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Tag: mixed media

A Special Ordinary: Elaine Pamphilon

What did we do before the days Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to record the beauty of every day life? How would anyone know how lovely my lunch might be on any given day? I don’t think UK artist Elaine Pamphilon has ever asked that question. Her lovely mixed media works capture the ordinary in an incredibly special way.

Cornish Window Sill, mixed media on panel, 80×60 cm

Often dividing her surfaces into planes of color, Pamphilon treats us to glimpses of moments that, though simple as they may be, draw us in with their sweetness and humor.

Blackbird Eyeing Up Sleeping Lily Wondering If He Can Borrow Crumbs From Phillip’s Plate, mixed media on canvas, 50×40 cm

Studying India, mixed media on panel, 30×30 cm

Indian Seed Pods and Chai, mixed media on panel, 30×30 cm

There is such a sense of collected spontaneity about her work, as if each finished piece is just a quick little sketch in her journal, a remembrance of the day, sights, sounds, and findings.

At the Old Rising Sun, mixed media on panel, 40×30 cm

Sigh. Her work makes me wish I was a better journal keeper. Guess I’ll have to settle for Instagram. To see more of Elaine Pamphilon’s work, please visit her website.

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

March 20, 2013
Dissected Perfection: Joseph Phillips

As we travel and move from rental to rental, Mr. Forager and I talk a lot about our future permanent home. We think about our ideal life, which, aside from a smallish house in the Northwest, can be a pretty fluid concept for us. We see so many people striving for that “perfect” life, the one we are told we should have, a big house in suburbia, perfectly manicured lawn and all. The work of Joseph Phillips website embodies this obsession in succinctly drawn works depicting dissections of perceived perfection.

Double-Wide Bunker with Paradise Package, gouache, graphite and ink on paper, 41×30

Duplex Bunker, gouache, graphite and ink on paper, 17×14

Scenes of neatly trimmed grass and crystal clear pools are isolated against a white background and we see from the outside looking in that these are manufactured replicas of an idealized life.

String Theory ( diptych ), gouache, graphite and ink on paper, 24×18 each

The utopian ideals take on a slightly sinister, Stepford-like aura, where perfect grass is revealed to be carpet, where pine and palms live together, where a perfect house comes with a bunker, acknowledging that life isn’t anywhere near perfect.

Vertically Integrated Model for Multi-Climate Living, gouache, graphite and ink on paper, 30×39

Auxilliary Lot with Site Plan, gouache, graphite and ink on paper, 41×30

To see more of Joseph Phillip’s work, please visit his Joseph Phillips website.

Artist found via New American Paintings blog. All images are via the artist’s Joseph Phillips website.

March 13, 2013
This Artsy Life: Weekend 10 [ Stuff We Did. Stuff We Didn’t Do. ]

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 ]

[ we both loved this sculpture by Steve Reiman ]

[ lovely lines and texture by Bret Philpot* ]

[ Mr. F’s fave ( right ) and my fave ( left ) ]

[ awesome painted cubes ]

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.

All images by Artsy Forager.

March 12, 2013
The Abstract and The Absurd: Simon DeGroot

Confession: there are times when I am bored by art. Not often, but Mr. Forager will testify that it’s pretty obvious when I’m not crazy about the work I’m looking at.. my eyes just kinda glaze over or even worse still, I take one glance, shrug my shoulders and walk on in hopes of finding something more interesting. But the work of today’s artist? Nu uh. I couldn’t stop looking and agonized over which work to include for you. Yep, Brisbane artist Simon DeGroot knows how to capture my attention.

Maintain Pleasure Personally, screenprint, acrylic and oil on board, 600x800mm

Copia Avis with Purple, screenprint, acrylic and oil on board, 800x800mm

First, there are these wonderfully absurd collages, filled with seemingly incongruous imagery like traditional Dutch still lifes, toy trucks, shelter magazine shots and of course.. Big Bird. How do they all fit together? Is it really necessary that they do? DeGroot makes the compositions work using color, form and line, keeping our eye moving. Keeping us guessing.

