artsy forager

Tag: mixed media

  • Different.. In a Really, Really Good Way: Deborah Scott

    Different.. In a Really, Really Good Way: Deborah Scott

    Please enjoy this oldie by goodie while I spend the next two weeks camping, packing, visiting with the mom-in-law and moving from WA to OR. See you in September!

    I never fail to be blown away by the humility I find in amazingly talented artists.  When Deborah Scott contacted me after I posted in the Seattle Artists group on LinkedIn, I had no idea what I would find when I clicked on her website.  It thrills me beyond belief when an artist contacts me to be featured on Artsy Forager and I go to their website and find artwork that is fresh, unique and unlike anything I’ve seen before.  Goosebumps, ya’ll!!

    This Seattle area born & bred artist began her professional life in a marketing career working for big brands like Betty Crocker and Amazon.com.  She would eventually leave the marketing world behind, pursuing art full force, immersing herself in arts education and copying the work of old masters.

    Balance, oil and mixed media on canvas, 36×69

    Her familiarity with image recognition and brand iconography comes through in her narrative figural work, where she employs classical compositions and perspectives juxtaposed against modern branding instantly recognizable to our 21st century eyes.

    Lucky Charms, oil and mixed media on canvas, 36×60
    Consumption of Innocence, oil and mixed media on canvas, 36×60
    Stalemate, oil and mixed media on canvas, 36×60

    Like the classical masters she studied, Deborah’s work has layers of meaning, symbols abound– some obvious, others more subversive.  But the result causes us to pause and consider, truly gaze at each work, wondering what the artist is getting at.. Is she poking fun?  Is she making a serious commentary on a topical issue?  A little bit of both?

    The meaning isn’t obvious.  Though realistic in style, Deborah’s work seems abstract in meaning.  A blending of the best of both worlds, if you ask me.

    Check out more of Deborah Scott’s work on her website, here.  Her work is currently on display at the Whatcom Museum in Bellingham, WA and The Hive Gallery in Los Angeles.  She hits the East Coast next year, showing at Susan Eley Fine Art in NYC.

  • Pick of the Crop: Meet Miss Maribel

    Pick of the Crop: Meet Miss Maribel

    It’s been such a grey, gloomy week here in North Florida, that I thought we could all do with a little sunshine!  Maribel Angel’s work never fails to make me smile.  Maribel grew up in a Spanish speaking family and their influence definitely comes through in the vitality and liveliness of her work.

    Maribel’s work tells a story, one that comes from within her own imagination and world of dreams.  A place filled with festive color, galloping horses, flying bunnies and fanciful birds.

    As Maribel’s work symbolically explores the effects of layers of time and history, so her treatment of her mediums are often a layering of paper, images, paint, text and symbols.

    It is in these details that Maribel’s graphic design background comes through.   Not only in the use and placement of text, but also in the juxtapositions of color and pattern.  Actually, I’ve always thought she could be a very successful textile designer.  I would totally buy a fabric or wallcovering in the design of “Bohemian Blossom”  ( pictured below ), wouldn’t you?  I’m picturing a this on a full skirt with a crisp white shirt and floppy straw hat!

    So, Maribel Angel.. Painter-Graphic Designer-Future Textile Designer ( if I had my way! ).. let’s see, any other hyphenates to describe this multi-talented artist?  Oh, that’s right–she’s also a sculptor!!

    Maribel takes found objects and gives them new life in her assemblages and I must admit, I find every one of these “Cuckoos Nest” birds absolutely charming.   Seriously, I’ve never met one I didn’t completely fall for.   Maribel was sweet enough to give me a wonderful miniature guy and it is one of my favorite possessions.

    I hope you’ve enjoyed getting acquainted with Maribel’s artwork.  I’m looking forward to sharing more with you soon!  In the meantime, you can check out more on her “Pick of the Crop” page here at Artsy Forager or on her own website. Her work can usually be seen in person at Plum Art & Design in St. Augustine, FL, Southlight Gallery in downtown Jacksonville or if you’re near Sarasota, see her work at Bolivar Art Gallery.

  • Savage Beauty: Madeleine Peck-Wagner

    Savage Beauty: Madeleine Peck-Wagner

    Madeleine Peck-Wagner has a way of taking subjects that could be trite and making them extraordinary.  Her latest series features mythical wolves and horses, but in Madeline’s hands, they are treated in a way that is contemporary and elegant.  The cross-hatching & precision of the lines are reminiscent of architectural drafting, giving the figures depicted a strutctural, landscaped quality.  Conversely, blots and washes of brightly colored paints call to the spiritual significance such animals, both living and decayed possess.

