artsy forager

Tag: mixed media

  • The Art of Celebrity: Emma Gale

    The Art of Celebrity: Emma Gale

    For eons it seems that with a certain level of success in the art world, comes a level of celebrity most artists will never know.  Especially today, artists are selling themselves as a brand almost as much as they are selling their work.  Australian artist Emma Gale turns the tables to feature celebrated artists as the subjects of her work.

    Tribal Chic by Emma Gale
    Tribal Chic

    The artist takes these immediately recognizable artists and reinvents them in her own style, yet each one retains the essence of the personality we’ve come to associate with them and their celebrity.

    All My Lovin by Emma Gale
    All My Lovin, mixed media on paper, 56×76 cm
    Jimi by Emma Gale
    Jimi, collage and pencil on paper, 56×76 cm

    Yet, we’re left to wonder.. how much of our perception of the celebrated among us is based on spin and branding?  If we were to meet the famous in person, would they be just as we imagine them or would we be surprised to find how different they are from their image?

    Soho Glam by Emma Gale
    Soho Glam, mixed media on paper, 56×76 cm

    To see more of Emma Gale’s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s representing gallery, Anthea Polson Art.

  • Mysterious Amalgamations: John Sabraw

    Mysterious Amalgamations: John Sabraw

    Through my travels with Mr. Forager, I’m always struck by the many similarities there are to be found in such vastly different landscapes. And how, the elements of each interact with one another in a very specific way.  The Chroma series of Ohio artist John Sabraw, a passionate environmentalist, are inspired by the micro and macro worlds we find ourselves in and our connection to every one of them.

    Phyto: 2 by John Sabraw
    Phyto: 2, mixed media on aluminum composite panel, 24×24

    These unique works are created by layering paints of varying viscosities, allowing them to intermingle and naturally evolve in response to the environment of his studio.

    Karst: Opal by Sabraw
    Karst: Opal, mixed media on aluminum composite panel, 12×12
    Joules 12-4 by John Sabraw
    Joules 12-4, mixed media on aluminum composite panel, 12×12

    In each we see what could be the tide pools of Yellowstone or blood cells within our own bodies.  They could be images made by satellites or microscopes.  Whatever it is that we see, is a part of our world, whether it be nearby or far, far away.

    Synchline: Tumeric by John Sabraw
    Synchline: Tumeric, mixed media on aluminum composite, 12×12

    To see more of John Sabraw’s work, please visit his website.  You can read more about his Chroma series, including information on the artist’s sustainability practices here.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • The Stuff Maker: Thomas Campbell

    The Stuff Maker: Thomas Campbell

    In the creative world, there is a great deal of pressure placed on creatives to produce works of great meaning.  After all, art has to be about something, doesn’t it?  If the artist has nothing to say, then what is the point?  A great many artists struggle against the urge just to paint, sculpt, do vs. what the result of their creativity has to say.  Sometimes artists just want to play.  Create for the sake of creating, the way California artist Thomas Campbell does.

    Big Flower by Thomas Campbell
    Big Flower, acrylic, gouache, spray paint, money, thread, pencil on paper, 14×13.5

    According to his Artist Statement, when pressed, Campbell will concede that his work is “affirmational in a self-referential sense”.  If his work must be about something, perhaps it is about the journey he takes each time he begins anew.

    Give a by Thomas Campbell
    Give a, acrylic, gouache, spray paint, money, thread, pencil on paper, 15.5×16
    Umm to the Infinite by Thomas Campbell
    Umm to the Infinite, acrylic, gouache, spray paint, money, thread, pencil on paper, 14.5×12

    For surely within each creative path an artist embarks upon, there are new and wondrous lessons to be learned.  There is always deeper meaning to be found, if we look for it or read such things into the work.

    YAR Exhibition Installation, artwork by Thomas Campbell
    YAR Exhibition Installation
    Studio of artist Thomas Campbell
    Inside the artist’s studio

    But perhaps in many cases, it is merely a matter of an artist caught in the act of creating.  Which is is what makes one an artist in the first place.

    If you would like to see more work from this painter, sculptor, photographer, film maker, stuff maker, please visit his website.

    Artist found via The Jealous Curator.  Images are via the website of Campbell’s representing gallery, Gregory Lind Gallery.

