To me, the best stories are those that are carefully layered and woven together with a touch of mystery. Artist Sarah Awad’s work intertwines seemingly disparate elements to create wonderfully complex and cryptic visual narratives.
Power of Aphrodisia, oil on canvas, 67×60
In some of Awad’s work, we seem to be looking into a classical museum, filled with artifacts and precious antiquities. These pieces have a eerieness to them that give us a sense of happening upon an unfolding story.
Tender Recurrence ( On Visitation ), oil on canvas,72×60The Visit, oil on canvas, 24×20Gemutlichkeit, oil on canvas, 72×54
In each piece, we wonder what just happened here or what is about to happen? There is an anticipatory feeling and a slight unease to each work.
Untitled ( Temple ), oil on canvas, 24×20
To see more of Sarah Awad’s work, please visit her website. If you happen to be in the Seattle area, you can see Sarah’s work in person at James Harris Gallery.
For the past few weeks, I’ve been visiting at my brother’s home in Florida, rooming with an extremely energetic seven year old, my niece Kendall. My dad gave Kendall the nickname of Firecracker— a nod not only to her fiery red hair but also to the tiny bundle of explosive energy that she is. The frenetic energy in the work of Australian artist Todd Hunter is definitely Firecracker level.
Who’s That Riding, oil on canvasHiding Today, oil on canvas
Hunter’s work is filled with the types of gestural strokes, saturated color, and wild movement that makes my heart skip a beat.
Pretty Strangers 4, oil on paper
This is work that grabs you, draws you in, and leaves you breathless. While the visual intensity of each work may be what captures our gaze initially, the moments of quiet within the composition end up being what keeps us coming back for more.
Barrenjoy Lighthouse, oil on canvasBronte to Bondi, oil on canvas
To see more of Todd Hunter’s work, please visit his website. Which types of work are you most drawn to? Peaceful and quiet or full of crazy good energy?
My seven year old niece Kendall was recently given a pedometer at school as a physical fitness promotion. Pretty soon, she was obsessing over how far she walked every day. I have a feeling she would love Austin artist Laurie Frick’sWalking series, a group of collaged works based on daily walking patterns.
Walking, Week 51, handmade paper and found cut paper on alumalite panels, 72×48
The artist uses fitbit, mytracks, and a cat cam to record her every day walking patterns, which she then translates in collage form onto alumalite panels.
Walking, Week 44, handmade paper and found cut paper on Alumalite panels, 35×35Walking, Week 42, cut found and handmade paper on alumalite, 72×72
Isn’t it interesting how little we notice patterns in our own behavior until it is placed before us in a visual way? Frick has created several other projects focusing on self-tracking, each confronting us with the visual reality of the activities we engage in.
Walking, Week 52, handmade paper and found cut paper on alumalite, 35×35
To see more of Laurie Frick’s work, please visit her website.
The work of this month’s Featured Artist, Marsha Glaziere is filled with luscious layers, texture, pops of bold color, and a skilled hand at good old fashioned drawing. No matter the subject she undertakes, her style and way of working is unmistakably hers.
Nalley Valley ViaductPortals
Her work straddles the line between representational and abstract, almost as if she begins in realistic mode and then her abstract altar-ego takes over. The resulting work then becomes more about the energy of her subject rather than perfecting every small detail.
No Speed Limit
Marsha’s latest series, Coffee Spots, features her interpretations of the eclectic coffee houses in and around the Puget Sound. It’s no secret that Northwesterners ( especially those in or near Seattle ) take their coffee very seriously. Marsha decided to begin painting her favorite local spots in celebration of the coffee culture that began in the PacNorthWest and has since spread across the country and around the world.
Cafe Ladro Espresso Bar & BakeryOlympia Coffee Roasting Company
The Coffee Spots series has been made into a 2013 calendar and fabulous “table COFFEE book”, both of which would make wonderful holiday gifts for the artsy coffee lover in your life! Both the calendar and book are available for purchase on the artist’s website. While you’re there, don’t miss all the other incredible artwork on Marsha’s site, some of which you can also see in her album on the Artsy Forager Facebook page!
