artsy forager

Tag: Paintings

  • Artsy Chatter: She Said with Christy Kinard

    Artsy Chatter: She Said with Christy Kinard

    I can’t think of many more inspiring ways to live than with a partner who shares your passions.  Yesterday, we had a little chat with Jon Davenport, who is married to fellow artist Christy Kinard, and today, it’s Christy’s turn to fill us in on her thoughts on what makes their creative partnership so special.  You’ve heard what He Said, here’s what She Said.

    HSSS_Kinard & Davenport collage

    artsy | Christy, you’re from the American South, Jon is from the UK. How have your backgrounds influenced your own work and has each of your backgrounds influenced the other’s work?

    she said | The South has always influenced my work with its beautiful rich landscapes and flowers. The brightness and vibrancy of the South comes out in my work. There is a lot of light in my work which comes from being in such a bright environment. My work is colorful and happy. I did live in in London with the darker overcast sky and I truly believe the sunshine is a direct influence in my work. It pours into my studio space and flows into the details of my work.

    After living in London and painting there, I had the opportunity to visit many fabulous museums and galleries. Two of my favorites are the Tate Modern and the Saatchi Gallery. I use to walk along the South Bank almost weekly to visit the Tate Modern and I always went to the exhibitions at Saatchi Gallery. The work in both of these places are extremely contemporary and very different from my own.

    I also had the opportunity to paint with a British artist in a studio in Wimbledon. My work was less edgy but I loved being around something different . This was a wonderful time for me and changed my work significantly. I started to incorporate fabric and fabulous papers while in London. They had an amazing paper shop I found in London and I started to really layer my work with fabric I found and really fantastic papers.

    Kinard_Hydrangeas Tulips and a Twirl

    artsy | Do you share a studio or work separately?

    she said | Jon has his own office space where he does graphics and design which he incorporates in his work he spends most of his time there. I have the studio or did have the studio..lol! I have a large studio space and Jon does use it, but we are usually not working at the same time. I am usually in the studio during the week and he will slip in and do his work sometimes but it is usually when I am not painting.  He works sometimes over the weekend he will use the studio. We are respectful of each other’s space and the studio is really large enough to share.

    artsy | Do you talk about your work together, give each other artistic advice of any kind?

    she said | Yes!  We talk about our work. We have critiques often, it is really quite helpful to see your work from another set of eyes. When painting for shows, it is especially helpful when I am stuck on a piece.  He has such a great sense of design and composition, he can help me start to get unstuck. It is me though who either takes his advice or not. I sometimes I disregard it and sometime I play with his idea but always make it my own. I have to say though it is a beautiful situation. I love him being there and it’s a great gift to have him when I need advice.

    Lucky Blue Stripes by Christy Kinard

    artsy | Being an artist especially in the internet age, is often an around the clock job. How do you balance your work and home life?

    she said | It is a real challenge and I’m still working on it! My day usually starts at 9-10 and ends at 4-5. We are lucky to be able to work at home with our three young children. We have some help with the children during the week but it’s nice to run upstairs to eat lunch with them or say hello. We like to be involved with our children and it is a blessing to be here with them and watch them as they grow. During the week they also go to preschool so we still have the flexibility to be there for carpool and all that comes with having children at school. We have a schedule now that is working but something is always changing with three kids 4 and under!

    Flowers, Tea and Cakes by Christy Kinard

    artsy | Every marriage is a balance of gifts and personality, each partner bringing with them their own strengths and imperfections. Are there certain areas where you each excel and others in which you find yourself helping each other out?

    she said | Jon is super dad with the kids! He does all the “boys stuff “with our three which is new to me being the youngest of three girls. He does so much with the boys and their games. I grew up in a house with barbie dolls and cabbage patch kids. I am learning though about super heroes and legos!

