Your 2019 #LocalArtLoves

You guys found — and made — some great art during Local Art Loves earlier this year!

As you may recall, Local Art Loves is about sharing the art you love from your community. (It can even be your own work!)

This time, there were submissions from across the United States that included oil paintings, digital illustrations, sculptures, and more. I’m featuring those artists here, as well as adding a couple Arizona artists I love.

Painting of vintage Skips Hamburgers neon sign — Skips by Kristen Nyberg (in progress).

Kristen Nyberg

City: Marblehead, Massachusetts
Medium: Oil painting
Shared by: Sarah Moore (a.k.a. “Saguaro Sally,” vintage sign enthusiast)
Subject: Neon sign for Skip’s Snack Bar in Merrimac, MA

Lora Barnhiser

City: Phoenix, Arizona
Medium: Acrylic on “rescued” wood blocks
Shared by: me

Notes:

I’ve been a fan of Lora Barnhiser’s work since I saw some of her reclaimed wood art on display during Phoenix First Friday a couple years ago.
When she was in the process of moving her studio to prepare for the birth of her babies, she announced a flash sale, and I called dibs on these adorable little cacti!
More about Lora in her Instagram introduction.

Beck Lane

City: Sarasota, Florida
Shared by: artist

Beck Lane’s portrait of singer Lauren Mitchell was one of last year’s Local Art Loves.

Later, the artist shared a couple more of her vibrant paintings – 16 (or makin’ a way outta no way) and Kandi Dishe, Starman.

Beck Lane painting — “16 (or makin’ a way outta no way)” by Beck Lane.

• 16 (or makin’ a way outta no way)

Medium: Oil and oil crayon on aerosol on two 60″ x 72″ canvas panels.

Notes:

The title of 16 (or makin’ a way outta no way) refers back to the first group of Africans brought to the U.S. to be enslaved. We don’t know the names of the individuals on that original ship. We just know that there would be eventually millions more, and they were the first 16.
Coincidentally, the painting took 16 months to complete and was inspired by the events of 2016.
The woman in the center of the painting was modeled after Providence artist, dancer, and model Melanie Moore.

Beck Lane portrait of Kandi Dishe — “Kandi Dishe, Starman” by Beck Lane.

• Kandi Dishe, Starman

Medium: Oil on aerosol on two 48″ x 60″ canvases.
Subject: Portrait of Worcester, MA drag artist Kandi Dishe.
Where to find it: Chasen Galleries

betta fish painting — Painting of Frida by Caitlyn Ann Thomas. Photo from my house.

Caitlyn Ann Thomas

City: Tempe, Arizona
Medium: Watercolor
Shared by: me
Subject: Frida the Fish

Notes:

After hearing that our betta fish had passed, our friend Caitlyn asked for photos. A few weeks later, she surprised us with this beautiful watercolor portrait of Frida. It was such an incredibly kind gesture and a lovely way to remember a little fish with a big personality!
Caitlyn and her husband Alex also make films as CharismaJinx Productions.

Realist painting of Apex sign. — “Apex” by Stephanie Schechter (in progress).

Stephanie Schechter

City: Providence, Rhode Island
Title: Apex
Medium: Oil on canvas, 23.5″ x 40″
Shared by: Sarah Moore
Where to find it: You can see the final painting of Apex on the artist’s site.

Gary Lee Price

City: Richmond, Virginia
Titles:

Green Thumb [girl with pigtails, foreground of photo]
Green Thumb Too [boy, partly obscured in photo]

Medium: Bronze sculptures with planters
Shared by: Susan Willis
Where to find them: In front of Chasen Galleries in Carytown, an artsy neighborhood around Cary Street in Richmond, Virginia.

Painting of Haverhill, Massachusetts liquor store sign — “Liquors” by Debbie Shirley.

Debbie Shirley

City: Haverhill, Massachusetts
Title: Liquors
Medium: Acrylic on panel, 18″ x 14″, framed
Shared by: Sarah Moore
Subject: Street outside ChrisPy’s Liquors + Lottery in Beverly, MA.
Where to find it: Available for purchase. Contact the artist for more information.

Notes:

Debbie Shirley describes her painting style as “contemporary realism meets roadside retro.”
You can read more about her process making the painting.

Wayne Smith

City: Ocala, Florida
Medium: digital sketches
Shared by: artist

Wayne Smith participated in Local Art Loves by creating new digital sketches almost daily! His varied subjects included Rocky Mountain wildlife, a series of funny “advanced yoga” poses, portraits, and dessert.

• Swedish princess cake

Delightful-looking prinsesstårta (Swedish princess cake) on a gold tray.

• Killdeer sketch/study

A killdeer bird the artist photographed at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park.

Advanced Yoga by Wayne Smith. — Goat yoga sketch by Wayne Smith

• Goat yoga

A meditation on why pets aren’t helpful for yoga poses.

The next Local Art Loves will be February 2020, and I’d love to see art shared from across the globe!

You can participate anytime by posting photos of art you find in your community (or create) using the hashtag #LocalArtLoves.

Keep supporting artists wherever you are!

February 14, 2019February 14, 2019

Blush: A Color Story

If fire engine red screams Valentine’s Day, blush whispers it sweetly.

It’s a romantic yet subtle shade, as lovely on walls as it is on flowers. Although it’s a more traditional choice for this holiday than last year’s black and white, they look fabulous together. Blush is also great with deep blues or teal-y greens.

