Abstract, contemporary Landscape Painting

Retrospective at Atmodspere

noreply@blogger.com (a stahl) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:19:00 +0000

New and old work will be on display at this new San Luis Obispo's contemporary art space. Atmodspere is a place for everyday objects, furnishings, home design and art.

The distinctive Nordic flair of symbiosis of minimalism and contemporary, provides a unique, intimidating atmosphere for art lovers of all shapes and forms. The space is flooded with creative genius and inspiration, welcoming visitors and shoppers, and embraces the art with heart and soul.

Ever wondered what contemporary art would look like in your home? Come in and you'll get a feel for just how original art not only makes a space alive, but also it's inhabitants.

Stahl's work infuses the re-inforced raw red brick with a sense of tangible beauty, that is delicate and riveting at the same time. Her abstract landscapes lead the viewer into a land outside the gallery's walls, inviting you to get lost between textured details and the magic of expressive abstraction.

The show presents a vast variety of work from 2004 to 2011, from etchings to works on canvas to encaustics.

Where: Atmodsphere . 805.594.1119 . 1119 Chorro St. San Luis Obispo CA 93401
When: Friday 3rd February until 29th March 2012

Ignite Your Art Career

noreply@blogger.com (a stahl) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 04:16:00 +0000

Calling All Artists: Ignite your Art Career

A one-day workshop, November 19

Trudy Montgomery invites visual artists to a one day workshop to Ignite Your Art Career on Saturday, November 19th in Los Angeles.

I have had the pleasure to work with Trudy on several occasions and have witnessed her dedication and insights into the visual arts. If you have a chance to get to LA to part-take it will be worth it!

From her post:

All artists dream of locking themselves away in the studio and doing nothing but making art. The reality is however, that artists need to be savvy about managing the many aspects of their career - from marketing and promotion to showing, pricing and selling their work.

Whether you are a part-time or full-time working artist, this one day workshop will help you advance your artist career goals.

Artist and art advisor, Trudy Montgomery, will provide practical advice to overcome challenges to secure sales, gallery representation and successfully navigate dealer relationships. Drawing from her own experience and real world examples of how other artists have overcome challenges, she will inspire you to ignite your career for success.

"Trudy is an inspiring and motivating force, a true champion for her artists' success. She has helped me navigate through challenging situations in the art world and continues to offer excellent counsel as I manage my career as a full time artist" - Patter Hellstrom, Artist, San Francisco, CA

Cost: $99 per person. Early bird discount ends Nov 10 - please see below or visit our Facebook event page for registration details. Space is limited.

Data, Science and Art

noreply@blogger.com (a stahl) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 04:02:00 +0000

Inspired

I saw Nathalie Miebach introduce her sculpture and the principles behind it on a TED talk (see below). Her work is really stunning and inspiring to me, as I too am pursuing a path of finding the intersection of art and science. Why these two disciplines have always been considered polar opposites, when in fact throughout all of history we can see anecdotal evidence of art and science going hand in hand, complementing each other, and in deed depending on each other.
Many scientists are also artists or you might say, many artists are also scientists. Yet, society perceives the artist as a flimsy, lightly to not educated individual who engages in the simple pleasures of life and lives day by day. Whereas scientists are seen as hard working, extremely intelligent and educated people who give their lives to their work, and whom society has much to thank for. In reality however, both groups are somewhere in the middle or have aspects of both. I suspect this wrongful perception is most prevalent in the US, where - unfortunately and to the dismay of most professional and serious artists - anyone who engages in simple crafty or arty past-time considers themselves an artist.

It is thus all the more refreshing to see a US based artist produce work of such immense artistic and scientific value Nathalie Miebach is a Boston-based artist who translates weather data into complex sculptures and musical scores.

Delilah LaFe

noreply@blogger.com (a stahl) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 06:08:00 +0000

Delilah LaFe

In a cold barren wood
lived Delilah LaFe.
In her old shattered blouse,
which she wore every day.

Her face is ashen and blurred when she cries,
pity and drear are within her blue eyes.

A small stray tear would run down her face,
‘t was dirty and smudged and quite a disgrace,
but no one was there to laugh or to scold,
for she was peculiar some way ‘t was told.

They had sent her away on that cold foggy day,
and had left her at the side of the wood.
She asked for a friend,
for her wounds they would mend,
she looked up in surprise
for in front of her a young fairy stood.

