Art to Inspiration is back! The time for this collaborative blogging project is here once again and this month’s inspiration is being provided by artist Laura E. Pritchett. I have always loved the possibility inherent in the disappearing path.. One of the artists showing in our City Mouse | Country Mouse exhibition in found gallery, Deann Hebert, also has a love for roads that lie before us. So for my Art to Inspiration, I’ve put together a little gallery of Deann’s own paths taken.
The inspiration–
Out of the Woods by Laura E. Pritchett
The gallery–
The Path**
Country Road**
Gracefully Growing**
The Good Life
The Path I’ve Chosen
Asteriked work can be found ( heh, get it? ) in the City Mouse | Country Mouse exhibtion. The other work by Deann can be found on her website. What paths are you contemplating these days?
You can find more information on Art to Inspiration here and if you would like to participate in the next Art to Inspiration, just fill out this form! Follow me and all the other Art to Inspiration bloggers on Twitter by subscribing here. Let the inspiring begin!
Confession: there are times when I am bored by art. Not often, but Mr. Forager will testify that it’s pretty obvious when I’m not crazy about the work I’m looking at.. my eyes just kinda glaze over or even worse still, I take one glance, shrug my shoulders and walk on in hopes of finding something more interesting. But the work of today’s artist? Nu uh. I couldn’t stop looking and agonized over which work to include for you. Yep, Brisbane artist Simon DeGroot knows how to capture my attention.
Maintain Pleasure Personally, screenprint, acrylic and oil on board, 600x800mm
Copia Avis with Purple, screenprint, acrylic and oil on board, 800x800mm
First, there are these wonderfully absurd collages, filled with seemingly incongruous imagery like traditional Dutch still lifes, toy trucks, shelter magazine shots and of course.. Big Bird. How do they all fit together? Is it really necessary that they do? DeGroot makes the compositions work using color, form and line, keeping our eye moving. Keeping us guessing.
But Is It Fragile, 600x600mm
Garnish, 105x150mm
Small Overload, 300x325mm
Then there are the more purely abstract works– studies in vivid, expressive color against the pale or the black of an abyss. Simple lines and shapes put together in that wonderfully it-seems-random-but-it-works-so-well-it-can’t-possibly-be. Splashes of color and looping lines. Perhaps more free than their collaged counterparts, but the compositions remain as grounded and sure as any classical still life.
In Real Time, 600x600mm
There is much more abstraction and absurdity on Simon DeGroot’s website. Pixelated floral still lifes? Wrapping paper collages? He’s got ’em. Be sure to check them out.
So remember when I shared with you the story of my foray back into painting? And how my first go ’round, though initially painful ended in a pretty positive way? I was so excited, so elated to get back into it! My head was swimming with ideas for this new series of work and I couldn’t wait to dive back in the following weekend. ( Gotta be a weekend painter, I just can’t seem to do it during the week. )
Things did not go as well the second time around.
Mistake #1 | I moved my makeshift studio from the large picture window just off the kitchen into the spare bedroom. Smaller space and not nearly enough light. And the grey blue of the walls in that room are depressing.
Mistake #2 | Reusing an already painted canvas board but not gessoing over the old painting. Rookie mistake. I know better.
Mistake #3 | Not buying gesso. Or perhaps this should have been listed as Mistake #2, as M2 might never have happened had I actually purchased gesso.
Mistake #4 | Trying to utilize the exact same technique used in the first painting even though a different technique was actually working quite well.
Mistake #5 | Walking away and letting the canvas sit for the last week and a half.
So I’ve learned a few lessons from this experience.
Lesson #1 | If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Should have kept my little “studio” where I had it. Since Mr. Forager was working at the table in the kitchen, I was trying to be considerate and not disturb him ( I like to play music when I paint, sometimes accompanied by questionable singing ). I ended up listening with headphones anyway, so think it would have been just fine to stay put.
Lesson #2 | Don’t try to be cheap or take shortcuts. You’re never happy with the result ( see Mistakes 2 & 3 ).
Lesson #3 | Just because it worked for you the first time doesn’t mean it will work again. See Lesson #1.
Lesson #4 | Get over the fear of sucking. It’s OK to take a break, but don’t let fear freeze you. I am a task-oriented perfectionist. If I can’t do something really well, I hate doing it at all. So this is a hard one for me. But it’s a lesson I need to learn and put into practice. And not just in painting but in every aspect of my life. Friend & fellow blogger Erin at artsocial wrote a great post today about this very issue!
So I am determined to try again. Move the easel back into the sunny spot with the mountain view and try again. Buy some gesso and try again. Get over my fear of failure and try again. And again. And again!
Artsies, how do you do it? How do you overcome that paralyzing fear of getting it wrong? I’m also looking for a little evening creative activity for the iPad. I’m not an evening painter, I’ve learned that over the years. I’m kind of a middle of the afternoon on a Sunday painter. But I would love to have some non-messy creative playtime in the evenings. Any paint-y iPad apps to recommend?
It takes a very keen eye for palette and composition to put together simple shapes and sometimes incongruent hues and come up with something pleasing and interesting to the eye. The work of Austin artist Xochi Solis exemplifies those characteristics perfectly. I want a whole wall full of these little mixed media works! See more from Xochi in my Artist Watch on Escape Into Life here!
