artsy forager

Tag: Drawing

  • Humanity. Heidi Draley McFall.

    Humanity. Heidi Draley McFall.

    I see it every day among my friends and family on social media.  Division.  Us vs. them.  Outright hatred. It is so disheartening to see such vitriol leveled against people we don’t even know.  It all seems so pointless.  A waste of time and energy.  We are more alike than we are different.  We were all born in the same way, we all die the same death.  We are all one race– human.

    Heidi Draley McFall | artsy forager #art #artists #figurativeart #drawings

    Heidi Draley McFall | artsy forager #art #artists #figurativeart #drawings Heidi Draley McFall | artsy forager #art #artists #figurativeart #drawings Heidi Draley McFall | artsy forager #art #artists #figurativeart #drawings Heidi Draley McFall | artsy forager #art #artists #figurativeart #drawings

     

    These hyperrealistic drawings by Heidi Draley McFall touch on that link between us all– our humanity.  We laugh, we cry, we are sad and vulnerable, angry and joyful.  Every person of every color on every inch of this planet feels these same emotions, has the same physical needs, and most of the time, we just want to be happy.  So why do we allow prejudices and judgements against our fellow humans to steal our joy?  It seems a most useless endeavor.  Imagine what kind of world this might be if we all tried to treat our fellow humans not as the enemy, but as ourselves.

    To see more of Heidi Draley McFall‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.  Artist found via the New American Paintings blog– check out Ellen Caldwell‘s Process of a Painting with the artist for a glimpse into her studio process!

  • Surfaces. Mila Libman.

    Surfaces. Mila Libman.

    We have a tendency to make snap judgements, to see in monochromes.  You believe “A”, so you must be “B”.  We quickly demonize and categorize without knowing the full story.

    In her monochromatic pastel and ink drawings, artist Mila Libman finishes with what is so often our beginning, a distillation of an impression.

    Mila Libman | artsy forager #art #artists #drawings #fineart #water Mila Libman | artsy forager #art #artists #drawings #fineart #water Mila Libman | artsy forager #art #artists #drawings #fineart #water Mila Libman | artsy forager #art #artists #drawings #fineart #water Mila Libman | artsy forager #art #artists #drawings #fineart #water

    How often do we refuse to see past our initial perception, to give another the opportunity to be understood and appreciated?  Social media these days is a firestorm of quick judgements often based on very little truth.  Perhaps we have only ourselves to blame, selves that are so wrapped up in our surfaces that we fail to allow our depths to be explored.

    To see more of Mila Libman‘s work, please visit her website.

    Artist found via K. Imperial Fine Art.  Images via K. Imperial Fine Art and the artist’s website.

  • Immersions. Kathleen Holder.

    Immersions. Kathleen Holder.

    As we travel, each place becomes a part of who we are, who we are becoming.  We carry their influence with us.  Some penetrate and saturate us more than others. These pastels by Texas artist Kathleen Holder catch me right in the soul with their soft light and eerie depth.

    Kathleen Holder | artsy forager #art #artists #pastels #abstractart Kathleen Holder | artsy forager #art #artists #pastels #abstractart Kathleen Holder | artsy forager #art #artists #pastels #abstractart Kathleen Holder | artsy forager #art #artists #pastels #abstractart Kathleen Holder | artsy forager #art #artists #pastels #abstractart

    Every person has a different way of experiencing each place.  The way we are affected might be due to the place itself or some other influence.  Some eyes are drawn to stark contrasts, while others look more for the slight changes in light and tone around them.  Through burnished layers of pastel, Holder creates monochromatic, saturated abstracts that seem to go on into infinity.  It almost seems that if we stepped into their plane, we might come out covered in color.

    To see more of Kathleen Holder‘s work, please visit her website.

    Artist found via David Lusk Gallery.  All images via the David Lusk website.

  • Parallels. Sarah Gee Miller.

    Parallels. Sarah Gee Miller.