    I help keep the house in order! With three boys there is lots to do at home everyday. I love being an artist and having this career but as much as I love being the artist I love more being a loving wife to Jon and a mom to my three boys.  We both help each other out, we are a team and have to be to be able to run family and careers and try to find that balance.

    artsy | You have three young ( and adorable! ) sons. Have any of them shown an artistic inclination? If one of your sons told you he wanted to become an artist, what advice would you give?

    she said | One of the twins, Charlie, is showing unbelievable talent at 2! I think he may be an artist or do something with the arts. His drawings and paintings are so developed for a 2 year old, they have shocked Jon and I. All three are special though and exceed in many activities. I will encourage my children to go after their dreams..always! Thats what I did!

    Juicy Fruit by Christy Kinard

    artsy | What do you see as the most important characteristic for two creative people in partnership to cultivate?

    she said | To encourage, love and support each other and work together as a team. It helps to have the kindest most loving husband in the world. I am deeply in love with him.

    AF_HSSS_Kinard and Davenport

    Thank you so much to Christy & Jon for giving us this little glimpse into their work and family lives and how the two are intertwined.  The way they love and support each other as people and artists truly shines!

    To see more of Christy Kinard‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website or Facebook page.

  • Shifting Shapes: Don Voisine

    Shifting Shapes: Don Voisine

    All the world can be boiled down to the simplest shapes and forms.  Our eyes tend to focus on details, yet when we really look, we can see the world as a system of circles, triangles, and rectangles.  Brooklyn artist Don Voisine focuses on the relationship of shape, the forms that exist and the various ways our eyes will perceive them.

    Your Idea by Don Voisine Tumble by Don Voisine Ava by Don Voisine Seque by Don Voisine Flexor by Don Voisine

    Using a limited palette and flat color, Voisine’s shapes seem to shift, moving forward and back within each panel’s picture plane.  You can never be quite sure which shapes are in the foreground and which in the background, so that even with the relative simplicity of form, there are complex perspectives happening.  And with their tightly cropped composition, we’re left wondering what happens to each line and color once it leaves the confines of the panel.

    To see more of Don Voisine‘s work, please visit his website.  If you happen to be in the New Haven, CT area, a solo show of his work can be seen through March 1st at the Fred Giampietro Gallery.  Don’t miss it if you’re in the area!

    All images via the artist’s website.

  • Cosmic Edens: Thierry Feuz

    Cosmic Edens: Thierry Feuz

    Are you missing flowers yet?  I absolutely LOVE winter, but we’ve gone a few weeks now without any snow and the brown grass is making me uncharacteristically antsy for spring.  I imagine many of you are longing for the brightness of a blooming earth, too, yes?  These magical floating floral worlds of Swiss artist Thierry Feuz are sure to warm your spirit.

    Mastermind by Thierry Feuz Raingarden by Thierry Feuz Atlas VII by Thierry Feuz Amazona by Thierry Feuz Louxour by Thierry Feuz Flowers and organisms float freely through the atmosphere, squiggling and jiggling their way through, destination unawares.  Feuz’s work brings to the forefront of our minds just how very magical the natural world is– how haphazard it can sometimes seem but how cleverly and intricately it is designed and connected.  And how very fragile each species is, tethered to life by the most delicate of strings.

    To see more of Thierry Feuz‘s work, please visit his website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Southern Comforts: Jon Davenport

    Southern Comforts: Jon Davenport

    I’m a Southern girl.  You may not know that about me, since we’ve been all over the Northwest during most of Artsy Forager’s existence.  OK some may not include Florida as the Deep South, but North Florida is pretty dang close to South Georgia, which is pretty dang Southern.  Mr. F is a Southern boy and while we definitely feel more at home in the Northwest, there are things about the South that are so incredibly identifiable and iconic, that only Southerners, whether by birth or transplant, truly understand.  Artist Jon Davenport came to the US South by way of the UK where he grew up well versed in Southern iconography, but it wasn’t until he was fully immersed in its culture that he began his artistic exploration of distinctly Southern tastes.

