artsy forager

Tag: Paintings

  • Twisted Takes: Russ Noto

    Twisted Takes: Russ Noto

    What does an artist do when he is gifted with classical skills yet wants his work to be modern and exciting and relevant?  For painter Russ Noto, it means creating figures who strike traditional poses, but adding elements of the absurd.

    Figure with Painted Horse by Russ Noto
    Figure with Painted Horse, oil on canvas, 33×43
    Push/Pull by Russ Noto
    Push/Pull, oil on panel

    Classically posed figures in contemporary clothing are placed in incongruous situations.  Kind of leaving us to wonder.. where does  traditional work and style fit in?  Is it still pertinent to the conversation?

    New Quixote by Ross Noto
    New Quixote, oil on canvas, 33×43
    Venus in Exile by Ross Noto
    Venus in Exile, oil on canvas, 33×43

    There is an inherent sadness to Noto’s work.  It’s as if his archetypal characters have been set down in unfamiliar territory and now find themselves isolated and despondent.

    Beauty and Violence No. 2 by Ross Noto
    Beauty and Violence No.2, oil on canvas, 33×43

    But is the future of classical work and traditional themes so bleak?  Is there truly room for all in contemporary art?  Deep thoughts for a Monday.  If you’d like to see more of Russ Noto’s work, and I highly recommend you do, please visit his website.

  • Seeing Askew: Travis Collinson

    Seeing Askew: Travis Collinson

    One of my favorite things is to discover new views just by changing my angle of perspective.  How much more interesting some things become when we look at them with different eyes!  The work of San Francisco artist Travis Collinson challenges us to see consider simple scenes from a new aspect.

    Scatter by Travis Collinson
    Scatter, oil on canvas, 48×48

    Collinson’s figures, often caught in moments of what seems to be a trance-like state, are seen by the viewer in a sometimes voyeuristic perspective.  We may feel as if we are walking in upon a moment of private reflection, or intruding on the subject’s privacy.

    Marcy by Travis Collinson
    Marcy, acrylic on linen, 14×12
    The Pornography of Nature by Travis Collinson
    The Pornography of Nature, acrylic on canvas, 18×20
    Upside Down by Travis Collinson
    Upside Down, acrylic on canvas, 66×90

    In each composition, there is always the tiniest detail that almost goes without notice.  Yet once it has been seen, we can’t un-see it.  And it captures our attention with each glance, changing how we consider everything else we’re taking in.

    Rutso by Travis Collinson
    Rutso, acrylic on canvas, 56×32

    To see more of Travis Collinson’s work, please visit the websites of his representing galleries, Eli Ridgway Gallery and Maloney Fine Art.

    Artist found via New American Paintings.  Scatter via Maloney Fine Art, all other images via Eli Ridgway Gallery.

  • High Marks: Camille Hannah

    High Marks: Camille Hannah

    For an artist or avid art lover, often the joy and specialness of a work of art is to be found not in the overall meaning or composition but in the mark making.  Those little strokes that mean so much.  The work of Australian artist Camille Hannah gives us pause to consider how each mark of the brush is made.

    Venus Tactus by Camille Hannah
    Venus Tactus, oil and acrylic on aluminum, 204×203 cm

    In each squiggle, the light and shadow moves along with the paint.  These strokes create form, line and texture, all through choice of paint loaded onto the brush and the way in which the hand of the artist guides it.

    Caecus Macula by Camille Hannah
    Caecus Macula, oil and acrylic on aluminum, 204×203 cm

    This adept “play with paint” is always what draws me in.  There is such beauty in the way the paint swirls from the bristles of the brush, the way the colors mix together on the surface, catching the light and deepening not just the visual but the visceral experience of the painting!

    Austramythicus Patternus by Camille Hannah
    Austramythicus Paternus, oil and acrylic on aluminum, 204×203 cm
    Orexis by Camille Hannah
    Orexis ( Between Skins ), oil and acrylic on aluminum, 204×203 cm

    To see more of Camille Hannah’s work, please visit the website of her representing gallery, the Nellie Castan Gallery.

    All images via the Nellie Castan Gallery. 

  • Artsy on Escape Into Life: Sarah Giannobile

    The nights here in the desert are full of stars!  The work of Sarah Giannobile, featured in my Artist Watch on Escape Into Life today, reminds me of the constellations hovering above us.  See my Artist Watch featuring Sarah here! 