    One of my favorite scenes when we’re road tripping is when the highway follows the path of a river.  We wind through the mountains, all the while the rushing turquoise water next to the highway seeming to follow the journey of our apple red car.  In her collages and ink and marker drawings, Vancouver artist Sarah Gee Miller “delves into the the relationship between primal shape and high-intensity colour to find balance and harmony.”

    Sarah Gee Miller | artsy forager #art #artists #contemporaryart Sarah Gee Miller | artsy forager #art #artists #contemporaryart Sarah Gee Miller | artsy forager #art #artists #contemporaryart Sarah Gee Miller | artsy forager #art #artists #contemporaryart Sarah Gee Miller | artsy forager #art #artists #contemporaryart

     

    Her bright, saturated colors run against one another, sometimes following their path, other times diverging to create their own, yet always keeping within the confines of the whole.  Just like the wild river is kept ringed in by the landscape, circles are bound inside hexagons, keeping their abandon in check.

    To see more of Sarah Gee Miller’s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Tumbling On: Leah Yerpe

    Tumbling On: Leah Yerpe

    Sometimes it feels as if we are simply tumbling through life, being swayed to and fro like a pinball or a tumbleweed.  In these incredible large scale drawings, Brooklyn artist Leah Yerpe multiplies her figures as they spill through the air.

    OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Yerpe9 Yerpe detail Yerbe_aquila Yerbe_Ceyx Yerbe_phoenicis

     

    Placing her figures on a blank background, we lose any sense of situation, leaving them to float through the air as if caught in a tornado, hurtling down toward the ground.  There’s a sense of a loss of control, yet the faces are calm and peaceful– though the winds blow, they simple let themselves be carried.

    To see more of the work of Leah Yerpe, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.  Artist found via I Need a Guide.

  • Don’t Miss Artsiness 6.19.14

    Don’t Miss Artsiness 6.19.14

    Gallery Shows You Should Know About!

    In this week’s round up of gallery shows and museum exhibitions, I am so bummed that I’m nowhere near any of these spots because each of these shows looks amazing!

    NSWE collage 6.5.2014-2

    north | Party Over, Joe Wardwell at LaMontagne Gallery

    south | Beauty Reigns, group exhibition at The McNay Art Museum

    west | Ice to Island, Zaria Forman & In Memoriam, Rena Bass Forman, at Winston Wachter

    east | Variations on a Theme, Andrew Salgado solo exhibition, at One Art Space

    Click through the gallery links above for more information about each show.  If you check ‘em out, tag me ( @artsyforager ) on Instagram with the hashtag #dontmissartsiness!  If you go I’ll be totally jealous!

    Images via gallery/museum websites linked above.

  • June Featured Artist: Deb Haugen

    June Featured Artist: Deb Haugen

    There are certain artists whose work just instantly resonates with me.  Perhaps it’s their style or subject matter, but in the case of this month’s Featured Artist, Deb Haugen, it’s both.  When I first saw her work waaay back in 2011, I immediately responded to the free flowing naturalness to her work.

    Deb Haugen | artsy forager #art #artists #abstractart #contemporaryart Deb Haugen | artsy forager #art #artists #abstractart #contemporaryart Deb Haugen | artsy forager #art #artists #abstractart #contemporaryart Deb Haugen | artsy forager #art #artists #abstractart #contemporaryart Deb Haugen | artsy forager #art #artists #abstractart #contemporaryart

     

    Since then, Deb’s work has evolved beautifully, in some cases incorporating graphic drawing as in her ink pieces featured above.  These intuitive drawings have a delicious tension between the concrete illustrative quality of intricate patterns and the bright, watery world surrounding them.

    I’m not the only one who is drawn to these organic beauties– Neiman Marcus and Crate & Barrel have both carried Deb’s prints ( currently available through Neiman Marcus, new large print to come for C&B! ).  But you can also purchase Deb’s work directly through her own website shop!  Gorgeous work at super affordable prices, you can’t go wrong!