  • A Different Kind of Art Walking: Laurie Frick

    A Different Kind of Art Walking: Laurie Frick

    My seven year old niece Kendall was recently given a pedometer at school as a physical fitness promotion.  Pretty soon, she was obsessing over how far she walked every day.  I have a feeling she would love Austin artist Laurie Frick’s Walking series, a group of collaged works based on daily walking patterns.

    Walking, Week 51 by Laurie Frick
    Walking, Week 51, handmade paper and found cut paper on alumalite panels, 72×48

    The artist uses fitbit, mytracks, and a cat cam to record her every day walking patterns, which she then translates in collage form onto alumalite panels.

    Walking, Week 44, handmade paper and found cut paper on Alumalite panels, 35×35
    Walking, Week 42, cut found and handmade paper on alumalite, 72×72

    Isn’t it interesting how little we notice patterns in our own behavior until it is placed before us in a visual way?  Frick has created several other projects focusing on self-tracking, each confronting us with the visual reality of the activities we engage in.

    Walking, Week 52, handmade paper and found cut paper on alumalite, 35×35

    To see more of Laurie Frick’s work, please visit her website.

  • December Featured Artist: Marsha Glaziere

    December Featured Artist: Marsha Glaziere

    The work of this month’s Featured Artist, Marsha Glaziere is filled with luscious layers, texture, pops of bold color, and a skilled hand at good old fashioned drawing.  No matter the subject she undertakes, her style and way of working is unmistakably hers.

    Nalley Valley Viaduct by Marsha Glaziere
    Nalley Valley Viaduct
    Portals

    Her work straddles the line between representational and abstract, almost as if she begins in realistic mode and then her abstract altar-ego takes over.  The resulting work then becomes more about the energy of her subject rather than perfecting every small detail.

    No Speed Limit

    Marsha’s latest series, Coffee Spots, features her interpretations of the eclectic coffee houses in and around the Puget Sound.  It’s no secret that Northwesterners ( especially those in or near Seattle ) take their coffee very seriously.  Marsha decided to begin painting her favorite local spots in celebration of the coffee culture that began in the PacNorthWest and has since spread across the country and around the world.

    Cafe Ladro Espresso Bar & Bakery
    Olympia Coffee Roasting Company

    The Coffee Spots series has been made into a 2013 calendar and fabulous “table COFFEE book”, both of which would make wonderful holiday gifts for the artsy coffee lover in your life!  Both the calendar and book are available for purchase on the artist’s website.  While you’re there, don’t miss all the other incredible artwork on Marsha’s site, some of which you can also see in her album on the Artsy Forager Facebook page!

     

  • Weaving Tales: Kaoru Mansour

    There is nothing better than a good yarn.  And by yarn, I mean story, although the fiber kind can be pretty satisfying, too.  One of the things that I love about Mr. Forager is his propensity for spinning tales.  Los Angeles based artist Karou Manour weaves visual stories throughout her work, whether figurative, abstract, sculpture, or landscape, her work catches us in the midst of a mystery.

    Kaoru Mansour
    Yoshinobu 1949, collage, acrylic and ganbi tissue on wood panel, 16×16

    Each piece has such an clandestine atmosphere, making us wonder where we have found ourselves, what we are seeing, and how it came to be.

    From Portland #117, collage, acrylic on wood panel, 10×10
    Uzu Uzu #104, acrylic and thread on gourd, 5x5x5
    Rocket Apron, thread, acrylic, ink pen on paper, 23.5×35

    It feels as if we are caught in the midst of an ancient story, one filled with myth and mysticism.

    Iro #529, collage, acrylic and 22k metal leaf on canvas, 30×30

    To see more of Karou Mansour’s work, please visit her website.

    Artist found via Florida Mining Gallery, where I saw a few of Karou’s pieces in person– they are stunning!

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Artsy on Escape Into Life: Kirsten Stolle

    Artsy on Escape Into Life: Kirsten Stolle

    Completely in awe of these quiet, seemingly simple drawings by Asheville artist Kirsten Stolle.  These unassuming little works deal in abstract ways with big issues such as climate change and genetic modification.  I’m featuring Kirsten’s work in my Artist Watch over on Escape Into Life today– see it here!

