The Art Blog

Daniel Carrillo poses in front of his work . A few days ago I had the opportunity to visit photographer, Daniel Carrillo , in his south Seattle studio. Carrillo demonstrated his daguerreotype photo process and shared his techniques with an eager crowd of photo enthusiasts.  Carrillo shows off a glass plate image during a studio demonstration. His images remind me of the work of Edward Curtis , another northwest photographer who worked in this region during the late 1800's. Carrillo's work has the grit and intrigue of vintage photographs but they also exude a contemporary confidence.The combination of these characteristics is what makes Carrillo's work so mesmerizing and you can see it in these portraits posted below... Portrait of Shenandoah Davis by Daniel Carrillo Portrait of Kiki Smith by Daniel Carrillo Portrait of Cable Griffith by Daniel Carrillo More about the artist.... Daniel Arutro Carrillo Lozano (b. 1973) is a self...

Back in the studio and working on some fun projects after what has been an amazing summer and action packed August. Here are a few photo highlights from last month.... I gold leafed my arm for the encore opening at Grover Thurston . I wanted to wear a big metal cuff and couldn't find one so I painted this on my arm using traditional gold leaf. It was a bit like having a golden tattoo and it was easily removed the next day with a little tea tree oil. My gold leafed "tattoo". Showing off my golden cuff at the Grover /Thurston Gallery.  The following week I had guests in the studio as part of a stock photography shoot for Getty Images. Photographer, Tom Barwick , and his lovely assistant, Brooke, photographed me working in my space.  Photo shoot in progress... One of the final images from Tom Barwick's photo shoot. A few days after these photos were taken I boarded a plane headed for the Hawaiian island of Maui. It was my fir...

Just in case you missed all the fun in July... there will be an encore artists reception for the Drifting show up now at the Grover /Thurston Gallery . The next opening will be on Thursday, August 2nd from 6-8pm and there will be several new works on display for the first time. Why two openings?  The exhibition is up for 6 weeks so it overlaps for two First Thursday events. Lucky me to have the double honor of sharing the work and discussing my art for the evening.  Join me this Thursday for an evening of art and conversation.  Drifting  July 5th - August 18th, 2012 Encore Artist Reception August 2nd 6-8pm Grover/Thurston Gallery 319 Third Avenue South Seattle, WA 98104

The fireworks have started early this year... I am thrilled to announce that I am now represented on the East coast by the Chase Young Gallery in Boston. Two of my new florals will be featured in a group show opening there on July 6th. I will also have new work up at the Gilman Contemporary Gallery in Sun Valley, Idaho, and my solo show at Grover Thurston opens July 5th. Wow! Feeling really honored to have so much interest in my art this year. Just want to say "Thank you!" to all those who follow and support my work! It matters! Hope you can make it out to one of these shows and maybe I'll see you in July! Images above: Ophelia's Dream I & II -  24" x 24" - encaustic w/mixed media - 2012

Painting night and day now as I come into the final stretch of preparation for my show next month at the Grover /Thurston Gallery. Some of the paintings I am creating are quite large for encaustic works but I am having fun wrestling with these big guys and arriving at some surprising new places within the work. The opening will be held on July 5th from 6 to 8 and I will be hanging out to discuss this new series and connect with dear friends who have otherwise lost me to the art world. The show runs through August 15th and there will be another opening event held on August 2nd for the First Thursday Art Walk. I hope you can join me for one or both of these events. Formal details below: Drifting Alicia Tormey opening reception   July 5th  -  6pm to 8pm Show runs July 5th - August 15th Grover /Thurston Gallery 319 3rd Avenue South Seattle, WA 98104 More images and some thoughts on the inspiration for this show are soon to follow...

Responding to color: This is a wonderful exploration of color produced by RadioLab . Required listening for artists and color enthusiasts!

No time to dye eggs this year...I've been too busy working with color in the studio! Sharing a few images here from a new series that is beginning to take shape. I'm enjoying the excitement of these saturated and vibrant pigments suspended in layers of wax. Some of them remind me of the jewel-toned hard candy my grandmother used to make. In May, a few of these new paintings will make a cameo appearance at the San Francisco Art Market courtesy of the Gilman Contemporary. More will be on display  at the Grover Thurston Gallery during my solo exhibition that opens July 5th, 2012.  In my next post I will let you in on another project that was sparked by this body of work.  HINT: You'll see my art on the slopes next winter! To learn more about Alicia Tormey visit  aliciatormey.com  and  Alicia Tormey on Facebook

Celebrating all things unpredictable today...A group of unknown bikers spilled about 500 liters of water-based environmentally-friendly paint on the street of Berlin’s Rosenthaler Platz. The wheels of traffic during rush hour became the brushes for this colorful act of guerrilla art. Imagine happening upon this intersection as you made your way home from another average day at the office.  One of the most compelling aspects of art is the unknown, the unexpected and the revelation of something new. This inspires me to experiment in the studio today...will share some of the results next time.

  This little gem painting along with several other new works will be on display tonight for the first time at the Grover Thurston Gallery . My former gallery, Pacini Lubel, has closed their doors in Seattle and are relocating to California. They will continue to represent my work and present it to a new audience in their new Palm Desert location.  Susan Grover and Richard Thurston have presented the work of fine artists to Seattle patrons for over 21 years. It is an honor for me to be included among the talented people represented here. Please join me tonight for First Thursday gallery walk and my first showing with the Grover Thurston Gallery.  They are located at  319 3rd Avenue South, Seattle, 98104 - across the street from Seattle Lighting.

I must share with you the work of artist Daniel Wurtzel. His sculptural wind installations involve the manipulation of light weight objects being blown by controlled air currents. The resulting dance of twirling and billowing materials appears to be sublimely choreographed.  To fully appreciate the magical qualities of this watch the video below.... I chose to share Wurtzel's work because it directly relates to my most recent paintings that focus on the effects of wind and water currents in the landscape. Below is a work-in-progress from this series. Wind is such an elegant metaphor for change and some big changes are blown' into my studio right now. I am going to make some exciting news announcements soon so stay tuned! To see more works by Daniel Wurtzel visit his website here...