JENNIFER SANCHEZ

Artist Jennifer Sanchez has a beautiful way of making simple shapes and colors seem complex. I was drawn to her work when I came across it a few months ago, because she mixes her free-hand style of painting with very precise geometric shapes. Her work is original and simple; yet that’s what I love most about it. Sanchez currently lives in New York and has more recently been a part of the gallery scene. When describing her paintings she has said, " I use geometric patterns, improvised marks and vivid color to depict a state of flux. Opaque and transparent shapes mingle to create ambiguous spaces. Clashing colors create new harmonies that vibrate. I approach each painting with general ideas in mind, but I never know where they may lead. All preliminary marks, little catastrophes and drips are visible to show the experimentation and thought that goes into it. Through the marks made, I invite the viewer to see the process of painting".

I can relate to Sanchez's creative approach to making a painting, that you start off with an idea of an image, and it never exactly turns out the way you planned... her experimentation, and willingness to allow her viewers to see her creative process is refreshing and truthful... I would love to order a few dozen of her prints for my wall! They are BEAUTIFUL.

March Madness

It's been over a week since I've posted anything to this blog. So let me first start by saying; where the heck did March go? I've been so consumed by projects for the past two weeks, that I haven't had a moment yet to appreciate the (warmer) weather, and the day-light-savings time change (hello sunlight)!!!

Since last Monday, I've been busy making smaller paintings for my ETSY SHOP. I was lucky enough to have a buyer purchase over 10 paintings in
one day .... Which wiped me clean of whatever extra paintings I had around the house to sell. So in the meantime I'm busy creating small, delicate, and colorful pieces that would be great for SPRING and SUMMER. I've also begun a new painting series of SUNFLOWERS (pictures to follow). Below are current updates of my latest peony painting I'm doing. I love to document my progress and watch an image form as it comes together!

I'm planning to stay dry in LA this weekend, and paint more... I hear it's going to rain... My thoughts go out to all the LA marathon runners! GOOD LUCK!

xx

Completed!

Eye Candy

As a creative person, I need to look at a lot of imagery to be inspired. Other artists, and their work, push me to want to be the best at what I want to do with my life: paint beautiful paintings.

When I was in college, I preferred to paint paintings that were over 5 feet tall and wide, simply because I had the studio space. That task has been difficult lately since I've been limited to using an old table at the moment to create artwork...

I'm dreaming of the day when I finally have a home to fill, so that I'm forced to create LARGE pieces to hang up in my kitchen, living room, and dining areas. Here are a few images from my digital notebook that I have collected. Motivation? Absolutely.

Coral Prints

I'm in love with a new color; Coral. And I'm on a quest to find it in every pattern possible...

I'm hoping to incorporate it into my new painting series, without being too overwhelming... Coral is a color that's bright, but is a little more unusual than your average Pink or Orange. I was such a Pink gal to begin with... But I think for now those days are over.

So I'm sharing my coral love

Pink Rose(s) Painting

A few posts ago I shared some pictures of the rose painting that I'm working on for my 5th grade Teacher. And, after a discussion with her, and a few more hours of adjusting the background colors... I finished! Below is the final result.

This weekend I'm taking a little break from painting and spending time outdoors. Rumor has it that its going to be 80 degrees this Saturday. I'm looking forward to going to the beach and spending time with my friends.

xx

Karlin

Andrew Myers

Most people are drawn to the portraits because they have something different about them (from a distance especially). Seeing them in person is a whole different feel than seeing the photograph. They have a sense of depth that the photo can’t capture.” – Andrew Myers

I had to investigate when I came across Andrew Myers, a local artist from Laguna Beach, CA and his "screw portraits". His work reminded me of my brother Pierce.... and his "penny project" in college when he glued hundreds of pennies onto a wood board and then painted them individually to create a portrait of Buddy Holly. All I could think was " this took a ton of work, time, and energy". This is likely the reason I'm drawn to Myers' 3-D craftsmanship and ability to create artwork with hardware. He starts his pieces with a wood board, draws the portrait, grids his lines, and begins screwing thousands of screws onto the board and finishes off with paint. These works are super cool. Enjoy!

Modern Met met with Myers for a quick interview. Here is what he had to say:

How does this type of sculpture differ from your usual work?
These pieces are definitely a departure from my normal artwork. For years I had been sculpting in bronze, doing figurative, narrative types of work. The screw art was born mostly because I was burnt out on the narrative work, but also because I'm always searching for a "better" sculpture. It has been hard for me to stick to one style of work as I always tend to find something more interesting. In fact, before I got the exposure on the screw art, I had considered taking a break from that to pursue something else.

What do you hope others will get out of these pieces?
When other people look at this work, I hope they can see the amount of thought and work that went into each piece. I feel I have used everything I've learned over the past decade, including sculpture, painting, construction etc, to create something that I had never seen before.

What's next?
Right now I am in a studio transition, so I haven't had much time to work on the art side of things. However, I have some great plans for the future, which include plenty of screws and large scale sculptures (hopefully public art).

To visit his website, click on the title of this post
www.andrewmyersart.com
*images from ModernMet