artist
PORTFOLIO magazine
issue 24
artist
PORTFOLIO magazine
Contents from issue 24 are from our Cover Art Exhibition from earlier in 2015. Artist Portfolio Magazine selected 20 artists and then held a vote with the public to select our cover. Thank you to all the artists who participated in our cover exhibition and thank you for your patience with us in getting this issue out.
Sarah Treanor - Page 4
Michele Voight - Page 10
Steph France - Page 16
Selected Artists - Page 20
artist
PORTFOLIO magazine
issue 24
View all of our past issues for free at: ArtistPortfolioMagazine.com
Sarah Treanor - Seguin, TX streanor.com
Why are you a photographer? I love telling stories, and photography is one of my favorite ways to do so. I enjoy the challenge of balancing the technical and creative aspects that are part of the medium. I first picked up a camera in my mid-twenties as a hobby. I found that it served as a healthy distraction from the emotions of losing my father. At age 29, the sudden death of my fiancĂŠ prompted me to dive much deeper into the medium. Not only was it a positive distraction, but it also served as a healing tool and a safe space to express my grief. iron Will Photography
Sanctuary Photography
Sanctuary - Can you let us know your process and how you set up this particular photo shoot and where did you come up with the image of you in a bird nest? (is that you?) This shot was one of the most time-consuming of the series. It took four days in the Texas heat to gather branches and wild grape vines from the ranch I live on and haul them to the site. Once all the materials were gathered, I wove them together into a nest large enough for me to fit inside (so yes, it is me!). The camera was rigged up from a deer blind directly above the nest, and a remote used to capture the images. As for the concept for this shot, I had just heard a presentation on grief the week before. The speaker related losing a spouse to losing your sense of home ... your safe place. This image immediately came to mind. I thought about how important it is, during a time of extreme loss or trauma, for us to to be surrounded by safety. As I shot, occasionally climbing up into the blind to check the images, I became breathless with what I saw. There was something very powerful about this image from the start.
What are you favorite works by yourself and why? I would have to say, “Sanctuary” is dearest to me because of all it represents within my personal life. Also, because of the impact it has had with so many others. This image has gained more exposure than any of the others to date. Thus, it feels like the two of us have been on a very unique journey together over the past year. I haven't quite had this with any other image in the series. Spirit is also dear to me. It is the image that – should I begin to lose myself – reminds me that I've made it through hell and back and I've still got a fire in my eyes. It's a good thing to be reminded of. A few of my other favorites are “Iron Will” and “Frozen.”
Next up. What’s next for your photography? Any new works you’d like to share? (if you want to share anything new send me the image) The series has slowed down some this year, though I am continuing to add to it. There are several new images out, like “The Dance” and “Goodbye”, that are exploring a new chapter in my life and grief ... one of new love, moving forward, and leaving certain aspects of my grief behind as I do so. I'm also currently at work on a book that will include the photos and accompanying written essays of the series. Additionally, I have a few other ideas simmering for down the road that will focus on the stories of others and their grief in various ways. Where can people find Sarah Treanor? I am occasionally showing work locally, and around the globe. More information on upcoming shows and events can be found at my website, streanor.com. You can find the complete “Still, Life” series here, as well as some of my earlier work. I can also be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sevenshootingstars and on Instagram at https://instagram.com/ sarahtreanor_artist.
<<-Promise Photography
Next Page The Dance Photography
Michele Voigt - Malibu CA mauvisual.com
When did you figure out that you wanted to be an artist? I do not recall a time that I did not know myself to be an artist. I have always been an artist. I never imagined myself different or doing something different. I saw art as a birthright and not a â&#x20AC;&#x153;choiceâ&#x20AC;?. I created, colored and painted as early as I could get my hands moving. I am fortunate that my family and community fostered my talents very early. Art defined me.
