artsy forager

Tag: art

  • Finding My Own Artsy: #colorforaging2014!!

    Finding My Own Artsy: #colorforaging2014!!

    Have you made a list of resolutions for the new year?  I’ve come to prefer the term goals instead, as something to shoot for, rather than promises to myself I’ll feel guilty about when I fail to keep them.  In looking back over 2013, especially the last 9 months or so, something was missing.  And that something was my creative passion!  Sure I’ve been blogging like mad ( and loving it! ) but creative time away from the computer screen just wasn’t there.  So I decided to force myself into a tiny little daily practice– enter #colorforaging2014!

    #colorforaging2014

    Each day in 2014, I’ll be playing with paint and discovering color.  Sometimes the color will be straight outta the tube, but more often I’ll be Ms. Mix-A-Lot, mixing paint combos and will share 365 days of my color finds on Instagram.

    #colorforaging2014

    I’ve always been drawn to color, fascinated by the way different shades interact, color theory and the psychology of color.  A painting a day was a bit too much for my slightly commitment-phobic soul and I felt the need to get back to basics.  So exploring color each day seemed like the perfect way to dip my toes back into the artsy water!

    #colorforaging2014

    #colorforaging2014

    My hope is that by starting on this simple exercise each day, once the paints & brushes are out, I won’t just stop with that daily mix.  Instead, I hope to feel the push to continue, to paint, to draw, to find color and inspiration all around me and to truly see it and grow not just in my artistic practice but in the way I see and approach the world around me.  Just this morning, I’ve already seen half a dozen examples of Naples Yellow ( color #1 )surrounding me without even leaving our apartment!

    #colorforaging2014

    I hope you’ll follow along with me, offer up your own thoughts on color, and most of all, keep me accountable!  I’ll post a new color daily on Instagram, ( follow #colorforaging2014 ) but will only occasionally pop in with a #colorforaging2014 update here on the blog.

    #colorforaging2014

    I’m so excited about this and what 2014 may hold, I can’t even tell you, Artsies.  I’m ready to give up what doesn’t really matter for what makes my heart sing.  I hope you’ll join me on my color-filled journey!  Follow along on Instagram, #colorforaging2014.

    All images by Artsy Forager.

  • Sparkle in the Decay: Jared Small

    Sparkle in the Decay: Jared Small

    Mr. Forager and I have been talking a lot lately about our eventual home.  We have no idea where exactly it will be located, but we keep honing in on what our wants and needs will be.  While we love the idea of building our own from scratch, so that we suit it precisely to our needs and desires, I can’t help but keep going back to the idea of reviving a home that has lost its luster.  These paintings by Memphis artist Jared Small celebrate the past lives of decaying structures and perhaps give a nod to the potential sparkle still to be found.

    Burnout by Jared Small Jared Small Jared Small Jared Small Magnolia by Jared Small

    Small uses light to great effect in showcasing these structures, using it to add emotionality and personality to each composition.  In some, the houses recede into the darkness, shy and retreating, like a scared child hiding behind his mother’s legs.  But for others, the houses are lit up and gleaming through the darkness like a beacon, letting us know that although the outside may seem run down, there is still hope and joy to be found therein.

    To see more of Jared Small‘s work, please visit his website.  If you happen to be in the Memphis area, you can see his work in person at the David Lusk Gallery.

    Images via the artist’s website and the David Lusk Gallery website.  Artist found via David Lusk Gallery.

  • January Featured Artist: Christy Kinard

    January Featured Artist: Christy Kinard

    Happy 2014, Artsies!  I can hardly believe we have turned the calendar over to a new year so soon!  2013 was a year filled with changes and opportunities, some worked out, some didn’t, but I hope we all have come out stronger and wiser and read to take on the world in the year ’14!  I’ve lined up a slew of fabulous artists taking part in the monthly Featured Artist program ( going strong for nearly 2 years now! ) for this year and am excited to kick off the year with the lovely work of Memphis artist Christy Kinard, who’ll be gracing the blog and AF social media all this month!

