Results tagged “painting”

Taking her cues from the "anything goes" rules of children's literature, illustrator Audrey Lopata carefully pens colorful worlds inhabited with scarf-wearing-lizards, zombie pirates, and mermaids. Her black and white comic panels express slightly more grown-up emotions but still convey the sense of whimsy that is so evident through out Lopata's work. Stop by the Pump Project Art Complex this weekend during East Austin Studio Tour to see Lopata's studio space and that of many other talented artists. Audrey sat down with us to talk about what inspires her and how she goes about creating alternative worlds where elves and fairies roam.

While the East Austin Studio Tour offers the opportunity to discover new artists opening their studios to the public for the first time, it is also a great time to visit and catch up with established artists that have been a part of the Austin art scene for many years. Such is the case with Daniel Burns, an artist known for his soulful depictions of Austin landmarks and a past participant of EAST. Burns has just returned from a two-year stint in New York where he lived while his wife, Cari, completed her graduate degree. Happy to be back in Austin, Burns brings with him a new series of paintings created on the streets of NYC that pulsate with the same jubilant energy inherent in the city itself. Straight from the book of the early French Impressionists, these En plein air works capture a snapshot of modern life in the moment. His quick, fluid brushstrokes and vibrant colors perfectly evoke the bustle of a busy afternoon in downtown Manhattan. In addition to Burns' new paintings, this year's tour participants will also get to see prints from his Austin Landmarks collection.

If you still haven't found that perfect gift for the art collector in your life, consider checking out the In-House Gallery's Holiday Art Show tonight. This show, in its ninth year, is hosted by Ethan Azarian; the former front man of the Orange Mothers is now focusing his creative energy on his painting career. The In-House Gallery is very literally in Azarian's house, where he lives, paints, works, and exhibits his art. The Holiday Art show will feature an assortment of Azarian's latest pieces at a variety of prices to fit anyone's budget. Azarian's paintings are very vivid and often playful, freqently depicting villages, farm animals, and whimsical household items. Many of the pieces for sale in the current show were created while Azarian was visiting Mexico and Vermont and the results reflect the unique culture of those two corners of the world. In addition to his paintings, Azarian will be showing a series of painted woodblocks.

There are two notable things that jump out about artist Marian Taylor right away: number one, she is self-taught and number two, she is pediatric oncology nurse. She turned to painting to deal with the intensity and emotion of an incredibly demanding profession. Rather than take a class or head back to school, Taylor just picked up a brush and found a great degree solace in the painting process. Soon she was churning out work after work, including oil, acrylic, spray paint, and charcoal on canvas, wood, and cardboard. Her canvases reveal something more than an enjoyable hobby, however. They provide the viewer a glimpse into how art can heal, comfort, and communicate. As she states, “The life and death battles and the strength of the human soul I witness are transformed onto canvas. Each of my paintings is deeply layered to tell a story.”

What's that you say? You missed Adreon Henry's One Line Drawing's exhibit last month? Well son, that was a foolish, foolish thing to do, but don't beat yourself up about it too much. You are being given a mulligan, and you better swing yourself hard and fast towards Super! Alright! Studios this weekend, as this time you only get two days to check out Henry's new work during the East Austin Studio Tour.

With a mind that seems predisposed towards the tangential and an effortlessly breezy artistic tone, j.haley (sometimes he likes to leave the space out as a response to our internet driven world) creates treasure out of trash, while simultaneously running a million miles an hour and goofing off. These are completely baseless observations, but we just get the feeling that he is either really crazy or highly hilarious. Or both. We're going to find out when we visit his studio, which is part of The Pump Project (#60 on the E.A.S.T. map) at 702 Shady Ln. Until then, you can catch our general drift from the email exchange that follows....

It's not often that we are struck utterly dumb by the sheer force of someone's talent, and it's also not often that we can literally feel the green in our eyes spread to the rest of our body as vines of envy take root. But that is exactly how we felt when we first encountered the work of artist Emilie Houssart. When viewing some of her studies of the human body, our brains were almost tricked into thinking that the person depicted by the stroke of a brush was actually standing before us, and that we could almost detect the warmth of their skin. Far be it from us to gush over someone so, but the girl is good.

In the multifaceted vastness of this weekend's East Austin Studio Tour, Morgan Sorne is his own prism. His talent spans the artistic spectrum, but it's his visual art, along with incorporated poetry, that will call viewers into his studio this weekend.