    To see more of Deb Haugen‘s work, please visit her website and be sure to follow her on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram to keep up with what she’s up to!  You’ll be seeing more of Deb’s work around the blog & Artsy Forager social media all June long!

    All images via the artist’s website.

  • Puffball Bonsai: Alexandra Gjurasic

    Puffball Bonsai: Alexandra Gjurasic

    I am loving these little Puffball Bonsai sculptures by Alexandra Gjurasic.  They make me happy with their colorful stripes and cotton candy poufs.  I could just leave it at that.  But I like to take things a little deeper.  They’re fun and completely awesome, but what are they saying to me, besides let’s play?

    Alexandra Gjurasic | artsy forager #art #artists #drawing #sculpture Alexandra Gjurasic | artsy forager #art #artists #drawing #sculpture Alexandra Gjurasic | artsy forager #art #artists #drawing #sculpture Alexandra Gjurasic | artsy forager #art #artists #drawing #sculpture Alexandra Gjurasic | artsy forager #art #artists #drawing #sculpture

    The high level of artificiality mixed with the traditional china pot speaks to me of the pet-like nature of Bonsai’s.  They are high maintenance mini-trees cultivated mainly as a form of meditation and expression of creativity on the part of the caregiver.  They seem, to me, to be like pet trees.  Gjurasic is taking that idea even further by “dressing them up” in colorful stripes and glittery flowers.  It’s interesting to think about flowers and houseplants in this way– these living things, which thrive in their own natural environment, cut down or cultivated in order to give us pleasure.

    Oh and Gjurasic’s trees also spun off paintings, which are almost as enchanting!  To see more of Alexandra Gjurasic‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Earthly Balance: Hannah Chalew

    Earthly Balance: Hannah Chalew

    This planet we live on is an incredible example of a delicate balancing.  I’m always amazed to read stories about the ripple effect one tiny plant or micro organism may have on an entire eco-culture.  Often it is man whose hand begins the tidal wave.  In her work, New Orleans artist Hannah Chalew explores the tenuous relationship between nature and the built environment.

    Hannah Chalew | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #mixedmedia Hannah Chalew | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #mixedmedia Hannah Chalew | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #mixedmedia Hannah Chalew | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #mixedmedia Hannah Chalew | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #mixedmedia

     

    Hannah Chalew | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #mixedmedia

    Much like the work of Jess Riva Cooper, Chalew examines the idea of the built environment being overtaken and pushed back to the earth.  So often it is man and his development that does the encroaching, providing an interesting juxtaposition when plant life is given the opportunity to reclaim what was.

    To see more of Hannah Chalew‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • A Letter to Molly: Graeme Mitchell

    A Letter to Molly: Graeme Mitchell

    It seems such a shame that we hardly write letters anymore.  Especially love letters.  There was once a time when a couple’s main source of communication before marriage was the exchange of letters.  Putting thoughts and feelings into words, on paper, give them an importance and a permanence– and something to pour over when our love is far away.  But then there is something even sweeter about expressing your feelings in a non-verbal way.  Brooklyn photographer Graeme Mitchell created a beautiful book of drawings and photographs for his wife-to-be, Molly, presented to her on their wedding day.

    Mitchell_Sketch3 Picture 002 Mitchell collage Mitchell_Sketch4 Picture 004

    The juxtaposition of those little abstract drawings ( perhaps they are a secret short-hand? ) and tender scenes from their life together speak so much love.  It’s true that it is in those small moments that our hearts swell most, the every day glimpses of a life built together with the person you love most in the world that fortify us when things get tough.

    I imagine that when Mitchell’s wife Molly looks back at this collection of images, she doesn’t think of the spectacle of a wedding day, but of the constant, every moment of every day love her husband expressed without saying a word.  Perhaps his gift might inspire you to find ways to express the tenderness you feel to your own loved ones.

    To see more of Graeme Mitchell‘s work, please visit his website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.