At Vivid, we talk a lot about art. Different styles, various influences, even how to light art. But we haven’t talked much about how to best hang art, and it’s a question we’ve received often. How to hang art properly is important knowledge for anyone who owns artwork because, really, what is art without it being visible and presented properly on a wall? Below, we’ll break down the art hanging process into several categories.
Read More
1. What are your earliest memories of art? How did you become an artist yourself?
I have many early memories of art, as my mom often took me to art museums as a child. She is also an avid collector, and my childhood home was filled with original art, so I grew up having a great appreciation for both collecting and creating. Though I had an active interest in visual art in elementary and middle school, it wasn’t until I enrolled in a printmaking class in undergrad that I really fell in love with creating art.
Read More
Your work tends to revolve around a central theme. What is the theme for this year’s exhibit and how did it inspire you?
One of the most satisfying things about being an artist is that you get to explore any topic that interests you at the moment and dive into it. I was very insprired by the Webb telescope images that came back to earch in 2022 showing previously unknown galaxies and the nebula where new stars are born.
Read More
We last talked to you about your work in depth in 2019. How has it changed over the last several years?
Due to the pandemic, my work was in a holding pattern until we could start traveling again. Photographers like me need to be out in the world to make their art. So in 2022 and 2023, traveling again was a kind of rebirth of making the type of art I like to make, which requires me to roam foreign places and spaces looking for intriguing subjects. Needless to say, getting out there again was liberating.
Read More
Art has long been used as a platform to reflect the world we live in, including environmental concerns. As the world becomes increasingly aware of the urgency of climate change and its effects on the planet, more and more artists are incorporating environmentalism into their works. Environmental consciousness in contemporary fine art has become a growing movement in art and the global community. This blog post delves into the relationship between art and the natural environment in fine art today. We examine how contemporary artists use their works to bring awareness to environmental issues and how they impact art collectors and their collections, using gallery artist Allison Svoboda as one example.
Read More
Gallery walls are popping up all over on social media, designer websites, and magazines. What makes them so popular? And how do you put one together? At the gallery, we’re often asked about creating gallery walls and the process behind it. While there are no specific rules for creating a gallery wall of your own, there are some guidelines that we follow here at the gallery. Below, we will explore the process of creating a gallery wall, as well as some tips you may find helpful along the way.
Read More
We touched on framing in our blog post last year which discussed how to effectively light a painting. Now, we’d like to take a deeper dive into framing as we have also had many questions from our customers regarding framing, and we would like to further share our perspective. As with lighting, there is no correct way to frame a work of art.
Read More
It’s been an interesting year and a half. How has your work been impacted by the Coronavirus?
On the plus side of a catastrophic and tragic situation, I have been afforded more time for studio work.
I think the themes in my paintings have remained the same and the work has not been affected as far as subject matter is concerned.
However, I did see some uneasiness reflected in some pieces; too much detail and some colors seldom used. These are interesting and challenging factors but overall I’d say my work remains my haven, the peaceful and absorbing place I long to get lost in.
Read More
Spanning garden ponds and the seven seas, water draws artists to the task of capturing the light and form of constant motion. Throughout the centuries of painting and printing seascapes, a vast variety of styles has enabled artists to display the elements of a subject they deem most important. This collection considers famous painters of seascapes first, then explores some artwork exhibited at the gallery.
Read More
Can you tell us what inspired you to begin painting still lives?
I have done a lot of still life painting over the years. In fact, I stuck to that genre exclusively the first few years of my painting career, before branching out to other subject matter. For the most part those paintings were very traditional in nature. While I am still very much a representational painter, the growing popularity of contemporary art has inspired me to experiment with a more contemporary approach. Still life painting has provided the perfect vehicle for that.
Read More
It’s been an interesting seven months. How has your work been affected by the coronavirus?
I started working late last year on paintings with the theme of invasive species and their impact on the landscape. As we all know, in mid-winter an invasive species in the form of a virus appeared and suddenly the subject felt way too alarming. At that point I decided to pivot to something closer to home, since that’s where I was spending all of my time (like everyone else). I am fortunate to spend summers in Northern Michigan on the Lake surrounded by orchards, rolling hills and that incredible body of water.
Read More
It’s been an interesting past six months. How has your work been affected by the coronavirus?
During this time of social distancing, my morning walks to the lakefront and connection to nature became even more important. The moment that vast water comes into view an immediate sense of calm settles in. This is what I was always trying to achieve with my work so it was just an affirmation to keep working on passing this sense of serenity onto others. Going to the studio and just working with the familiar for now was very cathartic during a time when everything else was changing.
Read More
It’s been an interesting past five months. How has your work been affected by coronavirus?
The biggest change is not having my friend and fellow artist, Nancy Delman, to paint with me. Before Covid we painted together once a week and, although we have very different styles of painting, (she’s mostly figurative and I’m abstract) the basics of any artwork are always the same: color, value, space, form, shape and line. Needless to say, it’s been very solitary for months, and I miss her creative company and critique.
Read More
It’s been an interesting past three months. How has your work been affected by the coronavirus?
MS: Janet and I had an exhibition on March 10th at the a+c architects gallery space and we saw it as a prelude to our exhibition at Vivid Art Gallery in April. Being that it was towards the end of the winter season, which is the time I work on the figurative paintings, I had a substantial body of work in the figurative style. I was still doing carpentry during those days and lots of painting at night and on the weekends. I was making great progress, pushing hard and burning the candle. When the pandemic came and my carpentry work stopped, I began to put all my energy into my figurative paintings.
Read More
It’s been an interesting past three months. How has your work been affected by the coronavirus?
The invisible but ever so real virus has had a devastating impact, and I have empathy for those who are suffering and will suffer until society can find a cure. My mind needs to be quiet when I paint, emptied of surface chatter. The impact of the pandemic initially was an inability to create. I love to draw with pencils on paper, so I started with drawing. Eventually the warmth of spring enticed me outside, called by the awakening sounds of birds. I took in the sun’s glow casting itself on the tops of trees not yet in full leaf. Then I was ready for painting, the task of making compositions and placing color on canvas.
Read More
Much of your work in this exhibit is inspired by nature in this exhibit, a departure from much of your past work. What inspired this change regarding your subject matter?
I noticed that i had a collection of photos that were meaningful to me in other ways than the portraits and architecture subject matter. These were photos of leaves, trees, butterflies, and landscapes - natural subject matter with different shapes, colors, and compositions. Especially in recent months being forced under lockdown, when I stopped rushing and doing, I started to look more closely and take time with these new ideas.
Read More
Your work seems to be becoming more and more abstract. Can you talk about how your work has progressed over time?
I love being able to push myself as an artist. Having studied the myriad patterns in nature, I decided to see how I can expand on the idea of recreating the leaf or flower and use them as a jumping off place for my abstract art. By working spontaneously, I share the element of surprise that I feel with the person that stands before my art. My abstracts give people the chance to get completely lost in my process.
Read More
What are your earliest memories of art? How did you become an artist yourself?
When I was quite young—6 or 7--I had a great aunt who was a painter. I remember visiting her studio and she showed me how to look closely and study the symmetry of a butterfly and of the seeds of a sunflower and she explained that artists look beyond the obvious to see things that others might miss. I admired her and tried to follow this advice.
What are your earliest memories of art? How did you become an artist yourself?
I always drew. From the time I could hold a crayon, I used whatever surface was available. Frequently the walls, which did not please my parents.
I studied Fine Art at university and went on to get a Masters, I simply never thought of doing anything else.