Fresh Paint

Last Sunday April and I joined our friends Tori and Kay (along with puppy Magsters) and headed out to the Everett Fresh Paint art festival. It was an amazingly perfect day - sun, breeze, and the Pacific Northwest beauty all around us. The marina looked especially crisp and the sky blazing blue.

If you are new to blogs, just click on the artist name and his web site with all their work will appear. What a great way to shop...and I got to do all the walking for you!

I found a few artist whose work just grabbed me and I wanted to share it here. The first was Dan Cautrell. Just the amount of effort it takes to make one of his pieces is a work of patience. He took the time to explain it to me, and unfortunately I am not capable of giving it back to you, but one look at his carved pictures and you can appreciate the detail he can envision. He carves them onto linoleum (drawing them backwards somehow) and then runs them through a printing press, after deciding what shall be black/white and carved out...a process of which I would need tutoring. I especially loved his artist statement he ended up making into a print. (See his web site to read it, it is the reason I blog...do art, etc...) Below is a copy of one of his prints from his Fable series. You just have to see his work in person to appreciate the detail. It was lovely.

The next artist whose work caught my attention was John Holm. I immediately felt like I was back "home" in California at the beach. Newport, Huntington, Seal, Redondo...this man's work transported me right back to my beach bum days. I love the feel of his paintings. Almost as if you are on the beach at sunset and dusk is just settling in over the sand. There is an anonymity to everyone he paints, much like the figures on the beach at the end of a day.

Jennifer Lommers had colorful, bright, somewhat abstract paintings that called to me. They were bright and what I like to call "happy" paintings. Her work brought a smile to my face.

John Osgood was the man who created the image for the Fresh Paint Festival this year. Kind of strange, modern, but somehow I found myself wanting to hang one of his provoking paintings on my walls.
Lastly, was Melana Bontrager. The work I've found on her site was not the work at the Festival, but is similar. She featured an unusual way of painting on what appeared to be a raised canvas. Each piece was about 2 to 3 inches in depth and varied in size. I enjoyed the freshness of her ideas, that carried each piece to surround the entire "box" like shape she painted on. My favorite was the white birch trees. Simple yet complex. Another new idea I enjoyed.

The most surprising part of the Festival was a few days later at work. I knew my manager Phil Jr. had visited the show and since he is an artist I wanted to hear his thoughts on the work. To my surprise he mentioned the two people that I had found most intriguing. Since I admire and respect Jrs. artwork, this was a moment (where I privately thought gee maybe all those art credits are worth something, and I do have an eye after all!) that was genuine to share with him.