Fruit Loops

My latest painting: Fruit Loops, acrylic paint and synthetic clay on 24″ x 20″ gallery wrapped canvas — currently hanging at Artist’s Group Gallery, Linwood Avenue, Buffalo –  25th Regional Artists Exhibition exhibit with WNY Artists Group –  through November 11th.

…with a few work in progress shots

24" x 20" - acrylic paint nd synthetic clay on Gallery wrapped canvas

Fruit Loops: 24″ x 20″ – acrylic paint nd synthetic clay on Gallery wrapped canvas

Beginning sketch

Beginning sketch

Laying in color

Laying in color

Trying to create a likeness to a face I am all too familiar with

Trying to create a likeness to a face I am all too familiar with

Getting there....

Getting there….

Adding the fruit loops. And no, they are NOT edible!

Adding the fruit loops. And no, they are NOT edible!

 

Allentown Art Festival 2013 – Let the Games Begin!


Allentown Art Festival 2013

My first big show of the year, the 56th Allentown Art Festival was held on June 8th and 9th of this year.  It started out on a soggy note, but a perfect blue sky Sunday was sandwiched in between a string of chilly, rainy days. The show was mobbed on Sunday, and even in the rain, attendance on Saturday was good.

Allentown is my hometown show, so, unlike most of the festivals I participate in, I have memories of it that pre-date my days as an exhibitor.

My earliest memories of the show include wandering through the streets with my girlfriends, amazed by all of the artwork, leather goods and jewelry – (so much silver, turquoise and sandstone in those days 🙂 –  and thinking what a strange, magical place it seemed to be. Most of those long ago memories are hazy, but one stands out as bright and clear as if happened yesterday. For a number of years there was a tall man, dressed in white pants, a blue polo shirt and a captain’s hat, standing in front of a very large, color photograph propped on a easel. “Do you know what this is?”, he would ask passersby, “…this is bovine urea….. do you know what that is?” I had never before seen bovine urea through a microscope and enlarged exponentially, and remember it was bright, colorful and quite beautiful, albeit in a creepy sort of way 🙂

Now, many years removed from my street wandering, turquoise wearing days, I am the person offering bright, colorful artwork to the bustling crowds. Over the years my work has shifted from hand-colored black and white photography, to stoneware masks, to my current mixed media creations which incorporate acrylic paint and polymer clay. My artwork draws people in, makes them point, comment and smile.

Perhaps, many years from now, another artist will be writing about the bright, colorful artwork she saw at a long ago show. I want that to happen, I think it’s a good thing! But she’ll have to find something other than a captain’s hat and cow pee to rest her memories on.

 

Upcoming Shows for 2013

June 28th, 29th and 30th Boston Mills Art Festival, Peninsula, Ohio

July 6th, West Hazeltine Street Sale, Kenmore, NY: once a year I drag out all of my dent and scratch, what-was-I-thinking, never-take-to-an-art-show pieces and offer them at reduced prices. My studio space will be open for viewing as well.

July 12th, 13th & 14th Cain Park Arts Festival, Cleveland Heights,Ohio

* Tentative* July 26th, Ithaca Artists Market at Steamboat Landing, Ithaca, New York

July 27th & 28th, Glen Park Art Festival, Williamsville, NY : a selection of my work will be represented by Village Artisans

August 10th & 11th,  Lewiston Art Festival, Lewiston, New York

August 24th & 25th Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts, Buffalo, NY

* Tentative*  Mid-September, Music is Art Festival, Buffalo, NY

October 12th,13th & 14th, Letchworth Arts & Crafts Fest, Letchworth State Park, Castile, NY

November 15th &16th, Maddie’s Pet Rescue Pet Expo, Hamburg Fair Grounds, Hamburg, NY

Find Me Online at:

You can find my work online at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SilentMyloStudio

And daily updates at: https://www.facebook.com/ArtistAlisonEKurek

 

Moanin' Lisa #4/100

 

 

Everything Old is New Again

 

 

Art History #4: Grant Wood's American Gothic -- sort of....

 

I can’t remember exactly how my Art History series began. It started about 2 years ago with a piece I called “VanGogh meets Warhol meets Parmigianino meets Kurek”. It was based on a Vincent VanGogh self portrait — but it also incorporated Warhol’s use of repetition — and it touched on late Renaissance Mannerism (Parmigianino’s Madonna with the Long Neck.)  Long, possibly bad, titles aside, the series has been well received and continues to grow. Here’s a look at my latest “victims”: Grant Wood and Max Beckmann. “Art History #4: Grant Wood’s American Gothic …. sort of…” is based on a painting that needs no introduction. “Art History #5: Max Beckmann Merlot” deviates a bit from the other pieces in the series. Warhol’s repetition wouldn’t have worked here. So, instead of creating four repetitive image cells, I added onto the original image. I changed the cigarette in Beckmann’s hand to a wine glass and added a table with a wine glass and bottle of wine. The image on the bottle of Beckmann Merlot features a miniature image of one of his still life paintings.

If it isn’t obvious, let me state that these works are all meant to be in good fun!  They are based on well known works, and I include “Art History”, the name of the original painting and/or the name of the original artist in each title. If you are not familiar with Max Beckmann, you should be!  He was an interesting character. Here’s a Wikipedia link to start you off:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Beckmann

 

Art History #5: Max Beckmann Merlot

 

 

You can find my originals and prints in my Etsy shop at:http://www.etsy.com/shop/SilentMyloStudio?ref=si_shop

Silent Mylo Renames Monday

 

Mylo woke up crabby today. He’s started a campaign to rename of Monday: Swim Up Stream with the Fish Day. I told him it’s too long and not very catchy but he’s determined to make the change.

MyloMondayFish

You can find prints of Silent Mylo along with other works in my Etsy shop at:http://www.etsy.com/shop/SilentMyloStudio?ref=si_shop