Texture and Materials

I was recently in Columbus, Ohio for the installation of some artwork in a hand and micro-surgery center. The developers and physician owners had requested that some of the pieces in the scheme be from artists in the region. I certainly succeeded with Linda Leviton, a sculptor who lives and works just .7 miles from the facility. Linda invited me over and showed me around her studio and home.

First she showed me the multi-dimensional painted wood piece she created for the main reception wall:

As I looked around the studio I saw a very diverse body of sculptural work. In addition to wood, Linda also creates pieces in copper:

The wackiest piece I found was created using dichroic acrylic:

More studio shots to come!

Sleuthing through the snow...

I had an installation in Boulder this week and decided it was a good opportunity to piggy-back a studio visit and pick up a piece that I have secured for a  surgery center in Ohio.
This sleuth expedition was a little unusual. It is February, and so by now even the procrastinators of us have taken down our holiday decorations and lights. Not Elizabeth Black. The artist and her husband, the photographer Christopher Brown, are in the year-round Christmas business. In addition to selling their artwork, they cooperatively run a Christmas tree farm. Here are some shots of her studio:

winter (summer, spring & fall) Hinterland

Over 6" of snow fell in Denver last night, coincidentally hours after the heat in my "trusty" old Volvo went out, so I am opting to spend the day at my laptop with this office view:

Viewing the gorgeous winter wonderland outside, I think it is appropriate to mention a gallery space in Denver's Rino District with a delightful name: Hinterland. http://hinterlandartspace.com/
Hinterland is an exhibition space owned by husband and wife team Sabin Aell and Randy Rushton. It features some of the more innovative, contemporary and experimental art exhibitions in the Denver area. Of note, it also houses the studio of previously featured artist Lisa Kowalski.

Stop in to see the exhibits. Next up, a pop-up show/sale called Vintage Renewal that promises "eclectic Bohemian inspired style through the reuse of existing vintage and recycled materials." It opens Saturday, November 12th and will feature live music by Rob Drabkin.

Sleuthing Scraps

Lisa Kowalski is an abstract expressionist painter known for her vibrant, sometimes almost violent applications of thick impasto paints. Some of her pieces are purely abstract, others reference the movement of cities and figures, notably this one, "Pretty Little Lies 2", that I just sold to a private equity firm in Boulder:

Where does she get her inspiration? Like many expressionists, some of the brushstrokes come from the muse within within, but as I saw when I visited her RINO studio, she pulls color palettes and compositions from many printed sources. Lisa has a collection of messy, paint splattered, nearly falling apart but lovely artist notebooks with torn, shredded and collaged images. As I sit with her she pages through them swiftly, and I imagine she does the same when she is there on her own, priming to paint, waiting for the right glimpse to guide her next piece.

Milwaukee Metal

On my recent trip to Wisconsin, post successful marathon, I was kindly invited into the studio of the sculptor Richard Taylor. He had told me on the phone that he had a lot of works in progress, and he wasn't kidding. The industrial building just north of downtown was chock-a-block full of his metal pieces, wall and free-standing, indoor and outdoor, natural rusted steel to painterly distressed to shocking bright. Here are some of the highlights:

Freestanding totem pieces. I think I can move these!

From a series of public sculptures he executed. This one was built on spec and is primed, ready to be painted a color of choice and placed somewhere magnificent!

A guardian figure watching over the studio and lending some creative juju from time to time

Richard discusses his art and process

Good motto!

Sleuthing Milwaukee

After a nice September rest, I am back to work. Yesterday's definition of that work was pounding 26.2 miles on my Newton sneakers along the lakefront of Milwaukee. Marathon #4 is down! As much as it hurt 24 hours ago, why am I already contemplating which one to do next year? I attribute this craziness to my mother, who kindly watched and cheered me during the race.

Anyway, now that my training is finished, and now that I feel rested and rejuvenated again, I am back to sleuthing. I am changing up the formula a bit, a little less rigid in the 'one artist a month' and secretive concepts. I am just going to share my studio adventures and hope you all enjoy.

On that note, today I want to share a bit of my visit with Milwaukee painter Zim Zwadlo. He is the master of the aerial observation, and I absolutely love the pedestrian piece that my firm placed in our first round at 1600 Glenarm Place, so it was nice to meet the man behind the brush.

