Laura Gable

Birth

20″x24″, Oil

Laura Gable

Laura Gable creates absolutely gorgeous paintings using vibrant colors.  I visited her studio while in Kennewick, Washington a couple summers ago and fell in love with her paintings.  She uses scratch board, and book arts as well.  To learn more about Laura's work be sure to check out her website. 

Though my recent work is not this colorful, I would like to create some work inspired by nature and plan to use some similar color schemes (check out my art blog to track my new work).

Amy Jurelovic

amy jurekovic, mixed media, self-portrait

Amy's art and style have always been outstanding.  She was a student at the University of Wyoming the same time I was and since has continued to create art in a variety of mediums including painting, mixed media, and tattooing.  Her style is edgy and beautiful.  to see more of her work, check out her website.

Her mixed media paintings certainly serve as inspiration for my book arts style and upcycling work.
Check out my blog to see more of my work.

Riki Klages

Interesting juxtapositions of nature and man-made 

(though I am not sure that is the concept Riki was going for in her paintings).

More images and a full bio on the University website.

My last semester at the University of Wyoming I had a chance to get to know Ricki more.  In my watercolor class I learned that she is a master when it comes to understanding, creating and mixing colors.  She is well versed not only in technical aspects of oil paints but watercolors as well.

Check out my blog to see some of my watercolors.

Diana Baumbach

Evidence (1 & 2), Diana Baumbach, 2010

Diana Baumbach is one of the 2D Foundations professors at the University of Wyoming.  She was my supervisor for a gallery internship and has taught classes such as Critical Art Theory, where students discuss contemporary and even controversial topics in the field of art.

Her work tends to be tedious and repetitive.  These works were created by punching many tiny holes through white paper.  Diana's work always inspires my repetitious nature such as creating 230 nooses as well as the use of an achromatic color palate also from my Make it Plain series. 

Lisa Call

Lisa Call is a textile artist who I have been following for some time now.  Here is an interview about her work.
 
My favorite quote in the interview was in response to "what was the moment when you first realized you are capable of creating an art career for yourself?"

Lisa responded "when I started thinking big and not hiding."  I can relate to this and see this type of thinking as wonderful wisdom to young and emerging artists.  In addition to thinking bug, I think you just need to go for it and big (for where you are at in your career) things will happen.  One of the problems with art disappearing from schools and our culture is the way people view it.  We no longer see it as a valid profession.  If people could learn to see it as what it is,a business and something that is incredibly valuable to our society, I think more people would see it as a valid job and would actively seek it as a profession.  When people are constant y told that they will fail and be poor, it makes it extremely difficult to give it all you have.

Joseph Herscher

Kinetic artist Joseph Herscher is the creator of an incredible contraptions designed to turn the page on his newspaper.

The Page Turner

This piece of kinetic art gets better every time I watch it work.

Kevin Sloan

Last year I had the opportunity to meet Kevin Sloan while on a Student Art League trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Kevin gave us a tour of his studio, took the time to have lunch with us, and offered some wonderful advice for emerging and student artists.  Read more about the advice he shared with.

Kevin's art uses animals in a vast array of environments to create "allegorical realism."  I love the vivid colors and detailed image.


One of the most significant aspects that I can take from Kevin's work is the development of a style or niche in his art.  I think that he has many subjects which he paints but there is always something that carries through.  There is certainly unity and variety in any given group of works.  I think what this could look like for me and my art is having work that all addresses real issues but the specific issues and maybe even mediums used to communicate can vary.  How my work fits together as a whole is something that I am really trying to work through and figure out...Check out my Art+ blog to read more about my work and follow me through this process of developing my work.

Pat Kikut

Patrick Kikut is a professor at the University of Wyoming.  Though I have not taken him for many classes (which I would still like to take his painting class) I have had the opportunity to get to know him through Student Art League (SAL).  As the SAL adviser, Pat has taken us to Santa Fe (which I just learned is the second largest art market in the nation) for a trip each year as well as Denver and helped with many other events.  Though I do love Pat's artwork, I think that his ambition and entrepreneurship as an artist may be what is the most inspiring to me. These are both skills that I think are often forgotten about but absolutely necessary for an artist to survive.

Pat has taken on many endeavors including starting a small gallery in his back yard while living in Santa Fe. The space was called "No Man's Land Gallery." The gallery featured artists from all over the country. Along with the gallery Pat set up a small stage and would have bands play and someone would be cooking on the bar-b.

The business and marketing aspects are a huge part of what I would love to take from what I have learned from Pat Kikut. I would really enjoy setting up an exhibition in a small gallery space like this.  (I will post some pictures of the space on my art blog) I would love to have a studio and gallery space for my artwork some day. In addition to a gallery/studio space I certainly want to teach art lessons from the space.  

Be sure to follow my personal art blog.

What is Real

This Dutch artist, Evelien Lohbeck, really blurs the lines between reality and fiction.  Follow the link o find out a bit more about her and watch the video.  I am nit sure exactly what draws me toward this work.  I know that it grew on me about half way through.  I am quite honestly not sure what I want to take from this artist.  Maybe the use of old techniques in a more complicated, perfected and a new way.

Jerrell Conner

A great Kickstarter campaign.  It was unsuccessful, but possessed many great qualities.  This artists is a graphic novelist and illustrator.  I like his use of color and would love to learn more about digital illustration. 

Levi Van Veluw

Levi Van Veluw uses ballpoint pens to draw on the figure.  I really love work that utilizes the human figure.  For my next body of work I would like to use some imagery of vines (but more like a blob or virus type of imagery) over taking the body.  I plan to use hands and feet rather than faces, but I will be coming back to Levi for more inspiration.

Miss Bugs

I just stumbled upon Miss Bugs' work today and am quite amazed with her outdoor graffiti style installations.  They are unique and attention grabbing.  I think this work related to my work in that it inspires me to get my work into the community, beyond exhibitions.  I am not sure what exactly this would mean, but I would love to create some sort of viral image that spread around a town (I do have some ideas, but execution is the challenge.).