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Tag: Paintings

Finding My Own Artsy: Feminine Wiles, Painting Three

I admit, I’m a big fan of the candy color confections of the film variety that came out of the 1950s and 60s. The costumes! The dancing! I love it all. One of my favorites of these sweet treats is Funny Face, starring Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn.

image found here

For the third painting in my Feminine Wiles series, I wanted to capture the glamour and struggle of Jo’s transformation in Funny Face. Intellectual and bookish Jo finds herself thrown into the world of modeling and couture fashion, finding herself struggling with reconciling her newfound feminine allure and her high minded beliefs. I love that the character doesn’t allow her physical transformation to change her ideals.

hepburn image found here

In the scenes in which she wears this blue satin cape, the character is distressed over what she sees as insurmountable differences of mind between herself and the man she’s falling for, photographer Dick Avery played by Astaire. The color is such an intense, moody blue, with hints of grey and lavender, I’ve always felt like it captured the conflict inside her character beautifully.

Audrey Hepburn as Jo Stockton, Funny Face, The Blue Cape by Lesley Frenz

acrylic on canvas panel, 6×6

What do you think of this one, Artsies? I wish my camera could do these little paintings justice. Any sources/tips for photographing paintings using a point & shoot digital camera? Would love a DSLR but don’t see it in the budget any time soon! If you have tips to share, please let me know in the comments!

You can find more of the Feminine Wiles series here. I’ll have a new one for you next week, one of my favorite all time characters!

Film images linked above. Paintings by Lesley Frenz.

March 13, 2014
Circle Circle Dot Dot: Casey Vogt

Now you’ve got your cooties shot. But maybe that cooties shot will do you more harm than good. It might help prevent you from contracting the dreaded cootie, but the side effects will have you begging for cootieville. In his work, Akron artist Casey Vogt explores this country’s relationship with drugs and big pharma.

The background of each piece is composed of elaborate mandala-like patterns, massive layers of dots of house paint. These layers create a trippy atmosphere recalling the disorientation of a drug induced state. Cowboys in various situations find themselves among the meditative chaos. Maybe the cowboys are ghosts– the vestiges of times before corporations took on the role of healer. Or perhaps they are the new generation of American thinker, the one that rebels against the accepted norms and strikes out on their own, carving their own way and pioneering through unknown territory.

To see more of Casey Vogt‘s work, please visit his website.

All images are via the artist’s website. Artist found via Diehl Gallery.

March 12, 2014
Live the Artsy: Erin McIntosh

While we are getting settled into our new temporary Eureka home, what we want in our eventual forever home is heavy on our minds. While Mr. F aka Mr. Practicality is thinking of square footage, alternative power sources and cost, I tend to focus more on how the space will feel and how we will live in it. A home that is a peaceful retreat, yet full of life and creative energy. The mix of warm neutrals, light pales and bright shots of color in Untitled by this month’s Featured Artist Erin McIntosh, feels like the best of artsy spaces– inviting, yummy colors and patterns and spots of cool serenity.

art | found here

interior | found here

Now to design a space how this painting feels– this interior featured on Apartment Therapy feels like the perfect translation. Though this series by Erin is based in geometric shapes, the atmosphere remains organic and flowing, never hard and stagnant. There is warmth to be found in the natural woods and nubby textures in the room and the pattern on the rug & other textiles calls out to the geometrics in Erin’s painting. My favorite element, the light blue concrete floor, provides a stream of lightness and translucency, just as shots of the same blue do in Untitled. Oh how an Artsy could live here!

To see more of Erin McIntosh‘s work, please visit her website! Want to see more from the Live the Artsy series? Check out the archives!

March 11, 2014
Beauty Felt: Jessica Zoob

I’m a touchy feely person. As in I love running my hands over interesting textures. I’m that shopper who touches everything, I run my hands over tree bark and moss when we’re hiking and I have to force myself to refrain from touching artwork anytime I’m in a gallery or museum. So it kind of goes without saying that I love paintings with lots of yummy texture. The work of British artist Jessica Zoob is fairly oozing with lovely scrapes and swishes and piles of paint, celebrating the abstract beauty found all around.

From her vibrant palette to the multitude of visual and physical textures in each piece, Zoob creates incredible abstract impressionistic compositions that transport us to dreamy places. It’s easy to imagine yourself looking up through the clouds into a blinding and beautiful sun or looking down on sandy beaches and coral reefs. But these aren’t merely abstracted scenes, they carry within them their own story, their own idea of beauty, their own path of feeling.

To see more of Jessica Zoob‘s work, please visit her website.

All images are via the artist’s website.

March 11, 2014
In the Books: Jordan Buschur

As Mr. F and I travel, we find ourselves not only in a different town but a different home every few months. Some rentals are more furnished than others but we love the ones that have a small library of books. You can tell so much about a person from the books they read! In this series of acrylic paintings, artist Jordan Buschur uses collections of books to give the viewer clues into the stories behind them.

Some titles call out to us, some are left intentionally blank. If you’re a reader like me, you can recount certain eras of your life by the books you were reading– I went through a heavy Jane Austen phase in my single days and now find myself more often devouring artist biographies. Stacks of books can become stacks of time and moments, reminding us of the person we were then, who we were striving to be, perhaps who we were able to overcome.

To see more of Jordan Buschur‘s work please visit her website. She has six pieces, including a few of the above, for sale in her show on Buy Some Damn Art.

