artsy forager

Tag: Artists

  • Contemporary Muses: Hope Gangloff

    There are certain times, especially when he lays on the floor for a power nap, that I long to break out my charcoal and sketch my husband.  I’m moved to capture the beauty of his face and his peaceful position.  As I’ve mentioned, figure drawing took me a while to master but once I did I truly began to see the magic in the body of each person.  Our expressions, our posture, our countenance is all unique to who we are.  The paintings of Hope Gangloff capture every day moments of ordinary people, rendering them in an extraordinarily beautiful way.

    Her figures in repose, bear stylistic resemblance to masters such as Schiele, Matisse, Cassatt and Toulouse-Lautrec.

    Queen Jane Approximately, acrylic on canvas, 108.5×67.5

    But these are contemporary muses, this is the way we live now.  Friends come over and take their shoes off and relax with us, the parlor has been replaced by the kitchen and the patio.  Conversations remain unchanged– we talk politics, relationships, art and music.

    Catherine Despont, acrylic on canvas, 48×72
    Upstate Neighbor ( Gavin Anderson ), acrylic on canvas, 84×56

    Gangloff’s figures are familiar.  They are our friends, our neighbors, our world.  To see more of Hope Gangloff’s work, please visit her website.

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

  • Friday Finds: Hunka Hunka Burnin’ Art

    Friday Finds: Hunka Hunka Burnin’ Art

    Ya’ll, I am a long time fan of The King.  Not a crazy-I-have-an-Elvis-room-in-my-house-and-make-a-yearly-pilgrimage-to-Graceland fan, but I will sing along with him every time he comes up on the iPod.  Yesterday marked the 35th anniversary of Elvis’s death and I’ve been seeing a lot of artists drawing inspiration from Mr. Presley lately, so thought I’d round up a few of my faves for you!

    Sticker Elvis by Jim Blanchard
    ( Elvis ) Beyond the Bend by Deborah Scott
    The Dr. Martin Luther King of Rock & Roll by Troy Gua
    Thank You, Thank You Very Much by Sarah Ashley Longshore

    Jim Blanchard | Deborah Scott | Troy Gua | Sarah Ashley Longshore 

    Be sure and check out all these artists’ websites, linked above.  If you happen to be in the Seattle area, don’t miss Elvistravaganza!, a curated show featuring works inspired by The King during Bumbershoot, Sept 1st-3rd.  All the cool kids will be showing, including Deborah Scott, Jim Blanchard and more!

    All images are via the artists’ websites, linked above.

  • Dreams of Doris Day: Tracey Sylvester Harris

    Dreams of Doris Day: Tracey Sylvester Harris

    In my much younger years, many a Sunday afternoon was spent glued to the television, enraptured by the movies of my parent’s generation.  Each one filling my impressionable mind with images of the perfectly coiffed hair, sophisticated fashions and charming coquettishness of starlets like Doris Day, Audrey Hepburn and Leslie Caron.  The work of California artist Tracey Sylvester Harris hearkens back to those glamorous days of my dreams.

    Convertible, oil on canvas, 24×30

    Those old films and their heroines led me to believe in a world in which women wore heels to the swimming pool, men were redeemable rakes and an awkward bookworm could be transformed into a beautiful swan.

    Light Blue Slip, oil on canvas, 60×40
    Starlet, oil on canvas, 60×40

    They caused me to prance around our house in my mom’s high heels and a floating negligee dreaming of the glamorous and romantic life I would lead when I grew up.  But soon, reality taught me its hard lessons and I realized that the worlds I so admired weren’t real after all and the world of my dreams began to look a little different.  A bit more earthy and down to earth.  A little less frothy but a lot more fun.

    Cocktail Hour, oil on canvas, 36×48

    But that doesn’t mean I don’t still occasionally long to thrown on a little black dress and pearls.  Old dreams die hard.

    To see more of Tracey Sylvester Harris’ work, please visit her website.  You can also see her work in person, if you’re in the Los Angeles area, at Skidmore Contemporary.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Unknowing Symbiosis: Nick Lamia

    Unknowing Symbiosis: Nick Lamia

    Spending more than a week immersed in natural beauty, away for the most part, from the pull of technology, makes for a difficult re-entry into the realm of satellites and social media.  We tend to forget, while living in either world that the other exists.  The abstract work of Nick Lamia reminds us that though we often think of them separately, society must coexist with the natural world in order for either to thrive.

    Untitled, oil on panel, 45×48

    Lamia’s juxtaposition of street map-like grids over landscape-ish scenes give us glimpses into how we integrate ourselves into nature and vice versa.

    Untitled, oil on panel, 30×32
    Untitled, oil on canvas, 66×72

    As societies, we are responsible for the care of the natural world around us.  In return, that world repays us providing food, resources, enjoyment and inspiration.

    Untitled, oil on canvas, 36×42

    To see more of Nick Lamia’s work, please visit his website.

    Artist found via Design Milk.  All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Artsy on Escape Into Life: Elena Vera Solodovnikova

    I love it when talented artists reach out and ask to be featured on Artsy Forager.  And when they are from another country?  That just thrills me even more!  Very talented Barcelona artist Elena Vera Solodovnikova recently emailed me her work and I couldn’t wait to feature her in my weekly Artist Watch on Escape Into Life!  Head over to EIL to check it out!

