galleries.  Those days just don’t seem to happen here in the desert.  So as I’m finding myself longing for clouds, I rounded up a few artsy finds of the cumulus variety!

Cloud Slivers Lamp at Anthropologie

Cloud Slivers Lamp at Anthropologie

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Animal Clouds Pillow by SCHOP

Animal Clouds Pillow by SCHOP

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Tiny Cloud Necklace by Boutique MI

Tiny Cloud Necklace by Boutique MI

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White Cloud Teaspoon Rest by JD Wolfe Pottery

White Cloud Teaspoon Rest by JD Wolfe Pottery

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Rainy Day Wool Throw at Leif Shop

Rainy Day Wool Throw at Leif Shop

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Hope you have a wonderful weekend and may all your clouds end in rainbows.  See you Monday, Artsies!

Daily Artsy Figurative Paintings

Seeing Askew: Travis Collinson

Posted on April 11, 2013

One of my favorite things is to discover new views just by changing my angle of perspective.  How much more interesting some things become when we look at them with different eyes!  The work of San Francisco artist Travis Collinson challenges us to see consider simple scenes from a new aspect.

Scatter by Travis Collinson

Scatter, oil on canvas, 48×48

Collinson’s figures, often caught in moments of what seems to be a trance-like state, are seen by the viewer in a sometimes voyeuristic perspective.  We may feel as if we are walking in upon a moment of private reflection, or intruding on the subject’s privacy.

Marcy by Travis Collinson

Marcy, acrylic on linen, 14×12

The Pornography of Nature by Travis Collinson

The Pornography of Nature, acrylic on canvas, 18×20

Upside Down by Travis Collinson

Upside Down, acrylic on canvas, 66×90

In each composition, there is always the tiniest detail that almost goes without notice.  Yet once it has been seen, we can’t un-see it.  And it captures our attention with each glance, changing how we consider everything else we’re taking in.

Rutso by Travis Collinson

Rutso, acrylic on canvas, 56×32

To see more of Travis Collinson’s work, please visit the websites of his representing galleries, Eli Ridgway Gallery and Maloney Fine Art.

Artist found via New American Paintings.  Scatter via Maloney Fine Art, all other images via Eli Ridgway Gallery.

Abstract Art Daily Artsy Paintings

High Marks: Camille Hannah

Posted on April 10, 2013

For an artist or avid art lover, often the joy and specialness of a work of art is to be found not in the overall meaning or composition but in the mark making.  Those little strokes that mean so much.  The work of Australian artist Camille Hannah gives us pause to consider how each mark of the brush is made.

Venus Tactus by Camille Hannah

Venus Tactus, oil and acrylic on aluminum, 204×203 cm

In each squiggle, the light and shadow moves along with the paint.  These strokes create form, line and texture, all through choice of paint loaded onto the brush and the way in which the hand of the artist guides it.

Caecus Macula by Camille Hannah

Caecus Macula, oil and acrylic on aluminum, 204×203 cm

This adept “play with paint” is always what draws me in.  There is such beauty in the way the paint swirls from the bristles of the brush, the way the colors mix together on the surface, catching the light and deepening not just the visual but the visceral experience of the painting!

Austramythicus Patternus by Camille Hannah

Austramythicus Paternus, oil and acrylic on aluminum, 204×203 cm

Orexis by Camille Hannah

Orexis ( Between Skins ), oil and acrylic on aluminum, 204×203 cm

To see more of Camille Hannah’s work, please visit the website of her representing gallery, the Nellie Castan Gallery.

All images via the Nellie Castan Gallery. 

Daily Artsy Photography

Edge Effects: Daniel Kukla

Posted on April 9, 2013

The end of our time in the desert is quickly coming to a close ( we’re now at less than three weeks to go! ).  The desert is a place of strong lines.  Folks either love it or hate it.  Jagged mountains cut across clear blue skies.  Tropical oasis spring up amid the arid sand.  Last year, photographer Daniel Kulka spent an artist residency in Joshua Tree National Park studying the juxtapositions of desert elements, The Edge Effects.

