Greetings Art Lovers,

Going “Against the Grain” can be enlightening. Take it from photographer Noel Michele.

Noel Michele occasionally puts down her camera and picks up colored pencils. During one of these sabbaticals, the camera didn’t stay down long. This week’s Paperwork print is the result of a photographer exploring another artistic medium, only to return to the camera. As she was doodling with good ole charcoal and colored pencils, Noel noticed the colorful shavings on her tin lid. She couldn’t resist snapping a photo of the scattered pencil shards.

“Against the Grain” sharpens Noel’s artistic mission. With each photograph, Noel attempts to capture the unknown and the neglected. Since the age of 6, Noel has used the camera to find idyllic moments in life as a means to surprise and delight those around her. Now, Noel continues to shed light on any moment that goes unnoticed. 

What areas of your life have you forgotten? If you need a nudge to explore new avenues of expression, let Noel Michele’s print, “Against the Grain,” be the perfect reminder. 

Artfully yours,

Kurt 

Want the inside scoop? Sign up for our Paperwork newsletter to receive our Paperwork collector’s message via email. Just add your email address to the nifty little the envelope icon on the right side of our Paperwork header to get involved.

Greetings Art (and Dog) Lovers,

If your room is begging for a colorful companion, meet Jake. Jake is a saintly Labrador that bounds into puddles and ponds with wild abandon. He is also the inspiration for Iris Scott’s finger painting, Shakin’ Off the Blues.

On a trip to the John Day River, Iris Scott’s pooch leaped off their canoe and into the water for a leisurely swim. As Jake was exiting the river, Iris Scott captured the effortless and powerful shake of a dog drying off. For Iris Scott, the act of “shaking it off” can apply to emotional bumps and bruises as well as courageous doggie dunks.

Shakin’ Off the Blues is a product of Iris Scott’s love for her furry friend. The thick swirls of paint look as if Jake were dipped into cans of paint and placed next to the canvas while he shook off the color. Judging by this painting, a dog is truly an artist’s best friend.

Artfully yours,

Kurt

P.S. You can watch a video of Iris painting and Jake shaking here.

Want the inside scoop? Sign up for our Paperwork newsletter to receive our Paperwork collector’s message via email. Just add your email address to the nifty little the envelope icon on the right side of our Paperwork header to get involved.

Fumiko Toda’s piece “Butterfly Away” is an Artist’s Proof

This week, I’m cheating a little bit. I’ve got a slew of vocab for you, and I didn’t prepare any of it myself. The nest recently posted a great article on how to buy affordable art, and I stole this list of important terms for buyers to know from them. Enjoy!

Artist’s Proof: A numbered print added to the prints created for a limited edition; signed “AP.”

Commission: When an artist is paid to create a work directly for you.

Lithography: A printing process in which an image is photoshopped and burned onto four plates. They are inked and pressed onto paper.

Lot: An object or group offered for sale as one unit.

Print: An artist-authorized paper reproduction of an original work.

Provenance: The life history of a painting — where it has lived, what collections or museum shows it’s been in.

Reserve: The minimum price a seller is willing to accept for a piece at auction.

Serigraph: A print made by the silk-screen process — color is pressed through a fabric stencil to produce an image on paper, ceramic, wood, or fabric.