artsy forager

Tag: Artists

  • Sweet Dreams Captured: Vincent Giarrano

    Sweet Dreams Captured: Vincent Giarrano

    Hope everyone had a fantastic holiday with family and friends!  This was our first Christmas as Mr. and Mrs. Frenz, as well as our first Christmas living far from family.  George and I enjoyed such a lovely quiet Christmas just for two.  Though it was just us here in Coeur d’Alene, there was still the same running around, decorating, cooking and planning that goes with this time of year.  As I was looking through my inspiration folders, the minute I saw the work of Vincent Giarrano, I knew these would be perfect for the day after Christmas..

    Oasis, oil on panel, 20×16 ( via Gallery Henoch )

    Isn’t this how we all feel after all the merriment and overeating?  Wouldn’t we all just like to curl up and nap all day long?  Perhaps some of you will!

    City Girl, oil on panel, 24×18 ( via Gallery Henoch )

    The textures and colors Giarrano uses convey such a sense of peace and coziness.  I just want to curl up here, too!

    Midday, oil on panel, 18×14 ( via The Grenning Gallery )
    Sleeping In, oil on panel, 12×9 ( via The Grenning Gallery )

    Here’s to wishing you lots and lots of post-holiday rest and relaxation!  To see more of Vincent Giarrono’s work, please visit his website.

    Featured image is Unmade Bed, oil, 20×16.  Images are via the artist’s representing galleries, Gallery Henoch and the Grenning Gallery.

  • Have Yourself an Artsy Little Christmas

    Merry Christmas, Artsies!  I hope you all enjoy a wonderful holiday filled with peace and love.  Here’s a lovely little video of artist Steven DaLuz‘s Watchers Series, currently on exhibit at Anarte Gallery in San Antonio.  The imagery and music are a perfect, quiet reflection for this holy night.

    Video by Mia Feigelson

  • Friday Faves: Angels Among Us

    We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another.
    Lucretius

    Tree Angel by Nicholas Wilton, oil and mixed media on panel, 36×40 ( via Selby Fleetwood Gallery )
    Sentinel by Steven DaLuz, oil and mixed media on panel, 36×36
    The Source by Brad Kunkle, oil, gold and silver on linen, 18×26
    Se Escapo by Maribel Angel, mixed media and acrylic

    At this time of year, angels are everywhere.  Both in ornamentation and figuratively.  Hope you’ll be an angel to someone this holiday!

    Be sure to be an artsy angel and check out these artists’ websites:

    1.  Nicholas Wilton 

    2.  Steven DaLuz 

    3.  Brad Kunkle 

    4.  Maribel Angel 

    All images are via the artists’ websites.

  • Fragile Fairy Tales: Tom Chambers

    Fragile Fairy Tales: Tom Chambers

    Sometimes I’m just not sure how the work of certain artists escapes my notice.  Then one day, as I happen to be perusing Pinterest, searching for a home exercise regimen I just knew I saw but forgot to pin, I see an image that blows me away.  Case in point:  the image below by fine art photographer Tom Chambers.

    Saccharine Perch, photo montage

    Chambers’ fine art photo montages have a haunting surrealistic quality, but have a spiritual and ethereal quality that has a sentimentality to it that perhaps owes itself to one of Chambers’ influences, Andrew Wyeth.

    Camouflage, photo montage

    Chambers’ work also has the same soft muted colors and striking light as Wyeth’s, which adds to the dreamlike quality.  Add to that their narrative nature makes them seem to me, like a fairy tale meets a folk song.

    The Goatherd, photomontage
    The Offering, photo montage

    To see more of Tom Chambers’ work, please visit his website.  Be sure and read the artist statement for each series– the stories behind the images definitely enhance your viewing experience!

    Featured image is Blue Fox by Tom Chambers.  All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Artsy on Escape Into Life: Mia Brownell

    Can’t believe I almost forgot to let you all know about my post today over at Escape Into Life!  Better late than never, I suppose.. Be sure to click on over there and check out today’s feature on artist Mia Brownell.  I think you’ll find her work as intriguing as I did!

    Still Life with Villin Headpiece, oil on canvas, 56×42

    Mia Brownell on Escape Into Life

  • A Tale of Patina, Pattern and Pop: Jill Ricci

    A Tale of Patina, Pattern and Pop: Jill Ricci

    In our modern and sleek world, we find fascination in old things and places.  These are objects with a story, subway walls wallpapered with layer upon layer upon layer of poster ads or the stratum of paints on a bedroom wall, showing us the history of its owners.  These are the ideas New Jersey artist Jill Ricci strives to convey in her work, those hidden discoveries.

    Upper Playground, mixed media on canvas, 36×48

    By combining elements of advertising ephemera, fabric, wallcoverings and abstraction, Ricci’s work manages to feel at once ancient and modern.

    Ovation, mixed media on canvas, 24×24

    With contemporary graphics layered under the patina of paint, these pieces almost feel like we are peeling back the scales from the antiquated to find that what is hidden beneath is not obsolete, but avant-garde.

    Release, mixed media on canvas, 36×48

    The artist’s layering collected materials mirrors society’s ever abiding search for the next big thing.  We are constantly looking for the latest gadget, fashion or whatchmacallit that will give us joy.  But perhaps, joy doesn’t come from the newest thing, but looking back with fondness and learning from what has come before.

    Roam, mixed media on canvas, 36×48
    Jack’s Garden, mixed media on canvas, 48×36

    To see more of Jill Ricci’s work, please visit her website.  Her work can currently be seen in shows at Jules Place in Boston, MA and at Parlor Gallery in Asbury Park, NJ.  Check these artsy spots out if you’re nearby!

