Sharing some Goods

Recently, Brian and I went to 30x30 at the Ann Arbor Art Center. The idea was to give 30 artists 30 canvas and have them complete 30 works of art in 30 days. Pretty intense if you ask me!

Each artist donates their time and ability and each piece sells for $40. The best part is the profits help send kids to art camp. Yay! Everyone wins! I thought I would share my finds from this show. They are all quite different from each other.

I'm going to start off with Brian's pick's (we had to restrain ourselves to two picks each!) The first painted canvas we bought is by Ryan Wiess;

It's hard to see in this photo, but there are some really cool textures and details. Here is an up-close view of some of what I mean. To me his work to me is young, vibrant, and  playful.

Brian really liked the detail in the the painting and the layers of this next piece (I am sorry to say I don't know the artists name!).

Again, there is great detail and layers in this canvas painting, and up-close view...

I liked the abstract nature of this painting, it leaves the content to be decided by the viewer;

 In the foreground I see the remnants of burnt tree trunks. The green specs in the background the trees that escaped fire (or maybe are being engulfed- hence the yellow 'hill'?)

It reminds me of visiting Yellowstone as a kid and seeing the fire decimated forests. What do you see?

After buying 3 pieces thought I was done...but then I spotted another artists' work that stood out. I bought a fourth piece and had to restrain myself from perusing other works. This last piece was the only one we purchased that didn't use canvas.

It is a block print on wood and uses other media as well;

Here you can see some of the up close texture and mixed media;

Several wood cuts were used to create the layers in the hot air ballon. I love wood cut prints! So much so that I asked Anastassia Fulmer (the artist) if she'd be interested in hosting a tutorial. So stay tuned (though this wont post till my show is over and school settles down for Anastassia).

All in all it was a good time, and we plan to attend next year!