If you’re anything like me, you are in a state of disbelief that December is here. But the good news is that a new month means a new Featured Artist! We’ll be closing out 2012 with December Featured Artist Marsha Glaziere— look for more work from Marsha all over the blog, Facebook & Twitter feeds as the month goes on!
Calle Guerro by Marsha Glaziere, mixed media on canvas, 48×36
There is a temporary, transitory nature to drawings that always make them seem much more loose and free than their painted counterparts. The pastel work of Memphis artist Pinkney Herbert explodes with the energy of an artist unfettered.
Fanfare 2, pastel on paper, 29×41
Maybe it’s the relative inexpense of paper vs. canvas or the fact that work on paper is usually seen as merely preparation and practice for more permanent work. Herbert’s work on paper, for me, has a frenetic energy that is incredibly appealing and engaging ( not that his painted work isn’t– check out his paintings here! )
Tower 1, pastel on paper, 29×41Tower 2, pastel on paper, 29×41
You can practically see the artist’s movement as his hand sweeps feverishly across the surface of the paper.
Attune, pastel on paper, 29×41
To see more of Pinkney Herbert’s work, please visit his website.
While I adore abstracts full of wild, expressive brushstrokes, sometimes abstracts with a focus on quiet shapes and patterns are a welcome respite. In today’s Artist Watch over on Escape Into Life, I’m featuring the work of Lucy Mink, whose paintings feature muted tones and the comfort of repetitive patterns. See Lucy Mink’s Artist Watch here!
What He Does and He Thinks About Notches, oil on linen over panel, 8×9
Completely in awe of these quiet, seemingly simple drawings by Asheville artist Kirsten Stolle. These unassuming little works deal in abstract ways with big issues such as climate change and genetic modification. I’m featuring Kirsten’s work in my Artist Watch over on Escape Into Life today– see it here!
BAF 18, gouache, ink, graphite and collage on paper, 10×13
It’s no secret that colors can have an effect on our mood. There are certain shades that just make me happy and artwork that concentrates on the interaction of colors and their properties make my heart sing. Chicago artist Judy Ledgerwood’s work explores the ways in which the placement of color creates graphic interplay and the illusion of light.
Is This an Audience or..?, acrylic gouache & oil on canvas, 60×54
Ledgerwood’s large scale works are drenched in saturated color, focusing on simple shapes and patterns. The eye isn’t distracted by detail but can concentrate on the sheer beauty of color and shape.
Floridita, oil on canvas, 38.1×38.1Tangerine Sun and Summer Sea, oil on canvas, 15×15Tequila Sunrise, oil on canvas, 80×96
She uses the placement of color to play with pattern and light. Shadows and movement emerge through the simple interaction of color.
Garden Gate, oil on canvas, 50×60
To see more of Judy Ledgerwood’s work, please visit her page on ArtSlant.
In the book I’m currently reading, The Opposite of Fate, author Amy Tan writes a great deal about the concept of fate, how much of what happens is in our own control or predetermined or even mere chance? In that same vein, how much control does an artist truly have in the creative process? Yucca Valley, CA artist William Loveless takes his own chances with the action & reaction of his materials in his series of glue paintings, which I first saw ( and fell in love with ) last weekend at The Red Arrow Gallery here in Joshua Tree.
#116 ( Resonance Strategy ), mixed media on panel, 36×36
Through this work, Loveless is able to “probe the intersection where the creative act meets the mystery of creation itself. Through experimentation with materials and their various autonomous interactions, I seek an organic empathy with the complex patterns and processes of the physical world.”
#12-53, mixed media on panel, 3.5×3.5×1.5#12-13, mixed media on panel, 3.5×3.5×1.5
Although the primary way in which the materials will react is known, what cannot be foreseen is the unique end result of every interaction. The final result being a record of a unique synergy to be found between the materials in that one moment.
#1204, mixed media on panel, 10x10x1.5
I see these interactions as similar to the way in which we connect with the world around us. Each moment we exist is a unique interchange between other individuals, other creatures, and the world around us.
To see more of William Loveless’s work, please visit his website/blog. If you’re Southern California, you can see his work in Culver City, in the exhibition ELEMENTal at Fresh Paint Art and in Joshua Tree at The Red Arrow Gallery.
