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Tag: abstract art

Immersions. Kathleen Holder.

As we travel, each place becomes a part of who we are, who we are becoming. We carry their influence with us. Some penetrate and saturate us more than others. These pastels by Texas artist Kathleen Holder catch me right in the soul with their soft light and eerie depth.

Every person has a different way of experiencing each place. The way we are affected might be due to the place itself or some other influence. Some eyes are drawn to stark contrasts, while others look more for the slight changes in light and tone around them. Through burnished layers of pastel, Holder creates monochromatic, saturated abstracts that seem to go on into infinity. It almost seems that if we stepped into their plane, we might come out covered in color.

To see more of Kathleen Holder‘s work, please visit her website.

Artist found via David Lusk Gallery. All images via the David Lusk website.

June 10, 2015
Discordants. Caroline Bullock.

It’s funny how we try to make sense of everything these days. The mystery has been removed from so many elements of life that we have this need to have an explanation for everything. We ask why and then are frustrated if we can’t find the answer. In her series of works on paper, Atlanta artist Caroline Bullock explores the hidden geometries in nature and how we connect ourselves within these structures.

It’s fascinating to think about how everything in the natural world often seems so random, yet there is so much order to be found. This flower blooms at this time every year. These animals only like this particular area of a vast world. Orcas know instinctually to migrate thousands of miles each year. Why can’t we be more like that? We rely so much of facts and perceived truths, we rarely seek out answers by our own faith and intuition. Perhaps if we did we might be as successful at life as those redwoods reaching for the sky.

To see more of Caroline Bullock‘s work, please visit her website.

All images are via the artist’s website. Artist found via Amy Parry Projects.

June 9, 2015
Depths. Vicky Barranguet.

We find ourselves in a superficial world. Most days, the bulk of our interactions may be on the “like/dislike” spectrum. We send quick quips on social media to people we barely know or haven’t actually spoken to in years. Because we seem to know so much about the surface lives of the people in our networks, it can be challenging to go deeper.

These paintings by New York artist Vicky Barranguet reminded me of the beautiful messiness that can come when moving beyond the surface. We might be initially drawn to someone through shared interest or similar personalities but when we are brave enough to pass through the layers, the more common ground we find. Things may get a bit messy as we reveal ourselves and others do the same but there is great beauty to be found in the deeper chaos.

To see more of Vicky Barranguet‘s work, please visit her website.

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

June 4, 2015
Obstacles. Page Jones Davis.

It’s easy to get thrown off balance when life plunges an obstacle into our path. We feel like we’re moving along, making progress and then BAM! Roadblock. These paintings by Spartanburg artist Page Jones Davis, with their layers and visual depth, reminded me that although we’ll be met with obstacles, the road ahead remains the same.

Maybe we need to circumvent to get around what’s blocking us. Or perhaps the obstacle isn’t as insurmountable as it might seem– given enough determination we can just plow right through! It can be so easy to just give up, though, can’t it? It’s too hard, there’s too much in the way. But there is always a pay off once we get to the other side, even if it is just in knowing we could do it.

To see more of Page Jones Davis‘s work, please visit her website.

All images are via the artist’s website.

June 3, 2015
Multiplicity. Jackie Phillips AKA Precious Beast.

I think we all know the feeling of wanting to clone ourselves, to be able to be in several places at once, to be all things to all people, at all times. But try as we might, the truth eventually sinks in that it just isn’t possible. These prints by Jackie Phillips, also known as Precious Beast, with their mirrored, Rorschach-like patterns seem to do what we can not– multiply themselves.

These colorful kaleidoscopes feel like they could be portraits of how we feel we should be– a new and different yet exactly the same version of ourselves reborn each day. We’re pressured to multi-task, multi-hyphenate ourselves– mother-wife-daughter-artist-professional-and so on and so on.

To see more of the work of Precious Beast, please visit her website. Click on each image above to purchase prints through the Artsy Forager gallery on Great.ly!

All images are via Great.ly.

