4 Modern American Artists to Watch

Can you match the artist to the art style?* Were the soft seascapes of the 19th century painted by Jackson Pollock? Was Andy Warhol known for politically-charged graffiti? Did Jean-Michel Basquiat lead the pop art movement? Does the name Winslow Homer conjure up images of abstract drip paintings?

August celebrates American Artist Appreciation Month. All these artists have one thing in common – countless admirers who appreciated their genius. Overnight Prints celebrates its own customers who are painting their own paths one brush stroke at a time: Danamarie Hosler, Haylee McFarland, Randy Groden and Francesca Berrini.

Danamarie Hosler, Mighty Pigeon

Baltimore-based artist Danamarie Hosler is a muralist, children’s illustrator and plush maker. An Overnight Prints customer for 7 years, Hosler uses multiple forms of marketing sales and shows including Instagram to give clients a sneak peek into her studio space and works in progress as well as direct mailing postcards and product samples.

“I love the quality of the work I get back from Overnight Prints and the value they offer. I am able to keep my costs low and pass those savings along to my clients, and the work is reliable, which makes my job easier,” said Hosler. “I appreciate the customer service I get and having an actual human being I can talk to if I ever have any issues with the work. That counts for a lot!”

• How did you get started?  I started as a muralist when I was in middle school. When I was a senior in college, I illustrated my first children’s book and began making dolls as a fun little side project. From there, I had three different paths to pursue and ended up taking on work in any area that interested me as they became available. I’ve painted six public murals in Baltimore City, Md., illustrated multiple books and made thousands of dolls, which have been “adopted” by people on every continent!
• Which artist(s) influence your work?  I am definitely driven by color and pattern, so any artist who uses delicious colors and intricate patterning is going to catch my attention— people like Gustav Klimt, Mary Blair, Dorothea Redmond and Eyvind Earle are my immediate go-to artists I’ve loved my whole life. I am also obsessed with John Singer Sargent as a painter and the artists of Gee’s Bend, who have created such gorgeous quilts since the 19th century.
• Where did you study art?  I have a BFA in Illustration from Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.
• What is your favorite medium?  I work in a lot of different media depending on the project I’ve got going. I am first and foremost an Illustrator, and watercolor is my first love, but I also create designer dolls, educational games and home goods as well as pieces for publications, print and surface design where I get to play with digital painting, cut paper and marker. I’m also a muralist and fiber artist— I love quilting and embroidery and playing with new materials.

I really love creating worlds that people can get lost in and go back to time and again and find new things hidden inside.

• What inspires your subjects? Most of my work starts with a big block of color that I slowly “chisel” into or add to. I’m a process oriented person, so I do a lot of “playing”— with texture, color, lighting and pattern. My subject matters are usually children or animals and the spaces they may occupy. I pull a lot of inspiration from my own life and the things that interest my kids or client work. I really love creating worlds that people can get lost in and go back to time and again and find new things hidden inside. My “Under Appreciated Animals” series (which I have had printed through Overnight Prints since it premiered in 2012!) is based around a project I actually started for my son when he was 2, and it grew from there.
• Where is your art featured? I sell my dolls and gifts at retail locations across the country, and do a lot of local craft and wholesale/resale shows on the East Coast. Currently, I sell my pieces online at SHOPdanamariehosler.tictail.com, but you can also find my older illustration work in books by Two Lives Publishing and magazines like Cricket. If you live in Baltimore, you can find a number of my murals scattered around the city.
• What is the primary purpose/message of your art? Finding joy and harmony, recapturing the magic of childhood, making spaces beautiful, and educating children in fun and empowering ways.

Follow Danamarie Hosler on Instagram at @mightypigeon_art or visit SHOPdanamariehosler.tictail.com

Haylee McFarland, HMdesignStudios

Haylee McFarland of HMdesignStudios creates mesmerizing Zentangle paintings. A true artist through-and-through, she’s mastered many forms of art: dancer, makeup artist and now illustrator. She danced for 20 years, including for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, until a major back surgery redirected her career. After moving to California and graduating from Cinema Makeup School, she worked for a theme park sculpting and fabricating foam prosthetics until a revelation led to her true love for creating art that comes from the heart.