Like the illustrations, destinations, and DIYs in this post, blush doesn’t even have to be about Valentine’s Day at all.

1. Ceramic vase by Polina Shutova 2. Flower arranging how-to via Food52 3. Venice, Italy buildings 4. Are We There Yet? painting by Christina Baker

5. Pink room via Esther Lee 6. DIY Grand Budapest Hotel envelope by Thimble 7. Bellevue Corduroy Skirt via One Loved Babe 8. “Room in your heart” hand-drawn type by Maddy Nye / for designlovefest

9. DIY eraser heart stamp via Cotton + Flax / black + white love 10. Living + Working in 350 Square Feet via Design*Sponge 11. Honeymoon in Sardinia commission (map detail) by Mura 12. Jacome Plaza in downtown Tucson

13. Stenciled Valentine Gift Bags via Martha Stewart / Valentines Day DIYs 14. A rural house with urban style in Ibiza, Spain / h/t sfgirlbybay 15. Santorini illustration by Mari Andrew

Photos link to their sources.

November 3, 2018May 23, 2023

Downtown Mesa’s Día de los Muertos

A 10-foot tall skeleton in a sombrero leaned over to ask if I knew what time it was.

Which is not that weird when you’re at a Día de los Muertos celebration with skeletons everywhere – on banners, as sculptures, painted on kids’ faces, and for sale on tote bags.

So, of course, there would be a skeleton with stilts, a full beard, and no watch.

When you think about it, the lack of a timepiece may be the least surprising part. Schedules are probably pretty irrelevant in the realm of the dead.

Phillip, Quijote, and I had showed up near the end of Mesa Arts Center’s festival. We started at the custom car show and worked our way toward an oversized Frida Kahlo skull made from tissue paper flowers, stopping to listen to a band on the way.

We visited the community altar, which was decorated with photos, candles, art, and flowers in memory of departed loved ones.

On a second stage, Mariachi Pasion, an all-woman mariachi band, began playing.

When Quijote got restless, we moved on to check out the arts and crafts vendors. There were handcrafted decorations, jewelry, papel picado banners, and small ceramics that looked like ones we had seen in Peru.

Now it was 4:30 – half an hour before it was all scheduled to be over – and the party showed no signs of stopping.

In fact, it was still so crowded that our stilt-walking friend had trouble getting through. The bands played on, vendors continued to serve up churros and hot dogs and tamales and paletas, and there was still a line to get into the craft-making area.

As we walked away, the celebration continued behind us – everyone enjoying the moment, like time was irrelevant.

October 18, 2018May 23, 2023

George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center in Phoenix

During Phoenix Art Detour, my friend Anne and I wandered into the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center.

The building had been a high school for African American students from 1926 to 1953, which I didn’t even know about until we stumbled across it. I guess I had assumed that, since the Phoenix population didn’t really start booming until the ’60s, maybe we had just skipped the whole segregation thing. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.

However, Arizona did desegregate its schools a year before Brown v. Board of Education mandated it nationally. The Carver High School closed, and the students were integrated into other high schools.

In 1986, four Carver alumnae formed Phoenix Monarchs Alumni Association, an organization to preserve the building and turn it into a museum and cultural center. They were eventually able to purchase it, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

The George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center is now open with a mission to honor African and African American heritage, arts, and culture.

The Phoenix Monarchs Alumni Association continues to raise funds to upgrade the space and offer additional programs and exhibits.

In front of the museum is a statue of its namesake, scientist George Washington Carver, holding one of the peanut plants he was famous for studying.

We explored the first floor and saw artwork like paintings, sculptures, and a quilt made by students who had gone to school there.

There was a room with vintage typewriters and sewing machines.

Another one had what looked like African artifacts and traditional craft, like masks, drums, and beaded gourd instruments, as well as contemporary paintings, and a violin.

Outside of Art Detour week, I think a volunteer guide is usually there to provide context and answer questions, because a lot of the items weren’t labeled. The museum had a work-in-progress feel, as funds are still being raised to improve the building and exhibition space. It will be exciting to see it transform!

More Info on the Carver Museum

The George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center is located at 415 E. Grant Street in the Phoenix Warehouse District.
Hours: Fridays and Saturdays, 11am to 5pm.
Donations accepted.
History of Carver school and museum (archived).

February 19, 2018February 20, 2018

Presidential Portraits

A new portrait of President Obama was unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery last week. It was met with mixed reviews.

Critics compared the unconventional painting by Kehinde Wiley to portraits from the White House collection, implying that the new work – and, by extension, Obama himself – was less dignified or presidential than those that came before.

But it’s a flawed comparison. This is not his White House portrait. (Also? Judge presidents by their actions, not by artwork created of them.)

There are two collections of portraits that include all (except the most recent) former U.S. Presidents: the 43 paintings in the White House and the more varied collection in the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery (NPG), which also includes sculptures and photographs.

The portraits in the White House are often more formal and official-looking than their NPG counterparts, especially in recent decades, when artwork has been veering away from tradition, widening the gap between the two collections.

Wiley’s painting has been installed in the National Portrait Gallery, where I’m sure it stands out as unique, but not out of place.

PS Obama’s portrait has been re-created on a cookie.

Former President Barack Obama's painting for the "America's Presidents" exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C., has been unveiled. #CookieTheNews pic.twitter.com/J89Q7l4849

— Tastemade (@tastemade) February 17, 2018

Photos via the White House and National Portrait Gallery.