Elements of Style, Group Exhibition at Royse Contemporary | New Works

In four days, I join forces with seven other regional artists in the group exhibition, Elements of Style: Color, Line & Texture. It all happens Thursday, July 12, 2018 from 6-9pm, coinciding with the special “Summer Spectacular” Thursday night Scottsdale Art Walk in Old Town Scottsdale. 7077 E. Main Street, Suite 6, Scottsdale, AZ. The exhibition will remain on view through Saturday, August 25, 2018.

“This exhibition showcases the work of eight noteworthy artists based in both Arizona and Texas including Angel Cabrales, Charmagne Coe, ColorOrgy, David Allan Paul, Dan Pederson, James Anthony Peters, Daniel Shepherd, and Marilyn Szabo. Their work is original, captivating, pushing boundaries and redefining their mediums in contemporary art today. The evening will feature an opportunity to meet the featured artists, lively art discussion, as well as light hors d’oeuvres and refreshments,” states Nicole Royse, owner and curator at Royse Contemporary. More information: roysecontemporary.com and https://m.facebook.com/events/1413397598760660#!/events/1413397598760660. We hope to see you there!

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In Elements of Style, I will be featuring my latest painting, full of hope and humor, Flesh the Meadow. It is approximately 31″ x 39″framed.

Here also are some of my most recent works.

I continue to travel the side roads in my process. Incorporating new media – like feathers (the one below is yet another found gift from my son!), scraps of fabric, wood and string – is a playful investigation, and very spontaneous. These elements add literal and metaphorical dimension to my painted narratives. This joyful work is Feral the Foxes, 2018 watercolor, ink, pastel, acrylic, charcoal and found feather, 27” x 21″, unframed.

This is another painting in which I’ve subtly gravitated in a newer direction and have collaged pieces and used acrylic for added texture. Well Spirit, Well-Spun, 2018, 12 1/4″ x 9″, watercolor, ink, pastel and acrylic.

And… one of my favorite figurative drawings so far this year. Hear Tell, 2018, pastel and ink on cotton paper.

Thank you for reading! Have a great July!

Flesh the Meadow, Free Arts

The abstract direction in my process is pulling me into more open-spaced territory as you will see with my latest work. I also continue adding new mediums to the recipe. This painting was started by taping a large piece of Saunders Waterford 200 lb cotton watercolor paper to my studio wall, then making large markings with a charcoal twig (my son created for me as a nature gift) and free-feeling loops and slashes of pastel. I like how the different figurative components in this piece appear unique to themselves but connect and interact with one another to write the story. Some of my other pieces are more saturated and dense compositions, but this work contains larger breaths of white space in between the delicate shapes and has a similar approach I use in my drawings. I hope you enjoy.

Flesh the Meadow, 2018, mixed media, watercolor, ink, pastel, acrylic and charcoal, 21″ x 29″. It is available here.

Here are some details:

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What a great turnout and support of Free Arts Art from the Heart Art Auction. This fundraiser for Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona was presented by Edward Jones, with featured artist Fred Tieken, and more than 70 other Arizona artists. Thank you so very much for generously attending and your online bidding! It is important to see our community coming together for our AZ children! If you are curious about the many other ways you can contribute to Free Arts, be sure to go to their website.  Here are some pictures of the event which took place at Saks 5th Ave in Phoenix, AZ last last Saturday, April 7th, 4:30 – 7:00.

Here is a small detail picture from a work in progress… creatures are tucked here and there among the flora brambles. Some are sleeping. Some are curiously approaching each other, or you.

If you don’t already, also follow me at Instagram to see more projects and snippets of creative process.  https://www.instagram.com/charmagnecoe/

My work is always available at my website and Royse Contemporary in Scottsdale, AZ.

New Signs of Life – Hello, Spring

Hello! Spring is officially upon us! I’m enjoying signs of budding life, homemade lemonade with my kids, cool morning runs and new inspirations.

After many years of dedicating my creative process to growing skills with watercolor, ink and pastel, I’ve recently begun to include additional media in my paintings. It is exhilarating to plunge into other directions.  I’m also taking an even more immediate, direct approach using abstraction with surrealism. A most recent work includes cotton thread, colored pencil and markings from charcoal twigs my youngest son made for me as a surprise gift one afternoon. It delights me to create artworks that come not only from within myself, but that are a collection of efforts and energies all around me. 