Jim's house is in an eclectic part of Milwaukee, not far from the domes that house the city's botanical gardens. First glance - yes, an artist lives here:

Inside the Victorian I was delighted to meet Jim, sporting a tweed sportcoat, as well as his wife Sue, also sporting a tweed sportcoat. They were quite the cute couple. Here is a shot of Jim in front of some of his works:

And, bonus, it turns out that Sue is a painter as well. Here is one of her floral still life paintings:

August Off

Your studio sleuth has been slacking...obviously. I have teed up my next artist, actually couple of artists, but the two are spending this month getting married and have, understandably, not been too responsive to my prying questions. So I'm going to let them honeymoon and use the August month to freestyle my posts.

Today's topic is located in a little place called Aspen. Well, it's actually close to that little place in another great mountain town, Snowmass: Anderson Ranch Arts Center. The mission of the institution is "to nurture and inspire imaginations of all ages, encouraging experimentation, intensive inquiry and creative production. Anderson Ranch is an international center for the creation of new work and untried art forms for leading artists of our time." What better place? The mountains always inspire me, and I can see why convening talented teaching artists with inquisitive practicing artists can lead to new frontiers in art creation.
Here is a piece by a former resident from the 2009-2010 season, E. Piatt Wilson:

August Artist X: Karen Scharer

Artist X for August is revealed to be Karen Scharer. Karen is a self-taught painter who has transitioned her work over the past few decades from representational watercolor landscapes to acrylic and then oil abstracts. Her work is soft, simple, stunning. She is a great fit for many of my corporate clients who seek to create soothing, sophisticated spaces. And, to top it off, she could not be more hospitable and friendly. I treasured my mid-summer visit to her stunning Estes Park home and studio.
Here is a link to her website: http://www.scharerfineart.com.
And I will end the month with a few more of her pieces...

Mantra Monday

The life of an artist is not always easy, and I have found through my dealings with professional working artists that the ones who are successful possess similar business and organizational skills to people who are successful in business in all fields. Accepting the call to create art is one thing....accepting a call to make a living creating art can be another entirely. So I love the button that August Artist X keeps beside her easel, a mantra to keep the juices flowing:

Here is another mantra from one of my favorite masters, Henri Matisse:

Benefits of Bartering

Most artists' homes are adorned with a combination of their own work a scattering of pieces made by others. Of course artists love art and fundamentally believe in supporting the artistic community, but here is the secret: most rarely actually purchase anything. They rely on the age old bartering system.

August Artist X has an interesting story of how she acquired the friendly bronze moose that stands at attention in her front drive. A few years ago she was heading to the same art fair as its artist, Jim Budish, and the two made arrangements to share a truck. When the shipment arrived, however, all was not safe and sound....seems that one of his friendly bronze beasts had impaled one of her canvases en route. Horror! Jim did his best to make it right, but when the repair was not 100% he sent this critter to comfort:

Jim Budish images and contact information

Plein Air a Plenty

This month I have been giving you tidbits about the interior studio used by my August Artist X, adjacent to her lovely home outside of Estes Park. For the past week, however, she has been in nature's studio. Right now she is taking advantage of our final breaths of summer right as a participant in the Plein Air Rockies event sponsored by the Cultural Arts Council of Estes Park: http://www.estesarts.com/PleinAir/
Here is a triptych piece that she did during a previous show, mixing her characteristic abstract style with some elements of nature:

I look forward to seeing and sharing what she produces this year!

Creating Composition and Color

Artist X for August does not approach each piece with a specific idea or composition in mind, rather she picks a palette and lets the composition intuitively evolve. She says: "I work spontaneously, interacting with each painting to coax it into a piece that I can recognize as my work - hopefully, my better work."

But even that palette can change. Case in point: she had been working on a piece that just was not feeling quite right. Then she brought some sunflowers into the studio. Voila!

 

Mixing up Mediums

Almost all artists that I have met evolve their style and medium over the years, and August’s Artist X is no exception. During my tour of her home and studio I saw a large assortment of her work spanning the 25 years she has been painting. Early pieces were traditional watercolors of traditional subjects: flowers, meadows, etc. They were nice but safe, predictable. I was very grateful that her work has evolved. As time went on she moved into acrylic and eventually, after spending a concentrated a fellowship with the artist Jeffrey Keith, her current media of choice and mastery, oil.