-->> O Thus She Stood Oil on Belgian Linen 72" x 48" x 2"
Bella Esprit (wip) Oil on Belgian Linen 36" x 36" x 2"
Take us through the process of how you start a painting? I generate paintings in my head. They start as a story, a message, or a vision. I work on them conceptually until I draft them on canvas. I usually have three to four stored in my mind as I produce them. When I render the works on canvas they come directly from memory and not from sketches. I try not to get too far ahead of myself with the works in development as I get so excited about them I find it hard to complete the painting at hand. I am frequent to exclaim “you should see what my next painting is…” My pallet is somewhat intuitive based on the message and movement of the work. It takes me a day or more to create and mix my initial pallet and hours, everyday thereafter to recreate it. I paint to my own will these days though I have done commissions in the past. I also noticed you do installations. Is this something you’ve always done and where can we see some of these? I love murals. The bigger the pictorial surface the better! I like people to be embraced by my images and invited to submerge into them. I think that is easier to do so if a work is life size or larger; however, I have learned I must temper that desire. It is difficult to find galleries or shows offering that large of “real estate” these days. I created my first murals when I was 15 years old. Howard Kanovitz came to work with me for two summers and he pushed me to create two 18’x12’ mixed media murals. They are a part of the Oklahoma Art Institutes Permanent Collection. I pursue the instillation of traditional works in non-traditional locations. Outdoor murals and graffiti art in public spaces has certainly found its’ recognized place in our contemporary art world. I am a big fan, but that is not my venue. I would like to see original classic works like an El Greco painting hanging on a power pole. I look forward to art (traditional art) being accessible to all people outside of institutions (museums and galleries) in simple accessible public places. My studio in Greenwich Connecticut was a part of the historic Lyon Farm Homestead. It offered an abandoned dairy farm with barns from 1760. I drew great inspiration from the barns. I expected that I would exhibit within and on them. When we returned to the west coast I photographed the barns so that I could reproduce and install them underneath my paintings in another setting. Many of the “installations” in my collection are my paintings within the barns, my works projected on the barns, or my works embedded photographically within the barns. Fait Accompli Oil on Canvas 43" x 43" x 4"
What are you favorite works by yourself and why? Fait Accompli (Artist Portfolio Magazine Cover Finalist) is a favorite work of mine. It tells a very global and personal story. My premise was to express the challenges of new life and how it truly does take a “system” (community) to raise a child. My personal story in the work is about adoption, the heaviness of head of the one who relinquishes a child and the strength and openness of the one whom receives it. The abstraction and divided plane of the background illustrate the incomprehensible nature of the transaction while flat shadows ground the figures in real space and time. Another favorite of mine is O Thus She Stood. It depicts the expression of a person, fallen down. Pressing up. Crouching. Rising and returning to stand. This painting is a portrait of every person who has been knocked down onto their belly and has chosen to stand back up again. The motion of the painting is a continuum. As if the rise and fall is never a onetime occurrence. My personal story in the work is one of a dear friend whom passed away after a courageous battle with cancer. Though this was the last time she stood back up, but it was far from her first. My most recent and favorite is The Procession of 172 Souls to Heaven. It is my visualization of the energy and atmosphere as innocent souls pass after the loss of lives due to acts of terrorism and atrocities. This is my second work attempting to memorialize the innocent lives tragically taken as a result of the bombing of the federal Murrah Building in Oklahoma City. In this version I strive to capture the energy and movement of the loss of life minutes after the explosion. I imagine the sky filled with light as 168 souls are released from their bodies and the physical world. I have added additional souls of significant people in remembrance of their tragic deaths as they join the massive procession. Where can people find Michele A. Utley Voigt? I have a busy “Art Fair” agenda; hopeful to be adding even more. I have been invited to exhibit in the X Florence Biennale 2015. October 17 – 25 / Fortezza da Basso, Florence, Italy. th
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In early 2016 I will be exhibiting a collection at the stARTup Art Fair Los Angeles: 2016: January 29-31, 2016, Hollywood, CA. February 26 – 28 2016 I will be at the Oxford International Art Fair 2016. St Aldate's, Oxford, United Kingdom th