Her eyes seemed of pebbles,
her wings seemed of air,
her hair like the mane,
of a brown chestnut mare.
Her dress was of petals,
her shoes were of silk,
her skin very pale,
was the color of milk.
Her thin voice broke silence,
it was like that of the wind,
that swirled and twirled,
that laughed and spinned.

She said, “Delilah”, as a smile crossed her face,
“are you lost, are you lonesome, how’d you come to this place?”
Delilah explained her hard situation,
as a tear cross her face made it mighty migration,
it dropped to the ground,
a soft place is what it chose,
and amongst the soft earth a lilly arose.

The fairy’s smile grew and grew,
and suddenly she knew what to do.
“Us fairies, we can do magic, it’s true,
so we could make you a forest fairy too!”
“My name by the way Angelina Marie,
and you would be my sister, you see?”

So Angelina Marie cast her quick spell,
Delilah’s heart was no longer sore,
and she didn’t have to be alone anymore.

By Anonymous

A great poem I heard recently

noreply@blogger.com (a stahl) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 20:16:00 +0000

Butterfly Story

Butterflies flutter from tree to tree
They fly so wild and so free
They bring the humans curiosity and smiles
And they spread their beauty for miles and miles.

From the flower they produce a silky nectar juice
And from inside the flower
They get pollen
And give the other plants a shower
They sprinkle them with yellow dust
They hear a sound
And with a wingly thrust
They'll all come up from their flower bed
Like a flipping page that has been read.

They fly away all in one
They fly away to the shining sun
They fly for long while
They fly over countries like the nile

Then they rest their dreary wings
And they rest until the morning
When the bluebird sings

Then they lift in the air
And with everything they share
Their joy and glory
And on and on will go their story
Until they land
With summer's last glow
And they soar through the grey fall
Then they fly away south
With winter's first snow.

Then with the home coming spring
And eggs waiting to be hatched
They return to their flower field
And with this act
Their journey is sealed.

By anonymous

New Direction

noreply@blogger.com (a stahl) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 12:32:00 +0000

As evident in my college Thesis, my interest in brain function and psychology has long been established. I've now been finding that the radio programs, the news paper articles I'm most interested in are all related to the brain. Although I had attempted to address some of my interests in the painting series: 'Landscapes of the Human Brain', I have not yet really captured what it is that intrigues me, how it relates and how to express these new ideas. I suspect this is, because since this is primarily a scientific field, I feel somewhat like overstepping my area of expertise as an artist. But I'm slowing coming to realize that I must cross that bridge, be it by studying up or by clearly defining the limitation, scope and application of my series - probably both.

One item of interest that I intend to explore further is the relationship between food and creative ability. We don't really know historically, what artists of the past ate, especially not immediately prior to painting/writing/etc... However, we are now seeing an explosion of foods not suited (or so I propose), to creativity!

It's early days yet, and I may have to take a long time to research this series... but I'll keep my thoughts posted here.

Back to Basics

noreply@blogger.com (a stahl) — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 06:39:00 +0000

Taking a break from painting itself and focusing instead on gathering new ideas, photography, getting back into drawing and jurying shows.

Stahl and Teixeira show at Steynberg Gallery 3.Sept - 24.Oct

noreply@blogger.com (a stahl) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 10:11:00 +0000

Two contemporary artists, Anne Stahl and Lorna Teixeira, show new work at the Steynberg Gallery in San Luis Obispo, California. The show opens on the 3.Sept and lasts until the 24.October 2010. Both artists have exhibited extensively and are collected worldwide.

Anne Stahl flyer [pdf]

Artist the Bookkeeper

noreply@blogger.com (a stahl) — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 22:56:00 +0000

Why is it that one can find online tools for just about any application, but nothing that helps artists organize their 'shit'. Well, there are a few tools, but they are not very good if you ask me. But why do artists need help organizing? What do they have that needs to be organized. Not money for sure. Not property. No assets. Wait, assets. Our work often doesn't get sold for a long time (often not until after the artist is dead), but it IS VALUABLE. If you only paint for fun, you won't need this, but if you're a professional artist, you should keep track of all the work you create, all your gallery contacts, your 'clients', your shows, commissions, website inclusions, etc... If you don't do it from the get go, it becomes a bit a beast. Now, I just decided I needed to improve my own bookkeeping, as I have been slacking. When asked if painting 'X' is still around, all hell breaks loose in my house. Where is it? Is it in Germany? Is it in Ireland, the US? Is it sold? Is it in a gallery, in the studio? In storage? Is is 'hanging' at a friend's house? What condition is the piece in? Is it one of the pieces that got damaged in the flood?

