Felicity's Favorite Art

At long last, here are my 8 favorite ArtPrize entries. I truly am the queen of procrastination, but hey, at least I finally got around to it. XD

Spiral

It's aptly named, considering it is made up of spiraling arcs of white and black paper. I don't think I'd ever have the patience to create something like this, but the end result is quite aesthetically pleasing. It kind of reminds me of a yin-yang, only much fancier. 

Coyote

I have no idea why this is called "Coyote." The cottonwood tree's a similar color to a coyote, but the similarity ends there. The artist has deemed this a "carved and painted cast acrylic painting." I'm not sure what all is involved there, but according to Mom, the end result is an impressively realistic bark-like texture on the trees. I love the late-fall color palette, the gentle curve of the trunks, and the stark beauty of twisty branches and twigs against the sky.

Birdzels

It doesn't get much more bizarre than this: a flock of blue-gray birdzels down near the banks of the Grand River.  These creatures are made of glazed clay, and poles through them into the ground keep them upright. While some may find them tacky and/or borderline creepy, I find them harmless and amusing. They have that so-ugly-they're-cute thing going for them, and I like how even though they are roughly uniform, each one has its individual quirks. 

Detained

I'm not sure how I feel about this large oil painting. It's extremely well done, and it depicts a very old woman in her living room, bundled in her recliner. All seems well. She looks cozy, asleep with the remote in hand, and she has a pleasant enough space around her, complete with family photos and an assortment of knickknacks. Still, there's something sad about this that I can't quite put my finger on. The details of this painting's backstory are hazy in my mind, but it had something to do with a real-life woman in the artists' family, a 90+ year old woman who was determined to stick around long enough to see her great-grandchildren.  

THE BULL

Mom and I both especially appreciated The Bull, since we both are saddled with Taurus as our astrological sign. This guy wasn't anywhere near life size: probably only slightly larger than a traditional size Breyer horse. He is made from a mismatch of 168 recycled metal parts, most from cars and motorbikes, since the artist fixes motors for a living. The bull's head contains a small antique wrench that belonged to the artist's grandfather (who taught him how to fix cars), and he has a fragile, used watch mechanism for a heart. According to the artist, "This powerful yet intricate sculpture is strength, courage and gentleness united, a tough metal body containing the heart and passion of my own."

Front Row Seat

This is a photograph taken of some lucky person watching the Northern Lights over Lake Superior from Presque Isle Park in Marquette, Michigan. Talk about eye candy! It's hard to believe this is real!

METROPOLES

    

These three metropoles (plural of metropolis) are supposed to represent three dead cities, each something like the fossil or skeleton of a city. I guess I can sort of get that, but I more just appreciate how cool they look, which in my mind is what would happen should Salvador Dali's art and antennas meet. They look like something that walked off the pages of a science fiction book... and just kept going.

Multiplication Series

Okay, for this last one I'll explain before you look so that it makes more sense. Unless of course you go ahead and look first anyway, which you probably will. I can't stop you. 

These photographic creations all are self-portraits of the artist. His goal: "to depict scenes from everyday life using methods of multiplication ... to represent an inner struggle that most people can relate to." And relate I did. Below are my four favorites from the series.

Insomnia

A Bad Therapist

Confrontation

Study Group

There you have them. I hope you have appreciated these four art-inspired posts (but mine was the best, right? ;^)) Never fear, the HI2-themed posts will continue even though these will not. Look for one from me later this weekend.