Featured Artist Holly Wilson

Joint compound and acrylic on wood by Holly Wilson

Local North Wales artist, Holly Wilson, was an art major in high school and attended MCCC for 1 semester. Most of her art education has been from artists she has encountered over the years and recently from research on the Internet. She is a multi medium artist using recycled materials for her paintings and projects.

Acrylic painting by Holly Wilson

 Growing up, Holly would draw and color all the time. In elementary school, she became hooked on abstract painting and sculpture. She was lucky to have a grandfather who would bring home the reject paper from the New Hope Paper mill, in which he worked. She was never without  paper!  If only he had worked at the Kodak factory and could have brought home film, she would have pursued her interest in photography. Now that we are digital Holly is set, she tries to have her  camera with her all the time. Art and photography are her passion!

The Bubble 

photography by Holly Wilson

 

Holly has 3 grown children and 11 grandchildren. While raising her children she has shared time with them making art. Now she is spending time with her grandchildren.

Mixed Medium on paper by Holly Wilson

Look for Holly and her artwork at Lansdale's Fun A Day group show, Friday February 3rd at Lansdale's 3rd and Walnut Bar.

 

 

Paper 

 

photography by Holly Wilson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Featured Artist Anthony Thartis Forbes

Anthony Thartis Forbes, 24 of Norristown Pa is a freelance fine artist specializing in paintings, photography, wood work, and digital illustrations. 

Anthony attended Montco and Uarts for art history and Illustration for two years in 2005. For 7 years He has pursued art heavily, hosting art shows for local artists and himself with musical acts serenading the crowd and live artists putting on a masterpiece of collaborations. 

First starting with creating artwork and selling to friends, on social sites , working at amusement parks drawing portraits, doing wall murals in homes and graffiti on streets, art has now become a 'second full time job' but art is freedom and to Anthony -art could never be a "job" but a full-time blessing.

Many people own his paintings and other art pieces currently, while some art is in galleries, and designs are being used for websites around eastern Pa. These days Anthony can be found in Collegeville, Pa, still strongly creating; making and selling his own works on popular social websites as well as his website, putting on art/music shows all in cities near the Philadelphia area.

Also now doing Photography at amateur level; his craft in art is constantly expanding to new mediums. Anthony greatly supports local artists and their journey and hopes more kids and adults can learn to practice art regularly. "simply put, its never simply put"

Come see what Anthony T Forbes creates for his month long Fun A Day project at the 3rd and Walnut in Lansdale on Friday February 3rd. To see more of his artwork, click on any of the images above or visit and LIKE his Burning Owl Illustrations page.

Featured Artist Ben Robinson

 Ben Robinson studied Fine arts at Montgomery County Community College, and is currently pursuing his BFA at UARTS while residing in Philadelphia.

He is heavily influenced by graffiti, surrealism and skateboarding. The three have molded the way he views life and creates art. Ben likes to work with a lot of color and detail in his artwork to create a fun bizarre image for the viewer. It is his intent through making art, to keep art fun and create things that have something new for the viewer each time they come back to a piece.

Ben has always liked getting completely lost and sucked into artwork, so he tries to carry that idea into his own artwork.

  He likes to work with oils and ink in his pieces but he makes sure not to limit himself to the two. It is Ben's belief that, art's all about expanding and growing so being open to outside influences is very important to him. When he's not painting or drawing he enjoys  skateboarding in and outside of the city and hanging out with good friends and strangers.

Look for him at Lansdale's Fun A Day Show, Friday February 3rd at Lansdale's 3rd and Walnut Bar. Click on any of the images above to see more of Ben's artwork or to his purchase artwork. Please take the time to like his Facebook page.

Show planning

Fun A Day is an event in which Artists will create something everyday in the month of January. Then display all their hard work in a super-fun group show along with live music from Brian Medlin as well as other performers TBA If you are an artist and would like to participate, just let me know. I'll do a feature on you in this blog. We will begin to hang and set up the artwork  at Lansdale's 3rd and Walnut Wednesday February 1st for the show on Friday February 3rd.  Since this show is above a bar, participants and visitors will have to be 21+ There are tables available at the venue and I will be renting racks from the North Penn Arts Alliance (if anyone wants to pitch in some money that would be cool too). If you would like to help with set up, please let me know, I'm sure I'll be needing some help.  I've been working on some carnival like things to make the show fun. I'm thinking carnival games may help sell some artwork.

