The place is hopping. Elaine Lozier is the artist this month in the Evolution of Art series at Beanetics! She is here with several guests to talk about art and celebrate her opening.
The coffee is fabulous as always. Tonight Julian made me a latte with soy, no foam, no whip. No one makes a latte like Julian. Cole is here as a barista as well. As one customer wrote about this place, Beanetics is quirky and fun, just like Cole, the asian barista guy. He makes awesome lattes too! Everyone who works here is friendly, outgoing, and an interesting person to get to know. Come by and have some coffee and great conversation. It's worth the trip.
And to make it even better, the brownies just came out. All you chocolate lovers can come for the tasty, chewy, fudgey, yummy brownies.
Mostly, come for the art and to talk to Elaine. She has fascinating stories about her art process, her life as a swim coach, social activism at her church including work with the homeless and during the Viet Nam war. In fact, if you listen long enough, it is like listening to a series of short stories.
Here's a question from Sven: Do you put a fixative on your pieces.
Elaine puts a fixative on her pastel figure drawings so they don't smudge. She is also very excited because she has new pastels that are big and thick and chunky.
Do you use oils?
No. The multi-media collages are the first time I even used acrylics. And I was surprised that as they dry they get a shade darker. I don't mind it because it added depth and texture.
What is the secret of your art?
Dyslexia and short-term memory loss. When I paint on silk I plan one thing and then I draw the lines backwards from what I actually intended. You only get one chance when you work on silk. And then I have to go with the flow changing the orientation of each consecutive flower. And then I often forget which color I used, and put the brush into a new color. The result is interesting color combinations and color blends. Each piece is an act of faith.
How did you get started in art?
I'm a wealthy white woman artist. I came to art after retirement. Without us, there would be no Master gardeners and no art classes during the day.
It is always nice to have the support of a good man... Elaine's work is lovingly framed by her husband, Daniel. He even cuts her mats himself. That is totally amazing to me, since I remember the "joy" of cutting mats by hand when I was in high school.
Elaine's work reminds me of the social commentary of photographer Milton Rogovin.
ReplyDeleteI think Elaine's figurative work is excellent.
ReplyDeleteI think this is wonderful, and about as cool as it gets!
ReplyDeleteThe thing that strikes me about these pieces is the raw emotionality that I find in them. That's particularly apparent in the two mixed media pieces, "Myth" and "The Cave".
ReplyDeleteThe overt subject of the pieces is the figures, but when I look at them, I have a different level of experience. Instead of an intellectual experience of the content of the piece, what I experience is the emotionality underlying it.
A fine example of art. My favorite piece is "Reaching" because I can't tell what it is. This is unusual for me because I usually like realism and maybe impressionism. But this piece is very abstract and I like it.
ReplyDeleteI really like the multimedia collage "Myth" because it is lighter. I like the suggestion of an animal and a child in it. And I like its colors.
ReplyDeleteIn "The Cave", I see a gorilla or a gangster. It evokes dark feelings and images for me.
"More Rangers" for me is evocative of concentration camps, and I am bothered by it.
In Elaine's work, even though it is figurative, it is evident that her real intention of capturing emotion comes through loud and clear.
On the figure drawing series, Elaine has great color sense. She picks one predominant color and uses throughout the process of creation. This enhances the continuity of the pieces.
ReplyDelete"More Rangers" has a pained expression, and isn't particularly joyful. The thing I notice is that none of Elaine's work is about being in a joyous or rapturous state. Her pieces explore much deeper emotional states.
Her work is incredibly evocative for the viewer and unlike her original work (flowers) is not representational.
My favorite piece is "Reaching" because it reach into the viewer's mind and heart.
ReplyDeleteWorth the trip for the coffee and the art. I like everything except "Myth" because it is unachieved chaos. It reminds me of some of my own oil paintings that I would wait for weeks to dry, and eventually I would give up and smoosh them together. The result is similar to what I see in "Myth".
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed at the wide range of emotions evoked by your work. I like how all the paint strokes come together. Nice colors, they coincidentally compliment our store.
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