Friday Forager Faves: Treehuggers

Please enjoy this oldie by goodie while I spend the next two weeks camping, packing, visiting with the mom-in-law and moving from WA to OR. See you in September!

There is nothing I love better than a day spent walking in the woods or paddling down a slow moving river.  Nature’s beauty has a way of inspiring me to want to paint, write, cook, just create.  In celebration of Earth Day, this Friday’s Forager Faves round up includes a few artists who obviously feel the same way.  These are works insprired by the wonder of the earth in which we live.  Enjoy and get outside!

Quiet Cypress by Jim Draper

Sweet Grass No. 7 by Lori Keith Robinson 

Riverbank Afternoon by Debbie Martin

 

Tree Song No. 7 Colorshow by Kristi Taylor

 

Are Chickens the New Black?

I admit, I’m not always up on the very latest trends, I am in my 30’s after all.  I knew all about the “Put a Bird On It” trend, but had no idea that art featuring chickens had become such a big deal.  Chicken art makes me think back to my grandma’s house and her Americana farm scene prints featuring chickens.  And her ceramic chicken collection.  Needless to say, chickens aren’t the first subject that jumps to mind when I think of the latest in the art world.  But for whatever reason, these birds are fowls are ruling the roost.

Roost by Brian McGuffey

Seattle area artist, Brian McGuffey draws from childhood experiences in his creative process.  In “Roost”, pictured above, he elevates the rooster from lowly barnyard animal to a dignified, full-plumed specimen.  Just look at that profile.  You know all the hens would be clucking all over him.

King of the Hill by Sydney McKenna

Why did the chicken cross the road?  To attend a chicken-only art show, apparently!  St. Augustine, Florida artist, Sydney McKenna painted “King of the Hill”  specifically for a show at the W.B. Tatter Studio & Gallery celebrating not just chickens, but also the gallery’s sixth year anniversary.  I hope they served a vegetarian menu for the opening. 🙂

But the Tatter who is by no means the only chicken show I’ve covered in recent months.  Remember Yvonne Lozano’s What Happened to the Chickens show?  Yvonne created an entire series of painting centered around a family trip to Colombia and a few friendly chickens she met there as a child.

Here, Chicky Chicky by Yvonne Lozano

Out and About by Hilary Williams

But chickens in art aren’t just reserved for the barnyard.. In “Out and About”, San Francisco based artist Hilary Williams  depicts a little hen who seems to have escaped and is enjoying a lovely day on the town.  This chick is ready for a ladies lunch and some retail therapy.

Speaking of plucky adventurers ( pun intended ), Dolan Geiman’s Blue Highway also shows how chickens in art aren’t just for grandma’s kitchen anymore.  Geiman’s graphic, mixed media approach results in work that is more contemporary than kitsch.

Blue Highway by Dolan Geiman

Where is this upsurge in chicken art leading?  Only the chickens know for sure.  The banty in Jim Draper’s Cross Creek seems ready to take the road less traveled.  And maybe that’s what the chicken art movement is all about.

Cross Creek by Jim Draper

The featured images is Laughing About This Life by Hilary Williams.  All images are courtesy of the individual artist’s websites.

PS– I restrained myself from finding a Road Crossing Chicken joke to go with each piece of artwork.  You’re welcome.

Friday Faves: Put A Bird On It

It seems that the hipster craft craze has given birds a bad name in the art world.  If you’ve seen the “Put a Bird On it” sketch from IFC’s hilarious Portlandia, you know what I’m talkin’ about.  Bird “art” is everywhere.  It’s those mixed-media collagey things that you see at outdoor art festivals and markets, it’s the ubiquitous black bird on a bare branch.  Now don’t get me wrong, some of this bird art is lovely and fun.  But after a while, it all begins to look the same.

I want to set the record straight.  Restore the good name of bird art.  Here’s a round up of my favorite pieces featuring our fine feathered friends…

Barn Owl by Mary Alayne Thomas

Trespasser by Camille Engel

Flight Two by Jim Draper

Golden Light by Diane Farris

Beginnings by Susan Hall

Caeli by Vicki Sawyer

Think we may be doing a bit of bird watching this weekend.  If you’d like to do some online birding, check out the featured artists’ websites for more ornithological goodies.

1. Mary Alayne Thomas 

2. Camille Engel 

3. Jim Draper 

4. Diane Farris 

5. Susan Hall

6. Vicki Sawyer 

PS– I mean no disrepect to hipsters or their too-cool-for-school birds.  I love them both.

Friday Forager Faves: Horsin’ Around

Artists have long held a fascination for horses.  Some of the earliest cave drawings were filled with equine imagery.  Modern artists are no different.  Today’s faves feature artists with a penchant for ponies.  Enjoy!

Maribel Angel

Thomas Hager

Marsha Glaziere

Jim Draper

Dolan Geiman

Laurie Pace

Happy Friday!  Hope your weekend is filled with lots of horsin’ around and such.

To see more work by these Friday Faves artists, check out their websites:

Maribel Angel

Thomas Hager

Marsha Glaziere

Jim Draper

Dolan Geiman

Laurie Pace