Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Artist Feature - Aja Apa-Soura







About Aja: "Although I've been painting since my age was measured in months (my mom, a toll painter, would give me scraps of wood from her projects, a cup of water, and a brush for me to "paint" with....) I really became serious with it in '99 during my last years of high school. Resigned to my profession I was accepted to Montserrat College of Art on scholarship and concentrated on painting.

Sagittarius Gallery, my business, was started in April of 2003 and since then I have been blessed to have over 250 patrons on 5 continents. I have shown at several galleries including Karin Sanders Fine Art in Sag Harbor, NY, Robert Dowling Studios and Gallery in Bangor, ME, the gallery walk at Memories on Market LLC in Oshkosh, WI, as well as a solo show at the Gallery and Grille in Newburyport, MA. My work has been featured by the online Self-representing artists website EBSQ as well as the web zine Pedestal Magazine. My work has also been shown at the Empire State Legislative Building in Albany, NY, First National Bank of Scotia in Scotia, NY, and several student shows at Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, MA during my time as a student.

I am influenced by all around me but have an affinity for the Abstract Expressionists such as Rothko. de Kooning, and more contemporary examples such as Susan Rothenburg and Cecily Brown. I am in love with my palette knife and thick oil paint but I do utilize a bevy of different media and techniques to illustrate my unique vision. Melted crayola crayons, Testors model car enamels, sharpee pens...anything is fair game."



Visit Aja's Etsy shop for more beautiful, original fine art. http://www.etsy.com/shop/sagittariusgallery

Friday, February 11, 2011

Fine Art Friday Update 2/11

Jilly's Walkup Studio - Hand pulled lino-cut by etchlings
Selected from the Working Artists for Fine Art Friday treasury by lauraprill


Fridays have become a day absorbed in dazzling artwork from around the globe. Participation in Fine Art Friday continues to grow week after week, on Twitter, facebook, flickr and Etsy. There is a new Fine Art Friday team on Etsy that I'd like to invite everyone to join. There are no rules for membership - artists and art lovers alike are encourage to join and share their favorite work.  Visit the team page here http://www.etsy.com/teams/7329/fine-art-friday. You'll also notice there is a new page on the blog that explains the Fine Art Friday movement and how to take part. 



Golden Light in Paris - Original painting on canvas by SarahGionnobile
Selected from the Fine Art Friday travel edition treasury by SunnyLeeStudio


Meanwhile, the Finding Fine Art team has been steadily growing with an incredible member list of fine artists. With the team tag of "findingfineart" shopping for original fine art, photographs and hand pulled prints on Etsy has never been easier.  The team tag is another great way to find art treasuries any day of the week. There is a new page on the blog that I'm very excited about for Finding Fine Artists. You'll find the link above or you can just click here to see the growing art collection. (Artists interested in joining the team must please review the list of member requirements before applying.)


 
Selected from the Let There Be Light treasury by JessicaTorrant


Many thanks go out to everyone that took part in the fun today and in previous weeks. How did you celebrate Fine Art Friday today? Did you make a new treasury, blog post or list a new work of art? Let us know with links in the comments! 


 July in Provence - Original oil painting by KelleySanfordStudio
Selected from the dada in custard for the trees treasury by sarahknight