(left to right)Ruptured Concrete No 1&Ruptured Concrete No 2by Christian Hetzel
“In times ofoverloadofvisual impressions,I tryto send the viewer on ajourney of discoveryacross the painting surfaceand sensitize him for thefew and less in color,structures, cracksand textures.” —Christian Hetzel
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Years of being allowed to handle artwork as a juror, curator and/or gallerist has made me the patron that museums loathe. I want to feel the texture, smell the oils, see the support structure. Art should always be personal. Intimate. But, I refrain. I still long to touch, but I don’t.
Today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Christian Hetzel chooses texture and palette to convey a complexity of message. There is a reason all signs flash and a commercials scream. Competing for our attention is complicated. But does it have to be?
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You’ll long to touch the work of today’sAAAD Artist of the Day,Christian Hetzel!
(left to right)images fromDesert Realty&Western Realtyseries byEd Freeman
I want to believe the best of people, but the current political climate has challenged that ability. It as though the majority of people I already knew to have political leanings in one direction or the other have suddenly become extremists who are not only willing, but happy, to spout hate or accept the complete destruction of those that differ from them. It scares me. Then I ran across this quote… [These images] “are a way of seeing commonplace architecture with fresh eyes and discovering both the charm and the dark side of easily-ignored structures.”
I went in search of the images referenced by the quote. That’s how I happened across this work from today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Ed Freeman. While that is completely backward of my normal process, it seems that his images quietly, innocently & unintentionally mimic their louder human counterparts. Intriguing.
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Discover more of today’sAAAD Artist of the Day,photographerEd Freeman!
At least once per day, my husband and I have an interaction that results in my saying, “Never die. I can’t date again.” It is usually some bizarre, embarrassing action or phrase or conversation that reveals a level of intimacy that feels abnormal. We are a metaphorical three-legged monster –connected at the hip. And while I am grateful, I can also recognize it for the freakish co-dependence that it is.
“Don’t force me to change, but let me change, you know?“ –Ken as interviewed by Emilyann Gachko
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Today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Emilyann Gachko has taken on a sort of documentary process of the personalities of internet dating. She puts a human, humane face on the people who find themselves looking for a life partner. The project is just beginning, but I was intrigued enough to read every entry so far. I still have no interest in dating again, but “Love, Me” has made me realize that people looking for love are just like me. Shared experience and needs and desires build tolerance. Tolerance is good.
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Fall in Love withAAAD Artist of the Day, photographerEmilyann Gachko!
(left to right)IntercessionandCinder & Smoke(oil and acrylic on wood) byTracie Cheng
“I want a calm understanding to be felt, despite what may never be known. I want us to find more possibility in the intangible, and allow for it to come into its own.” —Tracie Cheng
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We grow up hearing “anything’s possible”. But is it really? Possibilities vary from person to person. Privilege aside, doesn’t the individual’s talents and tendencies shape what is truly possible? I believe we find our possibilities where we look for them. I struggle with faith but find the need for absolutes stifles creativity. The work of today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Tracie Cheng suggests possibility in the intangible which requires faith in some form. Maybe it is dichotomy, not contradiction.
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Ponder the possibilities with AAAD Artist of the Day, Tracie Cheng!
“Production of Belonging #1 & #2”(collaged acrylic on paper) byDana Hargrove
“As we traverse the land, we may find our search for utopia
leads us on a journey that offers, on the surface, little more
than a façade of our ideals.” —Dana Hargrove
After another week on the road, it is easy for me to begin to see patterns in the towns through which I drive — aspects of the constructs that seem to reflect back the personality of the town, be they real or fabricated. Imagine my delight to find the work of today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Dana Hargrove. I invite you to take the time to investigate more of Dana’s work and her exploration of this concept.
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Learn more about AAAD Artist of the Day, the Aspect Formations series byDana Hargrove!
I struggle with self-doubt like every artist, like every person. I struggle with balance and/or learning to live with imbalance. I want peace and tranquility, but lack the self-control to say “no” often enough to allow time for the peace. I find myself annoyed by the gospel of “busy” but fulfilling the stereotype repeatedly. Art is the exception. Art prompts but stills me, makes things clearer.
The mixed-media collage work today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Laura Lein-Svencner gave me a little perspective today, helped me weigh options. Pause for just a moment…
“I use the term ready-made pallet to describe my color.” –Dimosthenis Prodromou
I’m such a fan of found-object assemblage, trash art & recycled materials. I understand the debate over archival materials, and I embrace a movement toward outdoor ephemeral sculpture in parks and outside museums & universities. However, I do often find my self frustrated when an artist chooses to use a recycled materia regardless of of whether it really works. I don’t like the gimmick of it all. But the sculptural work of today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Dimosthenis Prodromou finds itself at one with newsprint. If feels like a natural progression of the paper’s lifecycle. It appears both solid, but soft & light. A ready-made pallet…
“I explore the relationship of the subjects as an almost religious icon, as a portrait. Everything I paint has an energy that I strive to bring to the surface.”–Jennie Traill Schaeffer
It seems that today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Jennie Traill Schaeffer finds an inner purpose or being, a light if you will, in all objects. It doesn’t upset me at all that she chose cupcakes this time. Enjoy this sweet treat…
When I came home from the hospital with my bouncing baby boy so many years ago, I found a bottle of cold duck in my fridge –a gift from my mother. Not champagne. Cold Duck. This particular variety was a blend of port & champagne. I never asked her why, and I’ve never had it since. But, after a pregnancy free from alcohol for both myself and my husband, it only took a glass a piece to make us a little giddy and able to let go of the fears and stress of being a new parent, if only for an hour or so. It is a fond, silly memory that I treasure. When I came across this work of today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Vivienne Strauss, it put a smile on my face. The perfect complement. (continues below)
A self-taught painter with a background in Philosophy, Vivienne Strauss works predominately in oil and watercolor. Her paintings often migrating around the humor of being human – shared dejection, things left unsaid, false arrogance, disbelief, inspired irony. She is an observer and chronicler, in the actual world in which she exists and in the world of characters she creates, exposing, with precise wit, the subterranean elements lying in wait beneath the deceptively quotidian.
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Enjoy the witty observation in the work of today’s AAAD Artist of the Day,Vivienne Strauss!
Gaining perspective requires your finding your place in the present day by looking BOTH backward toward the path traveled (or not) & forward to embrace possibilities. When I came across this pair of portraits by today’s AotD, I found this idea beautifully illuminated. Ironically, Robison is primarily a plein air painter, which cannot be more rooted in the present. The work of today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Kathleen M. Robison, offers a beautiful glimpse of Summer contemplation. (continues below).
“White Scarf”&“Blue Sun Dress”(plein air oil painting) byKathleen M. Robison
“Painted this oil painting of a girl who was looking away into the blue sky. The bright light on the scarf drew me in, so did the movement of her hair. Her attitude that day reminded me of the ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’.” — Kathleen M. Robison
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Contemplate new directions with the plein air work of AAAD’s Artist of the Day,Kathleen M. Robison!