Featured Artist Kim Saddel

 Kimberly Saddel was born into the world of art. She feels she was made to live and breathe the beauty of this earth and to show life throughout her work. Kim started off as a painter once she could pick up a crayon and progressed into loving colors and began to compose some wonderful pieces in elementary school. Her  parents kept her encouraged and inspired her to keep going with her talent all throughout her school career at Methacton High School and Montgomery CC. 

Dali influenced Kim's paintings and fostered her weird obsession with clocks and numbers, once her eyes caught sight of Dali’s paintings she was more inspired to keep up and improve her paintings and strengthen her mind with more knowledge of art, perspective, and color . 

After high school, Kim became interested in spreading her talents to other medium than just oils and acrylics so she took on the challenge of photography. She previously failed a photo class in high school, because she  despised it but since then decided to take on the challenge once more and fell in love with black and white photography at Montco.   She proceeded to take one class and integrated this medium into her career. 

Since then, she has excelled immensely in this medium utilizing her talents doing weddings, modeling, family portraits , and live bands. Kim has been published in Vogue magazine and a few books and has received  a few awards which has increased her self confidence.

Kim doesn't  believe you need to be taught how to take a photo or how to paint an object onto canvas. You either have the eye or you don't. Learning perspective , composition and working with colors are the basics but everything else comes naturally.  She has been a painter her whole life and a photographer for over 10 years now. She likes to portray emotion, a persons soul or a sense of wonder through her photography. It is her goal to spread her photos into the world so people can view her vision of life .Kim's favorite quote is “Creation which cannot express itself becomes maddness”(-Anais Nin-).

Over the past 2 years, Kim has integrated her talent into jewelry. She may be crazy obsessed with clocks but its pretty much her trade mark now.  Kim would like to welcome you to her wonderland of art and hopes you enjoy the visual ride into her perception of life. To better experience this wonderland click on any of the photos above to visit her websites and check her out on Facebook. It will be interesting to see what she bring to the Fun A Day celebration Friday February 3rd at Lansdale's 3rd and Walnut.

Featured Artist Rosalynd Orr

Rosalynd Orr is originally from Lansdale, currently living in Carlisle Pa. She is Fun A Day's first featured potter. Rosalynd is a working soil scientist. Her love of soil lends itself nicely to a love of clay and pottery.

Rosalynd had been creating her pottery at the Google Works studio in Reading, but since her recent step up in the ranks of government soil management and conservation has moved her towards Harrisburg, she is now creating works of art at the Carlisle Arts Learning Center.

 Although, she does not have a blog or website, some of Rosalynd's more recent pieces will be on view at the Carlisle Arts Learning Center.

This left handed potter, finds throwing clay on the wheel to be extremely relaxing and a great way to work out life's tensions.

For her Fun A Day Project in January, Rosalynd plans to incorporate hand built pieces into thrown pieces. Be sure to look for her table at Lansdale's 3rd and Walnut on February 3rd for the Fun A Day reception.

Featured Artist David Gerbstadt

 David Gerbstadt is an artists of all mediums, he is the embodiment of Fun A Day, creating positively inspiring art, full time from his home studio 54 Aiken ave Berwyn, PA 19312. You may call ahead to schedule a visit 484.995.1541 or e-mail  davidgerbstadt@gmail.com. 
 David Gerbstadt graduated from Millersville University in 1993. It was in college that an art instructor encouraged David to declare as an art major.Without much influence before David dove into the art world and never came back.

On December 28, 2007 David died in route to the hospital in an ambulance after being run over by a tracker trailer truck. He was riding his bicycle at the time of the accident. David never gave up though and a paramedic performed CPR and brought David back to us. The next 9 hours David’s heart stopped 4 more times and went through 40 units of blood.

The doctors all said he should be dead. Yet, David lives on! His story of never giving up and take life one breath at a time is a lesson for us all. He is currently working on a book about his life experiences, it will be available through his website in the future. He has also published a children's book The Red Heart Book.

David sees the world as someone looking inside a restaurant from the sidewalk. Being run over by a tracker trailer truck changed his life and opened his eyes to see the world and all in it. He was a artist before and remains an artist. He use what  ever he can find to make his art from; wooden match sticks found at the grocery store to found wood on trash day. Art is the only thing now that helps him to cope until he dies again. If you were to look at him you would never know a truck ran over him.  David Gerbstadt vows to "make art with anything" and there is no one who can stop him. He understands how Art heals  everyday.

Since college, David has shown his art world-wide and has collectors in Mexico, Germany, France, England, Poland, Italy, Austria, Whales, Norway, Scotland, Africa. From 1993 to 1999 David in addition to showing has left for the taking over 5,000 paintings and drawings done on found materials. ‘David was here’ a documentary film was produced in 2002 and shown at the 2003 Iowa Documentary Film Festival Spring 2003 winning best audience pick. The film documents David leaving his art for the taking including interviews of the people who have found his art. After the release of the film David no longer leaves his art for the taking.