    Fighting Hessians
    Russian Winter II
    Wolves At The Door
    We Are All Tragedies

    To see more of Madeleine’s work, visit her art blog, Art Isn’t Rocket Science or visit Jen Jones Art Consulting.

  • Friday Faves: Wax On, Wax Off

    Friday Faves: Wax On, Wax Off

    Encaustic painting is a favorite medium of mine.  Their waxy, frosting-like texture sends me over the moon.  Every time I’m in a gallery, I will be drawn to the encaustics, guaranteed.  So for this Friday round-up, I’m sharing with you some of my favorite waxy painters.

    Why Stream Upstream by Mary Farmer, encaustic on canvas, 40×40
    Whirl #1 by Wendy Franklund Miller, encaustic on wood, 12×12

    Interplay by Nancy Natale, encaustic with fiber, oilstick and oil paint on birch, 24×24

    Do you have any favorite encaustic artists I should know about?  Do tell!  To see more work from these fabulous encaustic artists, please visit their websites.

    1.  Mary Farmer

    2.  Wendy Franklund Miller

    3.  Paula Blackwell

    4.  Nancy Natale 

    Featured image is Crossroads by Nancy Natale.  All images are courtesy of the artist’s websites.

    PS– As the hubby and I prepare to move from Aberdeen to his new assignment in Grants Pass, OR AND enjoy some camping and a visit from my mom-in-law, Artsy Forager will be rerunning some older posts over the next two weeks.  Hopefully, this will give new readers a chance to see some artists that were featured back when the only people reading were my family and friends. 🙂

  • The Neo-Luminist’s Vision: Steven DaLuz

    The Neo-Luminist’s Vision: Steven DaLuz

    The mixed media work of artist Steven DaLuz glows with an ethereal luminosity.  His atmospheric work explores the use of light to create ambience, whether it is a hazy and serene or deeply dramatic.

    Threshold, mixed media on panel, 48×60

    The self-described “Neo-Luminst” is creating work that is “concerned with the glowing effects of light”.  Instead of creating work with an inherent message or narrative, DaLuz instead prefers to let the emotionality of the light and color in his work allow the viewer to draw on their own perception and experience to invoke meaning.  Or to simply allow the imagery to speak for itself.

    Opus 110, oil on metal leaf on birch, 48×48

    For me, these seem to be rare glimpses into another world.  These are transcendent, the light, texture and composition all joining together to transport the viewer into a world that may or may not exist within our realm of experience.

    Ovum 2, oil and mixed media on panel, 36×36 

    What one viewer may see as delicate and heavenly, another may view as foreboding and alien.  Or, like me, you may be drawn to the richness of color and elegance of the composition, which is enough to spark my own imagination.

    Portal, oil and mixed media on panel, 36×48

    To see more of this artist’s work, please visit his website or stop by his Facebook page.

    Featured image is Cloud Bank by Steven DaLuz.  All images are courtesy of the artist’s website.

  • Friday Faves: Map It Out

    Friday Faves: Map It Out

    My husband and I look at a lot of maps.  For the next several years, we’re moving to a new locale every three months, plus we spend weekends exploring the areas surrounding wherever we happen to be living.  Oh, and there are also all the future travel plans.  Like maybe a stint in Thailand in 2013.  ( I KNOW!.. so exciting!! ).  We use whatever maps we can get our hands on.. Google maps online at home, GPS in the car and of course, our good ol’ reliable atlas.  Currently, we’re pouring over maps as we anxiously await the locale of G’s next work assignment.  A month from now I will be typing the Friday Faves from a whole new setting, crazy isn’t it?!

    Turns out we aren’t the only ones inspired by maps.  Check out some of my favorite artists who incorporate these geographic illustrations into their own artwork.  Happy travels!

     

    Richardson by Rachel Ann Austin
    Richardson, mixed media, 5×5
    Navigate ( detail ) by Amy Rice
    Drifter’s Atlas No. 2 by Dolan Geiman
    Fear Hope Oblivion by Francesca Berrini
    A Good Mess by Wyanne Thompson

    How about it, Artsies?  Anyone mapping out adventures for the weekend?  Have a maptastic artist to share?  Do tell!