We’ve been living in Southern California for the last six months. Joshua Tree, CA to be exact, a tiny little hamlet full of Seussian spikey trees just outside the Joshua Tree National Park. It’s an artsy, hippy community full of off-the-grid houses and uh, herbal self-medication. Just an hour to the South of us is a whole other world! The slick, mid-century vacation haven of Palm Springs. Photographer Nancy Baron turns her lens to the habitations and inhabitants of the tropical desert town in her series, The Good Life.
Backyard Morning
Fluffy Pillows
I get myself down to Palm Springs at least once a month. Because sometimes this longtime suburban city dweller just needs to get a Target fix. Each time, I’m struck by the juxtapositions at work in Palm Springs. Beautiful, iconic mid-century style architecture dwells together with big box stores and strip malls ( which I admittedly frequent when there ).
Mike and Bob
Red Sweater
Baron chooses to photograph mainly the architecture and older generation of Palm Springs residents. These are the pillars on which this affluent community was built. I often wonder, will the next generation move into the next world with as much grace, dignity, and elegance?
Bob’s Red Car
The people of Palm Springs have much in common with the signature modern architecture. Elegant, secure in their own tastes, with just enough style to make you sit up and take notice. May we all be graced with such.
To see more of Nancy Baron’s work, please visit her website.
Mr. Forager and I are in the midst of taking a bit of a sabbatical from wandering hither and yon on our weekends. This was our second weekend in a row in which we just stayed put here in Joshua Tree. These quiet, slower weekends bring opportunities for slowing down and really engaging with each other and just enjoying the normality of routine that we really miss when we’re exploring and adventuring. These weekends are helping us enjoy our last two months here in Southern California. The Northwest has our heart, but when the light hits the mountains here, just before the sun begins to set, we are content with where we are in that fleeting moment. I hope you’ll forgive these more mundane installations of This Artsy Life. But sometimes, the slow down brings the rush around into focus, you know?
[ new mural in “downtown” Joshua Tree ]**
[ first bloom spotted on our Joshua Tree ]
[ subliminal messages from beer? ]
[ warm SoCal weather was perfect for grilling ]
[ Sunday bottling ]
I hope perhaps you enjoyed a “slowed down” weekend, too! I wish I could say some painting was done this weekend.. more on that in a new Finding My Own Artsy later this week.
I may have mentioned Mr. Forager has taken up beer making. Lately he has been obsessed with finding out the best methods and practices for brewing the perfect beer. He recently told me about a fellow brewer he found online that worked for over twenty years to perfect one particular brew recipe. Talk about practicing and perfecting your craft! This month’s Featured Artist, Peri Schwartz is equally tenacious in striving to capture every nuanced surface, angle and corner in her own studio.
Studio IX, color monotype, 30×34.5
Studio XXX, oil on canvas, 38×48
By narrowing her scope of work and field of vision, Schwartz frees herself to carefully explore her space, the forms inhabited therein, and the light that enters and retreats each day. Although her overall style and palette remains consistent, we can see her exploring how the space and objects are represented.. sometimes they are mere planes of color, other times their shapes are more concrete.
Studio 12, ink and charcoal on mylar, 12.34×27
Studio #13, ink and charcoal on mylar, 13.30x28x25
In other instances, as in her black and white drawings above, she is carefully studying the effect of light on the familiar surfaces, carefully watching and interpreting the reflective play between light and shadow.
Happy weekend, Artsies! I don’t normally post on Saturdays, but I just had to extend a big thank you to everyone who has been so supportive of the debut show and sale at found, City Mouse | Country Mouse. Christina, Deann, & I are so truly grateful for all the encouragement and artsy love that has been thrown our way!
We would especially like to publicly thank those that have blogged, Tweeted, and/or Facebooked about our little show this week!
CMCM will be up in found through March 28th. If you haven’t seen it yet, please click over to found and check it out! Beautiful little small originals, perfect for giving yourself a little artsy treat! Want to hear more about the CMCM “story” take a peek here.
March is here! Where in the world did February go? Sneaky little short month catches me off guard every time. But I’m excited to welcome a new month because it means welcoming a new Featured Artist to Artsy Forager! Please help give a warm artsy welcome to New York artist Peri Schwartz!
Studio XXXII by Peri Schwartz
Be sure to head on over to the Artsy Forager Facebook page where Peri’s work will be gracing the cover for the month of March! And don’t forget to check out her Facebook album, where you’ll see a combination of her latest work and a few of my personal favorites. Happy month of March!
Excuse the horrible pun in the title. I just couldn’t resist! As any jeweler will tell you, cut makes all the difference in bringing out the best in a material. Just like gemstones, these pieces of functional art are geometrically cut and patterned to take advantage of their materials and create a different view from every angle.
Wouldn’t any of these add a little extra artsy to your day? Want to see some facet-nating artists? Check out the work of Jackie Tileston and Aaron Moran!
![This Artsy Life: Weekend 9 [ Artsy & Mr. Forager Slow Down ]](https://artsyforager.com/images/Pier+Regular/This+Artsy+Life%3A+Weekend+9+%5B+Artsy+%26%23038%3B+Mr.+Forager+Slow+Down+%5D.png "This Artsy Life: Weekend 9 [ Artsy & Mr. Forager Slow Down ]")