 

David’s friend Robert often says “You can’t stop Gerbstadt! He will make art with anything anywhere!”The doctors all said he should be dead. Yet, David lives on! His story of never giving up and take life one breath at a time is a lesson for us all. 

You can friend David on Facebook  at David Gerbstadt or David Gerbstadt Art and click on any of the above photos or links to visit his website. David will be bringing his Art Vending machine, which is a restored cigarette machine from which you may purchase original artwork from various artists for $2, to the Fun A Day show February 3rd at Lansdale's 3rd and Walnut.

Featured Artist Jay Reimers

Jay Reimers is an abstract artist from Lansdale, currently living in Philadelphia.

He studied recording arts at Full Sail university in Orlando. He was exposed to art early in life through his grandfather, who was a poet, painter, sculptor, draftsman... jack of all trades type of dude. In High School, Jay, studied commercial arts. 

He is now  obsessed with the spacey author/scientist, Carl Sagan. Jay invites anyone to take one of his original pieces of artwork off of his wall and replace it with one of their own. 

He has a fish who has a different name every time he is brought up (some days he goes through 20 names, never the same). 

Jay enjoys music, making it and listening to it... here is his self recorded demo. Jay Reimers is seriously looking to form a band if you are interested contact him through his Facebook Page. Perhaps he will give us a sample of his music during the Fun A Day reception. Click on any of the images above to see more work from Jay Reimers.

Featured Artist James Heimer

James Heimer is originally from Lansdale and now lives in Philadelphia.

He is a vegetarian who sometimes draws and always screenprints.

He loves money and hates nature. 

He earned his BFA in illustration at Uarts .

He pays his rent by drawing and screenprinting.

He’s a terrible biographer.

Click any of the images above to get to Jame's Etsy Store to buy his prints. I had to investigate his hate towards nature and his reasons are due to being forced into birdwatching vacations as a child. James creates graphics for t-shirts, albums and posters. It will be exciting to see what he comes up with for the fun a day projects.  You can see more of his work at any of the links above and you should LIKE James Heimer Illustration on Facebook.

2 minute paintings

This would work well for a fun a day project.

Artist Lee muslin

Audacious
Photograph printed on cheesecloth

Lee Muslin has been a fine art photographer for over 40 years beginning when she was a fine art major at the University of Delaware.  She has exhibited extensively throughout the United States over the last 18 years including 5 solo exhibitions in New York City and 5 in Pennsylvania.  Her work has appeared in 24 publications including 3 covers for the magazine Philadelphia Stories and she has been privileged to receive 20 awards.

Water Dance
Photograph, Asian handmade paper and pearlescent  digital ground on canvas

 In 1995, while attending Parsons School of Design for a degree in photography, Lee became fascinated with the mysteries of digital imaging. Using the computer as her paintbrush, she layers and blends her original photographs to create a world removed from the limits of reality. This process facilitates results that would be impossible in the traditional darkroom. Recently, Lee has again pushed boundaries creating artwork that is physically built layer upon layer by interlacing her photography with acrylic paint, Asian handmade paper, paper collage, cheesecloth or other textural surfaces to create one-of-a-kind mixed media pieces.

 

Landscape as Symphony 1

Photograph, acrylic paint, and Asian handmade paper

 

 

Transparency and layering continually play a major role in all of Lee’s art. Her affinity with nature is the recurrent thread that runs throughout her work. The rhythms and patterns of the natural world evoke a sense of calm and serenity in these contemporary compositions.

 

 

Curvacious

Photograph printed on collage of Asian handmade paper

 

We are very excited to have such an imaginative and inspired photography join the Lansdale Fun A Day. You can view Lee's work on Facebook and follow her on twitter 

Artist Amy Rims

 Amy Rims is a local Lansdale artist. She paints people and places, working from life rather than photograph. She often paints en plein air out on the streets of Lansdale. You may recognize this building as St John's on Main Street in Lansdale.

 Amy loves to work from models in her home studio, using a variety of mediums such as gouache

 oil

and oil painted canvas collage on oil painted stretched canvas.

 She also enjoys painting in watercolor from nature, you can see all of these Mauch Chunk Lake paintings on display at North Penn Community Acupuncture across from the Lansdale Train Station.

Amy hosts a weekly painting/drawing/arts group in her Lansdale home. If you would like to join her, feel free to leave a message here and she will contact you. To see more artwork done by Amy, please visit her artblog.