Now, I have some friends who are well versed in database stuff and I'm going to take the hard route here. I am not going to subscribe to a service to do this for me, nor am I going to buy a software which I can then never migrate out of. I'm going to build a database (with some help from my friends) and somehow try to create some webpage admin for it. The idea is that I update the status of a painting in ONE place, say it gets sold, and this automatically reflects on the website. Then when I query the db for a piece, it tells me where it is and how to contact that person/gallery/place.

Bear with me, as I intend to post updates on my progress here. It may only take a year or so.... but if I do get it to work, I will be one happy camper!

Stahl presents at Pecha Kucha Night in SLO

noreply@blogger.com (a stahl) — Tue, 25 May 2010 15:10:00 +0000

PechaKucha Night was devised in Tokyo in February 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public.

It has turned into a massive celebration, with events happening in hundreds of cities around the world, inspiring creatives worldwide. Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of "chit chat", it rests on a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds. It's a format that makes presentations concise, and keeps things moving at a rapid pace.

Date:	Friday, June 4, 2010
Time:	8:20pm - 10:00pm
Location:	San Luis Obispo, CA
Street:	1531 Monterey St.
City/Town:	San Luis Obispo, CA

View the event listing on facebook and confirm if you can come or not.

Virtual View of Exhibition

noreply@blogger.com (a stahl) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:59:00 +0000

Art without Borders - Collaboration painting: Niels Valentin and Anne Stahl

noreply@blogger.com (a stahl) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 07:18:00 +0000

This latest work, is the first painting in a short series of collaboration between Danish artist Niels Valentin and Anne Stahl (De/USA). The collaboration project will consist of four works.

'Spring Bakery' 2010, Anne Stahl and Niels Valentin, Encaustic on Panel, 20" x 20".

Native Lounge Exhibit

noreply@blogger.com (a stahl) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 06:55:00 +0000

A week of customized exclusive art events @ Native Lounge in San Luis Obispo.

Sunday February 28th 6:30-9pm Exclusive Vip event. 'Living with Art'
Tuesday March 2nd Meet the Artists: Kate Britton and Sheryl Chestnut. Wine tasting by Tolosa & artisan cheeses by Vivant of Paso Robles
Wednesday March 3rd Meet the Artist. Anne Stahl and Carol Paquet. Champagne by Piper Heidseik & Fresh Oysters from Morro Bay Oyster Co.
Thursday March 4th Open event.
Friday March 5th Art After Dark

Rothko and Richter

noreply@blogger.com (a stahl) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 06:05:00 +0000

My x-mas wish...

Latest Show Opened

noreply@blogger.com (a stahl) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 07:43:00 +0000

You can now see a painting from the 'Gem' series in Paso Robles @ Studios on the Park .

November 27, 2009 -
January 3, 2010

1130 Pine Street
Paso Robles
CA 93446

Anne Stahl's next exhibition is in Georgia

noreply@blogger.com (a stahl) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:08:00 +0000

With 'Snap to Grid' at the Los Angeles Center for Digital Arts successfully closed, the next show that includes some of my work, is in Georgia.

Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, recalled the phrase "LESS IS MORE," from the 19thcentury poem "Andrea del Sarto," as a cliché about 20th century aesthetic style. The notion that through articulation and simplicity of each essential element a more coherent outcome is achieved.

Less is More maybe more important today than ever before as it challenges our tradition and cultural self-perception. Influence of climate changes on human well-being and survival, compounded with our continuing massive use of exhaustible resources, forces us to use what we have in innovative ways to create sustainable design.

Questions and Answers III

noreply@blogger.com (a stahl) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:04:00 +0000

More questions, this time by Lennox from Northern Ireland:

Feather

Q: I was wondering about your background, when you decided you wanted to be an artist, where you studied (if you studied)?
Anne: Like so many children I loved to draw and paint, but I don't think it was any different that other kids. By the time I was 15 my interest in art began to mature and painting and looking at art became more than a 'fun' thing to do. Having an impossibly hard time in high-school I took an exchange year to study English (in Kent) and French (in Paris) - returning back to high school to complete my 'Abitur' (A-levels, leaving cert, highschool diploma), with a bit of an attitude. This saw me fail my two main subjects, English and Art. Undeterred, I applied to art colleges in Scotland and Irland and studied Fine Art at the Dun Laoghaire College of Art and Design - graduating with distinction.

Allure

Q: Other than your work based on landscapes what other themes have you studied?
Anne: Landscape are a broad subject and I believe that in some way or another all my work is related to landscape. Even the 'plants' and 'landscapes of the human mind' series.
Q: Where/when did you develop your style?
Anne: Well, over time. And I'm still at it!
Q: Before you produce a piece of work is the a routine you go through?

