There is nothing quite like a quiet day surrounded by wilderness to get us in touch with the wildness inside. Even more thrilling is to spot an elusive animal on its own turf. California artist Jane Rosen sculpts wild creatures in all their quiet, untamed beauty.
Rosen’s sculptures have a caged serenity about them, as if reigning in their innate wildness for the spectator. I bet they come to life the minute your back is turned! The artist’s choice of materials bring a purity and etherealness to each piece. They almost seem to be representations not of the animal itself, but of its spirit.
I am loving the illustrative quality to these watercolors by Massachusetts artist Michelle Morin! I’m sharing more of Michelle’s work in my Artist Watch on Escape Into Life today.. head over to EIL to check it out here.
I’ve told you before about my visions of becoming a crazy bird watcher. While Mr. Forager loves to lookout for ospreys, hawks and other large birds of prey, my own preference is for birds of smaller varieties. Spotting a hummingbird is especially thrilling! Their diminutive size and speed make their sudden appearance fascinating. Colombian artist Diana Beltran Herrera recreates their flights of fancy in her paper sculptures.
While we were recently camping in Glacier National Park, we awoke one morning to what sounded like tiny jets buzzing above the roof of our tent. The hummingbirds were enjoying a frolic among the lupine surrounding our campsite.
Herrera’s birds seem to come alive as they search for nectar among paper sculpted flowers. You can practically hear the buzz of their wings as they keep themselves suspended mid-air.
So what do you think? Has my slight ornithological obsession completely taken hold? I think the only cure is to just seek out more fowl, both of the living and artistic variety. 😉 To see more of Diana Beltran Herrera’s work, please visit her website.
One of our favorite things about living at the lake this summer has been our evening walks. Once the heat begins to wane, all the birds begin to sing. We often end our walk by making our way down to the dock where we sit and watch birds both great and small as they hunt for dinner. I’ve even told George I’m going to take up serious bird watching. I’m going to be a funny old lady with her huge hat and binoculars watching all the birds that fly by.. So today’s round up is brought to you by some pretty little birds of the artsy kind that I’m admiring this week!
As soon as we are born, we begin to die. That may be a gloomy thought, but we begin the circle of life at birth and it seems, now more than ever, we fight as hard as we can against the inevitability of age and the ravages of time. Helskinki artist Vincent Bakkuum’s paintings confront us with the transitory nature of our very being.
Teen Joy
Using images of vintage-y shoes, skulls and dead birds juxtaposed with beautifully blooming flowers, Bakkum reminds us that what once was young and vibrant eventually will be no more.
Black Shoes and Pink Flowers
Just as the bird that falls from the sky, so will we also cease to fly. Our vanity compels us to continue to adorn what is already beautiful, our very bodies that give us life.
Dead Parakeets
Bakkum’s work reminds us of the inherent beauty to be found in flora and fruit, their beauty and bounty inspires and nourishes us. They are created as we are created and will return to the dust just as we will.
Sheep SkullPink Shoes
To see more of Vincent Bakkum’s work, please visit his website.
Featured image is Biological Cream by Vincent Bakkum. All images are via the artist’s website.
If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, then you know that I have a few absolute favorite artists. These are the artists whose work I absolutely adore and return to again and again. Today’s artist, Maribel Angel is high on my list of favorites. From the first time I saw her work, during my gallery career in Florida, it was delight at first sight.
Bird Park, acrylic on panel, 34×24
The irresistible charm of Maribel’s work is pretty obvious, but even more so when she begins explaining the inspiration behind each one. For these latest paintings, she found unknowing muses in the form of all the birds congregating on her lakeside property in North Florida due to such a mild winter ( even for Florida! ).
Fruit and Bandits, acrylic on panel, 12×12
From the artist: “..all those feathered creatures that flew south for the winter used our yard as their tourist destination for several months. Not to mention all the local birds who had no reason to fly further south – so we had double the population than usual and I could hear them chattering and chirping non stop from dawn till dusk while i was working in my studio. It wasn’t like song birds keeping a tune and creating a beautiful orchestra of sound – it was just full on chatter! Similar to the sound you would hear of camp kids shouting and playing at the pool. I enjoyed their company and while I was painting I would imagine the stories they were sharing with each other. ”
Gentle Whisper, acrylic on panel, 34×24
The way she renders animals in such stylized simplicity is so appealing. Her horses stand lean and graceful, birds are bright and cheerfully scattered. She enriches each with beautifully layered color and texture– as stunning as they are online, her work is even more wonderful in person!
Crossing Over, acrylic on panel, 12×12New Nest, acrylic on panel, 12×12
To see more of Maribel Angel’s work, please visit her website and the Gallery Orange website. If you’re lucky enough to be in New Orleans, you can stop in at Gallery Orange to see her work in person or in Florida, check out Maribel’s work at Southlight Gallery.
Featured image is Shangrila, acrylic on panel, 48×12. All images are via Gallery Orange, Maribel’s representing gallery in New Orleans. For more on Gallery Orange, check out the recent Artsy Spot feature on the gallery here.
Birds are creatures meant to soar. They inspire us to reach new heights ourselves. Those avian characteristics are what make London artist Kate McGwire’s work so poignant and powerful.
Guile ( detail ), Mixed media with dove and pigeon feathers in antique cabinet 1760 H x 705 W x 385 D mm ( photographed by Tessa Angus )
McGwire uses fallen feathers to create sculptures reminiscent of birds at rest, coiled upon themselves. By often placing her sculptures in antique cabinets and cloches, she creates a dichotomy between the suggested creature and its cage.