By positioning a glass mirror on an easel among the desert terrain, Kukla captures the harsh beauty of Joshua Tree.  What is seen may be the stark contrast of a cobalt sky amid the beige or the glass may seem to disappear as it captures what can be a confusing landscape.

The imagery of the single easel, alone in the desert recalls the abandonment seen everywhere in this place.  Empty homesteads left to ruin, leftover junk discarded among the cholla and joshuas.  In the openness of this place, what is cast away is not hidden, it is stranded for all to see.

To see more of Daniel Kukla’s work, please visit his website.

All images are via the artist’s website.

This Artsy Life

This Artsy Life: Weekend 14 [ Artsy & Mr. Forager Get Busy ]

Posted on April 8, 2013

No, not like that. We had one of those crazy running-around-trying-to-get-things-done-before-we-move kind of weekends. Mr. F & I love to hike and I am long overdue a new pair of hiking boots. Which isn’t as easy a purchase as you might think!  Good boots don’t come cheap and the last thing you want on mile eight of a fifteen mile hike is to start getting blisters, believe me. So we drove all the way to Rancho Cucamonga to the nearest REI. Like Cinderella, I tried on a bunch of glass slippers boots but alas, no magic. Stopped in at a few art supply stores while there as I had it in my head to finish a large painting before we leave Joshua Tree. In less than three weeks. And next weekend we’ll be in San Diego. Mr. F delicately suggested I might be biting off more than I can chew.. he was right and besides they didn’t have the size I wanted on sale. So I decided to back burner it for a while.

We shopped for toddler birthday gifts and fun stuff like dental floss and toilet paper and took a break for a wine tasting ( thanks over-indulger for spilling red wine all over me! ) and a little sushi, which I’ve been dying for lately. Sunday was spent with me doing a little research for this little blog ( look for another redesign soon! ) and Mr. F bottling his latest batch o’ beer. Oh and we started packing for our move! We have no idea where we are going yet, but we’ve begun preparing for the journey. I think there’s something poetic and utterly hopeful about that. 😉 I didn’t take the time to snap many pics this weekend, but we spied some lovely spring desert blooms on our Sunday evening walk. Hope you enjoy!

[ cholla ]

[ prairie sunflowers, maybe? ]

[ no idea what either of these are, but they sure are pretty! ]

[ prickly pear ]

Anyone else in the midst of a move?  Hoping to begin planning one?  Any desert plant enthusiasts out there know what my unidentified blooms are?  What spring flowers are you spotting these days?

 

Daily Artsy Landscapes Paintings

Artful Wanderings: Catherine Beaudette

Posted on April 8, 2013

When you travel as much as Mr. Forager and I do, there is always a danger of confusing memories of where we’ve been and when!  One of our favorite post-dinner-over-a-glass-of-wine past times is watching the screensaver slideshow of all our adventures.  The Global Cities series of paintings by Toronto artist Catherine Beaudette seem to be an artful conglomeration of urban wanderings.

Funnel by Catherine Beaudette

Funnel, oil, 36×27

In Beaudette’s paintings, buildings, interiors, and vistas overlap one another, so that we’re never quite sure exactly where we are.  Its as if the artist is painting the most special memories of each place.. the way the light and shadows feel through a window, beautiful lines of architecture, the warmth of a spring day.

Strada by Catherine Beaudette

Strada, oil, 36×27

Corridor by Catherine Beaudette

Corridor, oil, 36×27

The farther we travel from some places, the more fuzzy our memories become.  Like Beaudette’s work, we may remember the most beautiful parts of each place, taking with us only the good and happily leaving behind any darkness.

Balustrade by Catherine Beaudette

Balustrade, oil, 36×27

To see more of Catherine Beaudette’s work, please visit her website.  Mr. F & I definitely have a few places we’ve been that we’ve grown fonder of over time, thanks to good memories overshadowing the bad.  How do you keep track of your travels?  Old fashioned photo albums, post card collections?

Artist found via Sopa Fine Arts.