I have recently moved to a new studio space in beautiful Santa Barbara. I welcome visitors by appointment. For my upcoming events and works in progress: Website: www.mauvisual.com Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/Mauvisual Twitter: https://twitter.com/Mau_Visual Instagram: https://instagram.com/michele_utley_voigt/
-->> Procession of 172 Souls to Heaven Oil on Belgian Linen 48" x 36" x 2"
Steph France - East Greenwich, RI kalmkaos1@gmail.com
Untitled
When did you figure out that you wanted to be an artist? I’ve always liked drawing. When I was a kid i used to draw this 1 rose over and over again. I used to take those gel pens and draw all over my arm. In high school people wanted me to draw on their arms so during lunch time I’d never really have time to eat because I was busy “tattooing” my friends with gel pens. I never really looked at it as a career, I really didn't think it was possible for me. But, after high school you know how you have those epiphanies at certain points in your life? I decided that life is short, and we should always follow our bliss. Because that’s what life is about, it’s about finding what you love and feeling good as much as humanly possible. So..one day I just bought a canvas and some paint and just went nuts. I went on like a binge and stayed in my room for months just painting night and day. People who would walk in and see my paintings started saying they wanted a painting, and then their friends wanted a painting too ... and that’s when things kind of took off. Take us through the process of how you start a painting? Honestly, people usually say something inspires them or that they go somewhere or use emotions etc. I have a little routine. I put on some good music, not sappy stuff something like real sharp energetic music. I down a nice big cup of coffee, make sure I am wearing clothes that i can get paint on, I make sure I'm in a good mood, and i just go. I have to be in a good mood. If I’m not then my paintings look like mush. Literally if I have a word that could describe it, it would be mush. I pick the colors I like, and let my subconscious do what it does. I try to not think about it as much as possible. The more I think the more I want to change it around and then I think more and change it again and it becomes a cycle. After i let my subconscious go a little nuts, then I usually have to think about cleaning it up a little bit. Kind of like controlled chaos. My subconscious gets a little chaotic, and I have to control it and shape it. What are you favorite works by yourself and why? I like all my big paintings. Working on big canvases are always way more fun. And I like the ones with gesso/cardboard like Factory. I’m going through a little cardboard obsession right now. Cardboard and texture. I like how it makes the paintings more 3 dimensional, so you can actually feel it. My other personal favorites are Rocky Point (2014) it’s a 24”x36” acrylic on canvas and Untitled 3 (2015) 18”x 20” acrylic on art board. I attached them. Next up. - Where can people find Steph France? (do you have a studio or any upcoming shows or online only and correct your name if I screwed it up) I have some stuff hanging up in The Bailey Art Gallery in Newport, also in some consignment stores like Re in North Kingstown, Pen E Lane in Coventry, and some private collections and offices around Providence. (All in Rhode Island) for now. I will be in more places though. I just need to have more paintings to put in those places. Which I’m working on.
next page Factory Mixed Media 24" x 36"
Barbara Krupp - Vero Beach, FL barbarakrupp.com
Free Spirit - Acrylic & Fabric on Canvas - 55" x 79"
Kerri Warner - Sacramento, CA kerriwarner.com
Splash Mixed Media Collage, Book Pages, Printed Paper & Acrylic on Wood - 30" x 48"
Sedi Pak - Los Angeles, CA sedipak.net
Amoebus I Plywood & Steel 93" x 35" x 25"
Naveen Shakil - new York, NY naveenshakil.squarespace.com
Untitled Mixed Media 4' x 6'
Hilde Maze - East Hampton, NY hildymaze.com
Split Open Like a Seed Pod - Oil on Paper Collage - 18" x 22"
Travis Apel - Omaha, NB designawax.com
Coalescence - Foam Core, Papier-Mache
Ai-Ling Tseng - San Francisco, CA facebook.com/tseng223
Vera - Oil on Canvas - 24" x 36"
Ryota Matsumoto - Mitska-shi, Japan ryotamatsumotostudio.blogspot.com
Waves and Particles - Mixed Media - 23" x 33"
Arup Lodh - Kolkata, India facebook.com/arupsmood
A Cloudy Day - Watercolor, 28" x 41"
Lucas Seaward - Fort McMurray, Canada lucasseaward.com
Intimidation Bitumen - Crude Oil 36" x 60"
Richard Masters Omro, WI
Forsaken Passage #2 White Pencil 39.5" x 13"
Abie Sussman - New York, NY abie-sussmaninc@nyc.rr.com
A Life Well Spent - Digital - 51" x 75"
Susan Kneeand - Plaistow, NH susankneeland.com
Harbor Huddle - Acrylic - 18" x 24"
Peter Stucky - Berkeley, CA Peterstucky87@gmail.com
Brain Head Bust - Blown Glass, Metal & Wood - 19" x 10" x 9"
Caroline Kraus - San Francisco, CA ckrausart.com
"Blanche's" San Francisco - Collage on Art - 12" x 12"
Petros Nagakos - Roslindale, MA petrosnagakos.com
Gaddafi - Oil Gold Leaf - 30" x 40"
Michael Pantuso - Hinsdale, IL behance.net/michaelpantuso
Mechanical Bee Integration Digital 42" x 42"
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