artsy forager

Tag: Paintings

  • Delicate Punk: Susan Carter Hall

    Delicate Punk: Susan Carter Hall

    I’m going to kind of tell my age with this post.. I’m a child of the 80s.  There, my secret is out.  I remember all too well the punk movement– the mixing of Victorian-inspired lace with torn fishnets and combat boots.  The latest work of Los Angeles artist Susan Carter Hall reminds me of those bad-a$$ chicks this good girl could never be, like totally.

    Circus, oil on canvas, 32×36

    Her soft palette and supple forms are punctuated with areas of darkness, lending a little hard-edge to what otherwise might feel overtly feminine.

    Earth No. 1, oil on canvas, 24×24
    Bridge, oil on gessoed paper, 25×40

    Those punches of black and the slash-dash expression of color make Hall’s work bodaciously rad. Ok, enough of the bad 80s lingo.  Her work just rocks.  Period.

    Earth No. 2, oil on canvas

    To see more of Susan Carter Hall’s work, please check out her website and to keep up with her latest work & shows, be sure to like her Facebook page.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Painted Ponies: Karen Keene Day

    Painted Ponies: Karen Keene Day

    I’ve never been one of those horse-crazy girls.  You know the ones.  Oh, I read my share of Black Beauty and The Black Stallion when I was young, but I just never caught the equestrian obsession.  But we have been knee-deep in horse country here in Idaho and after seeing these creatures everyday, I can now understand the fascination.  In her paintings, artist Karen Keene Day perfectly captures the untamed beauty and spirit of American wild horses.

    Moments with Wild Horses 79, 24×24

    Powerful yet gentle and graceful, the horse often serves dutifully yet you can see in their eyes the longing to run free.

    Moments with Wild Horses 81, 12×12
    Moments with Wild Horses 116, 48×60

    Through her use of simple painted line drawing juxtaposed with slashes of vibrant color, Day translates into her work the innate wildness of the animals and unique personality each one displays.

    Moments with Wild Horses 84, 8×8

    To see more of Karen Keene Day’s work, please visit her website.  The artist supports the work being done to keep wild horses safe by donating 3% of her commission on each sale to the National Mustang Association branch in Cortez, CO.

    PS– If you’ve never seen the documentary Wild Horses & Renegades, I highly recommend it!

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

  • Friday Finds: Anthropomorphically Artsy

    Friday Finds: Anthropomorphically Artsy

    These last four months of living on a lake in Northern Idaho has had its advantages, wildlife spotting being chief among them.  A favorite post-dinner activity of Mr. Forager & I is to take a long walk in the hopes of spotting a few deer, osprey, rabbits and lately, turkeys(!).  While Mr. F loves to fantasize about how awesome it would be to be a bird of prey, I tend to humanize the animals we see.  I like to think they are more like us than we realize.  Today, I’m featuring a few artists who seem to also love blending the line between humanity and the animal.

    To Fall for Flattery by Nate Frizell
    Beyond the Menagerie by Kareena Zerefos
    Renard by Charlotte Caron
    Sabrina Hornung

    Nate Frizzel | Kareena Zerefos | Charlotte Caron | Sabrina Hornung 

    I would love to commission Charlotte Caron to create a portrait of Mr. Forager as a grizzly bear– it would be his ultimate dream come true!  What animal do you see yourself as?

    Charlotte Caron found via The Jealous Curator, Sabrina Hornung found via Lost at E Minor.  All images are from the artist’s websites, linked above.

  • Toast of the Town: Grant Schexnider

    Toast of the Town: Grant Schexnider

    Few places in the US hold our fascination like New Orleans does.  It’s heady dose of hard partying, spirituality and historic charm completely enchants us.  Chicago artist Grant Schexnider ‘s work addresses the iconography of New Orleans and the bayou with bold strokes and a seemingly carefree style, much like NOLA itself.

    Sazaerac, oil on canvas, 36×36
    Old Fashioned, oil on canvas, 36×36

    You can practically hear the jazz horns, taste the andouille, feel the misquitos’ sting.  His palette is rich and warm, like the colors of the city’s weathered buildings and vibrant characters.

    Blue Heron, oil on canvas, 20×20

    Deliberately messy layers remind us of a city that doesn’t take itself too seriously in spite of its history of hardship.  The cheerful resilience of the people of New Orleans may be captured in the warmth of Schexnider’s palette.

    Blue Shotgun, oil on canvas, 18×36
    Shotgun 2b, oil on canvas

    To see more of Grant Schexnider’s work, please visit his website.

    All images are via the artist’s website and the website of his representing NOLA gallery, Gallery Orange.

  • Artsy on Escape Into Life: Kristine Moran

    Lush color and luminosity?  What could be better!  Head over to Escape Into Life to check out this week’s Artist Watch on New York artist Kristine Moran.

    Slow Wave 2 by Kristine Moran, oil on canvas, 54×60

    Kristine Moran on Escape Into Life

  • Face Paint: Greg Hart

    Face Paint: Greg Hart

    The advent of photography has really shaped us into an incredibly visual society.  While having a portrait painted was a luxury usually afforded to the most privileged, photographs were soon accessible to people of all classes and incomes.  Photography became a common experience, faces of us all, captured forever.  Charleston artist Greg Hart takes his inspiration from historical portraits, concentrating on the emotional expression of the sitter.

