Last Week to See For Real - Artist Talk March 8th 2015

Crackers and Blue Bowl. Acrylic on canvas, 12 x 12 inches by Sarah Atlee

Read more about this piece here.

What: Artist talk and closing reception with Sarah Atlee and James Zamora

When: Sunday 8 March 2015, 4-6 pm

Where: Ro2 Art in downtown Dallas, Texas (map link)

Parking: The parking garage nearest to the gallery is located on North Akard between Elm and Main, next to the CVS. Limited street parking is also available in the neighborhood.

For Real has been reviewed by Jenny Block for The Huffington Post! Read the full review here: "A Hyperrealism That Questions Reality With James Zamora and Sarah Atlee at RO2 Art"

For Real reviewed in The Huffington Post

Lunch at Sakagura. Acrylic and prismacolor pencil on paper, 22 x 22" (26 x 26" framed), by Sarah Atlee. $1,550.00

For Real, a two-person exhibition of contemporary realism featuring Sarah Atlee and James Zamora, has been reviewed by Jenny Block for The Huffington Post! Snip:

"Atlee paints food that seems like it's coming on to you. The avocados peer at you in one painting, and, in another, their meat is so slick and glossy, it lures your fingers to dip inside. The tomatoes suggestively roll toward you. The orange appears to peel itself. The tuna looks as if it might anthropomorphize and slink away."

It's hard to describe just how thrilled and honored I am by Ms. Block's review. A thousand thank-yous to her and to Ro2 Art, my hosts for this exhibition.

Read the full review here: "A Hyperrealism That Questions Reality With James Zamora and Sarah Atlee at RO2 Art"

See Lunch at Sakagura in Person

Lunch at Sakagura is available for purchase through 8 March 2015 at Ro2 Art in Dallas. Join us at For Real featuring Sarah Atlee and James Zamora. Contact Ro2 Art for more details.

Lemons out of Balance

Lemon Imbalance. Acrylic on canvas, 18 x 18 inches, 2015 by Sarah Atlee
Click here to purchase Lemon Imbalance.

Let's talk about balance.

It's overrated. It sets us up for false expectations, failure, and guilt. "It's as useful a concept as original sin." (That's from Danielle Laporte.) Actually, we don't really need to talk about balance.

Let's talk about letting go of "balance."

I've shared this Bruce Sterling quote on this blog before, and I'm sure I'll do it many more times. It's from a speech he gave at the Computer Game Developers Conference in March 1991 in San Jose, California. (Read the whole text here.) Behold:

"Don't become a well-rounded person. Well rounded people are smooth and dull. Become a thoroughly spiky person. Grow spikes from every angle. Stick in their throats like a pufferfish."

That's really all the advice you need. Now, let's look at some other artists who have embraced both lemons and asymmetry! Click on any image below to view its source.

Glass and Lemon in a Mirror. Oil and magna on canvas, 1974 by Roy Lichtenstein.

Lemon Peel. Sculpture, 1963 by Sven Lukin.

Half Lemon. Acrylic on canvas, 1969 by Gene Davis.

Lemons. 1972 by Funasaka Yoshisuke.

Lemons, May 16, 1984 by Donald Sultan.

All this imbalance making you feel icky-poo?

Feel like life handed you a couple of lemons? There are options. You can embrace the lemons, or refuse to accept them in the first place.

Lemon Imbalance is available in the Store!

Click here to purchase Lemon Imbalance.

Lemon Imbalance was shown in February 2015 at Ro2 Art in Dallas.

UPDATE: For Real has been reviewed by Jenny Block for The Huffington Post! Read the full review here: "A Hyperrealism That Questions Reality With James Zamora and Sarah Atlee at RO2 Art"

For Real: Sarah Atlee and James Zamora at Ro2 Art, Dallas, Feb 7 - Mar 8 2015

Martini Twist, Indulge, Golden. Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2015 by Sarah Atlee

UPDATE: Martini Twist will be heading to a new home after the exhibition is over. Congratulations to its new owner!

UPDATE 2: For Real has been reviewed by Jenny Block for The Huffington Post! Read the full review here: "A Hyperrealism That Questions Reality With James Zamora and Sarah Atlee at RO2 Art"

What: For Real is a two-person exhibition of contemporary realist painting by Sarah Atlee and James Zamora.

When: February 7th through March 8th 2015

Where: Ro2 Art in downtown Dallas, Texas (map link)

Opening Reception: Saturday, February 7th, 7-10 p.m. Free and open to the public, casual dress.

Parking: The parking garage nearest to the gallery is located on North Akard between Elm and Main, next to the CVS. Limited street parking is also available in the neighborhood.

Sriracha. Acrylic on panel, 6 x 6 inches, 2015 by James Zamora

Have you ever looked down at a plate of food and said, "This is too beautiful to eat"?

Me too. That's the moment I capture in my paintings.

I'm lucky to have so much wonderful food in my life. From dry-aged steak to shrimp that came out of the gulf this morning, from juicy organic peaches to more taco trucks than you can twang a steel guitar at. And don't forget a rich, full-bodied red wine, unless a steaming espresso is more your style.

I get to experience these things first hand. But why should I keep it to myself?

My mission is to share these mouth-watering delights with you through exquisitely crafted paintings.

Your plate is my palette. My canvas is a feast for your eyes. Enjoy!

Contact the gallery for more information

Ro2 Art: website, Facebook, Twitter phone: 214.803.9575 email Jordan Roth: jordan@ro2art.com

I hope to see you there!

Bright as Bulbs

Peel. Acrylic on unstretched canvas, 24 x 24 inches by Sarah Atlee

It's citrus season, a time when I'm extra-thankful for living in central Texas. Just yesterday I was given what I think is my first orange with its leaves still attached:

Gosh, maybe I should paint a picture of these.

Holding, peeling, and eating a succulent orange is its own special set of pleasures. Following are some other artists' interpretations of orange - both the fruit and the color.

Vincent Van Gogh. Child with Orange, 1890.

Luis Feito. Untitled (Orange, red and purple).

You know that moment when you first dig your thumbnail into an orange and begin to peel back the skin? When the scent of citrus oil fills your nose and the juice starts running? I think Feito has captured that here.

Fernando Botero. Orange, 1977. Update: Check out Fernando Botero's page on Artsy to learn more.

Johannes Itten. Composition in Orange and Blue-Green, 1957.

Itten's composition above interests me both as a painter and as a quilter.

In a 2010 radio essay you can read here, Paul Marion describes the joy of seeing oranges in the winter:

"Bright as light bulbs on the kitchen table, the oranges promise sunshine as late December daylight shrinks in the shortest days of the year."