June 2, 2015
Sweetness. Anna Membrino.

Everyone wants to be known as the “sweet one”, right? We all have that friend, the one who never seems to say a word in anger, always kind and generous no matter what. I wish I could say that was me.. but I think my, uh, salty side comes out more often than not. It’s that typical angel on one shoulder, devil on another type of situation– I want to be sweet and gentle, but I also refuse to be misunderstood, misaligned, or abused in any way. I’m sweet but I won’t melt.

I was drawn to the Sugar Series by Bay Area artist Anna Membrino not just for the confectionary palette but for the way these cotton candy colored forms take on monumental status on her canvas. These sweets are anything but shrinking. In fact, they seem downright mountainous. I think there’s a lesson in there for me and anyone else who struggles with sweet versus strong– just because you are one doesn’t mean you can’t be the other.

To see more of Anna Membrino’s work, please visit her website.

All images are via the artist’s website.

May 27, 2015
Microcosms. Ashely Peifer.

One of my favorite things about the West Coast that I didn’t grow up with on the Florida coast is tide pools. Mr. F and I spend lots of time exploring and examining these little microcosms teeming with life. Tide pools always seem so precious, not just because of their importance to the environment, but for their temporal state. They are only exposed for a certain amount of time, then once the tide comes in, they disappear again.

These mixed media paintings by Minneapolis artist Ashely Peifer remind me of the multitudes of creatures living together in pools between the rocks. Elements float in and around each other, patterns intersperse and lay one on top of another like seastars clinging to barnacles.

To see more of Ashely Peifer‘s work, please visit her website.

All images are via the artist’s website.

May 26, 2015
Imprinted. Diane Carr.

Every place we’ve been has become a part of who we are. We carry with us the desert sand of Joshua Tree, the snows of Idaho, the wet, sweet air of Seattle. In her paintings, Diane Carr seems to capture the fleeting atmosphere of a moment in place.

But these aren’t your typical landscapes. Carr uses color to emphasize atmosphere and form, icy blue drips like rushing falls, contrasting with warm flecks of orange and pink, reminding me of glints of sun against rocks. Their luscious quality makes them seem to envelop the viewer, like a canopy of trees.

To see more of Diane Carr‘s work, please visit her website.

Images are via the artist’s website. Artist found via Kathryn Markel Fine Arts.

May 21, 2015
Shifts. Cynthia Ona Innis.

No doubt you’ve heard that we’re in the midst of a major drought here in California. Even in the short amount of time we’ve been here, we’ve seen the landscape shift and change. Fellow Bay Area artist Cynthia Ona Innis explores the shifting diversity of the California landscape.

Mr. F and I have experienced the range of California’s landscape, from six months in the high desert of Joshua Tree, a year amidst the Redwoods in Eureka, and now among the hills of Marin County. Innis’s paintings beautifully illustrate in an abstract way the amazing diversity in the state.

To see more of Cynthia Ona Innis‘s work, please visit her website.

Artist found via The Studio Work blog. Images via the artist’s website and Walter Maciel Gallery.

May 20, 2015
Experimenting. Jaq Chartier.

Being an artist is all about exploration and experimentation. We begin with basic trial and error to find what works best for our vision. Once we know what works, we’re constantly searching for a new way to create, a new way to see. Seattle artist Jaq Chartier has created an entire series of work based on explorations of color.

Sometimes artists show experimental process without calling attention to it. But Chartier chooses to make the exploration both subject and process. Test pattern-like grids of color and translucent lucidity makes us wonder, are we in a gallery or science lab? The best artist is has a tiny bit of mad scientist lurking beneath the surface. Kudos to Chartier for embracing both worlds in such a beautiful way.

To see more of Jaq Chartier‘s work, please visit her website. If you happen to be in the San Fran area, get yourself to Dolby Chadwick to see her solo show, A Fever in Matter, before it closes this Saturday, May 2nd!

All images are via the Dolby Chadwick website.

April 30, 2015

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artistic pathfinding by lesley frenz

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