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TONY

This is the mini gallery wall/set up I put together in my studio for the writer and photographer from Time Out NY who came out to my studio on Monday. The interview went well I think. Can't wait to see it in print!

I decided I'm going to skip weekends with this photo-a-day thing and just focus on a new image every week day instead. 7 days a week is a little much for me to keep up with I think, 5 is a bit easier to schedule. And this way I can prep all the week's images on the weekends. So see you on Monday! Have a great weekend.

masks

order

Prepping a wholesale order for the Denver Art Museum - soon to be carrying my work!

mess/mass

arms in pairs

smile toggle

Palms Up Pump & Bounce

So I'm totally friends with Barbie on Facebook, and she recently posted this awesome illustration of her dance moves… had to share!

Barbie earrings

bubble bath heads

photo-a-day

It's been a while friends, I know. As is typical, this time of year is a flurry of chaos for me. I have that familiar sense of overwhelm and desperation, grasping onto the fleeting summer, packing in as many fun outings with friends and family as possible before the season officially changes course. Does everybody feel this way in August or is it just me?

My biggest news to share at the moment is that I've been busy designing/creating new one-of-a-kind work for my solo exhibition Wearable Nostalgia: Deconstructing Barbie opening at Luke & Elloy gallery (Pittsburgh, PA) December 5, 2009. I've decided that in order to focus more fully on the work for that show, I'm taking a break from blogging, at least in the traditional sense. I'm going to try out a little experiment… a photo a day here on the blog! I'll post a photo from my studio every weekday with little or no commentary/writing. Check in daily for these sneak peaks into the new work and other various studio captures (such as the creepy vintage gals pictured above.) I'll also be announcing some new retailers soon to be carrying my production work, as well as some exciting new press… so stay tuned for that as well.

Enjoy the rest of your summer while it lasts!

Ali Cavanaugh

coincidence that was once blurred, is now clear © Ali Cavanaugh

I was first introduced to Ali Cavanaugh's paintings when she was featured on the cover of Art Calendar Magazine in September of 2008. She quickly became one of my favorite artists and I've been following her work ever since.

coming out of recollection © Ali Cavanaugh

chosen, just to be overlooked © Ali Cavanaugh

Often her models are hidden by clothing, their own hands or turned away from the viewer entirely so that we see only the backside of the head. We're kept at a distance, yet simultaneously drawn into the intimacy of the moment with the stranger in the painting.

Her work is minimal yet bold in composition. She forgoes background and instead plays with light and shadow creating a luminosity that enlivens the figures in her paintings as they appear to glow in and through the panels, washed in white.

did my silence imply reflection? © Ali Cavanaugh

Ali uses a fresco painting technique, or panels with a clay surface. About her process she writes,

"My process of application is very similar to egg tempera; I use small controlled strokes of overlapping colors to create depth while letting the white clay surface illuminate through the pigment. These small strokes of color are built upon a wet plaster surface."

in your warm gaze, i find that i’m still your treasure © Ali Cavanaugh

obscured by a perfect circle © Ali Cavanaughit wasn’t doubt it was hesitation © Ali Cavanaugh

Her recent works have involved a lot more accessories and jewelry which I find fun additions to the characters she paints. They say portraiture is the toughest art subject matter to sell but I've always been drawn to it and one day I'm determined to own one of Ali's amazing paintings. To see more of her portfolio or follow along on her blog visit her website: www.alicavanaugh.com

interior light © Ali Cavanaugh