Isabel Samaras Goes "Into The Woodz"
Isabel Samaras' new show "Into The Woodz" is almost wrapped up at the Shooting Gallery in San Francisco, CA.
View GalleryIsabel Samaras Goes "Into The Woodz"
Isabel Samaras' new body of work takes a look at what would happen if Goldilocks and The Three Bears lived happily ever after in a hip hop forest with all their friends, including a black power porcupine, gold chain sporting chipmunk, wise old owl and many more. Isabel Samaras' new show "Into The Woodz" is almost wrapped up at the Shooting Gallery in San Francisco, CA. Isabel Samaras, seen here talking to three generations of fans, was on hand at the opening party on Saturday May 9th, 2009. Samaras, know for painting 1960s-1970s pop culture icons like the cast of Gilligan's Island, Batman and Robin or the Munsters, said "I'm outta the celebrity stuff." She did say that she used Welsh singer Amy Duffy as inspiration for Goldilocks, seen here. Samaras said she started this show "two years ago thinking about Little Red Riding Hood and I wanted a happy ending." Samaras said, "Maybe that moment when [Goldilocks] sees Baby Bear they fall in love." In this painting, Samaras has Goldilocks and Baby Bear holding hands with the Latin phrase: "Amor Vincit Omnia" which translates to "Love Conquers All." Here you can see Goldie's "Just Right Oatmeal." Samaras said that after painting Goldie and Baby Bear, she looked into the field of trees outside the window and decided to go in there to explore what kind of world a happy Baby Bear and Goldilocks would inhabit. The rest of the show was filled with animals from the forest, with hip-hop accouterments like this bad-ass porcupine's "Love / Hate" knuckle rings and Black Power afro pick. The Shooting Gallery was packed on opening night. The paintings are up until June 4, 2009. Here some ladies gather with a big hoop earring wearing deer. Samaras' original paintings are on sale for $9,000 - $11,000. The Wize old owl stands watch with his Run-DMC style bling. Shooting Gallery owner Justin Giarla and his fiancee Kirsten hang out at the opening. This cute little guy has blinged up an acorn to show what set he's down with. Samaras said she worked on this painting for about two months. Isabel Samaras lives here in the Bay Area and seemed to be bumping into old friends all night long. On the wall at the left, there were a bunch of sketches priced at only a few hundred dollars each. It looked like all of the sketches were sold before the opening. Each one had a really cool frame. Isabel Samaras said that she really enjoyed focusing on the detail in these pieces and for the first time she painted things out of focus after years of "painting the Renaissance way with everything in focus." You can see here how the trees are soft and the owl is very sharp. Isabel Samaras also had a book come out recently called, "On Tender Hooks: The Art of Isabel Samaras" Here are copies of the book, as well as a postcard set for sale too. These two stop flipping through the paintings in the postcard book at the Marsha Brady with moko Maori Warrior face tattoo. Classic! Samaras spent a good part of her night signing copies of her new book. There is a special edition of the book for sale as well, which you can kind of see above this book with a white card in front of its special limited edition box. Colin Samaras (center) is Isabel's son and he and some buddies were running all over the gallery having what seemed to be a great time. I don't think I've ever seen so many young'uns at an art opening before. Isabel's mom Patrica Samaras came up from LA for the occasion and was busy documenting the evening with her digital camera. Doe, a deer. Here's a look at the Wize old owl sketch. Colin Samaras shows off his hands... ...that Mom drew cool little creatures on before the show. Isabel Samaras signs a book for long-time friend, author Jon Longhi. Plates with the cute squirrel on them were being sold for $100/each. Dustin Lee Olson, seen here with the bag on his head, was having a show next door at Gallery Three. To hear more about that ordeal, look for the "Masked Men Raid SF Art Opening" story on this site. Here's a look at the cover of the postcard book. Family affair... Isabel with her Mom, husband and son. Here's a full shot of the "Omnia Vincit Amor" painting. Isabel signing more books. A good look at Baby Bear and the forest outside his window. Another sold sketch in a cool frame. Squirrel watching guard. Isabel Samaras holding court. Another one of Isabel Samaras' paintings, this time with the three bears watching over Goldie as she bathes in the pond with a back tattoo that says, "Honey Dripper." Samaras poses with a fan for a photo. Saved for posterity... Isabel's mom Patrica Samaras came up from LA for the occasion and was busy documenting the evening with her digital camera. This strange couple made a fairly big entrance and then went crazy mugging for my camera. Shooting Gallery owner and curator Justin Giarla and fiancee Kirsten check out the show. A better view of the deer with the hoop earings.
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