LILI ARNOLD
My work over the last few years was initially born from curiosity. What began as a study and representative expression of flora and fauna slowly morphed into a dedicated body of work in which I found myself as an artist for the very first time. With block printing as my primary medium, I have locked into an exploration of the many wonders of the natural world, and don’t see an end in sight.
This body of work takes a step back from the colorful norm I’ve worked with in years past and examines detail and linework from a new perspective. With only black and white to represent the images I created for this show, the details of each carving become front and center. The goal of this simplification of color was to heighten the relationship of positive and negative space, rather than distract from it.
The pinnacle piece of this show is “Queen of the Night”, my interpretation of the truly alien-like and elusive cacti which cast a spell of intrigue over me since I first came across it many months ago. This piece is the largest scale I’ve ever experimented with, requiring weeks of intricate planning and execution. The mystique of this plant comes primarily from it’s short lived blooms, which reveal themselves rarely and usually wilt before dawn. I wanted to capture an interpretation of the Queen of the Night and pay homage to it's glorious detail and singular characteristics.
While my art practice is an ongoing evolution of ideas and techniques, this show has inspired me to branch out even further into varying scale and means of expression. I anticipate many more pieces to come as part of this body of work and I look forward to sharing whatever comes next with you all!
ANNA FLETCHER
Originally born and raised in Santa Barbara, CA, I am very happy to call Santa Cruz my home with my husband Isaac and our cat Chin- Chin. I work full-time as a Registered Dental Assistant in Aptos and co-own a wedding planning business.
I earned my Bachelors of Fine Arts from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo in 2010 and quickly moved to Santa Cruz after graduation. One of the many things that drew me to Santa Cruz was the climate. I’ve always been a beach girl, but now I could hike a few miles and find myself surrounded by towering redwoods, or drive up the coast to see massive cliffs that drop into the ocean below while windsurfers race in the distance. There is something about Santa Cruz that is refreshing and ever since moving here I wanted to capture that enticing feeling.
While I primarily work in watercolor for stationery design, I have recently tried stepping out of my comfort zone to take a more loose, abstract and organic approach towards my landscape paintings of Santa Cruz and Monterey County. The series consists of my two favorite mediums, watercolor, which has the power to move in ways that can be unpredictable, and oils, which bring a richness to the canvas. It’s been fun pushing myself in ways I haven’t tried before, all while getting to explore this amazing city we live in. As for long-term goals, I have some children’s book ideas in the works and would love to be published one day.
10% OF SALES FROM MY ART WILL GO TO THE AMERICAN RED CROSS TO HELP THOSE DEVASTATED BY THE RECENT FIRES IN SHASTA AND BUTTE COUNTIES
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First Friday Artist Reception
Anna Fletcher at Stripe
Lili Arnold at Stripe Men
December 7th
5–9pm
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