Please enjoy this oldie by goodie while I spend the next two weeks camping, packing, visiting with the mom-in-law and moving from WA to OR. See you in September!
There is nothing I love better than a day spent walking in the woods or paddling down a slow moving river. Nature’s beauty has a way of inspiring me to want to paint, write, cook, just create. In celebration of Earth Day, this Friday’s Forager Faves round up includes a few artists who obviously feel the same way. These are works insprired by the wonder of the earth in which we live. Enjoy and get outside!
Please enjoy this oldie by goodie while I spend the next two weeks camping, packing, visiting with the mom-in-law and moving from WA to OR. See you in September!
The affordable artfest continues today! In case you missed it, you can catch Part 1 here. Here are a few more suggestions for purchasing affordable artwork:
Art festivals– Just about every community at one point of another puts on some kind of arts festival or at the very least, there are a few within easy driving distance of where you live. Festivals are a great place to check out ( usually ) a wide variety of artwork. And with individual artists manning their own booths, it’s also a great opportunity to chat with them about their work. Plus, you can usually score some funnel cake. Win-win!!
ArtWalks— Many communities are also getting on the ArtWalk bandwagon, which I am all for! ArtWalks customarily take place once a month, usually the same evening every month such as the First Friday or Second Saturday. While the ArtWalks usually involve visiting local galleries, which we’ll touch base on below, many of them set up tents in a local park or closed-off street where local artists can display their wares.
Arts Markets– A growing trend is a local “arts market”, which is a weekly market, combination farmer’s market, street fair and arts market. A wonderful way to spend a Saturday morning, grab some fresh ingredients for dinner, listen to local music and discover new artists.
Local Galleries– You may think this one is obvious, but in many communities, brick & mortar art galleries are rapidly disappearing, thanks in no small part to the recession. If you are lucky enough to have some local galleries in your area, do what you can to support them. Don’t just go to the free events– actually buy something, even if it small. Many galleries today offer payment plans for larger purchases, don’t be afraid to ask. Galleries are in the business of supporting artists and selling their work. While it’s nice to browse, browsers don’t pay the rent. Most art galleries are run by average folks who love art or are artists themselves and are an important feature of any thriving community. Please patronize local galleries– your community will thank you.
Art by Students– Chances are, you have a community college or university of some kind in or near where you live. These institutions are often filled with budding artists. Check the colleges’ websites to find out more about their art programs, exhibitions, etc. Purchasing student work is a wonderful, economical way to start a collection AND help give emerging young artists a boost of confidence. Even if they don’t make a career out of being an artist, that student will always know someone loved their work enough to buy it and they will cherish that knowledge. ( I speak from personal experience! )
Artists Themselves– OK, so this suggestion may call for a huge, UMM..DUH, LESLEY!!, but it’s definitely an option, especially today when many artists are foregoing traditional gallery representation, choosing instead to market their work on their own. There are certain advantages to dealing directly with an artist, such as they may have more room to negotiate on price or payment terms without a middle man, as a direct “patron”, the artist may notify you first of new works you may be interested in and best of all, you can get to know the artist personally, which often makes the work you love that much more significant. In addition, many artists are now offering “budget” limited editions of their work, which make it all the more affordable. ( Check out Town Editions, a limited edition collection offered by Pick of the Crop artist, Thomas Hager ). A word of caution though, on a somewhat touchy aspect of buying directly from artists which goes back to my point of supporting local galleries– if you see a piece in a gallery that you love PLEASE do not try to circumvent the gallery and purchase from the artist directly. It’s dishonest and well, just a crappy thing to do. Most artists value their relationships with galleries or have a contract with the gallery and would not sell such a work to you in any case, but I’ve seen it happen.
I hope you find these suggestions helpful. It can be intimidating to buy artwork, but buy what you love and you’ll never be sorry.
Please enjoy this oldie by goodie while I spend the next two weeks camping, packing, visiting with the mom-in-law and moving from WA to OR. See you in September!
It is a huge misnomer that only the rich can afford to be art collectors or even to purchase original work. When most of us think of an “art collector”, we tend to think of the stereotype of the wealthy patron, attending auctions at Christie’s, buying artwork for more than many of us make in a year, heck, in a lifetime. Or maybe you’ve gone into a higher end gallery and seen a price and thought to yourself, “Self, no way you’ll ever be able to afford that.”