Below is my brand new painting with detail pictures, The Drops 54321, 28″ x 21″, watercolor, ink, charcoal and thread.  Also here.

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If you have not signed up for my email newsletter, please consider it! This month through the beginning of April I am offering a subscriber only…

Spring Special
On All Paintings and Drawings!

Signing up is also another to keep abreast of my upcoming exhibitions and recent developments. And it won’t clutter up your inbox because I only send one or two a month. 🙂

Here are some other new works from this year.

I am deeply thankful to my agent and Scottsdale gallerist, Nicole Royse of Royse Contemporary, for the opportunity to show my works and exhibit in Arizona.  Thank you to all of you for your many kind and generous ways of showing support.

Pictures above from Pan Door, my recent January solo exhibition at Royse Contemporary. 

In my studio, there rests a progressing mother/child drawing in deep cerulean blue pastel, and two large abstract paintings which feel all at once mischievous and full of longing. My work is cut out for me.

 

Roads Together, New Series: Micro Drawings

Details:

For many works, I’ve recently nixed my tape+staple routine of laying out a painting for a more immediate method. I simply lay my paper on a wood panel, untaped, and begin working.  No clean edges. Rawer work method,  like the old days. I’ve tried this with my little works, to wonderful effect… and have recently started a larger work in the same way. A simple step away from what could become cumbersome can open up new channels and free the work to flow in new directions. Very important. For those who paint, I am using a fabulous 200 lb Saunders Waterford cold press paper… it is very sturdy and does not warp easily, hence the ability to “rough it”. 🙂

I’m really happy to share that I’ve created a new series: Micro Drawings. These small, expressive drawings are thoughtfully created with my favorite medias, watercolor, ink and pastel, on fine 100% cotton paper. They are just right for those who seek a small and meaningful collectible to beautify their environment. Each one is $50 and available in my online shop. I am so enjoying creating these!

Findway


In You Me

Whirl


Unbind

Please keep my art in mind as we approach the holidays! It’s been a full year in my studio, weaving together stories on canvas and paper. I’ve created miniature to large works, and always with my heart on my sleeve.  You may contact me or Royse Contemporary gallery in Scottsdale with any art queries. We’d love to hear from you! To see my full inventory, visit: http://charmagnecoe.com. #GiveArt #SupportArtYouLove

Two New Small Works: Soft Ferocities, Pan Door

This is Pan Door, 2017, 6″ x 6″, watcolor, ink and pastel.

My children and I spent much of their earlier years in a northern Arizona forest. When we went into the woods, it was the closest thing to church we attended. There, we played, layed silently in falling aspen leaves, built forts, discussed mythology, ruminated on spirituality and continually discovered more about each other and the ecosystem of which we are small parts. Recently, my son turned thirteen. It is certainly a right of passage. We now live in a desert city, though the forest remains deep in us. We open ourselves up to new kinds of ecosystems, life stories, friends, dreams and experiences.

 

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Here is Soft Ferocities, 2017, 5″ x 5″, watercolor, ink and pastel.

I reflect often on our human emotional and physical neediness. We are prolific and impacting, to one another, to the earth on which we build lives. I feel, in a way, these rabbits are metaphorical for our fragility, as well as our innate ability to build/destroy.  Both fragility and the powerful ability to adapt our environments to ourselves have many facets, many ramifications.

Thanks for reading! Both of the above works are available. For more about them and my other works, visit http://charmagnecoe.com, Facebook or Instagram.  If you are near to historic downtown Scottsdale, AZ, my work is represented and always on view at Royse Contemporary.

Artwork by Fred Tieken (L), Charmagne Coe (center), Marily Szabo (R).

Two New Works. Rain With Different Frames. The Appearance.

This is one of my new paintings, Rain With Different Frames, 9″ x 7″, made with watercolor, ink and pastel.  My work moves in organic directions; I draw or paint what is authentically in my vision at the time, and stay very open to whatever else could surprisingly evolve. The themes take form as characters and textural atmospheres, both of equal importance, which relates my conviction that we are a part of this world, and it is a part of us. That is spiritual to me. When I am asked what inspires me, the “what” for me is found wherever my life is, or where my mind has wondered while reading a news article, researching, observing my children, listening to a song, walking through a temperate rain forest… the wondering finds me again in my studio.

