new works by artists in arizona

This winter I captured the lingering fall color off of the Verde River. The overcast day created even lighting throughout the scene and showed the richness in the foliage.

Painting at my easel, ducks swim by, turtles sun on the rocks, children play behind me on the grass, dogs bark and chase, and the wind rustles the palm leaves. All feels alive and in its place: my oasis Agua Caliente.

Discover the unique artistry of Janet Blumentha. Janet uses a vibrant and spontaneous method of "Breathwork" with alcohol inks to explore the unseen horizons of creativity. No paintbrushes—just the dance of color and spirit on panels, guided by intuition and the flow of inks. This meditative technique does more than produce stunning landscapes; it captivates and connects with all who find solace in art's healing powers. Whether you're an art lover, a seeker of spirituality, or someone who cherishes the therapeutic beauty of creative expression, there's something in Janet's work for everyone.

I have been painting a lot more from my own photos in plein air, which my first piece A Walk at Spur Cross is and also, finishing in my studio. I am really drawn to either the light/shadow or texture of a piece that excites me to want to paint and try and capture the emotion I feel when seeing it.

I'm embracing a looser and more freeing process with my oil paintings, a new direction that allows me to paint faster with more artistic liberty. Still capturing my favorite subject matter of florals, birds, and animals and using my bold color palette my painting energy is unlimited. I'm truly loving this new direction I have discovered.

A student of mine asked me to throw a sea urchin shape, thus began my series of sea urchin vases.

Tucson artist, sculptor, and potter since beginning in 1970. Owner of Sabino Stoneware Pottery, whose gallery and studio is located at 1019 N. Jabobus Avenue in Tucson, AZ. Currently teaching at the Romero House located on the TMA campus.

I love springtime in the desert when the desert wildflowers are in bloom. And I love to paint outside, also called plein aire painting. Standing in the middle of a field of golden poppies and purple blue lupine is both peaceful and spiritually uplifting to me. My hope is to share those moments and emotions with those that view my paintings.

I think a lot about Ariadne’s thread and how Theseus used it to navigate the labyrinth. I like to think about how the thread moved through the labyrinth, how it was pulled and bound and woven around the architecture. How the thread was taut in some areas and loosely folded in others. I like to think of the subconscious as a place. A door, a room, a city, a labyrinth, and when I’m looking inward and moving through these places it seems I’ve also pulled a thread through. Sometimes the thread lets me know I’ve been there before, but it mostly tells me I can get back.

My paintings start out as computer photographic based compositions with Photoshop which are transferred to wood panel for hand painting with acrylics.

Carlos Encinas is a Tucson resident and native. He is a lifelong artist who works with multiple artistic mediums. 

Artists website

These new pieces are a departure from my usual style in that there is a hint of realism in each one, lurking in the mostly abstracted surroundings.

My two new, large, works were painted spontaneously and rotated until the most intriguing composition appears and is further developed. I wanted a darker palette in Waiting for the Tide but still keeping alot of color within.
Into the Whirlpool is about shape, color and movement in a bright and radiant palette.

As an Abstract artist, color and composition and jazz music set the tone for my paintings that are created in oil with cold wax medium on canvas, cradled birch or paper. My work is my "improvisation in color."

As I continue with my intuitive process, I am starting to open up to finding new subject matter in my marks. I think I will always find images influenced by the American Southwest, and my color will remain inspired by my appreciation of the Mexican culture. But, I don't feel boxed in by what I see around me anymore. I'm letting my imagination in more vs. just my visual memory.

As a visual artist and teacher, I am driven by design – color, form and composition. I look for these in the natural world, and desire to present these in new, different and unique ways. My work has always been about attitudes, choices and the act of “seeing” versus merely “looking." It’s about the nature of reality and what we claim to know about it. I’m not interested in providing you familiar images of things you’ve seen in the ways you’ve always seen them. Through color and texture, I emphasize the often overlooked aspects of our environment and its compositional structures, while downplaying or minimizing the obvious. My interests in elevating the ordinary, even visually discarded elements of our visual experiences, and to confuse the natural ordering of three dimensional space are both at work here in these paintings. The result is to force new ways of seeing … prompting surprising revelations about our world and ourselves. I want to change the way you look at things. I want you to see things differently.

Each one of the works I am sharing are a bit different. "Orange Bounty" is a continuation of a fruit tree series I am doing. The beautiful colors of the oranges with light and shadow on them were a joy to paint.

schwabfive@gmail.com

Recently I have begun working with powdered minerals and making acrylic paints. These pigments come from clay, mica, and other natural elements. I have also used them to create texture and topographical interest in my oil and cold wax paintings but have decided to "play" with them more. Once I mix the pigments into paints, I pour them onto a canvas, allowed them to move and pool in areas, layering again and again until it intuitively feels right. I add brushwork and Caron d'Ache pastels to finish the pieces. I entered the first mineral painting, "Strata" into the member's juried show at the Tubac Center of the Arts and it was graced with the Virginia Hall Contemporary Award.

My paintings lay bare the breadth and depth of human emotion, sometimes thunderous and sometimes subtle. Applications of paint, brush and line create two and three dimensional depictions of my soul responding to nature. A tension is created between the quiet, close up drawings and the bold abstract forms that float in and out of a single space, resulting in an expressive yet precarious balance. In making fluid and fiery marks, sometimes using nature as a guidepost, my artwork has evolved into abstract emotional expression. It feels musical to me, like jazz; improvising and depicting movement in unexpected directions by layering, erasing, and exposing a composition. This is a multi-sensory physical dialogue with the various art media within my reach, and often feels like I am conducting a symphony.

These pieces are from my new collection of work titled Beautiful People. It is my desire to create, through the visual expression of painting, pieces that honor diversity, communication and acceptance. It is important to me to convey the value of striving to accept, understand and recognize the vulnerability, resilience, and beauty of other humans that share our planet. I have loved painting these pieces, as the experience has allowed me to examine my own biases and appreciate our collective and individual struggles, our capacity for empathy and our ability to find hope and love amidst adversity.

After watching me track three generations of Great Horned Owls, the neighbors knew me as The Owl Lady and some kept my number in their phones. When the call came, "Two babies fell out of the nest! You've got to come!" I trotted over to find the older owlet puffed up and clacking in alarm, the younger one barely conscious. I called the Tucson Wildlife Center, explained that the nest had disintegrated and these owlets were too young to fly. I scooped up Dos and Tres using gloves and a towel, put them into my cat carrier, and drove to TWC. The birds were dehydrated, yet miraculously undamaged after plummeting 30 feet to the hard ground. After a few days in care, we renested the birds in a plastic milk crate and watched them thrive. This is Dos, not long after fledging.

These three artworks are part of a new series titled “Make Room”. They each include various paint mediums as well as actual botanicals. Specifically each includes rose petals, symbolic of love and baby’s breath, symbolic of innocence and new beginnings. My intention through these artworks and my original poem for this series is to encourage contemplation of opening our hearts to make room for more of what really counts. Here is my poem: MAKE ROOM We all have room In our beating hearts To welcome more Of what really counts