Well, I’m here to tell you, the times they are a changin’. It has never been easier or more affordable to purchase original artwork and/or high quality limited editions. No, I’m not talking about the kind of “original art” you buy at the fleamarket or from a sale in a hotel ballroom. I’m referring to original, gallery worthy fine art. The kind you can be proud to hang on your wall.
Here are some suggestions for finding the artwork of your dreams and getting your collection started:
Online galleries/exhibition websites– These are popping up all over the place and many of them represent some very talented artists and you can usually find wonderful work in every price point.
Etsy— Possibly the largest online art & handmade marketplace, complete with a powerful search engine, you’ll find a wide range of artwork available. Many artists are using Etsy to reach a wider audience and as a way to sell their work independantly. ( Note that many of the artists with shops on the “exhibition sites” will have their links on those sites connecting back to their Etsy shops. )
Into the Mystic, photgraphic print, 8″x8″ $30
20×200— this New York City based website works with artists to offer limited editions of original work. Starting at just $20 for the smallest size, 20×200 offers affordable, quality work for newbie collectors.
Well-Being I, limited edition on archival paper, 8″x10″, edition of $200, $20
Papernstitch— I must admit, I’m a little biased toward this one, as it is run by my friend ( and fabulous artist in her own right ), Brittni Wood. Started as a blog, Papernstitch is a growing online exhibition site, curated monthly by Brittni and features handpicked, talented artists, designers and craftspeople. The Papernstitch blog is still going full force and features daily posts from Brittni and a handful of other talented contributors. Papernstitch is definitely worth a look when you are searching for something special.
Open Space by Rachel Austin, original mixed media on canvas, 8″ x 8″, $85
Artwelove— Founded in 2008, ArtWeLove “offers exclusive, museum-quality art editions by today’s inspiring artists”. A big difference with this site is it focuses on offerings from artists whose work is found in top galleries, museums and exhibitions throughout the world. The work is curated and commissioned directly from the artist to ArtWeLove exclusively– you won’t see these prints anywhere else. The site has a “learning engine” similar to Amazon.com, which tracks your artwork preferences over time and makes recommendations for you.
Petal, Pixel and Stain by Nina Tichava, limited edition on archival paper, starting at $50
PoppyTalk Handmade–Founded in 2008 by a Canadian husband and wife team, PoppyTalk Handmade is a monthly curated and “themed” marketplace showcasing artwork, handmade and vintage goods from around the world. Sort of an online street fair/festival, PoppyTalk provides an online marketplace to emerging and indie artists and craftspeople.
Pillow Land, sewn print by Clare Elsaesser of Tastes Orangey, 4.75″ x 4.75″, $20
Stay tuned over the next few days for more suggestions on ways to buy original art on any budget!
Please enjoy this oldie by goodie while I spend the next two weeks camping, packing, visiting with the mom-in-law and moving from WA to OR. See you in September!
There are people and by people, I mean artists, whose life and art are so intertwined that almost everything in their life looks like their artwork. Maribel Angel is one of those people and I mean that in the best possible sense. The minute I drove up to her home & studio in St. Augustine, Florida, I knew I was in for a treat.
Maribel’s home & studio, which she shares with her husband, Cash, dog Miss Hannah and three cats, is on a quiet street removed from the bustle of tourists in downtown St. Augustine. Entering through a green gate with a little bell, I am greeted with a hug from the artist and meow from possibly the friendliest cat ever, Lulu.
Trimmed in bright colors reminiscent of her paintings, the house, studio and workshop are like sweet little dollhouses. Maribel and Cash purchased the property, which faces a lovely canal where Lulu loves to beg for attention from joggers, as a fixer upper and have done most of the work themselves over the years. It is apparent that this is a place created with love.
Let’s go into the studio.
Sunlight streams through the windows, filling the diminutive studio with light and warmth.
Every artist’s studio needs a comfy chair. A place where an artist can curl up with a cup of coffee and read or dream about where inspiration will take them next. Finished artwork or works in progress are all around the studio– like these sweet little horse paintings ( below ), which were big sellers during the MOCA Studio Tour a few weeks ago.
The studio floors are reclaimed hardwood, which came from a local horse barn. Maribel theorizes that perhaps the floors are subconsciously leading her to paint horses! Whatever the cause, these equestrian inspired pieces are hard to resist. However, I am even more in love with a new series Maribel is working on– inspired by the Anthropologie catalog!