    Cola Queen by Jon Davenport Sweet by Jon Davenport Refresh by Jon Davenport Fried Chicken Basket II by Jon Davenport Atlantic by Jon Davenport

    Jon, who shares a similar style to his wife, this month’s Featured Artist Christy Kinard, creates heavily textured, layered work filled with vintage advertising imagery much of which built up our ideas about life in the South, for better or for worse.  Some of these icons can still be seen as faded paintings on the sides of buildings, especially in small Southern towns.  In many ways, there is a fierce desire to hold onto the past in the South, where Sunday dinners at grandma’s and yes ma’am and no ma’am are still the norm.

    Yet behind the fun and frivolity and charm, there was a darkness that would best be forgotten and which many Southern cities are still fighting to overcome.  Many strive to overcome lingering stereotypes and “Ol’ Boys Networks”, while seeking to maintain the best of what it means to be a part of what has been a troubled region.  Davenport’s work with its bright but slightly faded palette and layered drips and splotches of paint remind us that time marches on, ideals fade, but hopefully what is left is our favorite, most positive parts of ourselves.

    To see more of Jon Davenport‘s work, please visit his website.  His work can be seen in his solo show at Matre Gallery in Atlanta through February 8th.  Stay tuned over the next few days for interviews with Jon & Christy in a special “He Said, She Said” feature on what it’s like to be half of a creative couple!

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Color Harvest: Artsy Winter Blues

    Color Harvest: Artsy Winter Blues

    I’ve heard of this phenomena called the January Blues.  A condition in which the post-holiday, short, usually cold and cloudy days get some folks down.  I’m thankful not to suffer that affliction!  If anything, I absolutely revel in the winter blues of January.

    IMG_1743-2

     image via artsy forager on instagram

    I love the fading light of late afternoon, the silhouette of bare tree limbs and the softness of the snow covered landscape.  The world slows down, cools down, literally and figuratively, and our minds are given the chance to rest and renew.  I’ve been pinning some of my favorite wintery images on my An Artsy Winter Pinterest board and thought I’d share some of them with you!

    artsy winter collage

    clockwise from top left | found here here  here here here and here 

    I hope that maybe this post and peeking around the board will help you find the beauty in your winter blues!  To see more selections, visit the An Artsy Winter board on Pinterest.  If it doesn’t do the trick, turn on a heat lamp, pour yourself a cup of cocoa and count the days until spring! 😉

    All image sources linked above.

  • Moving Paint: Francesc Ruiz Abad

    Moving Paint: Francesc Ruiz Abad

    Artists, let me ask you a question.  When you paint, do you find yourself mesmerized by the way the paint is moving across the canvas?  Not in an I’m a painting genius kind of way, but in an omigod paint is the most beautiful, wonderful thing ever, way?  Just me, then?  Ooookay.  Seriously, it is the gorgeous movement and blending of paint that draws me to the work of artist Francesc Ruiz Abad.

    Francesc Ruiz Abad Francesc Ruiz Abad Francesc Ruiz Abad Francesc Ruiz Abad Francesc Ruiz Abad

    You can see the gentle stroke of the brush, imagine it filled with paint, the colors mixing on the palette first and then the canvas.  Light, luscious, cotton candy like movement through the surface of the paint.  Colors bleed beautifully into each other, creating a sense of light and softness.

    Paintings like these make me want to paint!  And run my fingers over each canvas.

    To see more of Francesc Ruiz Abad‘s work, please visit his website and Tumblr.

    All images via the artist’s Tumblr.

  • Finding My Own Artsy: Creativity Begets Creativity and Lessons in Destroying the Mediocre

    Finding My Own Artsy: Creativity Begets Creativity and Lessons in Destroying the Mediocre

    I began 2014 determined to get back into an artistic practice.  I feel like this part of my life is filled with so many starts and stops.  It’s too easy to let it slide when other things come up.  It’s too easy to choose watching BBC serials rather than sitting and drawing.  So on January 1st, I started my #colorforaging2014 project, in which I’m exploring a different color in paint each day and posting my finds on Instagram.  I hoped that this daily exercise would feed my desire to create and making it an Instagram project would help keep me accountable.  And you know what? It has.

    Finding My Own Artsy | artsy forager

    And it’s teaching me some things about myself as a person and artist ( I’m trying hard to accept that label ).

