Please forgive me for getting this latest This Artsy Life post up a bit tardy. The last seven days have been a bit out of whack around these parts, with our beloved ( and much relyed on! ) Macbook taking a nosedive late Tuesday night, three treks to the Apple store an hour away in five days, major life decisions made, a visit with the only blood family I have in Cali, and the time change, well.. the actual life part of This Artsy Life took a bit of precedent. 😉
In all that craziness we did manage to squeeze in a little ArtWalking in Joshua Tree and some much needed downtime with my San Franciscan cousin in Palm Springs. We found some new artists to love at both The Red Arrow Gallery & Joshua Tree Art Gallery and bonded with my cuz over being the only family members crazy enough to choose the West over the South. I so enjoyed the time with my cousin that I didn’t snap one photo all day. You’ll just have to take my word for what a gorgeous day it was! But I’m happy to share a few snaps from the one time I did take out the camera– at the Joshua Tree ArtWalk.
[ almost bought this piece by Judy Wold a few months ago.. still coveting ]
Things are inching back toward normal today in This Artsy Life, though it will only be a few more weeks before we begin making plans to move on to our next spot. And then what madness will begin! Want to see more from our JT ArtWalk? Follow Artsy Forager on Instagram. I might even show you obligatory-Instagram-lunch photos.
*Bret Philpot’s website doesn’t appear to be working. Sorry. If you’d like to get in touch with the artist, please contact The Red Arrow Gallery.
After what has seemed like a busy few months, and with Mr. Forager fighting a cold, we welcomed a weekend at home in Joshua Tree. A weekend at home for us is the chance to enjoy simple indulgences like reading and chatting over a second pot of coffee and getting our creative juices flowing which, for me involves paint and for Mr. F, involves malts & hops in the form of a newly brewed Oatmeal Cookie Stout. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it tastes as good as the name sounds! We’ll know in a few more weeks.. We also stopped by the Joshua Tree ArtWalk for a while on Saturday night. Small town ArtWalks don’t take long to see– we were still in bed by 10pm! Now that’s a good weekend. 😉
[ downtown Joshua Tree ]
[ weekends are for coffee ]
[ catching up on what’s happening in my hometown ]
For what was supposed to be a relaxing weekend at home, we kept ourselves pretty busy! But isn’t it when we finally rest our souls that we find ourselves filled with creative energy? More on how I’m getting my creative mo-jo back later.
**See more from photos from This Artsy Life on my Instagram feed. Come follow me!
I’m a little sneaky sometimes. You know, like a mouse. You may have noticed the found gallerypage pop up in the top navigation last week.. or maybe you noticed the found logo in the sidebar.. or saw the Facebook & Twitter posts on Sunday. If you haven’t picked up on my not-so-subtle hints, you can find more on foundhere.
found is an online exhibition gallery featuring curated collections of small works, quarterly, for limited engagements. It’s just another way for me to share artists’ work with you, but in a more focused, specific, special way and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity and promise lots of wonderful artsiness will come to found!
The very first found exhibition will open on Thursday, February 21st! The show, City Mouse | Country Mouse will showcase two Nashville area artists, Christina Baker and Deann Hebert, who, in their respective work, are drawn to very different perspectives of their Tennessee home. The show will be sponsored by the artists’ representing gallery, Gregg Irby Fine Art and a portion of the proceeds will benefit The Nashville Zoo.
Mark your calendars! These two talented artists are creating some beautiful work to share with you!
It was a happy accident that I found out about new Palm Springs contemporary gallery, Stark + Kent . I happened to see Samantha French mention an opening at a gallery in Palm Springs on Facebok just a week after Mr. Forager & I were scheduled to arrive in Southern California. Kismet! Even better, when I checked out S+K’s website, I discovered they were representing another pair of artists previously featured on the blog, Signe & Genna Grushovenko. I knew this would be a gallery to get to know better.
Painting by Michael Soltis at Stark + Kent
Begun by two friends with a passion for art and a love for artists, Ross Rhodes and Mike Soltis, Stark + Kent seeks to be a place where both the seasoned collector and the art world novice will feel at home and find work to love. The space is filled with work that captures the eye and the imagination, a well edited and tightly curated space boasts a nicely varied collection of work.