I told Maribel how much I loved these and when she told me her inspiration source, I was downright gleeful! There is just something about Anthropologie that we artsy girls love. Ask anyone who has ever been in one with me. I get this joyous, glazed over look in my eye, which I’m sure is very similar to the look I had upon leaving Maribel’s.
On the opposite side of the room, are the quintessential elements of any artist’s studio– easel, work table and of course, stacks of works in progress. See the horses? I think the floors are working their magic.
Ever wonder how Maribel creates those wonderful, collaged layers in her work? First, she makes a color copy of the inspiration source, whether it be a textile pattern, page from a book or other ephemera, then soaks the copy in a medium solution which allows her to peel the transparent image from the paper. The transparency allows for background paint and other elements to show through and using this instead of the paper itself will be more permanent and chemically stable.
I can’t wait to try this out on my own.. I already have a few ideas! If only I was as prolific as Maribel.. there is artwork and inspiration everywhere you turn in her studio.
Don’t you love the rustic window paned doors? Maribel has definitely created a space that warms the heart and nurtures the soul. I was there for less than an hour and came home incredibly inspired and ready to create! I hope our visit to Maribel’s studio has done the same for you.
Please enjoy this oldie but goodie while I spend the next two weeks camping, packing, visiting with the mom-in-law and moving from WA to OR. See you in September!
Swimmingly [ swim-ing-lee ]
–adverb- Definition: without difficulty; with great success; effortlessly.
‘Tis the season for swimming. If you’re in Florida at least, maybe if you’re elsewhere ’tis the season to dream of swimming. I recently came across the paintings of New York ( by way of Minnesota ) artist, Samantha French, bathed in sunlight and clear blue water.
Reminiscent of summers spent on Minnesota lakes, French’s work seeks to recapture those fleeting, carefree days of summer. Days spent in the water, underwater, by the water.. nothing compares to the lovely worn-out feeling of a day spent swimming and relaxing in the sun.
The swimmers and sunbathers in French’s work are reminiscent of days gone by.. of colorful convertibles, hotdog picnics, the days of Hepburn and Tracy.
French has a show titled “Open Swim” opening at the Left Bank Gallery in Essex, CT this Thursday. To learn more about the artist, visit her website and be sure to fan Samantha French Art on Facebook! Prints of her work can be purchased through her Etsy store.
Please enjoy this oldie by goodie while I spend the next two weeks camping, packing, visiting with the mom-in-law and moving from WA to OR. See you in September!
I can’t believe it is the end of another week already. The time is quickly flying by as George and I prepare to make our way to the West Coast. I plan to take LOTS of photos both on our trip and once we have arrived. But alas, I am merely the point & shoot type. Oh, I try to compose a nice shot or get all artsy with the angles and such, but I have a long way to go.
I took a few photography classes in high school and college and well, let’s just say I never did quite get the hang of it. I am mechanically challenged to say the least. I have such respect for fine art photographers, because I know how difficult getting that perfect shot can be. So today’s faves feature some of my favorite photogs!
Please note that unfortunately, Christina is no longer in this studio. She is actively created from her home studio– but I loved this insight into her creative world.
Christina Foard is above the clouds– literally and figuratively. Her new studio space sits high above downtown Jacksonville in the AT&T building. How could she not be over the moon? This is her view, ya’ll!
Despite the breathtaking view or perhaps, in part, because of it, Christina admits her new studio was a bit overwhelming when she first moved in. An empty office space, originally intended for row upon row of cubicles, proved challenging to figure out how to best utilize as an art studio. But a huge advantage to so much space? Christina has room to breath and room to create.
Ditto goes for her three kids, who are often at the studio with her, sometimes for hours on end. There is plenty of room for them to run around, even skateboard(!) throughout the studio and Christina has set up a “living room” so that she and the kids have a place to relax while she’s in the studio.
There is also room for Christina, the artist, to “play”. When stuck for direction or just needing to get some creative juices flowing, she can plop herself down on the floor and play with paint and paper or stand over it and do some “Pollock-style” action painting. If that won’t get your painting mojo working, nothing will.
Christina’s work is autobiographical– each piece is about a particular time, place, person or memory and is often used as a kind of catharsis, a way of working through a particular memory and replacing what may have been a negative with a positive. Though a lot of her work is technically representational ( centered around recognizable objects ), it is also highly symbolic. Circles and ribbons have begun popping up in Christina’s work lately, often symbolizing the intrusion of a chaos of thought on a peaceful mind.
