Laura Shema

Laura Shema

Richard Baker's book paintings and Gideon Bok's LP Paintings

"Which books to paint then?" Baker writes. "I began to think about books that had been important and life-changing for me, but which I now felt I could no longer return to—books that held great meaning for me as a youth but lacked the same impact upon rereading...Which books to paint then? I began to think about books that had been important and life-changing for me, but which I now felt I could no longer return to—books that held great meaning for me as a youth but lacked the same impact upon rereading...As my involvement with this act of 'portraiture' has continued, the reasons for choosing which titles and editions have evolved and become more various, though it remains of paramount importance that they be familiar and of no special pedigree. In the end, these paintings stand against loss and for reverie, memory, optimism, desire, and love." Richard Baker

Gideon Bok:

Gideon Bok is painting his LPs. Love it.

Dean Kessman

Have a Nice Day by Dean Kessman

DC Guide

I am so impressed with Grace Bonney, who has become a huge success with her design blog (and book), Design*Sponge. In the relatively small art department where we both went to undergrad, she fortunately found a prof. who got her interested in design, decorative arts, and the like...now look! I especially admire the help she and her co-bloggers give to women entrepreneurs.

On Design*Sponge is a DC Design Guide. I love that people hee and all over are seeking out unique furniture, handmade decor, craft pieces, DIY project opportunites, and the like... I swim around in the (not mutually exclusive) ponds of 'fine arts' and 'craft' and 'design', and sometimes I wish that 'fine arts' might be a bit more accessible, locally, in the commercially robust way that craft and decor have become. (As an educator, I want art to be accesible in general, too -- a whole 'nother pond o' fish.) Ayway, I do love how "ambassadors" like Kristina Bilonick of Pleasant Plains Workshop promote local art and craft, how Chandi Kelley of Project Dispatch makes art collecting affordable and fun, while helping working artists support their creative endeavors.

For what is is worth, I added the comment below to the D*S DC Design Guide -- I know it isn't an 'art guide', but there is such an intersection, and the more the merrier in generating new and creative ideas and making DC a place where original visions thrive!!

***

Great guide, and I'm glad to see DCAC included and Crafty Bastards mentioned, above! I'm a DC artist and would love for more folks to discover our creative scene. Here are some other great spots:

Check out Pleasant Plains Workshop, an artist-run studio/gallery space/store near Howard University. Cool silkscreened items and other crafts and art by local artists: http://pleasantplainsworkshop.blogspot.com/

Industry Gallery features international design: http://industrygallerydc.com/Site/Home.html

52 O Street Studios is a decades-old studio building with dozens of artists and crafters, from painters to furniture makers to filmmakers and more. There are occasional open houses: http://www.52ostreetstudios.org/

Check out Pyramid Atlantic in Silver Spring! In addition to their awesome gallery and papermaking and printmaking studios for resident artists, they offer classes in letter press, papermaking, and more. Upstairs is the Washington Printmakers Gallery, with some beautiful (and relatively affordable) work. http://www.pyramidatlanticartcenter.org/

The annual Capitol Hill House Tour is great and occasionally also includes a peak into work spaces, like the one I share with decorative painters, custom furniture makers, photographers, and florists! http://www.chrs.org/Pages/1_Projects_11Tour/2011-chrs-tour-brochure.pdf

Flashpoint, Transformer, Civilian, Hamiltonian, Project 4, Harmon Art Labs, The Fridge (near Eastern Market), Heiner Contemproary (in Georgetown) and Conner Contemporary are some galleries that feature work by emerging and mid-career artists from DC and elsewhere, often inculding work at all sorts of price points for those interested in buying original art. There are also some artist-curated 'house galleries' and alternative spaces like Bloombars, and the Washington Project for the Arts presents the work of area artists. For an extensive list of art goings, the Pinkline Project is a great resource, http://pinklineproject.com/.

Portraits and Panels

Circle of Hugo Van der Goes

Fayyum portrait

Fayyum Portrait

Hugo Van der Goes

Lucian Freud

I know, Lucian Freud is like whoa. Every year I have a student who is super talented and will do a copy of a Freud painting that just is amazing and better than I could. Lately, I have been
looking at Hugo Van der Goes -- for me there is a density there that is like the same as Freud, just blended and smoothed and softened. I also like how sometimes you see these type of portraits on unframed, odd-shaped wood panels (maybe parts of an altar or somesuch) -- so the very "realness" of the illusion of the flesh contrasts with the very obvious object-ness of the support. Same with the Roman Fayum mummy portraits.

Rachel England

Transmuted (top), Get Past the Flesh (bottom)

I think maybe Rachel England and I are kindred art souls, a bit. Check out her awesome collage work for Project Dispatch, of which she is a cofounder.

Painter's Group

Pop over here to follow the studio visits I am doing as a part of a DC-area painters' group. Basically, every month an artist hosts the group in their space for some art chat, feedback, and general camaraderie. So far, visits have been with Lisa Rosenstein, Deborah Carroll Anzinger, and myself -- more to come!