Artwork by Signe & Genne Grushovenko, Samantha French, Christine Flynn, and Alison PaulArtwork by Michael Soltis and John Westmark
Although you won’t find “typical” Palm Springs work here, the connections in the work to Southern California are a bit more subtle. Which is a joy to find in a town with streets named after movie stars and a giant Marilyn Monroe sculpture in the center of town.. *wink*
Gallery exterior
I do hope if you find yourself in Palm Springs, you’ll stop in at Stark + Kent! But even if you aren’t in SoCal, you can peruse their website, full of fabulous work and more to come, I’m sure!
As part of my longing to share a little more of myself and our life with you, Artsies, hope you enjoy this second installment of This Artsy Life, a new series of posts in which you get to see a bit of how Mr. Forager & I live. Last weekend, we made my first & our first together ( and probably last ) trip to Las Vegas. While it was nice to get away and stay in a luxurious hotel ( thanks, Hotwire! ) and we can now cross Vegas off our list of must-sees while we’re in SoCal, we didn’t enjoy it as much as we thought we might. Not to sound snobbish, but I think we just hated the artificiality of it all. I know, I know, that’s kind of the point.. yet we found it very wearing. There were a few highlights though, including a trip downtown to the up & coming 18b Arts District. Truly if you go and need a break from all the spectacle, hop in a cab or take a bus downtown and visit the galleries & artist studios there. Your soul & spirit will thank you!
[ drinks at Gordon Ramsay’s Pub & Grill.. Hell’s Kitchen is a guilty pleasure of ours ]
[ sculpture imitating art ]
[ socio-political art at 18b ]
[ art square studios ]
[ art is a weapon ]
[ our contribution to the letter to the president art project ]
[ ok, so Vegas isn’t all bad ]
How about you, Artsies? Love Vegas or hate it? Want to see more of This Artsy Life? Artsy Forager is now on Instagram! Come follow and see what Mr. Forager & I find inspiring, comical, or just plain wacky!
Since Mr. Forager & I made our trek West from Florida over a year and a half ago, I hadn’t been back to my hometown. So we took advantage of finally being semi-close to a major airport, counted up our credit card reward points, and bought me a ticket home. For a month. Which turned out to be such a long time to be separated! My main focus while in Jacksonville was to see my family, so artsy stuff was put on the back burner. But I did see a few fantastic shows and enjoyed long chats with some of my favorite artsy folk. Thought you might enjoy the highlights from my trip!
Ke Francis show, Biloxi to Babylon at Florida Mining Gallery
Biloxi to Babylon, the Ke Francis show that was up at Florida Mining last month was incredible. I wasn’t terribly familiar with Ke’s work but am now a fan. Amazing dream-like imagery and delicious texture produce stunning and provocative paintings. The gallery space at FM was just a gorgeous as in the photos I’d seen and gallery owner/artist Steve Willliams and Gallery Manager Aaron Levi Garvey were kind enough to share exciting upcoming shows and some of the incredible work hangin’ out in the backroom.. hello Mapplethorpes!
Cap Tossing Over the Wall of Space by Steve Williams
Steve & I were able to get away from the gallery for a bit of an artsy chat over lunch. He filled me in on what’s happening in the art scene in Jacksonville and he asked that question dreaded by all aspiring artists.. “So have you been painting lately?” Ugh. Punch in the gut. But we commiserated over the plight of just not knowing how to start and where to go with what we begin.
After much back and forth and rescheduling, artist Christina Foard & I were finally able to get a chat and studio visit in. Sorry, no photos from C’s studio, currently set up in her home. Christina, as a person and artist, is often someone I just want to chat with. Her work is incredible and I’m one of her biggest fans, but on this particular day, talking without focusing on taking photos for the blog just seemed right. Seeing her work again in person just reiterated to me how powerful it is. She’s working on a new project that will be unlike anything she’s done before.. I got goosebumps just hearing her talk about it!
My time at both museums left me filled with nostalgia. The 80s show at MoCAwas incredibly memorable, not just for the star power of the artwork show ( Warhol, Fischl, Basquiat, Sherman, Freud, and Close, just to name a few ) but seeing some of the work, especially pieces from the museum’s permanent collection transported me right back to my college days, when the museum was in a much smaller, more intimate setting and I was first able to see work of that magnitude up close & personal.
Then Came a Dog and Bit the Cat by Frank Stella, from Re:Focus Art of the 1980s at MOCA JacksonvilleElizabeth Gilbert and Lois Mailou Jones at The Cummer Museum of Art
My time at the Cummer filled me with a similar wistfulness, especially when left there to wander on my own while waiting for my sister-in-law to arrive with my nieces. It was there I truly fell in love with art history, where the paintings came alive and spoke to me as I sketched them as a young college student.
But soon, the true purpose for my trip home arrived. The rest of our evening at the Cummer was spent with my nieces Kendall and Samantha, playing with art in the Cummer’s Art Connectionsarea.
Playing with art at the Cummer Museum in Jacksonville
I miss being able to be an artistic influence on my nieces, hard to do from 2000 miles away. Hopefully, the memories will remain vibrant in their young minds and they will become flourishing artsies themselves.
Steve Williams and Christina Foard images via the artists’ websites. Frank Stella image via Jacksonville.com. All other images by Artsy Forager.
It’s that time of the month.. for a little guest foraging over on the UGallery blog for my Curated Persona series. I’m not a fan of super scariness, but I love art that’s just a bit spooky. Check it out my Curated Persona: Zombie Attack Survivalist post here!
Hiya Artsies! Today I’m doing a little guest foraging over on the UGallery blog for my Curated Persona series. I’ve put together a collection of UGallery artwork perfect for Your Favorite Hipster. You know you have one. Check it out here!
This whole economic mess has contributed to the loss of countless galleries around the US. I know first hand what it is like to put blood, sweat and tears into one. OK, maybe not blood, but plenty of sweat and tears, I assure you! 😉 I’ve heard some folks say that the old gallery model is a thing of the past, gasping for air, dead in the water. But I believe in galleries! And today, I’m featuring some brick & mortar galleries that are out there, doing it right. These folks are hustling, marketing, selling and making magic happen for their artists and communities. Put ’em on your list to check out, whether you can do so in person or online!
Diehl Gallery, Jackson Hole, WyomingFlorida Mining Gallery, Jacksonville, FloridaFoster/White Gallery, Seattle, WAGallery Orange, New Orleans, LouisianaTaylor de Cordoba, Culver City, California
**I’m so excited to finally get a chance to visit Taylor de Cordoba and all the other LA area galleries when Mr. Forager & I hit SoCal in October! Can’t wait to drag him all over Los Angeles.
I hope you’ll check out these galleries when you’re in their respective cities– well worth the trip! You can see more of my favorite artsy spots on my Pinterest board, Artsy’s Guide to Galleries. Do you have a favorite gallery? Let me know in the comments below!
When I took figure drawing in college, I recall my professor telling us that once we mastered drawing the figure realistically, that’s when the real fun begins. For once you understand the hollows and bumps of the human figure, you can then abstract your representation to your heart’s content. Savannah artist Betsy Cain’s work energetically fuses the figure with the abstract in gorgeous layers of color.
Red Yellow Love Melt, oil on canvas, 60×80
Like the work of other abstract expressionists, Cain’s work appears to be purely non-representational, but often you can detect a figure coming through the energetic fever of the canvas.
Neural Nude, oil on canvas, 54×72Nature of Not Knowing, oil on canvas, 60×60
Each work consists of layer upon layer of colorful, expressive strokes which may end in a purely abstract composition yet each gives us a glimpse into the artist’s connection between her mind, the paint and the canvas.
Nerve Flower, oil on canvas, 60×60
To see more of Betsy Cain’s work, please visit her website. If you happen to be reading from North Florida, you can check out Betsy Cain’s solo exhibition, Selections at Florida Mining in Jacksonville, opening this Friday, September 7th!
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