Artist’s Statement: I like to photograph things imbedded in urban asphalt or found on the sidewalks and by-ways of city streets. I love the grungy texture of street art; grunge being an inevitable by-product of the human species that speaks to the human condition like wrinkles to an elderly face. Someone tosses an empty soda can that gets crushed and rusted with time, a fallen leaf lays like a shipwreck marooned on a strange landscape, a white traffic line cracks up in a time-lapse of years, an oil slick fades in a time-lapse of minutes and I try to find my way there. Sometimes “there” can be in the middle of heavily trafficked streets where I practically risk my life trying to photograph such things like they were pieces of the Maltese Falcon. If the…
Peter Jarvis: Realism, Art and Process
Artist’s Statement: My inspiration lies in the topographical drawings and watercolours of the 18th and 19th centuries. My work is objective and realistic and true to the Italian term, veduta esatta meaning “exact view.” My passion for and belief in the sketchbook as a means of understanding subject matter is central to the success of my watercolours. The very nature of the sketchbook in its portability and mobility on location means it is innately suitable in this pursuit and as a precursor to more finished work: it is immediate and intimate and requires the minimum of materials. The activity of drawing on location plays an integral part in my understanding and appreciation of the notion of place: placing oneself as the central reference point during location drawing. This knowledge and experience also enables me to work from photographs alone when it is…
“(UN?) HOLY ALLIANCE” — Blog by Steve Sangapore
(UN?) HOLY ALLIANCE: Why the Titans of Science and Religion Continue to Clash As humankind advances into its increasingly globalized future, one of the most pressing existential issues of the modern age is the growing tension (and sometimes hostile sparring) between religious systems and the scientific enterprise. Tenants of religion would claim they have suffered blow after blow at the hands of faithless scientists with little regard for the killing of God. And that science, in its attempt to corner the market on truth and understanding, has belittled religion to a state of being little more than destructive dogma grounded in the parochial and patriarchal superstitions of iron-age peasants. Additionally, the scientific community often charges religion with being fantastical, anti-progress, radical, tribalistic, and even governmentally favored. Some would say that we need only to turn…
Kimberly Brooks — Paintings from History
Artist’s Statement:I work in series, diving into subjects from many different angles of observation, history, and memory. I strive for a result that descends from the clouds in my mind like lightning to the earth, to light a night sky or occasionally set a tree on fire. I painted for years in my head before I ever held a brush. So I have therefore been painting all my life. And as a way of speaking, it suits me. The first time I showed my work so many years ago, I felt so exposed, I blushed. I paint both abstract and realistically, always hovering in between, in search of something new. *** Kimberly Brooks is an American artist and author of The New Oil Painting (Chronicle Books). She is known for her portraits and landscapes in…
Rebecca Hosking — Multitalented Creative
Photo above: Elephant Camp, Chang Mai, Thailand Editor’s Note: This month’s featured artist is also a very talented musician and poet. Check out Rebecca Hosking’s diverse creative endeavors below. Not All Witches Belong to a Coven Not all witches belong to a coven. Put aside the stereotypes. Expand your mind and think outside of the box. Mother nature lives inside all of us. She is the mother of the earth. Her medicine lives in the plants that feed off the dirt. Get your feet wet, dabble, and expand your mind. Not all witches wear black clothing or dance naked in the garden just before dawn. This woman lives alone. She lives among her dreams, works hard like a graceful wave carrying life to the shore. She warms her skin with the sun and finds energy…
Forensic Foraging Photography by William Crawford
Artist’s Statement: The trite, trivial and mundane are often dismissed by today’s technology driven photographers. Images shot can unlock the beauty and intrinsic value hidden in most everyday things. Thus, an old fractured glass window found on a wrecked desert shack might better be presented as a compelling image. Such a transformational presentation can be achieved by applying basic photographic techniques: framing, lighting, coloration, saturation, contrast, etc. This precise application of seminal tenets can often transform the mundane into something pleasing. This process forms the essence of Forensic Foraging. Photographers today possess a plethora of powerful technical tools. High resolution sensors, potent post processing software, and cameras with such jacked up processors that they could, in a pinch, support the governmental operations of a small city. Many camera images today all but surpass the human capacities…
Alex Nodopaka – “Computer Aided Design” Art
Artist’s Statement: I am a multifaceted artist who practiced traditional painting, drawing, photography & sculpture until the advent of the PC. Subsequently, my art evolved into pure computer graphics. I have quite a bit of experience from graphics through watercolors and oils and etching and sculptures in many mediums such as ceramics, bronzes, wood and assemblages. All my artistic life and beyond has been totally dedicated to art to the point of fixation, if not light obsession. I work serially. That is, periodically, I come up with a certain manner and style in my artwork, then conclude that series after 50 or so examples/variations in each category in that fashion, then I move on. Operating in such fashion created a problem with artwork storage and that is when I decided to strictly create CAD art….
“Shush Please,” Poetry and Art by Tamizh Ponni
Shush please On a cold winter night I lay in the comfort of soft blankets and cushy pillows The non-stop titter-tatter against all tangibles mercilessly broke my hard-earned slumber Sliding and slithering over and over Crystalline droplets raced on the glassy tracks without much caution or trepidation. The uncoiled skeins of climatic emotions were desperate to bring glee into doldrums. I woke up, sat up and stayed up leaning towards the window pane, listening to their tantrums All night in silence, eyes closed, ears open It was a performance that clamoured for attention from lonely souls and midnight owls. I wish it came with a volume control The loud clatter and yellow lights, were acting like partners in crime brutally stirring up memories of good times Days that could not be reclaimed Nights and people…
An Artist’s Look Back at 2020 by Steve Sangapore
New Beginnings & New Work Considering the wide-spread struggle, uncertainty and turmoil of 2020, I think many of us are exhaling a hopeful sigh of relief now that we are starting a fresh new year. While the right side of our brains have enjoyed quite a bit of activity this year contending with all of the chaos and unknown, the left sides have been patiently awaiting a return to stability, structure and predictability. Over the course of the last ten months of “the new normal,” I have enjoyed conversations with dozens of creative people, and unsurprisingly, I have heard many varying testimonials. Some have thrived during the months of shutdowns and quarantine, while others have had difficulty locking-in to productivity due to disrupted schedules and a lack of creative motivation and inspiration. But wherever your…
“Love Apple” — The Cartoons of Prachi Valechha
Artist’s Statement: I’m Prachi Valechha and I’m a freelance cartoonist and 2D animator from India. I enjoy milkshakes, kiddie goggles, dancing in the shower and I’m the creator of the fictional town called PeachTown. I’m one of those people who think in visuals, not words and the need to be able to communicate and express better is what got me into art. Not to forget playing with color and controlling movement. I’m inspired by wild architecture, road and motel signs, Toshio Saeki, Ai Yazawa, Vince Collins, Sally Cruikshank, 90s Cartoon Network, Aeon Flux, shows like American Horror Story: the confusing, shocking, wild kind of things. Cartoons and media have taught me more than school has ever done and I believe that’s it’s an amazing medium to bring a change – while making it look fun….