Red Baron

Anne: Usually yes, but not always. I like to work in series. Typically, this includes some brainstorming in the early stages in choosing a theme, then a research period, where I read about the theme, and often travel and take photos and drawings. Then I develop studies on paper and finally progress to canvas or panel. But this 'routine' is regularily disrupted or changed.
Q: If you work from first hand or photographs?
Anne: I don't usually work from life, but as mentioned above, take photos and sketches from life. But life drawing is still one of the methods of bringing focus to my work.

NoWater

Q: How do you see your work developing in the future?
Anne: I'm afraid I don't have an answer for this question... my current intests include mathematical algorythmes turned visuals, but I'm not sure if I will ever weave that into my work, and if so how.
Q: How do you select your compositions, do you look for certain colours/lighting?
Anne: I work from the 'gut'. Although I research my 'subject matter' I do not have a set visual idea, this develops as the paintings begin to emerge from the canvas.
Q: What is your prefered media, and why?

# 9

Anne: I love 'grungy' materials that are tactile and allow me to create images that work on more levels than one. Unfortunately I know that a lot of my favorites are also not durable, as is the case for Bitumen. Another medium I regularly use for it's abilty to create texture and luminance, is wax. Fortunately wax is very durable.
Q: Would you be able to describe the tecniques you use and how you apply your media?
Anne: Scraping, scratching, brushing, molding with my hands, blowing, melting, fusing.... too many to go into in detail.
Q: What do you look for when choosing to paint a landscape scene?
Anne: Well, again this comes from the gut - the scene has to speak to me in some way. Often, it's that I can visualize it abstracted and pulled apart. But in general, the scenes that 'speak' to me are barren, desolate, unfriendly places.
Q: Do you have any historical influences?

Venus

Anne: Not sure what you mean here. Artists that have influenced me are Rothko, Tapies, Turner, Goldsworthy, Richter and many more.
Q: Do you have any contemporary influences?
Anne: Artists that have influenced me are Rothko, Tapies, Turner, Goldsworthy, Richter and many more.
Q: What is your most successful/favourite piece to date?
Anne: Hard to say - it's like choosing a favorite child... but there are some I prefer to others. Some of my favorites are listed on the left.

Questions and Answers II

noreply@blogger.com (a stahl) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:26:00 +0000

More questions, this time by Kathy:
Q: My first one is the use of wax, I so far have not used this and was wondering if you could give me some tips on how to use this in paintings, the do's and don'ts would also be beneficial to know?

Anne: I'm in the middle of posting a pretty detailed encaustic 'workshop' on the blog. Subscribe to it so you get notified when there is an update. The first post described materials needed for encaustic. The next post will focus on Technique.

Q: The use of gloss and oil paint in your paintings, do you mix the gloss in with the oil paint or do you use the gloss when the painting is finished. I am aware that you cannot gloss a painting until it has been at least 12 months?

Anne: I haven't used gloss in my paintings for year. I have found that it ages unreliably. Unfortunately the same goes for Bitumen, a material I used a lot and which is one of my favorites.

Q: Last and final question, I usually finish my paintings with a final glaze of liquin mixed in with a transparent colour to give it a bang! I have not however found the correct ratio to use that is how much liquin to oil paint, I have been doing this through trial and error.?

Anne: I don't think there is a 'correct' ratio of oil paint to Liquin. It depends on the paint you mix into the Liquin. And it depends on how fluid you want to use it. Since you can apply Liquin pure, there is no detrimental effect or no way of over or under mixing it. Simply mix it as you like it best.

Publication

noreply@blogger.com (a stahl) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:10:00 +0000

Stahl's work is included in the 2009 'American Art Collector' - a book on contemporary American Art published by Alcove Press. It will hit galleries, collectors and stores next week.

Questions and Answers I

noreply@blogger.com (a stahl) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:10:00 +0000

I keep getting emails where people ask me questions about my work, my process, my inspirations, materials, techniques and my disortation. Finding myself strapped for time in the studio, but wanting also to help and be available to questions, I decided to start posting my answers on this blog.
Q: Your series on the landscape of the mind, where did the inspiration come from and how did you come a cross the concept of the mind being a landscape?

