Seattle, Seattle, Seattle ( Marcia Brady voice ).. we arrived on Saturday and are completely in love with the city but overwhelmed by apartment hunting. So this week, I’m re-running posts featuring some favorite Seattle artists. Sorry for the repeats, hope to be back to normal artsy blogging next week!
Yes, I just quoted Bob Ross. But the whimsical trees of Seattle artist Liz Tran are miles beyond Ross’s prosaic “happy trees”. Tran’s trees practically shout with joy.
Encircle, mixed media on panel, 36×36
With her use of bright colors and whimsical patterns, these trunks and limbs capture the fun spirit of yarn-bombing in paint!
Winter Drop, mixed media on panel, 48×48August Bloom, mixed media on panel, 36×24
These transporting works take me back to the feeling of being a kid, lying on my back in the grass and looking up into a canopy of trees with sunlight bursting through. There is no other feeling more peaceful and happy.
Summer Stripes, mixed media on panel, 36×36
In a lesser hand, these candied conifers could turn a bit too sweet, but Liz gives them just the right modernity to keep up the fresh and contemporary feel. To see more of Liz Tran’s creations, please visit her website.
Featured image is Traveling Two, mixed media on panel, 36×24. All images are courtesy of the artist’s website.
Mr. Forager and I are beyond excited to make Seattle our home! The city holds such a special place in our hearts, after a long friendship, Seattle is where Mr. F & I finally fell in love. We can’t wait to get back, settle in, and start getting to know the city again. I’m afraid we’ll be walking around for a long time with huge grins on our faces! To celebrate our arrival in The Emerald City, I’ve rounded up some design finds to show our Seattle spirit. Enjoy!
I hope you don’t mind me gushing about my favorite city too much! Mr. F & I have been waiting a long time for this. We arrive on Saturday and that’s when the real fun begins– apartment shopping. Gah! But in the meantime, we’ll enjoy the cool air and grey skies. I hope the mountains come out to greet us.
While Mr. Forager & I wind our way up the Pacific Coast Highway to Seattle, I’ve asked a few of my fellow art bloggers to step in and share some of their own artsy finds.
Mr. F and I are exploring San Francisco today ( so excited! ) but once we’ve made our way to Seattle, you can bet that I’ll be using the website of today’s Guest Forager to find lots of amazing Seattle artists for you! Please welcome Sarah Brooks of Artsyo!
This is Sarah coming to you from Artsyo, a local-art-finder for Seattleites. As your Guest Forager today, I’m excited to introduce you to Seattle artist Susanna Bluhm!
Susanna’s lush abstracted landscapes caught my eye at an art auction last fall, and I’ve been taken with them ever since. She works from photographs of places she’s been, sometimes combining two dissimilar landscapes into one – Croatian islands with traffic islands, for example.
They Call It Way Too Rowdy, We Call It Finally Free, oil and acrylic on canvas, 95×72
Even though the paintings are based on photographs, you can’t always tell what you’re looking at. Abstract marks play off of recognizable shapes to create the story. “I love what you can’t articulate,” says Susanna.
Tell Me, You Whom My Soul Loves, Where You Pasture Your Flock, Where You Make It Lie Down at Noon, oil and acrylic on canvas, 71×119
Susanna’s most recent series of paintings is inspired by the Bible’s controversial book Song of Songs, reimagined in the form of a love song to her wife and son.
Who Is This That Looks Forth Like the Dawn, oil and acrylic on canvas, 63×102
Susanna says that Song of Songs can be read as a relationship narrative: it begins with a frenzied crush and giddy romance, later giving way to more difficult periods of anxiety and loss.
Your Name is Perfume Poured Out, oil and acrylic on canvas, 40×40
Not everyone considers Song of Songs to be a story of two people in love: “Some Biblical scholars believe it is about God’s relationship to the Holy Land,” says Susanna. “In that case, God and the Holy Land should probably get a room.”
Your Cheeks Are Like Halves of a Pomegranate, Hidden Behind Your Veil, oil and acrylic on canvas, 83×77
May always feels like the month when we truly transition out of winter and into the glory of the warmer months! Mr. Forager and I are now in Seattle, though, so I’m not sure how warm we’ll be this May. 😉 But we have the work of this month’s Featured Artist, Pamela Viola to keep us glowing!
Whizz 2 by Pamela Viola
Be sure to head over to the Artsy Forager Facebook page, where Pamela’s work will be gracing our cover AND check out the Facebook album full of my favorite Violas! Want to see even more? Peruse Pamela’s website and blog.
While Mr. Forager & I wind our way up the Pacific Coast Highway to Seattle, I’ve asked a few of my fellow art bloggers to step in and share some of their own artsy finds.
You’re already familiar with Erin of artsocial as my partner in artsy pinning for the Art Association contest we hold every month. But did you also know she has her own fabulous art blog? It’s like a party every day. With art! Without further ado, take it away, Erin!