All images are via the artist’s website.

March 10, 2014
Mood Swings: Lou Ros

Mr. F and I are generally cheerful, non-moody people, but we each have what we call our “blah” days. You know the ones, the days when you just aren’t feeling quite yourself, the days when all you want to do is curl up in bed, speak to no one and watch trash tv all day. These paintings by French artist Lou Ros struck me in their contemplation and moodiness, beautifully painted representations of melancholy.

From the use of a primarily grey and neutral palette with punctuations of pink and other vibrant colors, we’re reminded that although the grey sets in temporarily, it is by no means permanent. I love the artist’s use of frenetic brushwork and drips, the slightly “unfinished” quality to each piece accentuating the fleeting nature of mood.

To see more work by Lou Ros, please visit the artist’s website.

All images via the artist’s website. Artist found via The Artful Desperado.

March 6, 2014
Unraveling the Canvas: Rosemary Liss

It is the unique gift of an artist to create beauty from the unexpected, to look at a thing and see its potential in a way no one else does. In her A Sacred Space series, Baltimore artist Rosemary Liss deconstructs the canvas then puts each back together in a way that emphasizes the beauty of the materials themselves.

By focusing on the parts that make up the whole, Liss compels us to think about the entirety of the process of art making. From the tree that was felled for it’s wood, to the wood cut and sanded for stretchers, to the threads woven together to create the canvas’ surface, through these tiny works of art, we realize that while most artists are individual creators, a village of hands are woven together in each piece.

To see more work by Rosemary Liss, please visit her website. You can purchase some of her work through her show on Buy Some Damn Art, up now on the BSDA site!

All images via the artist’s website.

March 5, 2014
Nature, Uncontrolled: Jeremy Miranda

The sea or the snow? The sea or the snow. Mr. F and I go back and forth on this question frequently. While spending the winter in Idaho, we decided on snow. But now that we are on the Northern California coast, I wonder, will the tides turn back toward the sea? There is something wild and mysterious about the ocean, and Massachusetts artist Jeremy Miranda captures the struggle by man to understand and control the uncontrollable character of nature.

We move in to the wild places, we build our houses and cultivate lawns and gardens, we want to be surrounded by nature’s beauty yet when the elements go about their way with no regard for us, we resent it. We try to control it. To bend and shift nature’s way to meet our own needs instead of leaving it to its own perfectly evolved devices. Miranda’s work captures that intrusion of man on wild, not only the destruction and encapsulation that ensues, but the way that nature reclaims what is hers when man moves on.

To see more of Jeremy Miranda‘s work, please visit his website.

All images via the artist’s website.

March 4, 2014
March Featured Artist: Erin McIntosh

Well, Artsies, Mr. F & I have said goodbye to Idaho and hello to California! And we all wished a fond farewell to February and wish a bright and cheery welcome to March and this month’s new Featured Artist, Erin McIntosh!

I first posted about Erin’s work almost exactly two years ago and have been closely following her artistic journey. Her works on paper continue to retain the floaty, gossamer quality that first drew me to them. But her work has evolved in the most lovely way into these newest pieces, with their organic patterns and forms leading us to dream of the prettiest science class illustrations ever. There is a bit more structure to these pieces, but the artist’s hand keeps them feeling fresh and spirited.

You’ll see more of Erin McIntosh‘s work on the blog this month, but if you can’t wait a second longer to explore ( and who can blame you?! ), head over to her website and have a good long look around. Plus, have a peak at the Artsy Forager Facebook page, where Erin’s work is gracing our cover and I’ve created an album of just a few of my McIntosh faves! If you happen to be in the great state of Georgia, Erin’s work will be hanging at the Museum of Arts & Sciences in Macon as part of the Emerging Artists show through June!

All images via the artist.

March 3, 2014
Finding My Own Artsy: Two Paintings for Two Girls

In between working on my Feminine Wiles series, I found some time to create a couple of paintings for two girls. One for a girl anyone has yet to meet and the other for a girl I know and love so well. She is full of sunshine and fire and sass.

My niece Samantha is on the brink of leaving childhood behind and beginning her journey as a young woman. For her 13th birthday, I decided to create a painting for her that felt like that journey. The little painting I created was my contribution to Project #2 for the We Are the Contributors project, whose theme was beginnings. Read more about my thoughts on the piece here.

samantha | beginnings

The Beginnings piece was the first thing I’d painted in nearly nine months. After getting into my Feminine Wiles series, that style of painting feels much more natural for me, so when I look back on this one, it’s not my most recent favorite. But it was a first effort and a step in the right direction, which I hope is what Samantha will always remember about any beginning– it’s scary and strange, but you don’t know what will happen until you try.

idaho sunrise | palette

The second piece I completed recently was a little artsy gift for a few of our Idaho friends expecting their first baby soon. We could have bought something off the registry, but with our limited travel space, I’m embracing any excuse to paint on a larger canvas and then give it away! Our friends are outdoorsy like us, but not super modern, so I didn’t want to go too crazy-abstract for their soon to be daughter. The image on the right is from the bedding they selected for the baby’s room, so I wanted to create something that would compliment the color scheme without trying to recreate that motif.

The finished painting is 12×24 and I think it will add a nice pop of color to her room and something peaceful for mommy & pop to gaze at during late night feedings. Thanks for taking this little artsy detour with me! Will have a new Feminine Wiles painting to share soon!

Bedding found here.

February 27, 2014

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