Waterlogged: Laura Sanders

Happy Memorial Day, Artsies!  Hope you are out celebrating with friends and family.  Chances are if you aren’t completely land-locked, you’ll be spending some time in, on or near the water.  Hubby & I are spending the holiday moving from our temporary rental in town to our summer rental on Hayden Lake here in Northern Idaho.  It’s still been pretty chilly here, so we won’t be doing any in-water activities, but I’m sure we’ll find ourselves soaking up the sun and just enjoying lake life.  Columbus, Ohio artist Laura Sanders perfectly captures the wonder of water-logged summers.

Obstructed Horizon, oil on canvas

I was immediately drawn to Sanders’ work, not just because George & I will be enjoying lake life this summer, but also because her work beautifully portrays the joyful memories of my own summer lake experiences as a young girl.  My older brother, Jason & I used to spend a few weeks of every summer at the home of our great aunt & uncle, who were active retirees living on small Hall Lake in Northern Florida.  Aunt Helen & Uncle Vernon were still fairly young, but had no grandchildren yet, so we filled the void, spending lazy days swimming, fishing, biking and just generally having the time of our lives.

Untitled, oil on canvas, 36×36

Jason was into taking my uncle’s little johnboat around the lake for a spin and biking up and down the clay road, while I, like the girls Sanders’ paints, was more the little mermaid.  I loved being in the water, the feel of it on my skin, the sun beating down, heating up the inner tube until it got just hot enough to need to dunk under for a bit of relief.  Uncle Vernon loved to swim, too, and spent hours in the lake with us, while Aunt Helen was the disciplinarian.  She firmly believed in the no swimming just after lunch rule.. much to our chagrin.  But she always brought us Fla-Vor-Ice’s while we swam, so all was forgiven.

Noon, oil on canvas, 25×27

As we grew older, our time at the lake grew shorter.  We became busy with teenage life and Aunt Helen & Uncle Vernon finally had a grandson of their own to spoil.  We moved on, but they held a very special place in our hearts.  They’ve both passed now, Vernon several years ago and Helen just last year.  But the memories we made with them live on.  Every once in a while, a breeze stirs up or I’m near the water, or see paintings like Laura Sanders’ and I am immediately transported back to Hall Lake.  I can feel their presence and hear Aunt Helen scolding Uncle Vernon for keeping us in the water too long, just before she rings the old dinner bell by the back door.

Cloud Cover, oil on canvas, 52×42

Later Summer, oil on canvas

I hope you’ve spent this Memorial Day making some wonderful memories of your own!  To see more of Laura Sanders’ work, please visit her website.  For a little bonus, scroll down to the end of this post to see a special photo from my days at Hall Lake. 😉

Featured image is Girls and Plastic Floating, oil on canvas.  All images are via the artist’s website or the website of her representing gallery, Rebecca Ibel Gallery.

Here’s your bonus pic!

Hall Lake, Summer 1982
l to r: My brother Jason, our friend & lake neighbor Glenn Hayhurst,
his sister Shelley, yours truly

Friday Faves: Water, Water Everywhere

.. and not a drop to swim in.  Well, without a wetsuit, at least here in Northern Idaho.  What is it about the water that calls to us, calms our senses, rejeuvenates?  These photographers might have a clue, as they’ve answered water’s siren song..

Philippe Cheng

Mertxe Alarcon

Tulum by Neil Krug

Wave Study I by Thomas Hager

Philippe Cheng | Mertxe Alarcon | Neil Krug | Thomas Hager 

To see more work from these artists, please visit their websites linked above.  Happy weekend, Artsies!

All images are via the artists websites.

Going Along Swimmingly: Samantha French

Please enjoy this oldie but 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!

Swimmingly [ swim-ing-lee ]

–adverb-  Definition:  without difficulty; with great success; effortlessly.

‘Tis the season for swimming.  If you’re in Florida at least, maybe if you’re elsewhere ’tis the season to dream of swimming.  I recently came across the paintings of New York ( by way of Minnesota ) artist, Samantha French, bathed in sunlight and clear blue water.

Reminiscent of summers spent on Minnesota lakes, French’s work seeks to recapture those fleeting, carefree days of summer.  Days spent in the water, underwater, by the water.. nothing compares to the lovely worn-out feeling of a day spent swimming and relaxing in the sun.

The swimmers and sunbathers in French’s work are reminiscent of days gone by.. of colorful convertibles, hotdog picnics, the days of Hepburn and Tracy.

French has a show titled “Open Swim” opening at the Left Bank Gallery in Essex, CT this Thursday.  To learn more about the artist, visit her website and be sure to fan Samantha French Art on Facebook!  Prints of her work can be purchased through her Etsy store.

Perfect for summer, yes?

Delicate Awakenings: Marsha Boston

Normally, I love thick paintings.  Canvases piled high with mounds of paint and lots of gooey and delicious texture.  But there is a fluidity in abstract watercolors that I find just as appealing.  Watercolorist Marsha Boston imbues her work with such a lovely sense of light and tranquil color, they feel like looking at the world from under a blanket of warm water as the sun shines above.

Saucer Magnolia, watercolor and ink

Her botanical work focuses on our relationship with nature, our power over it in areas such as genetic engineering and nano-agriculture.  How easy it seems to be for man to take for granted and ultimately destroy the delicate balance that is inherent in the natural world, all for our own purposes.

Leaf Mutants in Pea, acrylic on canvas

Her Remembering Water series stemmed from the disastrous Deepwater Horizon oil spill, spawning an interest in aqueous plants and their usefulness and value in our ecosystem.  When oil spills occur, much is made of the impact on animal life, but the harm to plants and microorganisms that sustain them is rarely highlighted.

Widgeon Grass, Remembering Water series, acylic on canvas

Oculina, Remembering Water series, watercolor on Fabriano

I love art for art’s sake and pretty pictures as much as the next girl.  But do you know what I love even more?  Beautiful artwork that tells an important story.  And that’s what Marsha Boston’s work does.  It is telling us the story of the destruction and misuse of the very resources that are here to not only sustain us but give us pleasure.  It would be a sad day if there were no more wildflowers to inspire artists like Boston to capture their beauty.

Mountain Cranberry, watercolor and ink

To see more of Marsha Boston’s work, please visit her website and Facebook page.

Featured image is Indian Fig, watercolor and ink by Marsha Boston.  All images are courtesy of the artist’s website.

Friday Forager Faves

Happy Friday everyone!  If you’re in North Florida, no, that light coming through your windows is not an April Fool’s Day joke– the sun is finally shining!  If you haven’t made it to the beach yet,  here are a few of my favorite beachy pieces to get your through until then..  each one brings a little somethin’ different, dontcha think?

 

 

 

1.  Oceanic 29 by Thomas Hager

2.  Day Dreamin’ by Mary St. Germain

3.  Spontaneous Simplicity by Theresa Daily

4.  Seaside Reflections by Christina Foard