    Love for Hydrangeas by Christy Kinard Mixed Bouquet with Blue Stripe by Christy Kinard XO Orchid by Christy Kinard Fiori by Christy Kinard Picasso Vase by Christy Kinard

    Like me, Christy is a Southern girl whose work lovingly reflects the bounty and color of life in the South.  Southerners in general are great lovers of beauty, and often lovingly tend gardens exploding with color.  In these mixed media paintings, Christy weaves a tale of Southern charm and tradition, taking inspiration not only from Southern gardens and flora, but also from quilt making and childhood memories.

    Her work has layers of texture and color, much like life anywhere, deeply rich and filled with meaning, memory and secrets.  The bouquets she chooses to paint aren’t necessarily prim and proper, they’re a bit messy and beautiful in their imperfections.

    To more work from Christy Kinard, please visit her website and Facebook page.  And while you’re doing the Facebook thing, head over to the Artsy Forager page to check out Christy’s cover art and an album of some of my personal favorites from her portfolio!

    All images via the artist’s website.

  • Vulnerable Abandon: Heather Chontos

    Vulnerable Abandon: Heather Chontos

    I’ve been reading up on the Abstract Expressionists lately and have found myself completely enraptured by the movement and the entire era.  Working intuitively, many abstract artists set out without a clue as to where their composition will ultimately end up.  The work is an extension of who they are in that moment in time– a big part of what fascinates me about abstract work and abstract expressionism.  In the work of Heather Chontos, I see much of that same intuitiveness and freedom.

    Heather Chontos Heather Chontos Heather Chontos Heather Chontos Heather Chontos

    Heather made a name for herself in the world of fashion publications, styling and set designing for the likes of Barneys & Anthropologie.  And in these abstract works, there carries over that sense of composition, you can almost see her rearranging her shapes and lines on each canvas, much in the same way she might stage & style for a shoot– moving things around until it feels just right.  She isn’t afraid to let us in on that process, too.  Smudges in charcoal and paint let us know where perhaps she switched out one shape or line for another.

    Of course, there is beauty in the slick and perfectly painted canvas– but often being able to let go of our need for perfection and allow ourselves to be vulnerable as artists is a deeper challenge.  It is an act of truly putting yourself out there, there is no hiding, you are laid out on canvas for all the world to see.  Completely scary, for sure, but amazingly liberating, too.

    One of my own resolutions  goals for 2014 is to get serious about painting again.  I’ll be starting a little daily exercise over on Instagram ( come follow along! ) and will share more on that later this week.  It’s a daunting prospect, especially as I hope to be busy with freelance work too, this year, but my heart is longing for it.  Artists like Heather are reminding me that the work isn’t always about the result but about learning from the process.

    To see more of Heather Chontos’ work, please visit her website, and follow her on Facebook & Instagram.  You can purchase her work through the Milk Farm Road shop.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Affronting Our Fronts: Tristan Pigott

    Affronting Our Fronts: Tristan Pigott

    We all want to present ourselves in the best way possible.  But with the infiltration of social media into every aspect of our lives, its tempting to cross the line over from putting our best foot forward to presenting an inauthentic picture of who we are.  In his work, artist Tristan Pigott examines our habits of self-projection and the superficiality we often perpetuate.

    Tristan Pigott | artsy forager #art #painting What's Your Point by Tristan Pigott Tell Me by Tristan Pigott Tristan Pigott | artsy forager #art #paintings Waiting by Tristan Pigott | artsy forager #art #paintings

    His compositions employ fashion models in the place of “ordinary” people, to further enforce the notion of the fronts and facades we create for ourselves.  It’s so easy to fall into the trap of wanting every photo we post to be beautiful, to encite envy among our social media followers and to lead them to believe we live a life to which they should aspire.  And maybe we do in some ways.  But in other respects, each life is filled with the same sorts of gunk and uncomfortable human stuff that we are all too often so very careful to edit out.  How many photos have you seen this holiday season of burnt cookies?  Or a child in mid-meltdown because Santa didn’t bring exactly what he asked for?  Not many, I’m guessing. I certainly didn’t post the photos of the burnt Honey Rosemary Pecans I made or my non-made up face upon waking first thing Christmas morning.

    Why?  Because I’m chicken.  I don’t want the world to see the dark circles under my eyes or to know that I occasionally leave food in the oven just a bit too long. ( Oops guess now you know my secret! ).  Like everyone else, I want the world to see my life as beautiful.  But here’s the thing.  Every life IS beautiful.  Filled with beauty.  It may not be magazine spread perfect, but each and every one of our lives is full of moments that take our breath away, that make us laugh and yes, make us mad or embarrassed.  But what makes our lives the beautiful messes that they are is embracing the imperfectness, being able to laugh with and at ourselves.  Letting people into our beautiful mess.

    To see more of Tristan Pigott‘s work, please visit his website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Tender Highways: Grant Haffner

    Tender Highways: Grant Haffner

    Many of you may be on the road as I type this, on your way home after much holiday merriment.  Isn’t it interesting how much different the landscape looks from a car?  I remember being fascinated by the blur of grass and trees seen from my backseat window as a girl.  Even when half asleep after a long day, my young mind could still tell just by the timing and turning of corners when we were almost home.  Long Island artist Grant Haffner captures his love of his own hometown roads in his tender, colorful paintings.

    Grant Haffner

    Longbeach by Grant Haffner Entry 3 by Grant Haffner Gerard Drive by Grant Haffner Bay by Grant Haffner

    In these acrylic paintings, Haffner beautifully captures that feeling of being on the road, the whizzing blur of color, the towering power lines, the never-ending expanse of sky.  Sure, air travel may be faster, but a road trip offers so much more in the way of adventure and discovery.  There could always be some hidden potential just around the next corner, just over that hill.  Haffner’s paintings capture that sense of excitement and anticipation and their lack of cars and people give the viewer a through-the-windshield feeling of being that sole traveler indulging their wanderlust.

    To see more of Grant Haffner‘s work, please visit his website.  Our journey from Florida to Washington three years ago is among my best road trip memories.  Do you have a favorite?

    All images are via the artist’s website.  Artist found via The Jealous Curator.

  • Momentary Souvenirs: Stephanie Brody Lederman

    Momentary Souvenirs: Stephanie Brody Lederman

    Did you make some wonderful memories yesterday, Artsies?  What will you recall?  Will it be the main event, the big moments or will it be the small, seemingly insignificant minutes that you’ll look back on with fondness?  In her latest work, New York artist Stephanie Brody-Lederman in her own visual language, illustrates the moments that capture her emotions and imagination.

    Our Ancestors Lives by Stephanie Brody Lederman Being Human by Stephanie Brody Lederman Lantern & Lamp by Stephanie Brody Lederman At This Late Hour ( Still Swimming Forward ) by Stephanie Brody Lederman Dawn by Stephanie Brody Lederman

    Some people recall certain events in great detail.  That’s never been me.  I remember more the sensuality of memory– the smell of my paternal grandparents’ house, the soft skin of my maternal grandmothers’ hands, the thrill of the first kiss my husband gave me.  In these paintings, it is that untouchable sensation of memory, the emotion of certain moments that Brody-Lederman is capturing.

    In small symbols and still scenes, she evokes a sense of the remembrance of an instant.  After all, our memories don’t necessarily record full scenes like a movie, but more brief flashes and hints of feeling remind us of what has been.

    To see more of Stephanie Brody-Lederman‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Sweet Decadence: Heather McCaw Kerley

    Sweet Decadence: Heather McCaw Kerley

    I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite things about this time of year is the food!  Putting diets aside, we allow ourselves to focus on the inherent feast for the senses that delicious food can bring.  Nothing beats the scent of freshly baked bread wafting through a home, am I right??  This season is about indulgence and much of it of the decadent sweet kind.  In her Bakery series, artist Heather McCaw Kerley focuses her attention on those baked objects of desire.

    Doughnut with Pink Sprinkles by Heather McCaw Kerley Chocolate Cupcake by Heather McCaw Kerley Doughnut Holes by Heather McCaw Kerley Pink Cupcake by Heather McCaw Kerley Doughnut with Chocolate White Striped Icing

    Isolating these treats, each a monument to delightful indulgence.  “I’ll have just one“, these seem to be saying.  And when we taste the sweetness of icing on our tongues, a wave of satisfaction washes over.  We know we can’t make a steady diet of doughnuts and cupcakes, but oh, if only we could!  How sweet life would be.  Maybe.  Or perhaps, if we were to indulge all the time, special treats would lose their luster.  We would no longer savor them slowly, but devour them without truly tasting their deliciousness.  I think the same can be said of events like holidays, if we were celebrating this way every day, the shine would soon grow weary.  But its the anticipation, the build up, the focus of intensity that makes these days so special.  Let’s savor them like the delectable cupcakes they are.

    To see more of Heather McCaw Kerley‘s work, please visit her website and be sure to follow her on Facebook and Pinterest

  • Stories Retold: Marybeth Rothman

    Stories Retold: Marybeth Rothman

    When I was young, one of my favorite grandmother’s house activities was to sit with her and go through the piles and piles of photo albums she meticulously collected and kept.  I was enchanted by seeing my grandparents when they were young, my mom and uncle as children and black & white pictures of countless relatives I never chanced to meet.  After my grandparents passed, my mom, brother and I sat around her dining table and tried to go through all the photos.  We discovered a good many whose faces we didn’t recognize and surprisingly, my grandmother didn’t label.  Who were these people?  What had them meant to our grandparents?  In her encaustic mixed media work, New Jersey artist Marybeth Rothman takes vintage photo booth pictures without identity and puts new stories to old faces.

    Clotho III by Marybeth Rothman Lachesis III by Marybeth Rothman Atropos III by Marybeth Rothman Fern by Marybeth Rothman T George Bell by Marybeth Rothman

    The artist gives new life to these abandoned portraits, seeing connections between strangers, reimagining them as icons of Greek mythology and fictional characters.  The tiny photographs are enlarged to a grand scale, giving even further importance to these forgotten faces.

    It does make me wonder, what will become of all our own memories?  Especially now that most personal photos are digitized, there will no longer be boxes and albums of photographs to be unearthed.  Will living our lives digitally allow for a better keeping of record or will all be lost when the technology we’ve used becomes obsolete?

    To see more work by Marybeth Rothman, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Thriving Artist Summit Replays!

    Thriving Artist Summit Replays!

    I don’t usually post on Sundays, but I wanted to pop in and make sure all the artists who follow Artsy Forager knew about this!  I was so thrilled and excited to be a part of the Thriving Artist Summit earlier this month, a free online conference full of amazing advice, tips, and inspiration for artists.  But here’s the best news– all of the interviews are being replayed, now through December 31st!  So if you missed out on any or just want to listen again, head on over to the Thriving Artist website to gain access if you aren’t already registered.

    artmuse.com founder Bonnie Glendinning gathered together 20+ industry experts who, like me, are all on a mission to help artists not just survive, but THRIVE!

    TAS-Square-2014

    I shared my expertise in blogging and social media at this powerful summit and I hope to help you learn how to make these easy and accessible tools work for you!

    Find out more right here: http://thrivingartistsummit.com/lfrenz
    During this special community summit you will discover how to:

    • Make Your Creative Biz a Real Success
    • Build Your Brand for Your Ideal Buyers
    • Price for Real Profit and Growth
    • Increase Your Sales with Marketing, PR, and Social Media
    • Diversify into Licensing, Wholesale, and Direct-to-Consumer
    • Get Into Galleries, Shows, and Raise Project Funds

    I’d love for you to experience this yourself and JOIN US FOR THIS FREE summit.

    The Thriving Artist Summit
    With Lesley Frenz and Bonnie Glendinning December 18 through December 31, 2013 Approximately 1 hour, replay available to registrants

    SECURE YOUR SPOT NOW: http://thrivingartistsummit.com/lfrenz