    Elena Vera Solodovnikova on Escape Into Life

  • Expressions for Summer’s End: Sofia Lacin

    Expressions for Summer’s End: Sofia Lacin

    We’re coming upon mid-August, some kids are already heading back to school, soon it will be Labor Day and autumn will be upon us.  The abstract paintings of Sofia Lacin have such an indian summer feel to them, don’t they?

    Hunched Over Shoulder, oil on canvas, 36×36

    Bright colors peep out among warm hues, reminding us that summer is slowly fading into Fall.

    Two Moments, oil on canvas, 36×48
    Smile, oil on canvas, 36×48

    Lacin’s expressive lines and brushstrokes remind us that the slower pace of the warmer months will soon give way to the busyness of the school season and holidays.

    Through the Surface, oil and chalk on canvas, 60×60

    Please visit Sofia Lacin’s website for even abstracted gorgeousness!

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • August Facebook Featured Artist: Candice Smith Corby

    August Facebook Featured Artist: Candice Smith Corby

    So while I was traversing through the mountains of Montana and Wyoming, the torch was passed on to a new Facebook Featured Artist!  This month we celebrate the work of Boston area artist Candice Smith Corby.

    Dinner Table Antics

    Smith Corby’s quiet, delicate drawings on paper and found materials navigate us through the worlds of childhood and traditional feminine roles.  Who doesn’t remember making forts of chairs and blankets?

    Hideaway

    As little girls, were we making forts inside perhaps because we weren’t allowed to play rough & tumble outside with the boys?  Were we given traditional feminine tools yet still found a way to convert them to serve a traditionally male purpose?

    Pup Tent

    Perhaps we found a way to use those traditional roles to our advantage? These are some of the questions I see being asked in Smith Corby’s work.  Her answers are sensitive and subtle, while still posing more questions.

    Pleading ( open )

    To see more of Candice Smith Corby’s work, please visit her website and Facebook page.  Candice’s work will be up as the cover image of Artsy Forager’s Facebook page throughout the month of August.  If you happen to be in MA this Fall, be sure to check out her co-curating/co-exhibiting show, Self/Fabricated at The Art Complex Museum in Duxbury, MA!

    All images are via the artist.

  • Living in Technopia: Natalie Nicklin

    Living in Technopia: Natalie Nicklin

    I am officially back among the technologically connected!  While we were camping in Glacier National Park and Yellowstone, we made the decision to be completely unplugged– not much cell service or wifi to be had in most spots anyway.  But it was a bit disheartening to see families and couples who, while surrounded by what is arguably some of the most beautiful scenery on earth, tapped away on their iPhones and Droids.    The illustration and collage work of artist Natalie Nicklin confronts us with the imaginary worlds taken over by technology imagined in our past.  Sometimes it feels like they actually came to be, doesn’t it?

    Left Behind

    The artist calls these worlds “technopias” and perhaps they consist of the flying cars, etc., that were being imagined during the birth of the technological age.  People in the 1950s and 60s imagined that we would be living like George Jetson by now.  But are we really that far off?

    Waiting For

    Nicklin uses geometrics to illustrate a hard-edged technology driven society yet juxtaposes them against a flesh-colored palette.

    Aether

    Found vintage imagery reminds us of how far we’ve come and the inclusion of figures, usually female, seem act as a hint that no matter how much we advance in technology, the human element will always be the most important and intriguing.

    Pioneers- Delia Derbyshire

    To see more of Natalie Nicklin’s work, please visit her page at Cargo Collective.

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

  • Spontaneity of Expression: Elizabeth Schuppe

    Spontaneity of Expression: Elizabeth Schuppe

    Sometimes, there is just nothing I love better than staring at a painting thick with color, line and texture.  The work of Brooklyn artist Elizabeth Schuppe‘s abstract work practically sings with spontaneous marks, expressive color and light.

    Take Three, acrylic on canvas, 70×65

    True to the Abstract Expressionist style, Schuppe works intuitively, without a forethought plan, allowing the placement of color and line to speak to her, directing the brush in her hand.

    Hard Hearted II, acrylic on canvas, 44x 46
    Hard Hearted IV, acrylic on canvas, 44×46

    Each painting tells a story created from the artist’s emotional expression, yet in their abstract nature, we are still able to interpret their story in our own fashion.

    Pearls on Five, acrylic on canvas, 70×65

    To see more of Elizabeth Schuppe’s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Artsy on Escape Into Life: Sherry Karver

    The minute Lisa Harris Gallery in Seattle posted images of Sherry Karver’s work, I knew I wanted to learn more about it.  I hope you’ll be as intrigued as I was ( am! ).  I’m featuring Karver’s work in my Artist Watch over on Escape Into Life today.  You can also see her work in Lisa Harris Gallery’s group show, Photographic Wanderings, August 2nd- September 2nd.

    First Impressions by Sherry Karver

    Sherry Karver on Escape Into Life