Just as her life is constantly changing and evolving, so too, is Christina’s work. For this artist, it is more about the process of creating than a finished “marketable” product. ( Though people do respond to her work and it sells quite well ). The paintings she creates aren’t necessarily “precious”, she will often go back and not just tweak but completely rework a piece so that it hardly resembles its former self.
The pieces pictured below, for instance, are works in progress.. they may not exist as you see them a week from now.
This new space is allowing Christina to grow as an artist like never before. She is filled with ideas and there are stacks of new canvases just waiting for paint.
The new studio is also giving her a chance to venture into collage and sculpture. She has wiped her slate clean of exhibitions and shows until early next year, to give herself time to rejuevenate, reinvigorate and explore where her art will take her. I can’t wait to see where the journey leads!
Please enjoy this oldie by goodie while I spend the next two weeks camping, packing, visiting with the mom-in-law and moving from WA to OR. See you in September!
I never fail to be blown away by the humility I find in amazingly talented artists. When Deborah Scott contacted me after I posted in the Seattle Artists group on LinkedIn, I had no idea what I would find when I clicked on her website. It thrills me beyond belief when an artist contacts me to be featured on Artsy Forager and I go to their website and find artwork that is fresh, unique and unlike anything I’ve seen before. Goosebumps, ya’ll!!
This Seattle area born & bred artist began her professional life in a marketing career working for big brands like Betty Crocker and Amazon.com. She would eventually leave the marketing world behind, pursuing art full force, immersing herself in arts education and copying the work of old masters.
Balance, oil and mixed media on canvas, 36×69
Her familiarity with image recognition and brand iconography comes through in her narrative figural work, where she employs classical compositions and perspectives juxtaposed against modern branding instantly recognizable to our 21st century eyes.
Lucky Charms, oil and mixed media on canvas, 36×60Consumption of Innocence, oil and mixed media on canvas, 36×60Stalemate, oil and mixed media on canvas, 36×60
Like the classical masters she studied, Deborah’s work has layers of meaning, symbols abound– some obvious, others more subversive. But the result causes us to pause and consider, truly gaze at each work, wondering what the artist is getting at.. Is she poking fun? Is she making a serious commentary on a topical issue? A little bit of both?
The meaning isn’t obvious. Though realistic in style, Deborah’s work seems abstract in meaning. A blending of the best of both worlds, if you ask me.
Check out more of Deborah Scott’s work on her website, here. Her work is currently on display at the Whatcom Museum in Bellingham, WA and The Hive Gallery in Los Angeles. She hits the East Coast next year, showing at Susan Eley Fine Art in NYC.
It’s been such a grey, gloomy week here in North Florida, that I thought we could all do with a little sunshine! Maribel Angel’s work never fails to make me smile. Maribel grew up in a Spanish speaking family and their influence definitely comes through in the vitality and liveliness of her work.
Maribel’s work tells a story, one that comes from within her own imagination and world of dreams. A place filled with festive color, galloping horses, flying bunnies and fanciful birds.
As Maribel’s work symbolically explores the effects of layers of time and history, so her treatment of her mediums are often a layering of paper, images, paint, text and symbols.
It is in these details that Maribel’s graphic design background comes through. Not only in the use and placement of text, but also in the juxtapositions of color and pattern. Actually, I’ve always thought she could be a very successful textile designer. I would totally buy a fabric or wallcovering in the design of “Bohemian Blossom” ( pictured below ), wouldn’t you? I’m picturing a this on a full skirt with a crisp white shirt and floppy straw hat!
So, Maribel Angel.. Painter-Graphic Designer-Future Textile Designer ( if I had my way! ).. let’s see, any other hyphenates to describe this multi-talented artist? Oh, that’s right–she’s also a sculptor!!
Maribel takes found objects and gives them new life in her assemblages and I must admit, I find every one of these “Cuckoos Nest” birds absolutely charming. Seriously, I’ve never met one I didn’t completely fall for. Maribel was sweet enough to give me a wonderful miniature guy and it is one of my favorite possessions.
Madeleine Peck-Wagner has a way of taking subjects that could be trite and making them extraordinary. Her latest series features mythical wolves and horses, but in Madeline’s hands, they are treated in a way that is contemporary and elegant. The cross-hatching & precision of the lines are reminiscent of architectural drafting, giving the figures depicted a strutctural, landscaped quality. Conversely, blots and washes of brightly colored paints call to the spiritual significance such animals, both living and decayed possess.
Fighting HessiansRussian Winter IIWolves At The DoorWe Are All Tragedies
