In celebration of the grand re-opening today of San Francisco’s very cool and very innovative California Academy of Sciences, we feature Rob Dunlavey’s animal ABCs series.
Thank god we decided not to brave the crowds to go to the Academy of Sciences today, as about 25,000 people showed up. We will wait until the crowds die down, and in the meantime, we can get a great animal fix from Rob’s art work.
To see more, please visit Rob Dunlavey's Animal ABC's.
We were charmed by Rob Dunlavey's illustrative art in an earlier post. On a recent visit to his Web site, we were drawn to Rob’s simple but very idiosyncratic beasts. Shown above are three of the recent paintings from Rob Dunlavey, in latex paint on plywood panels and canvas.
top left: Two Birds | top right: Pigeon | bottom: Ferryman
To see more, please visit Rob Dunlavey’s Web site.
As we are attracted to trees, especially naked trees, the work of naturalist photographer, Barbra Ziemer caught our eye. Her focus on the pure simplicity of nature reminds us to seek out the tranquility in life.
If you'd like to see more of Barbra's work, please visit her Etsy store.
Prairie Grass is another of Thea Schrack's fine encaustic groupings. Utilizing a process of combining photography with encaustic techniques, Thea has produced a painterly scene suggestive of summer turning into fall. www.theaschrack.com
Morning Fog – Santa Rosa Laguna
9" x 9", watercolor, by Bill Shelley
“Located an hour north of San Francisco, the Santa Rosa Laguna, is an expanse of marsh-ways punctuated by stands of oak. A curtain of marine fog can descend or lift at a moment’s notice, concealing or revealing layers of trees, waterways and hills. “Morning Fog” was painted just as the fog was lifting off of the Laguna.” Bill Shelley
You can see more paintings of the Laguna on Bill’s Web site: www.bshelley.com
When we walked into Rebecca Haseltine’s open studio at Hunters Point, we were struck by a great sense of flow and fluidity. The marriage of colors with the organic forms of the pieces capture the ebb and flow of life. Inspired by the patterns and sediments in estuaries, Rebecca submerges herself into the "rhythmic exchange between land and water." Shown below are pieces from the Mud: Estuary/Phase V, titled Tidal Pourings. Many of the pieces extended from floor to ceiling, engulfing the viewer into the gritty dynamic of nature's rhythms. We noticed that her work inspired many to sit and contemplate her unique vision.
Shown below is close-up details of another of Rebecca's collections – the Plunge: Estuary/Phase IV.
To see more of Rebecca’s work, visit her web site at www.rebeccahaseltine.com. She currently (June 12 to August 8, 2008) is showing at the Water Project, Thoreau Center for Sustainability, San Francisco. Click here to learn more about the exhibition.
Magnolia, encaustic photographs, by Thea Schrack
The Magnolias series captures the beauty of spring. Look at the different depth of fields in each piece as if we are viewing the blooming season through a camera view finder. Simply divine.
Wine Foil #42: bold / pear / tangerine
18"x18", mixed media on panel, by Alan Mazzetti
While experimenting with with wine foils as a collage device, Alan Mazzetti found a compositional anchor for his free flowing abstract paintings. The wine reference also fits his explorations of color and texture; the awakening of the senses to scent, taste and feel.
Visit Alan Mazzetti's Web site to see more.
Ephemera Series by Susan Friedman
top: Crows
bottom: Fresco 1
With a BA in Literature, a MFA in Film and Photography, and her background as an award winning documentary filmmaker, Susan Friedman brings a varied sensibility to her photography-based artworks. She has experimented with alternative techniques – combining photography, encaustic and book making. Walking into her open studio exhibit this past spring, we were taken with images from her Ephemera series of birds, nests and eggs. Equally impressive are her recent, poetic photographs of horses and the exquisite book she has produced from the series "Equus." Quoting from her Web site, "It is about our spirit and our sense of wildness through the image of the Horse."
Be sure to visit Susan’s Web site to see more of the Ephemera series, her Equus series of horses, and other intriguing works.
Random Thought #420 & 421
8" x 20" (2 panels), spray paint, paper & resin
“The Random Thoughts series introduces collage, spray painting, stenciling, and resin into my repertoire of techniques.
I start with printed papers, combining different patterns together, to form an attractive mix. Using stencils, I add another visual layer by spray painting graphic shapes, on top of the paper. Lastly, I pour a thick coat of resin over the top to get a protective layer that almost looks like glass.” Audrey Welch.
Visit Audrey’s Web site at www.audreywelch.com to see more.