    Featured image is Cherish, mixed media on canvas, 48×30.  All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Fantastically Fanciful Fauna: Corine Perier

    Fantastically Fanciful Fauna: Corine Perier

    ‘Twas the week before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a bird-mouse..?  The work of today’s artist captures the whimsy and fantasy that defines this time of year.  French artist Corine Perier creates hybrid creatures that, despite the works’ surrealist quality seem completely real, not to mention irresistibly charming.

    Le Trophee de la Chance, oil on wood panel, 46x38cm

    Though whimsical in feel, these contemporary portraits remind us of the very real problem of species extinction on our ever changing planet.

    Le Petit Prince, oil on wood panel, 27x22cm

    Her amalgamated creatures stare out at us with wide, vulnerable eyes.  They appear kind and wise, resembling characters from fantastical lands like Narnia and Middle Earth, here to guide witless humans on their journey.

    Renaissance, oil on wood panel

    But in the eyes of some, there is an additional element.. perhaps fear, perhaps resignation to their fate at the hands of the very humans they wish to help?

    Boule de Neige, oil on wood panel, 65x54cm
    Camouflage, oil on wood panel, 27x22cm

    To see more of Corine Perier’s gentle enchanters, please visit her website.  A big thank you to Myra Wexler aka YO MOMMA for introducing me to Corine’s work.  Be sure to check out Myra’s blog, too.  It’s full of awesome sauce.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Created Chaos: Sarah Spitler

    Created Chaos: Sarah Spitler

    I am busy spreading holiday cheer today ( OK, actually running around like crazy trying to get stuff done ), which is kind of fitting for the work of today’s featured artist.  Sarah Spitler’s abstracts come from the artist’s concern with chaos manifested.  And because of aforementioned chaos of my own today, I’m going to let Sarah’s work speak for itself.

    Inveterate Detritus ( Something Forgotten Known Only to Ourselves ), ink, acrylic, enamel and spray paint on Mylar and canvas, 36×36
    Iniquities Not Consigned to Oblivion, ink, acrylic and enamel on Mylar, 16×16
    Vorticital Obsolescence, ink, acrylic and enamel on Mylar, 16×16
    Geopolitical Tumescence, ink, acrylic, gold leaf and enamel on Mylar, 10×10

    Be sure to check out more of Sarah Spitler’s work on her website and don’t miss reading her artist statement— deep stuff there, definitely read it and then go back and look at her work again.

    Featured title image is Monomythical Geopolitika, ink, acrylic, spray paint and graphite on Mylar, 28×22.  All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Hanging by a Thread: Amanda McCavour

    Hanging by a Thread: Amanda McCavour

    Life is a series of transitions.  Change is a huge part of my own life these days.  Due to my husband’s job, we currently travel to a new home every three months, so I was immediately drawn to the transitory nature of Amanda McCavour’s work.

    Stand-In for Home, thread, 96x120x120

    Drawn to thread for it’s combination of vulnerability and strength, the artist describes her work as “a process of making as a way of tracing and preserving things that are gone, or slowly falling apart.”

    Living Room, thread, 144x144x144 ( photographed by Agata Piskunowicz )

    She creates these “thread drawings” by sewing thread into a fabric that will resolve in water, which allows her to build up the drawings, just as one would do with charcoal on paper.  Once the fabric has been dissolved, the drawn lines remain.

    Living Room ( detail ) ( photographed by Agata Piskunowicz )
    Stand-In for Home ( detail )

    These thread drawings act as a figural trace of homes that used to be, memories stored there are revisited and recreated.  Homes are ours for a time, but as we all fade into and out of life, so do homes remain a part of many different lives.

    To see more of Amanda McCavor’s work, please visit her website.

    Thank you to the ladies at LoveFeastTable for introducing me to Amanda McCavour’s work!

    Featured image is Living Room ( detail ), thread, 144x144x144.  All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Loneliness and Loveliness: Holly Farrell

    Loneliness and Loveliness: Holly Farrell

    I have a weakness for objects with a past.  Everyday pieces from days gone by hold the  untold stories of a person, a family , a home.  Toronto artist Holly Farrell’s paintings of vintage objects explore this sense of nostalgia for days gone by, while also having a strong, strikingly melancholy visual impact.

    Bowl ( stripe ) by Holly Farrell
    Bowl ( stripe ), acrylic and oil on masonite, 14×18

    The self-taught artist isolates her subjects, often with a muted, neutral background, taking a bit out of their normal context, emphasizing their design and calling our attention to their forsaken state.

    Couch, acrylic and oil on masonite, 28×18

    These are works that are wryly reverent.  Remember that hideous sofa in Grandma’s living room?  It is now immortalized on canvas, forlornly longing for the days when grandchildren used to bounce and play on it’s floral-covered cushions.

    Colorful Fire King mugs, which once warmed young hands and tummies with hot cocoa are now another kind of “mug shot”… snapshot compositions feel like they could be the sales photos for an eBay or Craigslist ad.  Going once, going twice.. sold.

    Fire King Mugs by Holly Farrell
    Fire King Mugs, acrylic and oil on board, 12 @ 7×8 each

    Ken and Barbie dolls, once beloved playtime companions now seem vacant and distant.

    Scuba Ken & Barbie, acrylic and oil on board
    Scuba Ken & Barbie, acrylic and oil on board

    Though there can be a definite sadness surrounding some of Holly Farrell’s work, it is tempered with charm and joy.  Just as our memories should be.  To see more of Holly’s work, please visit her website. On her website, not only will you find more deliciously intriguing work, but also a list of galleries in the US and Canada where you can see them live and in person.

    ** Thank you to The Jealous Curator for the introduction to Holly Farrell’s work via her post on SF Girl By Bay!

    Featured image is Books, acrylic and oil on masonite.  All images are via the artist’s website.