    1 | I have to make time to do the things I want to do.  If I don’t carve out specific time, I’ll always find other ways to distract myself, with previously mentioned serials, web surfing, work, etc.  This Instagram project has forced me to spend at least a few minutes each day with my palette out and a brush in my hand.  And those few minutes have made me ache for longer, more dedicated time– I’m usually doing my #colorforaging2014 project immediately after dinner cleanup, but rarely do much else creatively in the evening.  So when Mr. F announced that he was planning to spend Sunday afternoon brewing beer, I announced that I was going to spend the afternoon painting.

    2 | I need accountability.  There was a reason for saying out loud to Mr. F that I was going to paint on Sunday.  Because I knew he would remember and ask me why I wasn’t painting when I sat on the couch and watched back to back episodes of Doc Martin on Hulu.  I have all these grand schemes and ideas in my head but if I don’t get them out and tell someone, much of the time, they never leave the comfort of my mind.

    Finding My Own Artsy | artsy forager

    3 | I need deadlines.  I am a procrastinator by nature.  And a perfectionist.  I think those two traits go hand in hand.  I procrastinate because I’m afraid of my results being less than stellar.  But I know that I need practice to improve and grow.  But the perfectionist in me hates it when my efforts result in disappointing work.  Such a vicious cycle!  My niece Kendall told my sister-in-law ( after I’d already purchased & shipped her Christmas gift ) that she wanted a painting from me for Christmas.  So I decided she will have one as a birthday gift in June!  Deadline established. But her sister Samantha’s birthday is coming up on February 3rd, and how could I not give her one, too?  Deadline established.  I also signed up to be a Contributor for the February 2014 project for We Are the Contributors.  Another deadline established.

    Finding My Own Artsy | artsy forager

    4 | I need to seize moments of inspiration.  Every day I see little moments of life that I want to sketch.  My coffee cup and its shadow.  The funky yellow chair in the living room.  Mr. Forager’s profile.  But often I see the inspiration, note it, then let it just slip by.  No more!  From now on, if I see beauty in a moment, I want to try to capture it.  My sketchbook now lives on our coffee table instead of hidden in a bag.  There is a felt pin with it always.  Even if I’m just inspired to doodle, I need to do it.  Because once I start, I don’t want to stop.

    Finding My Own Artsy | artsy forager

    5 | I need mini-projects to spur creativity.  This truth applies to my blogging and freelance work as much as to my fledgling art practice.  It’s so easy just to do what I’ve always done, but in order to grow and evolve, I need to challenge myself.  The mini-projects I’ve done on Instagram get my wheels turning in so many ways.  I find myself challenged to look at things differently, to come up with new angles on old ideas.  Painting is my first love, but not every project has to involve paint.  It’s about finding new ways of seeing.  I want to learn to weave and throw pottery. I want to find new ways of approaching the world.

    Finding My Own Artsy | artsy forager

    6 | I need to mess with the just OK.  In some things, good enough is good enough.  Like making the bed or doing laundry.  It isn’t perfect but its done.  This attitude doesn’t fit for an art practice that is about growing, learning and evolving.  When in college, I was a pretty good artist.  Then in the following years, I became an OK painter.  Being OK is no longer OK with me.  Now, I’m finding myself bored with the type of work I would have been happy with a few years ago.  On Sunday, as I was working on a little 6×6 canvas ( which you’ll see when the WAC February project is revealed! ), I arrived at a point that was OK.  Not bad, but not super fantastic.  Not exciting.  I hesitated.  I wanted to do something bold to it, feeling like it needed a push.  But I was afraid to screw up the OK.  I hemmed and I hawed. I tried to visualize a bold change.  Then I watched this Philip Guston video.  He didn’t settle and neither should I.  So I took the chance.  And that one change prompted other changes.  Until I was left with something I liked.  Something I daresay I am proud of.

    I feel like I’m making progress.  Its slow, but building up a good habit always takes time and effort.  How about you, Artsies?  Do any of you struggle with some of these issues?  How do you face them down?

