Archive for May, 2015

June First Friday – Maddie Amelia Lewis: Dreamscaping

May 16, 2015

Skulls and Bottles

Artist Reception: Friday, June 5 – 6-8 p.m.

Bio: Maddie Amelia Lewis is a 2D artist with a fondness for acrylic paint and ink. She is a recent graduate from UC Santa Cruz. She is fascinated by fantasy, the arts, and textures.

Paintings will be on sale from $20-$85, and lithographic prints will be selling from $5-$15. See artist website for preliminary prices: www.noxkitarts.com

Artist Statement:

I like making huge gestural brush strokes, circular voids reminiscent of black holes, drips, and fine lines. I paint abstracted landscapes and attempt to embody concepts like death, anxiety, love, daydreams, and imaginary places. I will go through great lengths to actualize an idea. I try to draw from the beauty and emotion in my life for my art so I can’t forget it. Each of my pieces is a space I create to reflect, and after I take my time with each one, I let it go.As an acrylic painter, I am a texture junkie. I love acrylic mediums—glass beads, resin sand, modeling paste, black lava—I’ve tried them all and I make full use of them. My paintings ensure dynamic and varied surfaces. I tend to work very quickly and use a lot of aggressive mark-making techniques. The larger the canvas, the more energetic I become while I paint it. For small works, I can be more delicate, but the restlessness remains.  They say that drawing from live models gives the drawing itself more life, so I try to instill the energy, emotion, and intensity into my paintings by embodying those feelings as I paint.In the end, it all comes down to an obsession. I paint because I can never get paintings out of my head. A painting will tell me what it needs to be real, and I oblige it the best I can. It’s a piece of the world inside of me—it has always been, and will never cease to be.

HOMEGROWN – A Benefit for the Santa Cruz Public Libraries SoundSwell Local Music Collection

May 9, 2015

Poster for the Homegrown Concert

The HOMEGROWN benefit brings together two stellar local bands to help raise awareness of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries Soundswell Local Music Collection. The SoundSwell project is one of kind in California, allowing library patrons to download and stream free local music with their library cards. This win/win project not only introduces Santa Cruz residents to their new favorite song, it also fairly compensates bands for their music and talent, and serves as a historical local music archive. A model for libraries across the country, our local library once again helps put Santa Cruz on the map as a forward thinking arts destination. Special Guest Emcee Kim Luke will be handing out great local raffle prizes too!

All proceeds from this event benefit the Santa Cruz Public Libraries SoundSwell Local Music Collection, a growing contemporary and historical local music archive that library cardholders can download for free. Tickets available at BrownPaperTickets.com.