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Tag: abstract art

Reflections. Looking Back on 2015.

2015 has been a year of extremes. I experienced a deep, profound loss in the death of my mother, as well as moments of powerful beauty and a incredibly productive and exciting year of painting.

only love can bring the rain, 2015, acrylic on canvas panel, 6×6

As the year comes to an end, I choose to focus on the positive things that happened this year. There were so many! Because I love a good list, here’s a wrap up–

Blog posts published 169

Artists assisted through Forager Services 4

Total consulting projects completed 17

Artist website launched 1

Paintings finished 43

Paintings sold 2 (!!)

States lived in 3

Towns lived in 4

National parks visited 6

Hikes taken & inspiration gained COUNTLESS

It has been an amazing year despite the stress, the worrying, the painful loss. I am ready to get a new year underway as I prepare for my March show at Art & Light Gallery and can’t wait to see what else 2016 brings!

Happy New Year!

December 31, 2015
Update. New Work!

I’m trying really hard not to be one of those artists who never has their latest work on the website. So, new work has been added to my artist site!

above us only sky I & II ( diptych ), 2015, acrylic on masonite panel, 12×24 overall

As I prepare for my solo show, LATITUDE, at Art & Light Gallery in March and waiting for my Ashland studio to be ready for me to use, I’ve been working on small works on panel at the kitchen table. Not ideal, but creating these smaller pieces helps me work out composition ideas and palettes. Some I love, some I don’t. OK, there’s only one I don’t love. I’ll leave you to guess which one.

You can see my latest work in the Recent Work section of lesleyfrenz.com. More to come soon!

Artwork by Lesley Frenz.

November 19, 2015
Seizing. Benjamin Britton.

We know that we have at least three months here in Southeastern Idaho. But we are now into Autumn and the season can be short lived at the higher elevations where we most want to explore. So Mr. F and I have been up before the sun each Saturday to drive up to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, to seize the opportunity to explore before the snows set in.

In each new place we find ourselves, there is a sense of urgency to see as much of the area as possible, for we never know if or when we’ll be back that way again. It creates in us a habit of seeking out the best in each place, of seizing every opportunity. Every time we are surprised by the locals who hardly ever venture out, who’ve never even heard of places we’ve been in their own backyard. I hope that even when we settle down, this sense of urgency to explore will never wane.

In his work, Georgia based artist Benjamin Britton is “making paintings which foreground an experience of the senses, and where moments of adventure and wonder are privileged over other moments.” May they always be so.

To see more of Benjamin Britton‘s work, please visit his website.

All images are via the artist’s website.

September 24, 2015
Space. Tom Climent.

Now that we are settled in for the next three months in Idaho Falls, we’ve been exploring the surrounding area every weekend. This part of Idaho is a close neighbor to Wyoming and Montana, Big Sky country. That hemmed in feeling that we’d been experiencing in the Bay Area seems like a far away memory when standing in the middle of a Yellowstone valley, with only the bison for company.

These paintings by Irish painter Tom Climent “reminds us of how our spatial ability becomes spatial knowledge as we navigate our world and with this knowledge we create a place for ourselves.” Most of us have it within our control to decide what our place in this world looks like. The places we occupy, whether permanently or just for a time, effect our psyche, offering chaos or peace.

To see more of Tom Climent‘s work, please visit his website.

All images are via the artist’s website.

September 23, 2015
Canopies. Shannon Smiley.

In our discussions regarding our final landing spot, Mr. F and I have an ongoing dilemma. He is drawn to the drama of being surrounded by super high mountain peaks, while I feel most at home among the trees.

These paintings by Australian artist Shannon Smiley bring to mind the lushness of the forest canopies I am so drawn to.

To see more of Shannon Smiley‘s work, please visit the websites of his representing galleries, Dianne Tanzer and Hill Smith Gallery.

Images via the artist’s representing gallery websites.

September 18, 2015
Screens. Chris Trueman.

In my new little studio ( I do mean little, it’s about 50 square feet ), I have a lovely view of treetops and rooftops in our neighborhood. The sunsets from the west facing windows are often spectacular and I would love to capture them from my roost, but there’s a bit of a problem. Screens. The window screens allow for leaving the windows open without risking bugs coming in, but they get in the way of clear vision.

The abstract paintings of California artist Chris Trueman with their undulating layers bring to mind the view through veiled cover.

To see more of Chris Trueman‘s work, please visit the website.

All images are via the artist’s website.

September 17, 2015
Swept. Angelina Nasso.

As a Florida girl, the warnings in California to “never turn your back on the ocean” took some getting used to. But as I soon learned, Pacific waves are much more unpredictable than their Atlantic cousins. A rogue wave could sneak up on shore and sweep you out to sea when you least expect it.

And so it goes with most everything else. It is easy to get swept away– by emotion, by anger, by busyness. Sometimes being swept up is a good thing, what is better than being caught up in the arms of someone you love? Or loosening your grip in order to be more free?

These paintings by New York based artist Angelina Nasso reminded me of that feeling of being swept up, of loosing our grip on control, for better or worse.

To see more of Angelina Nasso‘s work, please visit the Winston Wachter website.

All images are via the Winston Wachter Seattle website.

September 16, 2015
Realities. Matthew Stone.

A while back, I posed a question on Instagram asking whether other artists prefer to tweeze out random brush hairs from their paintings or just allow them to exist as part of the painting process. Results were split between those that like a perfect surface and those that just live and let live.

UK artist Matthew Stone falls into the former category, his process involves photoshopping our imperfections of his paintings on glass, then printing the resulting digital images on wood panels, mirror, and acrylic.

Like my social media followers, I’m a bit split. I love a wonderfully perfect surface but at the same time I like the idea of allowing the entire process to show, even the imperfections. It’s a bit like the way we live our lives, isn’t it? Do we let others in on the little errors and missteps or do we present a perfectly rendered facade, only allowing those closest to us to see the blemishes?

To see more of Matthew Stone‘s work, please visit his website.

All images are via the artist’s website.

September 10, 2015
Building. A Ruiz Villar.

Creating anything from scratch is a difficult endeavor. If the foundation of what you’re building isn’t secure, it will never be sound, it won’t be what you planned for, what you dreamed of.

These mixed media pieces by Barcelona artist A Ruiz Villar with their structural emphasis, remind me of what we build up for ourselves.

To see more of A Ruiz Villar‘s work, please visit his website.

All images are via the artist’s website. Artist found via Saatchi.

September 9, 2015
Changes. Elyce Abrams.

Life doesn’t stand still. It is constantly moving, constantly changing. Some lives changing more so and more often than others. If our lives aren’t in some sort of state of transition, we aren’t growing and what is the point?

Philadelphia artist Elyce Abrams began a new series of work following the birth of her son, interpreting the changes found in her new reality.

I feel on the precipice of big change. Like Abrams work, right now, there are sections of my life that are butting up against each other and I’m left feeling pulled in too many different directions. I’ve had some exciting things happening lately and with those opportunities comes more responsibility, more pressure. As I add to my whole, something else may need to give way, to become smaller so that this new portion has room to grow. Sorry to be so cryptic, but change and transition is weighing on my mind heavily today and Abrams’ paintings spoke perfectly to my state of thought.

To see more of Elyce Abrams‘ work, please visit her website.

All images are via the artist’s website.

September 3, 2015

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