Each work contains story lines woven together to form a whole narrative. Though the drawings and paintings may be fantastical in appearance, I feel they also contain metaphorical expressions that embody every day experiences.

And mysteries too.

Below is another new work. A miniature. This is The Appearance, 4 5/8″ x 4 1/8″, watercolor, ink and pastel.

 

 

 

 

You can find both of these works and others at my website, http://charmagnecoe.com.

Thank you for reading! Have a lovely weekend.

The Reaches, Solo Exhibition at Chartreuse, Phoenix

Thicket

It is with great excitement that I announce my debut Phoenix solo exhibition in September at the wonderful contemporary gallery, Chartreuse. You are invited!

The Reaches

Opening Reception, First Friday, September 1st, 6pm – 10pm
Closing Reception, Third Friday, September 14th, 6pm – 10pm
Additional showings on Saturdays 2nd and 16th, 10am – 3pm

Music by Alan Jones. Refreshments.

Chartreuse, 1301 Grand Ave 2b, Phoenix, AZ 85007

 

This large body of expressive surrealistic paintings was created in watercolor, ink and pastel. Each one in some way embodies the show’s title, The Reaches, with themes of connectedness and holism. Most of the paintings have never been shown before. Several new works from this year are included, both framed, and rawly, unframed — though it may be a bit shocking to have some delicate pastel work exposed without glass, they’re going to be living on the edge. My process involves organically, spontaneously allowing the colors, textures and story to evolve before me. My inspiration occurs in recognizing that all of us are parts of deeply interconnected experiences and then, from that vantage point, pursuing creative ideas within subjects such as biophilia (human innate need to connect with nature), mythology, pathos or the collective unconscious.  It is such a pleasure to work and collaborate with agent/curator, Nicole Royse, and owner of Chartreuse, Nancy Hill. You may RSVP here at Facebook.

I deeply look forward to this opportunity to meet others in my community and share my work. Hope to see you there!

The Passage, New Drawings

I completed this painting last week, and the title seemed obvious to me. Two figures connect  and travel earthy caverns. Here is The Passage, 2017, 7 1/8″ x 10 1/4″, watercolor, ink and pastel. It is available here. 

Details:

It really is all in the details. I have a lot of fun panning out and zooming in as I work. I always feel there are many little paintings within the one.

Here are some other drawn works finished this month.

Pieces and Graces

Holding a Meaning Together

Bouquet

To Eat the Bread in Your Wild Wakes

The drawing below, made with sienna ink and pastel, is part of my biophilic series, elementals.

Lilt

Thank you again for coming by to look and read.

Thicket

Thicket is my newest abstract and surreal painting, created with watercolor, ink and pastel, 19 1/4″ x 20″.

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I began this more abstract painting, much as I do many, with only a slight perception of where the story might take me. My lines felt very much in sync with how I make contour drawings, but by using larger movements. India ink is a marvelous medium because it is so powerful, lustrous and unforgiving. Because this ink is permanent, creating with it feels like cliff-jumping. Sometimes I decide to jump really big. Why not? This work is figurative in the slightest, wildest sense. I hope to impart a kind of biophilic, nature-needing impulse.

Thicket is immediately available for purchase at my website.

Here are some recent ink drawings.

Oyster

The Praise. This is a drawing from my series, elementals. 

Above is a detail picture from one of my small paintings in progress. This bird found itself on the edges of a lavender structure. I didn’t know it was a bird till I put a drop of black India ink on the sienna oval… and voila. Tweet, tweet.

It has been a productive summer thus far in my new home/old hometown, Phoenix. It’s heating up, but I feel my body adjusting to the encroaching 110+ temps. However, I won’t mind heading up north to my other mountain home, Flagstaff, to cool off and be inspired by the lupines, primroses and wild orchids.

Below is truly an Arizona drawing called Mountains and Mesas, 2016. I made it while living in an alternate reality of dewy, humid nature in the PNW.

Take care.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still for Landings

I completed this small painting in May. It is a meditative piece.

Drawings, created in ink and pastel….

 

Hearing, Here

to let go a god for Spirit

This is a grouping from my series, elementals.

 

And…This is another work in progress.