Amber Robles Gordon

DC artist Amber Robles Gordon

artifacts of a community

Sarah Hubbs

"I recently gave up my studio in Brooklyn to make art from home and prepare for the arrival of our first child. I have always considered “place” in my work as I have moved from growing up in the Sonoran desert and the suburban sprawl of Phoenix to dense cities along the East and West Coasts. At eight-months pregnant, my body has changed a lot, and as I experience the movements of my baby, I imagine “place” as something completely different for her. Insulated and contained, the womb only allows her abstractions; muffled sounds, partial lights, and erratic movements. The instinct to care for her in her little world translates into a strong desire to care for my own home, to clean-out and make comfortable, drawing me far from the fast and needy city. Yet, at the same time, I look for ways to maintain my social connections and friendships and for ways to make visible the ties between our child’s life and the place where my husband and I both grew up, and where our families live. "

"For this project I photographed decaying areas of New York City: paint peeling in the subways, layers of dirt and grime in the streets. I isolated one image from the series and recreated multiple wall hangings out of discarded household items and packing materials. Resembling a human profile, the old towels, t-shirts, and intimates as well as cardboard, stained carpet and joint compound, create a wallpaper-like, decorative pattern. Installed in our bedroom, the meaning and history of this image and of the discarded materials are recontextualized by the interiority and intimacy of the space. A sense of the tangible and the intangible becomes visible and the process of defining who we are and what we see, both concrete and ambiguous, takes shape." --Sarah Hubbs

I'm a Fool for You

Venus Rising From the Sea: A Deception (After the Bath), by Raphaelle Peale

Love this painting; somehow it is trompe-l'oiel but even more (like double trompe l'oiel?), painting meta, playing with flatness/3D. American but to me at first looks Spanish, like Sanchez Cotan or Zurbaran or something holy, shroud of Turin-y... I love the play of the covering/hiding though I like the cloth itself so much that I don't really need Venus. I am trying to do my "take" with a painty bandana. Here is Catherine Kehoe's "On the Line." And I am also reposting Andrew Cranston's take since I like it so. And a sculptural piece by Maria Walker -- note the title is "Fool Me Once".

Andrew Cranston, After An American Painting

Maria Walker, Fool Me Once

Help Us to Be Confident and Fabulous

My Tim Gunn Votive prototype -- instructions: print image (to be 8.5" wide), cut off extra paper, and tape or glue to a standard size Virgen de Guadelupe or similar glass votive candle. Will probably help you to "make it work" with persistence, hard work, and confidence. Will definitely be a fire hazard. Maybe next will be a yarzheit candle with someone's face emblazoned on it? Eh, that seems a bit in bad taste.


English Translation of the prayer: TIM GUNN, Our Counsellor and Wise Friend. Prayer of Tim Gunn, Guide, Counsellor, and Wise Friend. Oh, Tim Gunn, mentor, guide and wise friend; unblemished, honorable, prudent and full of pacience, I beseech you your aid in all of my artistic efforts, asking the protection of your heart for all of my friends and my works, watchover them for me and form style, honesty, and beauty in their hearts. Give us the joy of having confidence, integrity, and creative vision while contemplating the glory of Style and Grace, praising and blessing Elegance and Fabulousness with kind hearts for all eternity. Help us to live with humor, goodwill, kindness, and humanity, Amen.

Dawn Black

saw her work at (e)merge art fair. like these 2 especially.

more ross bleckner, annie lapin, siobhan mcbride

above and below: paintings by ross bleckner



Annie Lapin


Siobhan McBride

some arts

Rachael Gorchov

Eden Veaudry

Shelby Donnelly

Kendell Carter

Maria Walker

Nancy Shaver
Maria Walker
Maria Walker

painting in progress

working on my first commissioned sort of painting...this is just a start. it is 48"x48".

Ross Bleckner

time (kingdom of time)

http://www.rbleckner.com/paintings.html

natalie frank

go look at her work, now! now! natalie frank

HOPE CHEST: emerging women artists

HOPE CHEST
: a young woman's accumulation of clothes and domestic furnishings (as silver and linen) kept in anticipation of her marriage; also : a chest for such an accumulation


Join us for a special event featuring artwork by DC/Baltimore artists Mariah Anne Johnson, Becca Kallem, Chandi Kelley, Michelle McAuliffe, Erin Murray, Elle Perez, Katherine Sifers, and Dafna Steinberg. These emerging artists challenge and reinvent tradition, romance, gender roles/expectations, and sexuality. Their work also investigates what we keep, save, and treasure in contrast to what is discarded. Photography, installations, mixed media work, and paintings present the domestic, nostalgic, and personal in new contexts.

September 15, 2011, 6-9 pm
@ GreenHouse 11
1123 11th St NW
Washington, DC
work on view September 15 - November 15 by appointment
**another special event will be held on September 24 to coincide with Shaw's NUIT BLANCHE Art All Night and the (e)merge art fair.**

HOPE CHEST is curated by Becca Kallem and hosted by Michael Schaeffer and Taurus Development Group. GreenHouse 11 is a unique new work space designed to grow small businesses and non-profits. Limited space is available.

images (details), l-r: Chandi Kelley, Two Stories, from Timelines; Becca Kallem, Pillow II; Erin Murray, Hope Chest; Dafna Steinberg, from Whenever I'm With Him, I'm Thinking Of You; Michelle McAuliffe, Ideas Begets Ideas; Katherine Sifers, Kalf #13; Mariah Anne Johnson, Sheet Installation; Elle Perez, A., from Conversations.

Taking on Tradition

Taking on Tradition: Six Virgina Painters and Printmakers. A group show at Washington & Lee University this fall with work by Kathleen Hall, Rebecca Kallem, Brian Kelley, Devin Mawdsley, Anna Wagner, and Amanda Wagstaff.

Polly Apfelbaum gets her F* You back

Here's an interview from NYFA with Polly Apfelbaum. She says, "If someone says, 'Your work looks like my five year old could do it,' I think that is the highest compliment in the world. But it is really hard work, and now if it looks joyful, I'm so happy about that."

The Artist's Life: Polly Apfelbaum from NYFA on Vimeo.