Abstract is IN this season in a big awesome way. Everywhere I turn, I’m seeing amazing paintings, rugs, pants – you name it – all decorated with incredible abstract designs… and I love it.
Mini Interior 9, mixed media collage on paper, 6×4
A newfound favorite of mine is abstract artist, Pamela Staker. Her intense color combinations, bold patterns, and expressive brushstrokes infuse her work with an undeniable and irresistible energy.
Mini Interior 10, mixed media collage on paper, 6×4
Starting with simple shapes and vibrant colors, Pamela builds up her playful abstractions with mixed media and unconventional materials like duct tape, rope, and vinyl wall covering. Isn’t contemporary art the best?
Mini Interior 11, mixed media collage on paper, 6×4
Her work beautifully expresses a balance between energetic spontaneity and carefully structured compositions. Which one is your favorite?
Mini Interior 12, mixed media collage on paper, 6×4
This is only a small sampling of Pamela’s amazing work. Her shop is FULL of incredible pieces.
P.S. there’s a whole section of abstract cats! Not to sound too much like a cat lady, but it’s pretty awesome. You can also find larger works on Cureeo.
See more from Pamela Staker on Etsy and her website.
I am in the midst of packing and researching Seattle apartments and am going kind of insane, so I’ll keep this short & sweet.. HUGE congrats to our April Art Association winner, Niki Bradly!
Niki’s winning Pinterest board
We loved the cheekiness of Niki’s associations! I mean how awesome is that Hard Livin’ Barbie?? The reward for Niki’s hard work is this fun Voss print by Jessica Brilli.
Thank you to everyone who pinned their hearts out for the contest! Erin and I will have another edition ready for you next month. Get your pinnin’ fingers ready!
We all struggle against that ideal we have in our head of the person we feel we are supposed to be. Whether it be the strong head of household, the June Cleaverish mom or the anti-establishment free thinker. Artist Haley Hasler conveys the inner archetypes caught in the complexity of the exterior world in her self portrait series.
Portrait as Sunday Brunch, oil on canvas, 46×56Portrait as Lady Bearing Snacks, oil on canvas
I am continually in awe of any working mom’s as when I glimpse into the insanity of their daily lives, I wonder how in the world they do it. My friend V and I talked about it once, that inert striving that seems to always be present to live up to some sort of ideal.
Portrait as St. Caslide, oil on canvas, 32×46Portrait of Allegory of Fidelity, oil on canvas
But when we let go of that ideal, as my very wise friend told me, that’s when we can really dwell in each moment. The dishes may be dirty, the laundry may be piled up, but our loved ones will remember the time we gave them. There will always be the inner struggle for the “perfect” life– whatever that may look like. But even if the life we cultivate isn’t perfect, it can still be filled with moments of magic.
Portrait as Tooth Fairy, oil on canvas, 38×56
To see more of Haley Hasler’s work, please visit her website.
Forget those boring old still lifes from your grandma’s era. Artists like Thrush Holmes are taking that classic subject and reinterpreting it through modern eyes. The result is anything but boring.
Untitled 2011, oil on canvas, 84×84Untitled 2012, oil on panel, 16×20
Neon-hued petals in flattened, simplified shapes let you know these aren’t just any old floral paintings. With color blocking reminiscent of Matisse, these blossoms fairly jump off the canvas.
Untitled 2011, oil on canvas, 60×84Untitled, oil on panel, 16×20
Graffit-like lines incorporated give these paintings a freewheelin’ freedom their classical predecessors never dreamed of.
Untitled, oil panel, 52×62
To see more of Thrush Holmes’ work, please visit his website.
A perfect blend of the beauty of nature and portraiture! I’m featuring the gorgeous photography of Sara K. Byrne in my Artist Watch on Escape Into Life today. Head on over to check it out!
During our time in Joshua Tree, every time we’ve driven to San Diego or made the trek “down the hill” into Palm Springs, we’ve experienced the wind tunnel that exists in the San Gorgonio Mountain Pass, where over 4000 windmills provide energy to Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley. When I saw the latest collage series by Lisa Hochstein, Missing Pieces, the shapes seem to echo the turbines and the torn papers reminded me of wind’s inherent power.
Whether wind and its harnessing machines were an influence to the artist, I do not know. But I can’t help but see in the grid lines an aerial view looking down onto the giant arms of these energy producers as they spin, some barely moving others cycling at a steady pace.
In the shredded pages that make up these collages, I see the destructive nature of the desert’s blasts of air. All over, we’ve seen evidence of wind wreaking havoc across the landscape, even in our own backyard here in Joshua Tree.
Missing Pieces 2012-2, salvaged paper, 12×16
That’s what I see in Lisa Hochstein’s work. What do your eyes see? If you’d like to check out more of this artist’s work, please visit her website.
