Inspirations

LK has tagged me to share 5 women artists who inspire me creatively. I've decided to stick with living artists, which makes it a whole lot easier, and visual artists, or I couldn't begin to narrow it down. These are my current favorites, since I am in a painting mode, but ask me in a month and I could have doubled or tripled the list.

Dorothy Fitzgerald - I had the pleasure of meeting Dotty when I went to Buffalo last year with Faith to meet Dana, also a wonderful watercolorist. Dotty teaches art, but only began making her own art about 5 years ago. Her works are on huge canvases filled with color, image, and text. They are vibrant and have an energy that jump off the canvas at you. They are bold, feminist statements visualized with color and imagery, such as photos of First Communicants and a door full of ladies' gloves. I'm spending two weeks in Italy with Dotty and some other artists this summer and I'm excited beyond belief about it.

Bonnie Taylor-Talbot - I don't know how I came across this artist, but her work is, as described on her website, "whimsical, joyful, and delightful paintings". Now before you all go rolling your eyes at that, take a look at her work and see if it doesn't make you run to pick up a  paintbrush and paint the beautiful imagery around you, those things that you might overlook, like chickens, chandeliers, and tea cups.

Juliet Wood's work are paintings that speak quietly of symbols and mysticism."Wood's work is unapologetically about art as a means of spiritual journeying. Her pieces are meant to depict 'inner journeys of evolving consciousness.' She draws on a range of mythic traditions, referencing them in title or subject, and using those resonances to direct the viewer's contemplation of the piece." The paintings have a tactile quality and a use of color that draws the eye and the hand, making me want to caress their surface. Her art is the type of work that I aspire to someday.

Judy Wise is one of the most exuberant, colorful painters that I know. Her work is all about happiness and joy and just looking at any of her many pieces makes me feel better, whatever the day I am having. I love her stylized people and flying cats and vibrant colors.

Barbara DePirro's work makes me go back to my paintings and add another layer of color and texture.As her artist's statement says, "Within the calm serene layers of Barbara's work, lies a deeply emotional and nurturing whisper of her perceptions. She finds a complexity of imagery in the simple echoes of our world. Colors, textures and patterns flow through the stream of her imagination, creating her own soft and gentle language." To me, it's all about color, and she is an artist who could teach me how to make it be about color, but quietly, softly, but without losing any of the richness.     

I'm not tagging anyone, but I'd love to hear from you about your favorite women artists.