McFarland has used Overnight Prints since the start of her business.

“One of our mentors told us everything we needed to know – where to get clear bags to protect the art, how to simplify travel, and more importantly, where to get business cards!” said McFarland. “Shout out to Michael and Sarah, the amazing husband and wife duo of @Sugarfueled for all of your great information!”

The quality and ease of changing the image on her business cards allows McFarland to create collectors’ items.

“Overnight Prints is extremely affordable and is of great quality! Being an artist and kind of a perfectionist, I love being able to design my own business cards. They make it really easy to add images, text, and editing is a breeze. The quality has always been so great that I’ve seen people even frame my little business cards!” she shared.

• How did you get started? In November 2014, a co-worker working on a personal project during a break had me thinking, “I wanted to draw too!” This snowballed into getting commissions from other people at work and me realizing that I could really make something of this. So Jan. 1, 2016, was my last day at work! My boyfriend of 10 years said to me, “You draw, and we will figure this out.” From day one, he has taken on the role of manager and my biggest supporter (besides my parents), and I couldn’t be more grateful!
• Which artist(s) influence your work? I try not to look at other artists’ work. Instead, I’m more influenced by the world around me – the colors, shapes and patterns! All my work is freehand. I don’t use any rulers, computers, compasses or magnifying glasses. Little fun fact: I hide a tiny heart in all my pieces. They started out pretty obvious, but have grown more and more stealthy as time goes on!
• Where did you study art? I grew up in an artistic family. My dad is an illustrator and taught me how to airbrush. My mom was always crafty and making DIY home decorations before there was Pinterest!  So I took all the art classes I could in school from ceramics to photography.

I just create what I feel like. I’ll have an idea for a piece in my head, and I’ve learned that if it makes me happy, it will probably make someone else happy too!

• What is your favorite medium? I use watercolor and pen and ink. I love the transparency and fluidity of the watercolor mixed with the tight intricate details of the pen on top!
• What inspires your art?
  I just create what I feel like. I’ll have an idea for a piece in my head, and I’ve learned that if it makes me happy, it will probably make someone else happy too!
• Where is your art featured? Currently, I have a piece at the OC Fair. We travel around to different art festivals and art shows. During the busy months we are out between 4-5 days a week.

  

  Another fun fact: We just bought an ambulance sprinter van that we are building out to hold the art, our vendor set up and our living quarters so that we will be able to travel for months at a time!

• What is the primary purpose/message of your art? I just want to make people happy! I love creating images for people to get lost in.

To see Haylee McFarland’s art, follow her at @HMdesignStudios for time lapse videos of her work or visit HMdesignStudios

Randy Groden, R. Groden Studio

Developing his love of painting at a young age, Randy Groden of R. Groden Studio has traveled the world to study and admire the work of Caravaggio, Rembrandt and Van Gogh. He’s famously painted the likes of supermodel Claudia Schiffer and former U.S. President Bill Clinton with wife Hillary.

The artist has been an Overnight Prints customer for over 5 years. Aside from magazine ads and word-of-mouth, Groden relies on brochures and business cards to share his hyper-real paintings set against dramatic backgrounds.

“Over the years, I have used tons of printers, but I liked the fast turnaround from Overnight Prints. It’s easy to work with from the layout and designer up to the sales staff,” said Groden.

Groden opts to leave his artwork off of his business card, representing himself by signature instead. Many artists typically exchange artwork, as Groden did with American artist Peter Max during a chance meeting in New Orleans, but he regularly uses brochures to promote his work at shows and art galleries to inspire fans to view more art online. The brochures also provide a space for galleries to easily add their own address and use as a marketing piece.

“Brochures are like having your portfolio in your pocket,” he added.

• How did you get started? At age 5, I entered a school art contest, which started it all. I would watch “Learn to Draw,” a TV show hosted by artist John Gnagy, and I owned his drawing kit that teaches you to draw out of basic shapes. Around age 8 or 9, I became especially interested in human form and figures, so my mother bought me a medical anatomy book.
• Where did you study art? I got my training from individuals. Since we were a Navy family and constantly moving around, my mother would sign me up for classes with professional artists. As a child, I also loved learning about the state history of the places we moved or traveled to and I continued that fascination in my adult life. Later in life, I’d travel to prominent U.S. cities and Europe to study art including Portugal; Greece; Mexico; Spain; Monte Carlo, France; and all over Italy to Venice, Rome, Pompeii and Sicily as well as a visit to the Vatican.

I try not to give the story with the title of my art pieces to allow people to come up with their own stories for the imagery.

• What is your favorite medium? Primarily my paintings are oil on canvas or board with Masonite or gesso as well as murals and watercolors on paper. I also like acrylic and, in the last number of years, acrylic paintings have begun receiving the respect they deserve.
• What inspires your art? My inspirations come from my travels. Many relatives would have prints of famous paintings like Rembrandt or Van Gogh displayed in their homes. I loved observing them and taking in the techniques, not knowing who they were at the time but learning to appreciate their art.
• Where is your art featured? I had an art gallery in Maui for 10 years and now my artwork is featured in galleries in New Orleans, Texas, the Carolinas, Colorado and Oklahoma. I’m currently looking for a new gallery.
• What is the primary purpose/message of your art? To inspire people. More of my current pieces have a figure or more backgrounds. I try not to give the story with the title of my art pieces to allow people to come up with their own stories for the imagery.

To see Randy Groden’s art, visit R. Groden Studio

Francesca Berrini, Unusual Cards

A loyal Overnight Prints customer for 10 years, Berrini loves using print and social media marketing. She considers Instagram, Twitter and Facebook great tools to find an online community, but still makes contacts at events “the old fashioned way.”

“I participate in a ton of craft fairs and street festivals nationally and overseas. There’s nothing that can really replace interacting with people one on one!” shared Berrini.

She relies on Overnight Prints for printed giveaways for booth attendees during art shows, citing quick, dependable shipping and turnaround.

“Overnight Prints does all my Postcards and Business Cards. It’s a great way for me to create items with a super low price point so that everyone who visits my booth and likes my work can walk away with something,” Berrini said. “I love the details like rounded corners that Overnight Prints provides. I also like the ease of reordering existing products.”

• How did you get started? Years ago, I had an art studio in a metal shop. I was working in another metal fabrication shop as my day job, and my plan was that I’d go to my studio shop and make more art out of metal after work. But I realized pretty quickly that I didn’t want to weld after welding all day, so I started making funny little collages and paintings mostly to amuse my friends I shared the studio with.
• Which artist(s) influence your work? Winston Smith is a hero of mine. I also greatly admire all those anonymous commercial illustrators of the ’40s and ’50s.
• Where did you study art? I went to Rhode Island School of Design and earned a BFA in Furniture Design, which is how I ended up in that metal shop in Seattle. It’s funny that the art I would make outside of class just for fun is what I make a living from now.
• What is your favorite medium? My Unusual Cards work is all the result of traditional hand-cut collage work. I make everything using scissors and glue and a wide variety of old books and magazines. Without using any kind of photo copying or digital alteration of the vintage images, I find things that naturally fit together to make hilarious new images. I try to make pictures that feel familiar even though you know they’re completely wrong.

I try to make pictures that feel familiar even though you know they’re completely wrong.

• What inspires your subjects? I have a really warped sense of Americana that comes from thumbing through old books and magazines all the time. There’s a lot of real parallels between the commercial propaganda and consumer disinformation of that time and what people want today.
• Where is your art featured? I’ve been featured on the cover of The Stranger and The Mercury, and in various blogs like Boing Boing.
• What is the primary purpose/message of your art? Don’t believe everything you see at first glance. Question memes. Argue with facts, not beliefs. Nostalgia is a perilous illusion.

Follow Francesca Berrini on Instagram at @unusualcards or visit unusualcards.com

*Answers: (Jackson Pollock: abstract drip paintings; Andy Warhol: pop art; Jean-Michel Basquiat: graffiti art; Winslow Homer: seascapes)