    BAF 18, gouache, ink, graphite and collage on paper, 10×13

    Kirsten Stolle on Escape Into Life

  • Drops of Jupiter and Other Cosmicness: William Loveless

    Drops of Jupiter and Other Cosmicness: William Loveless

    In the book I’m currently reading, The Opposite of Fate, author Amy Tan writes a great deal about the concept of fate, how much of what happens is in our own control or predetermined or even mere chance?  In that same vein, how much control does an artist truly have in the creative process?  Yucca Valley, CA artist William Loveless takes his own chances with the action & reaction of his materials in his series of glue paintings, which I first saw ( and fell in love with ) last weekend at The Red Arrow Gallery here in Joshua Tree.

    #116 ( Resonance Strategy ), mixed media on panel, 36×36

    Through this work, Loveless is able to “probe the intersection where the creative act meets the mystery of creation itself. Through experimentation with materials and their various autonomous interactions, I seek an organic empathy with the complex patterns and processes of the physical world.”

    #12-53, mixed media on panel, 3.5×3.5×1.5
    #12-13, mixed media on panel, 3.5×3.5×1.5

    Although the primary way in which the materials will react is known, what cannot be foreseen is the unique end result of every interaction.  The final result being a record of a unique synergy to be found between the materials in that one moment.

    #1204, mixed media on panel, 10x10x1.5

    I see these interactions as similar to the way in which we connect with the world around us.  Each moment we exist is a unique interchange between other individuals, other creatures, and the world around us.

    To see more of William Loveless’s work, please visit his website/blog.  If you’re Southern California, you can see his work in Culver City, in the exhibition ELEMENTal at Fresh Paint Art and in Joshua Tree at The Red Arrow Gallery.

    All images are via the Fresh Paint Art website.

  • Silent Visages: Courtney J. Garrett

    Silent Visages: Courtney J. Garrett

    There is something in the eyes of an animal that connects with us.  Their faces full of trust, loyalty and hopefulness can bring us peace in the midst of so many storms.  In her Equine & Herd series, Atlanta artist Courtney J. Garrett captures the tranquility of domestic animals, showing us the gentle spirit behind the bucolic.

    The Little Foxes Turned and the Fields Stopped Bleeding No. 14, mixed media oil on birch wood with resin, 48×48
    The Awakening, mixed media oil on birch wood with resin, 48×48

    What is it about the presence of another species that seems to make life more bearable?  While we were living in Northern Idaho, a simple walk up to our mailbox, passing by the horse corral was enough to lift my spirits, as the horses trotted over to investigate.  Or even spotting a small bird flitting around city streets will instantly calm me.

    The Little Foxes Turned and the Fields Stopped Bleeding No. 12, mixed media oil on birch wood with resin, 36×36

    Perhaps we are envious of the simplicity of an animal’s life?  How they are provided for, whether by their human guardians or by the natural world surrounding them.  They’ve no need to fret over the presidential election, car payments, or forgetting to call on Mother’s Day.  They are happy merely to exist.

    Free, mixed media oil on birch wood with resin, 60×60
    Reconciliation No. 5, mixed media oil on birch wood with resin, 24×24

    To see more of Courtney J. Garret’s work, please visit her website.

    Artist found via Exhibit by Abersons, her representing gallery in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Under an Urban Sky: Jennifer Seymour

    Under an Urban Sky: Jennifer Seymour

    I don’t know what it is about this time of year, but it makes me crave a big city.  A city with bustling sidewalks and tall buildings.  Mr. Forager and I are still trying to figure out if we’re urban or small town people.  The work of British Columbian artist Jennifer Seymour definitely has me leaning toward big city life.

    Oscillations, mixed media on panel, 48×24

    Seymour’s works begin as photographs she’s saved and collected over time and are then reworked with layers of charcoal, pastel and glaze resulting in pieces that glow.  It’s as if all those reflective surfaces and city lights are caught in one hurried moment after another.

    Jump Start, mixed media on panel, 24×24
    Distant Constellation, mixed media on panel, 48×24

    These mixed media works capture what I love most about urban centers– the energy, that glimpse of mountains or river just beyond the skyscrapers, the feeling of endless possibility and opportunity.

    Skywalk, mixed media on panel, 48×24

    To see more of Jennifer Seymour’s work, please visit her website.  I’ll be here in yet another small town, dreaming of a more metropolitan life. 😉

    Artist found via one of her representing galleries, Sopa Fine Arts.

    All images are via the artist’s website.