Anne: This particular series has a long 'history'. When I was a teenager, I would often imagine how people minds looked like. Mostly they were visions of vast, dark landscapes filled with messy entangled twisted paths - much like a jarn. I didn't do anything with those ideas, until I was contacted by the 'Blue Brain Project' in late 2007 and I reviewed their work. You can read more about my thoughts behind 'Landscapes of the Human Mind' on my website and you can watch a TED video about the 'Blue Brain Project'.
Q: I have found that you have been very active in your travels of different countries and been able to see many different landscapes. In comparison to all these different landscapes how do they compare to some of the landscapes you have seen here in the United States?
Anne: The American West has been a most wonderful resource of continuous inspiration. Perhaps because I'm not from here (but now live in California) these landscapes hold a lot of mystery and romance and are still novel and exotic for me. So, in a sense, it is because I have seen and grown up with very different landscape, that I can see the American West in new ways.
Q: Who has influenced you in your development as an artist and an abstract landscape artist?
Anne:The art of Rothko, Turner, Tapies, Richter amongst many has influenced my path. But of course nature really has the greatest influence on my work.

How to paint in Encaustics - Part I

noreply@blogger.com (a stahl) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 05:36:00 +0000

Part I: Tools and Ingredients

Part II: How to make the encaustic paint
Part III: Techniques and Painting with encaustics

There are many receipes for mixing your own encaustic paints. Experimenting on your own, will give you the paste you like best. First you'll need to get some ingredients and tools:

purified, bleached beeswax
unrefined beeswax
raw pigment (or if you are just starting out and have a hard time finding pigments, try R&F pirgmented wax blocks.
You can even use standard oil paints to pigment your wax, but don't use more than 15% or so, or else your paste will get too oily. Therefore you should use high-end artists oils such as Williamsburg or Sennelier
turpentine
damar (I use a pulverised product from Germany, but you may be safer using the crystal rocks - don't use varnish)
containers (I prefer fireproof glass or you can use tuna cans or muffin tins etc...)
cheap brushes, palette knives
fusing tools such as hot air gun, heat pens, iron, heated spatulas, etc...
lots of rag
keep water handy in case of burns or fire
make sure your area is very well ventilated! the fumes are toxic.
supports such as panel or board. Canvas is to flexible for thick applications. You can also use paper, if it is adhered to a ridgid surface.

Next post will focus on technique.

R&F Encaustic Paints

noreply@blogger.com (a stahl) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 02:57:00 +0000

If you're interested in trying out some encaustic painting yourself, try these ready to use, heavily pigmented sticks by R&F. They have lots of gorgeous colors to choose from, plus a number of tools and other materials and ingredients needed for encaustic painting.

At CorkStop Studios we are planning on running more encaustic workshops in the future.

New Work

noreply@blogger.com (a stahl) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 05:12:00 +0000

Work in Progress

The newest work is posted here. More information for each piece will be added later (such as Titles, Prices, Series information, etc...)
View more at :
http://annestahl.com/paintings/new_work.shtml

Review: Don Scott MacDonald

noreply@blogger.com (a stahl) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 05:59:00 +0000

When I recently came across the work of Don Scott MacDonald I decided that the idea or writing artist reviews, which I had been toying with for quite some time now, would finally had to become reality.

Don's work inspires the viewer, not only to blog about it, but to dream and get lost in the space between pure color and suggestion. This 'Zwischendimension' could be considered a profound personal journey or a childish game. Resulting in the ability to look with a fresh clean visual palate, to shed predjudice and to sink into a visual expanse. Like taking a drink of clear water so you can taste another beautifully crafted wine. These paintings allow us to meditate and become one with color, space and dimension.

Don has a show coming up in Rutherford (California) opening on October 17th. Make sure you visit his website as well. http://donsart.com

Abstract, contemporary Landscape Painting

Retrospective at Atmodspere

Ignite Your Art Career

Data, Science and Art

Inspired

Delilah LaFe

Delilah LaFe

A great poem I heard recently

Butterfly Story

New Direction

Back to Basics

Stahl and Teixeira show at Steynberg Gallery 3.Sept - 24.Oct

Artist the Bookkeeper

Stahl presents at Pecha Kucha Night in SLO

Virtual View of Exhibition

Art without Borders - Collaboration painting: Niels Valentin and Anne Stahl

Native Lounge Exhibit

Rothko and Richter

Latest Show Opened

Anne Stahl's next exhibition is in Georgia

Questions and Answers III

Questions and Answers II

Publication

Questions and Answers I

How to paint in Encaustics - Part I

Part I: Tools and Ingredients

R&F Encaustic Paints

New Work

Review: Don Scott MacDonald

More Images Posted