    1.  Rachel Ann Austin

    2.  Amy Rice  ( Featured image is Tandem by Amy Rice )

    3.  Dolan Geiman

    4.  Francesca Berrini, more of her map artwork can be found at G. Gibson Gallery, here.

    5.  Wyanne Thompson

  • Delicate Awakenings: Marsha Boston

    Delicate Awakenings: Marsha Boston

    Normally, I love thick paintings.  Canvases piled high with mounds of paint and lots of gooey and delicious texture.  But there is a fluidity in abstract watercolors that I find just as appealing.  Watercolorist Marsha Boston imbues her work with such a lovely sense of light and tranquil color, they feel like looking at the world from under a blanket of warm water as the sun shines above.

    Saucer Magnolia, watercolor and ink

    Her botanical work focuses on our relationship with nature, our power over it in areas such as genetic engineering and nano-agriculture.  How easy it seems to be for man to take for granted and ultimately destroy the delicate balance that is inherent in the natural world, all for our own purposes.

    Leaf Mutants in Pea, acrylic on canvas

    Her Remembering Water series stemmed from the disastrous Deepwater Horizon oil spill, spawning an interest in aqueous plants and their usefulness and value in our ecosystem.  When oil spills occur, much is made of the impact on animal life, but the harm to plants and microorganisms that sustain them is rarely highlighted.

    Widgeon Grass, Remembering Water series, acylic on canvas
    Oculina, Remembering Water series, watercolor on Fabriano

    I love art for art’s sake and pretty pictures as much as the next girl.  But do you know what I love even more?  Beautiful artwork that tells an important story.  And that’s what Marsha Boston’s work does.  It is telling us the story of the destruction and misuse of the very resources that are here to not only sustain us but give us pleasure.  It would be a sad day if there were no more wildflowers to inspire artists like Boston to capture their beauty.

    Mountain Cranberry, watercolor and ink

    To see more of Marsha Boston’s work, please visit her website and Facebook page.

    Featured image is Indian Fig, watercolor and ink by Marsha Boston.  All images are courtesy of the artist’s website.

  • Are Chickens the New Black?

    Are Chickens the New Black?

    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’s What Happened to the Chickens show?  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 Lozano
    Out 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’s Blue 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’s Cross 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.

  • Friday Faves: Sugar & Spice

    Friday Faves: Sugar & Spice

    Maybe it’s the little girl inside me.  Maybe it’s a way to relive the days when my imagination was unshackled and my days were carefree.  Who knows.  Whatever the reason, I am always drawn to whimsical, fanciful imagery of girls.  The kind fairy tales are made of.  These Friday Faves are everything nice.

    Boundlessness in Bloom by Duy Huynh
    Migration by Shannon Richardson
    Migration by Shannon Richardson
    4 Keeps by Wyanne Thompson
    Wildflowers by Rene Lynch

    Stay tuned for features soon on each of these artists!  In the meantime, be sure to check out their websites!

    1.  Duy Huynh ( featured image is also by Duy Huynh )

    2.  Shannon Richardson

    3.  Wyanne Thompson

    4.  Rene Lynch 

    Hope you have a wonderful weekend, filled with fantastical fun!

  • It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World: Hilary Williams

    It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World: Hilary Williams

    The world(s) created by Hilary Williams, that is.  But really her work is no more absurd than the world we see around us every day.  A San Francisco printmaker, Hilary takes elements of urban life, the natural environment and their inhabitants and repositions them into surreal landscapes.

    Song and Dance for a Laugh

    Haunting images of leaning buildings and ghostly figures are juxtaposed with decorative motifs and child-like doodles.  Echoes from the past haunt the present, creating a commentary on how far we’ve come, but perhaps, how little we have truly gained.

    Herding Out Saturday Night

    The dark, eeriness of the iconic architecture contrasts with the light and cheerful colors and patterns to create an absurd dichotomy.  Not unlike many recent trends that look to the past while still trying to find a place in the future.  Such irony is not lost on this artist and conveys the struggle of humanity to co-exist within the urban and natural landscape.

    Adventures in Coasting

    Hilary’s work is heavily layered which gives it a visual depth and complexity that draws the viewer in.  There is so much to see and figure out.  My husband George & I first saw Hilary’s work in The Pines Art Gallery in Hood River, OR.  We fell in love with her work and George could not stop looking at it.  A true testament to the power of the work!

    The Front Porch by Hilary Williams

    Check out more of Hilary’s work on her website, I think you’ll love it as much as George & I do.