Jeffrey Keith is a prominent Denver-based abstract artist. One of his pieces hangs prominently and brilliantly in the lounge area of the new downtown Four Seasons EDGE restaurant bar. Other monumental works are in the lobby of the 1900 16th Street, a 2009 high-rise in Denver. Although Artist X has a style that is uniquely her own, Keith's influence is very evident in most of the pieces she creates today. Here are a few of his works and a link to his website:

Stolen from the Kitchen

A couple of months ago I shared the sculptor Mark Castator's other use for his iron wok: he uses it to create the round forms of his circular Moons of Jupiter pieces. My Artist X for August also steals from the place where she cooks. A lot of her technique lies in her layering of paint and, in some cases, subsequent scraping. Art supply stores sell spatula-like tools for this purpose, but as she knows, the same rubber that we use to scrape chocolate chunk cookies does an awesome job of scraping oil paints. Here is a shot of her supply:

Here is a close-up of the effect of the use of these tools:

Must Have Mosaics

One of my first impressions of the home of my artist for August was this striking mosaic table in her sitting room:

Mosaics seem so modern to me, but I recall from my semester long seminar on the art of Pompeii during my third year of college that they are some of the most ancient forms. The city, buried under the ash of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, featured some exquisite examples of the technique. My favorite was this piece, "Cave Canem", which my 6th grade Latin teacher will be pleased to know I can still traslate: Beware of Dog!

Want to get a mosaic table of your own? Here's a good site: http://newmexicomosaics.com

Peruvian Mosaic Breakfast Table

Chillin on a dirt road...

If you are not a country music fan you might not recognize the "dirt road" reference  (I never was until going to school in the south). This current hit was playing in my car as I recently drove out to visit my Artist X for August. It was quite appropriate: she lives wayyyy out there in the wilds somewhere near Estes Park. You take some paved roads around windy paths and then have several miles on unkept dirty, dustry roads to reach her sanctuary. Luckily it was a sunny Friday afternoon, and as I reached her home and studio there was no where else in the world I wanted to be. Below is a shot of the lake directly across from her house. I look forward to sharing her tidbits with you as the month goes on.

July's Artist X: Marie Gibbons

My apologies, readers, for the delay in announcing the identity of my featured artist for July. As I mentioned in my last post, I headed down to Santa Fe for a long weekend, and I have been blissfully disconnected to the internet. Stay tuned for updates from that trip, as I found some incredible new talent and came back to the office with some wicked pieces on consignment. I am hoping that my clients like them as much as I do!

Just for fun and because it was AMAZING, here is a picture of some wild horses I saw on the ride back:

Now, without further ado, the identity of July's Artist X is the talented Marie Gibbons. Here is a link to her site:  http://www.mariegibbons.com . Be sure to check it out both for her original art pieces as well as the line-up of ever changing classes she offers in her Tennyson Street Space.

Stop by her studio this Friday (First Friday!) between 6-9 to make your own clay owl - just $10 for workshop time, materials, and firing.

Shoe Fetish

My Artist X for July loves her shoes. What a coincidence...so do I! Here is a pic of my current fave pair in circulation right now (well, these are the Christian Louboutin version and mine are.....not).

Here is a pic of her clay version. They feel very Beetlejuice to me!

Have a Heart

The artist I am featuring in July is especially near and dear to my heart for her involvement with Think 360, a Colorado state-wide arts organization that provides supplementary arts based education to over 40,000 students a year. Their roster includes over 90 artists who bring in workshops and do residencies that enhance the lives and light creative sparks in the youth of this state, and she is one of their stars. Small disclaimer, I do sit on the board of this organization, but what better use for a blog than to spread an important word?

I chaired a fundraiser for Think 360 this spring called Inspired Art, and many local visual artists contributed their talent in creating auction items that were inspired by poetry of school children. Artist X was a natural fit both for her involvement and commitment to Think 360 and because she has a series of pieces that fit so perfectly with one of the poems. Here is the poem:

Red Heart

Red heart in Love, hip hip hurray
Sad heart it smells like perfume
Red heart is soft it sounds like
Pom Pom Pom

By: Joann R., Age 9
Munroe Elementary

Here is a piece (similar to auctioned):

 Here is another series, more anatomically correct: