Fig Leafed

Fig, Leafed. Acrylic on canvas, 12 x 12 inches, 2016 by Sarah Atlee. Visit sarahatlee.com to learn more. Fig Leafed Acrylic on canvas, 12 x 12 inches, 2016 by Sarah Atlee. $430 For purchase inquiries, contact Cerulean Gallery at 214.564.1199

This post first appeared on my Patreon page. Become a Patron today to see my newest work first!

Fig Leaf: - A leaf of the fig plant. - A representation of leaf of a fig plant used to cover the genitals of a nude figure in a work of art (alluding to Genesis iii 7, in which Adam and Eve use fig leaves to hide their nakedness). - (figuratively) Anything used to conceal something undesirable or that one does not want to be discovered. (Source: Wiktionary)

About the Glitch Series

I am currently using vibrant acrylic paintings to reimagine traditional still lifes for the digital age. My recent compositions combine tempting, succulent foods with "glitches" painted directly onto the canvas. An avocado is interrupted by the irregular curves of a cracked screen. The natural beauty of an heirloom tomato is marred by low-resolution errors and broken pixels.

Historically, still life paintings are windows onto impossibly perfect worlds. This illusion of perfection continues into our daily lives on the Internet, as we live from one Insta-worthy moment to another. Why not use the flaws of online technology to break into that illusion?

Fig Leafed is available at Cerulean Gallery as part of the exhibition On Edge Part I, featuring work by Sarah Atlee, Fritz Danner, Nic Noblique, and Victoria Taylor-Gore, on display 16 September - 28 October 2016. Visit Cerulean Gallery to learn more.

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Cake-Thirty: The Seven-Digit Decision

Cake-Thirty: The Seven-Digit Decision. Acrylic on canvas, 12x12 Cake-Thirty: The Seven-Digit Decision Acrylic on canvas, 12 x 12 inches, 2016 by Sarah Atlee. $430 For purchase inquiries, contact Cerulean Gallery at 214.564.1199.

This post first appeared on my Patreon page. Join today to get first pick!

Remember that study done a few years ago about the prefrontal cortex and willpower? Here's the gist, from a Wall Street Journal article by Jonah Lehrer:

"In one experiment, led by Baba Shiv at Stanford University, several dozen undergraduates were divided into two groups. One group was given a two-digit number to remember, while the second group was given a seven-digit number. Then they were told to walk down the hall, where they were presented with two different snack options: a slice of chocolate cake or a bowl of fruit salad.

Here's where the results get weird. The students with seven digits to remember were nearly twice as likely to choose the cake as students given two digits. The reason, according to Prof. Shiv, is that those extra numbers took up valuable space in the brain—they were a "cognitive load"—making it that much harder to resist a decadent dessert. In other words, willpower is so weak, and the prefrontal cortex is so overtaxed, that all it takes is five extra bits of information before the brain starts to give in to temptation."

I'm a cake person. I'm a life's-too-short-to-not-order-dessert person. Here's to choosing the cake.

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About the Glitch Series

In the Glitch series, I use vibrant acrylic paintings to reimagine traditional still lifes for the digital age. My recent compositions combine tempting, succulent foods with "glitches" painted directly onto the canvas. An avocado is interrupted by the irregular curves of a cracked screen. The natural beauty of an heirloom tomato is marred by low-resolution errors and broken pixels.

Historically, still life paintings are windows onto impossibly perfect worlds. This illusion of perfection continues into our daily lives on the Internet, as we live from one Insta-worthy moment to another. Why not use the flaws of online technology to break into that illusion?

Cake-Thirty is available at Cerulean Gallery as part of the exhibition On Edge Part I, featuring work by Sarah Atlee, Fritz Danner, Nic Noblique, and Victoria Taylor-Gore, on display 16 September – 28 October 2016. Visit Cerulean Gallery to learn more.

50 Shades of Aubergine

Eggplants: Averaged. Acyrlic on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2016 byEggplants: Averaged. Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2016 by Sarah Atlee. $2,595 For purchase inquiries, contact Cerulean Gallery at 214.564.1199.

This post first appeared on my Patreon page.

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You guys, this one wasn't easy. I think it's been enough years since I was assigned to do 3- and 4-foot paintings (i.e. art school) that I'm unaccustomed to working on this scale. Especially in a representational mode.

It's good to stretch these rusty muscles! As with Sushi Leftovers, the grid was my friend. So was masking tape.

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In Eggplants, I'm playing with the idea of color sampling - what if you selected a small area of an image and mixed all its constituent colors together. What shade would it be? An icy blue? A puky green? Or a lovely lavender? Again you can see the influence of modern quilting in my paintings.

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So... I started this painting before they came out with the eggplant emoji, which took on a whole new meaning pretty much immediately. Not my fault. But at least one major manufacturer has run with the idea (potentially NSFW, click if you dare).

Eggplants: Averaged is available at Cerulean Gallery as part of the exhibition On Edge Part I, featuring work by Sarah Atlee, Fritz Danner, Nic Noblique, and Victoria Taylor-Gore, on display 16 September - 28 October 2016. Visit Cerulean Gallery to learn more.

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Martini: Head Clog I

Martini: Head Clog. Acrylic on canvas, 18 x 18 inches, 2016 by SMartini: Head Clog I. Glitch series. Acrylic on canvas, 18 x 18 inches, 2016 by Sarah Atlee. $910 For purchase inquiries, contact Cerulean Gallery at 214.564.1199

According to the AV Artifact Atlas, head clog banding is a glitch that occurs when dirt or debris clogs one of the video heads in a MiniDV or DVCam. "Typically, a head clog will appear as wide alternating lines of frozen video or an alternating pattern of color indicating a loss of read/write capability at the video head."

It's also what happens to me about three sips into one of these.

martini detail 3 72 500

You guys, I'm addicted. To STRIPES. Just can't get enough of 'em lately. I stripe socially. I stripe alone. I stripe in the morning. I stripe before bed. Sometimes I stripe all day long. Best problem I've ever had.

Are you like me, and you want more stripes in your life? I suggest starting with my Stripes Are Cheap Therapy board on Pinterest.

About the Glitch Series

In the Glitch series, I use vibrant acrylic paintings to reimagine traditional still lifes for the digital age. My recent compositions combine tempting, succulent foods with "glitches" painted directly onto the canvas. An avocado is interrupted by the irregular curves of a cracked screen. The natural beauty of an heirloom tomato is marred by low-resolution errors and broken pixels.

Historically, still life paintings are windows onto impossibly perfect worlds. This illusion of perfection continues into our daily lives on the Internet, as we live from one Insta-worthy moment to another. Why not use the flaws of online technology to break into that illusion?

martini detail 1 72 500

Martini: Head Clog I will be available at Cerulean Gallery as part of the exhibition On Edge Part I, featuring work by Sarah Atlee, Fritz Danner, Nic Noblique, and Victoria Taylor-Gore, on display 16 September - 28 October 2016. Visit Cerulean Gallery to learn more.

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