    Bandage, charcoal, graphite, coffee, acrylic, oil and gesso on wood panel, 11×14

    Hart pours through historical archives, searching for a face that grabs him.  He strives to remain ignorant of the details of each person’s background, preferring instead, to give us new portraits, carrying the same emotional intensity made even more impassioned by color blocking and dramatic rendering against isolated backgrounds.

    Firebrand, graphite, acrylic and coffee on paper, 15×22
    Bygone, mixed media on paper, 22×30

    Serious, stern faces are rendered more warmly, softly reminding us that behind these steely facades are real people who lived and loved, just as we do.

    Forward March, mixed media on wood panel, 9×12

    To see more of Greg Hart’s work, please visit his website and be sure to check out his shop at Big Cartel to make one of these intriguing portraits your own!

    Featured image is Firebrand ( cropped ).  All images are via the artist’s website and Big Cartel shop.

  • September Facebook Featured Artist: Christina Foard

    September Facebook Featured Artist: Christina Foard

    If you’ve been reading Artsy Forager long, you’ve seen me gush about the work of this month’s Facebook Featured Artist, Christina Foard.  Christina is an artist whose work is as much about her mental and spiritual journey of creating as it is about the physical result of paint on canvas.

    Urban Falling, oil on board, 36×34

    Each canvas is a labor of intense devotion, worked and reworked until the artist is satisfied with her destination.

    Lovers Behind the Wall, oil on canvas, 24×24
    Grey Land, oil on canvas, 24×24

    As she works the canvas, adding layer upon layer or excavating what lies beneath, the resulting textures become a large part of the story, until the composition she is longing for emerges.

    Pink Wall Two, oil on canvas, 40×30

    To see more of Christina Foard’s work, please visit her website and be sure to check out her album on the Artsy Forager Facebook page!  If you’re near the Jacksonville, FL area, you can still catch Christina’s show with July Featured Artist Thomas Hager at the Jacksonville International Airport, but only until the end of September.  She’s currently working on a special long-term collaborative project I hope to share with you once she’s ready.  Stay tuned.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Art to Inspiration: Lani Trock

    Art to Inspiration: Lani Trock

    Last month, I was an Art to Inspiration delinquent.  The monthly post just had to fall off my huge to-do list before we went on our big camping trip.  But this month, I’m back with a vengeance!  Our inspiration artwork for September, Blue Moon by photographer Lani Trock, is the perfect inspiration for the transition into the autumnal months.

    Hello Moon by Lani Trock

    As is my usual motis operandi, I’ve put together a little  gallery inspired by this month’s work.  Trock’s photo brings to mind camping and playing under the stars during an Indian summer, so I’m calling this little collection Night Moves.  Check it out below!

    Dance Floor by Jeremy Mangan, acrylic on panel, 18×24
    Gypsum by Lia Halloran
    Waiting by Barbara Kacicek, oil on linen, 8×8
    They Sacrificed Everything to the Stars by Amanda Blake

    Jeremy Mangan | Lia Halloran | Barbara Kacicek | Amanda Blake 

    To see more from each artist, check out their websites, linked above.

    You can find more information on Art to Inspiration here and if you would like to participate in the next Art to Inspiration, just fill out this form! Follow me and all the other Art to Inspiration bloggers on Twitter by subscribing here.  Let the inspiring begin! 

  • Action Figuration: Betsy Cain

    Action Figuration: Betsy Cain

    When I took figure drawing in college, I recall my professor telling us that once we mastered drawing the figure realistically, that’s when the real fun begins.  For once you understand the hollows and bumps of the human figure, you can then abstract your representation to your heart’s content.  Savannah artist Betsy Cain’s work energetically fuses the figure with the abstract in gorgeous layers of color.

    Red Yellow Love Melt, oil on canvas, 60×80

    Like the work of other abstract expressionists, Cain’s work appears to be purely non-representational, but often you can detect a figure coming through the energetic fever of the canvas.

    Neural Nude, oil on canvas, 54×72
    Nature of Not Knowing, oil on canvas, 60×60

    Each work consists of layer upon layer of colorful, expressive strokes which may end in a purely abstract composition yet each gives us a glimpse into the artist’s connection between her mind, the paint and the canvas.

    Nerve Flower, oil on canvas, 60×60

    To see more of Betsy Cain’s work, please visit her website.  If you happen to be reading from North Florida, you can check out Betsy Cain’s solo exhibition, Selections at Florida Mining in Jacksonville, opening this Friday, September 7th!

  • Sculptures of Earthly Delights: Laura Moriarty

    Sculptures of Earthly Delights: Laura Moriarty

    Most of the time, we never seem to think about what is happening beneath our feet.  When we visited Yellowstone this summer, we couldn’t help but be confronted by the reality of what is going on beneath the earth’s surface.  The countless hot springs, geysers and mudpots reminded us that our planet is on fire underneath us.  New York artist Laura Moriarty‘s unique sculptural paintings are her own interpretations of what is happening beneath our terrain.

    Natural Bridge, encaustic on panel, 11x14x6.5
    Volcanic Bomb, detail

    Her layers of liquid color mimic the stratifications in the earth’s core, flowing in and around each other like lava.

    Time Suck, detail, encaustic on panel, 10x10x5.75
    Steep Inclination, encaustic on panel, 16x16x8

    You can watch Laura’s amazing process in the video The Way Paintings Go here.  See more of her work on her website, including beautiful monotypes created as a by-product of her sculptural paintings.

    All images are via the artist’s website.