    All images by Artsy Forager.

  • Wear the Artsy: Christy Kinard

    Wear the Artsy: Christy Kinard

    January can be a tough month for some folks.  I love the winter, but I understand how the cold air, brown grass and gray skies can get ya down.  Which is why I love the work of this month’s Featured Artist, Christy Kinard so much– her paintings are like a warm breath of spring any time of the year!

    WTA_Kinard_collage

     

    art | find it here

    scarf | find it here

    inspiration | found here

    But spring is still three months away, you say?  Why not just infuse some warm and bright florals into your probably drab winter wardrobe?  Your countenance and outlook will instantly cheer and chase away the January blues!

    Want to see more work by our Featured Artist, Christy Kinard?  Check out her website.

    Image sources linked above.

  • Artsy Happening: I Am.. #acontributor #selfie #miniproject on Instagram

    Artsy Happening: I Am.. #acontributor #selfie #miniproject on Instagram

    My friend Veronica and I had an interesting discussion recently about women and photography.  Specifically, how so often the wife and mom ends up missing from so many photographs because she is usually the force behind the camera, eager to document big events and special small moments.  I think sometimes we’re uncomfortable with being the focus of a photograph because of what it may reveal about who we are at that moment– maybe frustrated with our family or having a bad hair day or feeling bloated.  We’d rather be the ones to decide the image we present to the world.

    I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of image and influence.  So when We Are The Contributors co-creators Sandra Harris & Melanie Biehle announced a mini-week-long Instagram #selfie project, I was intrigued and wondered how I could express something different and worthwhile with my selfie contributions?  

    20140108-104258.jpg

     i am.. o’keeffe

     Project participants take one photograph of themselves and post it on Instagram each day for a week.  I started with a simple selfie Mr. Forager and I took while celebrating our anniversary in Coeur d’Alene this weekend.  But as I was lying in bed that night, waiting for sleep to come, I thought, I can do better.   I can say something more with this project.  Something about who I am.

    I thought about the roles I’ve played in the past and the ones I’m playing now, about the people who have influenced me.  Then it struck me, what I wanted to explore– the artists who’ve had a profound effect on me.  The ones whose lives, work, and words inspired me to begin my journey along this art strewn road and those I keep discovering anew.

    So for the rest of the week, I’ll be posting on Instagram a selfie paying homage to my greatest artistic influences, along with a short story about their impact on who I’ve become. I hope you’ll follow along and, if you’d like join in the project!  To join, just post a self-portrait on Instagram with the hashtags #selfie #miniproject #acontributor.

    Image by Artsy Forager, featured artwork Grey Lines with Black, Blue, and Yellow by Georgia O’Keeffe.

  • The Not-So Secret Lives of Artists: Holly Frean

    The Not-So Secret Lives of Artists: Holly Frean

    What drew me to my college art history major wasn’t just the artwork itself, which obviously astounded me, but it was the stories of the artists themselves and how the way they lived influenced their work that fascinated me.  In her grids of small scale works, London artist Holly Frean playfully gives us glimpses into art history and the lives of artists.

    Sixty Four Artists Painting Self Portraits by Holly Frean A Day in the Life of Picasso #2 by Holly Frean Hommage to Chuck Close by Holly Frean A Day in the Life of Edouard Vuillard by Holly Frean Lucian Freud Paints the Queen by Holly Frean

    Small, seemingly insignificant moments like Rothko stretching or Picasso picnicking are captured alongside “larger” events like Lucian Freud painting Queen Elizabeth’s portrait.  For all our adoration and their notoriety, works like Frean’s help us to remember that these master artists were every day people, experiencing much of the same mundane moments of life that we do, with a peppering of the extraordinary.

    In these tiny little images, we get a film-strip like glimpse into a day or event in the life of the artist.  Frean keeps her compositions simple so that much is conveyed with a small amount of visual information.  The grids read almost like an Instagram feed, screen captures of each instant, which may reveal much or leave much to the imagination.

    To see more of Holly Frean‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.