Happy Valentine's Day

Here's a virtual Valentine for all of you! This year I decided to paint my V-Day cards after being inspired by Merrilee and her son and their fantastic color theory project. I think these are my best DIY Valentines yet.


All images by Maureen Price. Please do not use without permission.

Gone painting...

I've been working on a little painting project lately. It's taking a lot longer than I planned (always does) but I hope it's worth it. It's a good practice in terms of meditation, patience, and letting go. Maybe I'll take a few pictures before my little paintings go through the mail...


Image by Suzanna Scott | Check out her shop!

Orange

I was really drawn to bright oranges, yellows, and reds today for some reason (out of character for me).


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1 Artist / 1 Piece: Raul Perdomo

I was at the bookstore the other night and walked past a cover that really caught my eye and made me stop in my tracks. After about 2 seconds of investigating, I discovered that the cover was a painting by Raul Perdomo. I made sure to jot his name down. It was a total treat to look through his portfolio. It's filled with stunning, detailed paintings that are reminiscent of a microscopic world in a petri dish, aerial photographs, topographic maps, and space explosions. Go check it out now!


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1 Artist / 1 Piece: Alison Dunlop

As a fan of abstract watercolor, I am completely drawn to Alison's Inner Sound series. She describes the series and her process on her website, "This series of watercolours, begun earlier this year in my new studio at the edge of the sea, is my attempt to find an equivalent in paint for the experience of looking out beyond my studio windows to the seas of the Inner Sound and the Minch. In all of these recent watercolours, with this new reality of sea and sky through my windows, the images are becoming more and more abstract, more pared-down, re-defined and it seems, paradoxically, more REAL. The process of pressing forward with this series, not knowing what the next piece will bring, where it will take me, has taken on an energy of its own. Each piece seems to grow out of the previous one(s), to teach the eye and the hand something new and to give a renewed sense of boldness and vigour. To let the hand, the pigment, the paper and the water act in unison, giving form to my inner experience of the drama unfolding
beyond my window...." I think that says it all! Beautiful. Have a look at the rest of the series and Alison's wonderful realism portfolio.

James Nares

What can I say? I love the work of James Nares. I've included the picture of him working in his studio so you can see how he creates these paintings...suspended in mid air (!). Too cool...


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1 Artist / 1 Piece: Vasily Kandinsky

Ahh, I completely forgot that yesterday was Friday. I've had a weird schedule this week. So, here's 1 Artist / 1 Piece a wee bit late. Better late then never!

This is one of my favorite paintings by Kandinsky. At the Norton Simon Museum, they have his piece "Heavy Circles" which is from around the same time period. There's a wall plaque next to "Heavy Circles" which describes Kandinsky's thoughts on circles.
"Why does the circle fascinate me? It is:
1. the most modest form, but asserts itself unconditionally
2. a precise, but inexhaustible variable
3. simultaneously stable and unstable
4. simultaneously loud and soft
5. a single tension that carries countless tensions within it
The circle is the synthesis of the greatest oppositions. It combines the concentric and the eccentric in a single form and in equilibrium. Of the three primary forms, it points most clearly to the fourth dimension.”


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1 Artist / 1 Piece: Britt Bass

I spotted this mixed media piece a week or so ago and I was (and still am) smitten. The colors and movement make me think of summer and childhood. It's so vibrant and cheerful that I'm fairly sure I produce just a little bit more serotonin when I look at it. Britt is a very recent graduate of UGA with a BFA in art education (awesome). Head over to her website and pop in for a look at her Etsy shop!

Dwell on Design: 2

...and we're back with more from Dwell on Design. This time I want to share one of my other favorite parts of the convention. Yolo Colorhouse had such a great interactive booth! Before I show and tell you about what I did at their booth, let's talk about their awesome paint. Yolo has created a line of paint with no carcinogens, reproductive toxins, mutagens, hazardous air pollutants, ozone depleting compounds, formaldehyde phthalates, or VOCs. They also use 100% recycled plastic containers and 100% PCW labels with soy based inks. Nice. They've also got some pretty great color palettes to choose from. Anywho, I loved the way Yolo made their product so much fun to experience at Dwell. They took a bicycle and added a tub to the front with a spinner inside. Then you just place a piece of paper on the spinner, have a helper start pedaling, and get to squirting the paint to create a cool design. I loved it and I will definitely be picking up some of their paint whenever the day comes that I can, umm, actually paint an apartment. I highly recommend it as VOCs and the like are not something you want to be inhaling. Check out these little masterpieces created by convention goers!



Images 1, 2, and animation by Maureen Price. All other images are from Yolo Colorhouse
PS: I wasn't perked in any way by Yolo. I just really enjoyed their booth (and they've got a great product)!

Amazing!

These two pieces are absolutely remarkable. I can't even imagine the time and effort that went into their creation. Both are by the artist BLU (with a collaboration with David Ellis on this first one). I don't really know what else I can say other than...watch them!

COMBO a collaborative animation by Blu and David Ellis (2 times loop) from blu on Vimeo.

BIG BANG BIG BOOM - the new wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

1 Artist / 1 Piece: Sofonisba Anguissola

We're heading a wee bit further back in time with this week's artist. Sofonisba Anguissola (c. 1532 – November 16, 1625) was an Italian painter from Lombardy. She came from a family of seven children (six of whom were daughters). Her parents encouraged all of their children to develop their talents and four of their daughters became painters. Minerva, one of the girls pictured here, became a writer and a Latin scholar. When Sofonisba was 22, she went to Rome and met Michelangelo. Upon seeing her work, he recognized her talent and she was then informally trained by him. She was eventually invited to join the Spanish court to serve as painter and lady-in-waiting to the Queen. She lived to the remarkable age of 93. I chose this painting because I see it as a departure from her other work. There's a wonderful sense of whimsy and play between the sisters. She has translated the relationship between these girls in a charming way. This piece is also an excellent example of her skills as painter.


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1 Artist / 1 Piece: Gustav Klimt

I've decided to do some alternating with 1 Artist / 1 Piece. Contemporary artist then artists of the past. This week I chose Attersee by Gustav Klimt. I think every freshman art student at my school had a Klimt poster in their dorm room (myself included *cough*). Usually The Kiss or the portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer but this is my favorite of Klimt's. I'm immediately drawn to the color and feeling of calm. It seems like an early morning. I love that it's such a departure from Klimt's more well known pieces from his golden period (lots of gold leaf). I hope you enjoy it!


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Norton Simon Museum visit

This weekend Luke and I also went over to the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena. They are having an exhibit on abstract and color field painting in the 60s. But I found myself drawn to my permanent collection favorites instead. I had my camera and my 50mm-f/1.4 lens (thus the really shallow depth of field) which is great for museums. I quickly snapped a few close ups of my favorites.