    Sarah Giannobile on Escape Into Life

  • Artful Wanderings: Catherine Beaudette

    Artful Wanderings: Catherine Beaudette

    When you travel as much as Mr. Forager and I do, there is always a danger of confusing memories of where we’ve been and when!  One of our favorite post-dinner-over-a-glass-of-wine past times is watching the screensaver slideshow of all our adventures.  The Global Cities series of paintings by Toronto artist Catherine Beaudette seem to be an artful conglomeration of urban wanderings.

    Funnel by Catherine Beaudette
    Funnel, oil, 36×27

    In Beaudette’s paintings, buildings, interiors, and vistas overlap one another, so that we’re never quite sure exactly where we are.  Its as if the artist is painting the most special memories of each place.. the way the light and shadows feel through a window, beautiful lines of architecture, the warmth of a spring day.

    Strada by Catherine Beaudette
    Strada, oil, 36×27
    Corridor by Catherine Beaudette
    Corridor, oil, 36×27

    The farther we travel from some places, the more fuzzy our memories become.  Like Beaudette’s work, we may remember the most beautiful parts of each place, taking with us only the good and happily leaving behind any darkness.

    Balustrade by Catherine Beaudette
    Balustrade, oil, 36×27

    To see more of Catherine Beaudette’s work, please visit her website.  Mr. F & I definitely have a few places we’ve been that we’ve grown fonder of over time, thanks to good memories overshadowing the bad.  How do you keep track of your travels?  Old fashioned photo albums, post card collections?

    Artist found via Sopa Fine Arts.

  • Artsy Lately: The Deep South and Other Stories by Gigi Mills

    Artsy Lately: The Deep South and Other Stories by Gigi Mills

    Having lived the first ahem, three decades, of my life in the South, I completely understand why people are drawn to it.  There is a co-mingling of worlds in the South, some owing to its sordid history, others a product of the atmosphere and the people who find themselves there.  New Mexico artist Gigi Mills, having grown up with her family in the circus on the West Coast of Florida, far from the “traditional South”, finds herself repeatedly drawn to its charms.  In her latest series, The Deep South and Other Stories, which debuted at Gallery Orange in New Orleans two weeks ago, the artist explores her attachment to a life that could have been hers.

    Some Days by Gigi Mills
    Some Days, oil on panel, 20×16

    A childhood in the circus, while filled with color, charm and adventure, doesn’t offer much in the way of stability.  For Gigi, it is that sense of permanence of place, of generations of history that leads her again and again to southern places.

    Somewhere on Esplanade Interior by Gigi Mills
    Somewhere on Esplanade Interior, oil on paper, 21×24
    Laundry in a Dark Landscape by Gigi Mills
    Laundry in a Dark Landscape, oil on panel, 24×20
    Interior with Baker and Cake by Gigi Mills
    Interior with Baker and Cake, oil on paper, 22×25

    In her work, as in many areas of the South itself, there is an enchanting sense of elegance and charisma that completely bewitches us.  But it is the complexities of this world that we find most intriguing– the secrets kept, the stories told and untold.

    Lagniappe of Pearls Conversation with Carlos by Gigi Mills
    Lagniappe of Pearls, Conversation with Carlos, oil, 12×16

    If you’d like to see more from the Deep South and Other Stories series, please visit the Gallery Orange website.  Gallery Orange also has beautiful Gigi Mills books available for purchase through their website– a lovely way to learn more about the artist and enjoy her work, even if a painting is out of reach.

    All images via Gallery Orange.

  • Artsy on Escape Into Life: Karen Darling

    Artsy on Escape Into Life: Karen Darling

    These abstracts by Canadian artist Karen Darling are so full of contradiction– love the contrasting dark black surfaces mixed with translucent brights!  I’m featuring Karen’s work in my Artist Watch on Escape Into Life today, so head on over and check it out here!

    Karen Darling on Escape Into Life

    Image via artist’s website. 

  • Floral Flow: Alicia Tormey

    Floral Flow: Alicia Tormey

    I always remember my first visit to Seattle in the springtime.  The cherry trees were blooming in the neighborhood where Mr. Forager was living ( this was before I became Mrs. F ) and then it rained, as it is always wont to do in Seattle.  After the rain, the blossoms weren’t quite as fluffy and perfect as they’d been, but we were left with a magical blanket of pink petals dotting the sidewalks.  The wind would eventually sweep each petal into its breeze and carry it away to some unknown place.  As I look at the floral encaustics of Seattle artist Alicia Tormey, I’m reminded of the delicate strength it takes to withstand the storms.

    Floral Study IV by Alicia Tormey
    Floral Study IV, encaustic with mixed media, 10×10

    Tormey’s flowers have a wonderful, swirly diaphanous quality as translucent strands float from and around them.  In some, we see look to be veins coming through, as if these are the angels of flowers loved and pressed between book pages as a remembrance.

    Fly Away by Alicia Tormey
    Fly Away, encaustic, shellac and ink on panel, 36×36
    Floral Form V by Alicia Tormey
    Floral Form V, encaustic, shellac and ink on panel, 24×24

    Each flower almost takes on the personality of a dancer’s movements.. wild yet graceful.. controlled chaos, passionate yet maintaining an elegant line, always.

    Floral Study III by Alicia Tormey
    Floral Study III, encaustic with mixed media, 10×10

    To see more of Alicia Tormey’s work, please visit her website.

    Images via Gilman Contemporary and Chase Young Gallery.

  • April Featured Artist: Hooper Turner

    April Featured Artist: Hooper Turner

    Happy April, Artsies!  I’m excited to welcome in the month of April for many reasons, A | we finally leave the desert this month!, B | I get to celebrate one of my favorite days of the year, the day Mr. Forager was born ( never mind that my own b-day is in there, too, ugh ) and C | the celebration of a fabulous new Featured Artist!  You may remember New York artist Hooper Turner from my post featuring work from his Catalog and Fashion series n which he meticulously depicts the imagery found in luxury catalogs and fashion magazines.

    #129 by Hooper Turner
    #129, oil on catalog page, 12 3/4×9 7/8
    #85 by Hooper Turner
    #85, oil on catalog page, 10 5/8×14 3/4

    In his latest body of work, Typeforms, Turner continues his fascination with fashion and found imagery, this time extending his reach into the commodified art world.  In choosing to paint letters and numbers directly onto found art auction catalog pages, the artist is perhaps speaking to the struggle of contemporary artists to find their own voice in among the masses.

    #130 by Hooper Turner
    #130, oil on catalog page, 12×19 1/4
    #166 by Hooper Turner
    #166, oil on catalog page, 10 5/8×8 1/4

    Although I’ve chosen to focus on his auction catalog pages, Turner also gives found imagery of celebrities and models the same treatment.  Perhaps in doing so, he is reflecting upon the artist as celebrity and what that elevated status means for the art marketplace.

    #99 by Hooper Turner
    #99, oil on catalog page, 11 3/4×8 3/8

    Bold and striking, whatever their message, these pieces are saying it loudly and proudly.  To see more of Hooper Turner’s work, please visit his website and be sure to stop by the Artsy Forager Facebook page to see his cover image and an album of a few of my favorite Turner pieces ( in addition to these, of course! ).

  • Spiritual Experiences: Marisa Purcell

    Spiritual Experiences: Marisa Purcell

    What do you think of when you hear the phrase “spiritual experience”?  Does a mountaintop epiphany come to mind?  Or beachside meditation?  Spiritual experiences come to us in all sorts of guises, for example, Mr. Forager & I had one last year as we drove up the Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park, both awed by the beauty and shedding tears of thankfulness that we were able to share it with one another.  Australian artist Marisa Purcell pursues spiritual experiences in her abstract work– encounters with paint so mystical they embody spiritual sensation.

    Buzz by Marisa Purcell
    Buzz, acrylic and oil on linen, 183×172 cm

    Floating, ghostly orbs of color appear and recede before our eyes.  We squint to try to get a closer look, but even as we narrow our gaze, the forms do not become clear.

    Caress by Marissa Purcell
    Caress, acrylic and oil on linen, 153×137 cm
    The Halos of San Marco by Marisa Purcell
    The Halos of San Marco, acrylic and oil on linen, 183×172 cm
    Hum by Marisa Purcell
    Hum, oil on linen, 153×137 cm

    Suggestions of shape, illusions of form, are all the hints we are given.  Light permeates and glows from each piece, enveloping the canvas and the viewer.  We are left with the feeling that something has just happened, yet we aren’t sure quite what.

    Elastic II by Marisa Purcell
    Elastic II, acrylic and oil on linen, 75×59 cm

    To see more of Marisa Purcell’s work, please visit her website.

    Artist found via Liz Tran.  Thanks, Liz!