But Is It Fragile, 600x600mm

Garnish, 105x150mm

Small Overload, 300x325mm

Then there are the more purely abstract works– studies in vivid, expressive color against the pale or the black of an abyss. Simple lines and shapes put together in that wonderfully it-seems-random-but-it-works-so-well-it-can’t-possibly-be. Splashes of color and looping lines. Perhaps more free than their collaged counterparts, but the compositions remain as grounded and sure as any classical still life.

In Real Time, 600x600mm

There is much more abstraction and absurdity on Simon DeGroot’s website. Pixelated floral still lifes? Wrapping paper collages? He’s got ’em. Be sure to check them out.

All images are via the artist’s website.

March 6, 2013
Suspended Effervescence: Kim Squaglia

Ever throw a party, then wake up the next morning to a completely disheveled house, yet revel in the knowledge that you know a good time was had? The work of California artist Kim Squaglia, with its effusive confetti-like dots and streamer-like lines against soft, solid backgrounds reminds me of the quiet morning after a rockin’ party.

Lolly, oil, acrylic and resin on panel, 24×24

Lolly ( detail )

As you can see in Lolly ( detail ) above, Squaglia’s technique of layering acrylics, oil and resin results in incredible depth, almost cut-paper like in nature, adding to the confetti and streamer effect I can’t seem to get out of my head.

Scend, oil, acrylic and resin on panel

Then there are works like Scend ( above ) and Cirque I ( below ), which are a bit more reminiscent of cosmic configurations and tangled vines. There is also an interesting cell-like structure to many of her compositions, which may seem like a microscopic peek inside the human body or other organism.

Cirque I, oil, acrylic and resin on panel, 48×72

So many possibilities to be discovered! What do you see in Kim Squaglia’s work? To view more of the artist’s work, please visit her website.

All images are via the artist’s website.

February 26, 2013
Landscape, Interrupted: Kim Cadmus Owens

During our time here in Joshua Tree, Mr. Forager & I often find ourselves talking about what makes this place so different compared to everywhere else we’ve lived. Apart from the obvious, there is such an openness to the landscape here that creates incredible beauty, and yet, there is no place to hide abandoned buildings, rusted out cars and windblown trash. The paintings of Dallas artist Kim Cadmus Owens featured familiar lonely landscapes, infused with color and fractured lines inspired by technological irregularities.

Lounge, oil on canvas, 48×48

Smoke and Mirrors: Coming and Going, acrylic and oil on canvas, 156×48

Just as the forsaken buildings once loved and cared may now be hazardous eye sores, our relationship with technology and electronic communication also shifts and evolves. We long for the immediate connection it allows, yet find ourselves frustrated and often unable to cope when the lines of communication go awry.

Pawn, carbon and acrylic on beveled wood panel, 24×30

Grand, carbon and acrylic on beveled wood panel, 24×30

Leader, carbon and acrylic on beveled wood panel, 24×30

We love how easy it is to connect and yet balk at how those systems of connection invade our privacy. We often find ourselves forsaking the people sitting right next to us for those on the tiny screen in our hands, just as we abandon old buildings full of character and history for shiny new strip malls. Owens use of fragmented lines and color in her work remind us that those connections have broken.

Cheap, acrylic and oil on canvas, 48×48

To see more of the work of Kim Cadmus Owens, please visit her website. How have you seen your relationships and landscape change with the changes in technology? What do you do to combat against a reliance on electronic communication & gadgets galore?

Artist found via New American Paintings. All images are via the artist’s website or the New American Paintings blog.

February 21, 2013
Artsy on Escape Into Life: Pascaline Dargant

Collage seems to be the “it” medium these days. And why not? It takes a gifted eye for composition, color, and visual texture to make a collage that stands out amid the throng. French artist Pascaline Dargant’s collages are beautifully simple yet remarkably memorable. My new collage crush! I’m sharing her work today in my Artist Watch over on Escape Into Life. Check out the post here!

Pascaline Dargant on Escape Into Life

Image via the artist’s website.

February 19, 2013
Serendipitous Journeys: Jan Zoya

21st century humans are over thinkers. In this age of almost unlimited information access, we Google it, Wikipedia it, overanalyzing most anything and everything that comes our way. The moments in which we just lose ourselves to what is happening right that very secondare increasingly rare. Los Angeles artist Jan Zoya intentionally strives to keep the intellect out of her work, resulting in abstract paintings that are free from constraint.

Castle in the Sky, oil on canvas, 23×23

Ramshackle Harbor, oil on canvas, 30×30

Her journeys in paint become a conversation on canvas, a talk between color, texture and what emerges. Between the path the artist decides to pursue and the road not taken.

City at Night, mixed media on canvas, 36×48

Garden of Earthly Delights, mixed media on canvas, 17×23

Daisychains Around the Maypole, mixed media on canvas, 36×36

As I mentioned in a post last week, I’m learning how to have these conversations in paint. To let your brain take a vacation while you paint is very difficult to do! We’re always wanting to know, what will the outcome be? Where is this going? When will we get there? But as in Zoya’s work, I found that it was when I stopped thinking that the magical combination of instinct and intuition took over. And the journey became much more interesting!

Passage, mixed media on canvas, 36×36

To see more of Jan Zoya’s work, please visit her website and give her Facebook page a like, too!

February 19, 2013
Bundles of Blossoms: Christy Kinard

Happy Valentine’s Day, Artsies! Back in my singleton days, February 14th brought out the snarky cynic in me. I even owned and regularly sported a “Love Stinks” t-shirt. But ever since Mr. Forager finally realized he loved me, I’ve retired my sarcastic tee and look forward to this celebration of love. For millions of people, this day is all about sending and receiving beautiful bouquets of flowers. What could be more romantic? I say nothing says love like a painted bundle of blooms by Atlanta artist Christy Kinard!

Stripes and Roses, mixed media, 36×36

Kinard is obviously an artist painting what she loves and having the most fabulous time doing it! Her work is filled with such joyful energy, it is impossible to look upon it and be sad. Go ahead, try. See? The candy colored palette alone makes me want to sing silly love songs and dance in the kitchen with Mr. Forager.

Peacock Roses, mixed media, 48×48

Yellow II, mixed media, 36×36

Kinard’s bouquets aren’t perfect and polished, they’re a bit messy and layered with textures. This isn’t modern, sophisticated, too cool for school kind of love. It’s your grandparents’ love. The kind that sits on a porch swing every evening. The kind that still holds hands after sixty years. This is what love is really like.

Pink, Yellow, Orange XOXO, mixed media, 36×36

How are you celebrating love today, Artsies? To see more of Christy Kinard’s work, please visit her website and show her some love on Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest!

All images are via the artist’s website.

February 14, 2013
Fanciful Fascinations: Delphine Lebourgeois

As a young girl, my favorite books where those filled with delicately drawn illustrations portraying the fantastical world of dancing princes, ogres and pretty maidens. Those drawings would become so ingrained in my mind that if I dreamed of those stories, the illustrations came to life. The work of French born artist Delphine Lebourgeois brings to mind those fanciful visionary worlds in which nothing is ordinary.

Deesse I

Upon first glance, Lebourgeois’ work may appear purely decorative, but the artist takes decorative elements and patterns incorporating them into the work in such a way as to stir our imagination. We enter into her surreal fairy tale, taking in the wonderful strangeness and reveling in the magic to be found.

Butterflies

Deesse VIII, Photo de Classe

Sky of Chandeliers

As with most fairy tales, these works are not merely pretty pictures. There is a message in each fable, and it is left to the viewer to discern what that may be.

Deesse III

To see more of Delphine Lebourgeois’ work please visit her website.

All images are via the artist’s website.

February 11, 2013

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