Guile, Mixed media with dove and pigeon feathers in antique cabinet 1760 H x 705 W x 385 D mm ( photographed by Tessa Angus )
Her sculptures have an otherworldly sense to them– as if they are alien beings, captured long ago for scientific observation or simply decoration.
Stifle, Mixed media with dove / white pigeon feathers in antique glass dome. 71 x 71 x 37 cm
The tension in her work is so palpable, it seems that if one just broke the glass, the creature inside would uncurl itself and rise above its shattered prison.
Cache, mixed media with pigeon tail feathers in antique metal trunk 46 x 26 x 43 cm ( photographed by Tessa Angus )
To see more of Kate McGwire’s work, please visit her website.
Featured image is Vex ( detail ), mixed media with pigeon feathers in antique museum cabinet, 183 x 110 x 61 cm. All images are via the artist’s website.
Camisoles and combat boots.. cayenne and chocolate.. some things just don’t seem like they would go together. Take, for example, the work of Mary Chomenko Hinckley. This is an artist who enjoys finding the harmony in the disparate.
Golden Winged Warbler in Ellipse Field, digital pigment print on silver rag, 28×21, 40×30 or 52×40
Like pairing the detailed natural images of ordinary birds against mod-style backgrounds whose colors may echo or complement those of the bird, but the contemporary patterns give these ol’ birds a new spin.
Belted Kingfisher, Unique Variant 3/5 Digital Pigment Print and Colored Pencil on German Paper, 28×21
In her work, the artist is exposing the relationship between objects that seem completely unrelated. By juxtaposing these seemingly incongruent objects, she finds harmony in the new relationship. Plus, I think they give these guys the cheeky little personalities they deserve. Birds are fun, what can I say?
Red Bellied Woodpecker in Ellipse Field, digital pigment print on silver rag, 28×21, 40×30 or 52×40Gannet in Ellipse Field, digital pigment print on silver rag, 28×21, 40×30 or 52×40
To see more of Mary Chomenko Hinckley’s fine feathered friends and her other work, please visit her website.
Featured image is Pileated Woodpecker in Ellipse Field, digital pigment print on silver rag, 28×21, 40×30 or 52×40. All images are via the artist’s website.
Birds have a long history of symbolism in art. Their meanings through the years have been as varied as their colors. Oregon artist Laurel Bustamante has taken the symbolism a step further, creating imaginary birds that represent what it may feel like to be a bird.
The Pearlfisher #2, gouache and acrylic on clayboard, 5×7
But these are not expressionistic paintings in that typically wild, emotive kind of way. Instead, they are thoughtful studies of mystery and coquettishness of small birds.
Nigthbird in Pompeii, acrylic and gouache on panel, 8×10
These diminutive paintings have an old world, ancient quality to them, but feel modern in their isolated composition.
Bluebird, acrylic and gouache on panel, 8×10Nocturne in Brazil, acrylic and gouache on panel, 8×10
You can find more of Laurel Bustamante’s work on her ArtSlant profile ( I was unable to locate a website for her ), or on the websites of a number of galleries in which her work is featured: Augen Gallery, Davis & Cline, Lora Schlesinger and REM Gallery just to name a few. Flit like a little bird and visit them all!
Featured image is Nightwatch #1, gouache and acrylic on clayboard, 5×7, via REM Gallery.
I admit, I’m not always up on the very latest trends, I am in my 30’s after all. I knew all about the “Put a Bird On It” trend, but had no idea that art featuring chickens had become such a big deal. Chicken art makes me think back to my grandma’s house and her Americana farm scene prints featuring chickens. And her ceramic chicken collection. Needless to say, chickens aren’t the first subject that jumps to mind when I think of the latest in the art world. But for whatever reason, these birds are fowls are ruling the roost.
Roost by Brian McGuffey
Seattle area artist, Brian McGuffey draws from childhood experiences in his creative process. In “Roost”, pictured above, he elevates the rooster from lowly barnyard animal to a dignified, full-plumed specimen. Just look at that profile. You know all the hens would be clucking all over him.
King of the Hill by Sydney McKenna
Why did the chicken cross the road? To attend a chicken-only art show, apparently! St. Augustine, Florida artist, Sydney McKenna painted “King of the Hill” specifically for a show at the W.B. Tatter Studio & Gallery celebrating not just chickens, but also the gallery’s sixth year anniversary. I hope they served a vegetarian menu for the opening. 🙂
But the Tatter who is by no means the only chicken show I’ve covered in recent months. Remember Yvonne Lozano’sWhat Happened to the Chickensshow? Yvonne created an entire series of painting centered around a family trip to Colombia and a few friendly chickens she met there as a child.
Here, Chicky Chicky by Yvonne LozanoOut and About by Hilary Williams
But chickens in art aren’t just reserved for the barnyard.. In “Out and About”, San Francisco based artist Hilary Williams depicts a little hen who seems to have escaped and is enjoying a lovely day on the town. This chick is ready for a ladies lunch and some retail therapy.
Speaking of plucky adventurers ( pun intended ), Dolan Geiman’sBlue Highway also shows how chickens in art aren’t just for grandma’s kitchen anymore. Geiman’s graphic, mixed media approach results in work that is more contemporary than kitsch.
Blue Highway by Dolan Geiman
Where is this upsurge in chicken art leading? Only the chickens know for sure. The banty in Jim Draper’sCross Creek seems ready to take the road less traveled. And maybe that’s what the chicken art movement is all about.
Cross Creek by Jim Draper
The featured images is Laughing About This Life by Hilary Williams. All images are courtesy of the individual artist’s websites.
PS– I restrained myself from finding a Road Crossing Chicken joke to go with each piece of artwork. You’re welcome.
