Happy Hearts Farm, Petrolia
2022
2022
Artist Feature
We are so lucky to live in Humboldt County: not only do we have an abundance of small farms who provide our community with their bounty, but there are more artists per capita here than any other county in the state!
NCGA uses its platform to uplift local artists through our merchandise. Check out the artists who have been featured below to see their other work and find out how to contact them.
If you are an artist and wish to have your art featured, please reach out to megan@northcoastgrowersassociation.org
NCGA uses its platform to uplift local artists through our merchandise. Check out the artists who have been featured below to see their other work and find out how to contact them.
If you are an artist and wish to have your art featured, please reach out to megan@northcoastgrowersassociation.org
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Hello! My name is Mir and I create narrative illustrations that tell human stories through the eyes of nature’s critters. I love to use vibrant colors and scribbles, creating playful scenes that jump off the margins of my notebooks and into the trappings of everyday life. I believe that art is a powerful tool for change, so I strive to create illustrations that bridge the community to creativity and inspire a positive relationship between humans and nature. Email: mirdesilvak@gmail.com Website: mirdesilva.com Social Media: @art.by.mir |
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Left: "Free Range" design for kids, 2019
Above: "Community Grows Together" 2020 |
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"Row of Sunflowers" 1994
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Born and raised on the coast of Maine, I found my family's move to the Los Angeles area a bit abrupt during my high school
years. Upon graduation, I took off for the very north coast of California, thinking at the time that I would study forestry. The
forestry idea fell by the wayside almost immediately, but the North Coast didn't. It remains a beautiful and vibrant place to live.
I spent quite a few years trying to find a better spot to live, but, for many reasons, this is about as good as it gets.
"Danielle and Will's Peaches"
Trident Lightening Farm, Philipsville 2015 |
"Ed's Corn"
Earthly Edibles, Korbel 2012 |
I've been drawing and doing artwork nonstop since I could hold a pencil. I was, like all bright students in the 50's and 60's,
supposed to become a scientist of some sort. So I didn't get to take any art in high school or college. Accidents of circumstance gave me about 25 years of adolescence -- enough time to begin to seriously pursue the things I most enjoy. I ended up with a Master's Degree in art, only because I was around the HSU art department so long that I was more or less drafted into the program. As far as my artwork goes, the only real plan I ever had was to make it a constant part of my life.
I still visit my east coast roots at least once a year. I think of my imagery as bi-north coastal. There is something in the air
and the people and the landscape of both areas that makes me feel at home. I hope the paintings reflect that.
"Neukom's Plow" Neukom Family Farm, Willow Creek 2009
"Design for Kids" 2005
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"Pumpkin Field"
Warren Creek Farm, Arcata 2002 |
And, more formally, I have taught Art at both HSU and CR and, presently, through The Ink People, where I am a founding member. I hold two degrees in Art, with a watercolor specialty, and have exhibited widely nationally. I’m best known locally as the creator of the images on the annual Farmers’ Market posters.
Talent, discipline, craft, inspiration, vision - they so seldom come together atthe same time. Hoping that they will coincide beautifully at times, I keep working at the only two variables I can control - craft and discipline. I've painted some wonderful creations from uninspiring commissions, and I've ended up with embarrassing messes straight from my own heart. I used to
know what it was I was trying to do. Now I just try and paint - it's the only way I learn about painting. It often boils down to a rhythm that I feel at home with. It's a constant preparation for being ready when inspiration smiles.
"Lagoon Pond" 2021
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"Canterbury Bell" 2018
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Let's be straight about it - I sell my paintings for money. My family needs that. I'm a working artist - that's the nature of human existence, and I ask my paintings to say no more than that. It's about you and I and moments amongst it all that we chance to grasp. It's a good job. The extra reward is as simple as a subtle change in a stroke of blue, shimmering against just the right touch of orange. And the great reward is as complex as someone else's tear.
I'm a straightforward, no special effects, watercolorist. My style? Like everyone, I try and I've tried to paint like those I most admire, sometimes my own students. Boy do I see a lot I like in other people's paintings. But I hold a brush differently, I see color differently. My style is, probably, how much myself gets in the way of lessons I can't quite learn.
"Pierce Farm Workers"
Pierce Family Farm, Orleans 2000
Pierce Family Farm, Orleans 2000