FLARE: The Flagler Review

Cover artist for the Spring 2012 issue of FLARE: The Flagler Review
Brianna Angelakis

Brianna Marie Angelakis (b. 1990) is an American artist. She was born in Massachusetts and moved to New Hampshire during her early teen years. She moved to Florida at the end of her high school years, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. Angelakis currently attends Flagler College in St. Augustine, FL. She will graduate in the Spring of 2013 with a BA in the Visual Arts, a BA in English, and a minor in Illustration. She will be returning to Flagler College in the Fall of 2013 as an alumnus to complete her BFA in Fine Arts.

Artist Statement:
My perspective and experiences as a female in society dominates the subjects of my paintings. In my work, I juxtapose the female figure with the wildness of nature to create a sense of female liberation. Additionally, as an artist, I find straight lines and structure confining, causing me to return to organic shapes. Through the emphasis of bright colors, texture, and fluidity, my female figures become powerful subjects in a chaotic world. My color palette assists in creating a mood which reflects the emotion of the figure, which in turn corresponds with her environment. I frequently return to a combination of cool colors, establishing a sense of eeriness in my works.

My artistic inspiration stems from my love for literature and poetry in addition to my own experiences as a young woman. I am generally inspired by works of literature which represent the female through positive and negative, powerful and supernatural imagery. In my work, I expand the Romantic idea of nature as a sublime element, often portraying the landscape as a surreal element uncontained by man. By emphasizing the weather and other natural phenomenon, I expand on the disorderly freedom of the natural world. Similarly, my female figures wildly flaunt their hair and dress. The unruly landscape then parallels the depiction of the uncanny female figure. Moreover, through the isolation of my female figures, I create an emotional relationship between the figure and the observer.

Angelakis’ artworks have been exhibited in various galleries located throughout north and central Florida including the Cummer Museum of Arts and Gardens. She will be showing internationally for the first time in Leeds, England this December in an exhibition curated in collaboration with the Bronte Parsonage Museum and Leeds College of Art and Design. Additionally, her works have been published internationally through print and online magazines including PoetsArtists Magazine, MISC Magazine, and the coverstory for Northeast Florida’s Magazine, Folio Weekly.

Website: http://briannaangelakis.daportfolio.com

More Featured Artwork
The artwork featured in this online gallery represents work we fell in love with, but were prohibited by space and cost from including in our print journal. Special thanks to these fine artists for contributing their work and for allowing us to feature in this online gallery. Please enjoy.

Araia Irwin: I enjoy experimenting with the relationship between colors and the nature of shadows on the human face.  As an artist my goal was to capture the essence of my cousin and translate it into a piece for the enjoyment of  others.  This is a portrait of my six year old cousin Samuel.  I took this picture this picture in an attempt to capture the juvenile spirit of the moment.  I wanted to do this piece because it shows the innocence of adolescence, and captures the beauty in everyday life.  Family makes you feel comfortable and confident, and for this reason I returned to my preferred medium of watercolor to create a piece I knew I could be confident in.

Savannah Schaeffer: I’m an art student in the 12^th grade, currently working on pieces for AP for college credit. My piece entitled “Winter” is an example of the sort of art I enjoy doing – incorporating nature and fantasy. As an artist, I strive toward the ever fleeting goal of realism –that is, art that is so exact it looks real. I find incredible beauty in precision when it comes to art, and while I have a long way to go, I’d like to believe that someday, with enough practice, I’ll achieve my goal and be able to create a painting that looks like a photograph. Then, once I’m able to create images that are so exact they look real, I can bring to life the many creatures and landscapes of my imagination, essentially making my dreams a reality.

Brianna Marie Angelakis (b. 1990) is an American artist. She was born in Massachusetts and moved to New Hampshire during her early teen years. She moved to Florida at the end of her high school years, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. Angelakis currently attends Flagler College in St. Augustine, FL. She will graduate in the Spring of 2013 with a BA in the Visual Arts, a BA in English, and a minor in Illustration. She will be returning to Flagler College in the Fall of 2013 as an alumnus to complete her BFA in Fine Arts.

Christopher Woods is a writer, teacher and photographer who lives in Texas. His fiction has appeared in THE SOUTHERN REVIEW and GLIMMER TRAIN, among others. His photo essays have appeared in GLASGOW REVIEW, PUBLIC REPUBLIC and NARRATIVE MAGAZINE.

“Evening, Carnyworld” by Christopher Woods

“Driving in Fog” by Christopher Woods

“Old Shutters” by Christopher Woods

Eleanor Leonne Bennett is a 16-year-old internationally award winning photographer and artist who has won first places with National Geographic, The World Photography Organisation, Nature’s Best Photography, Papworth Trust, Mencap, The Woodland Trust and Postal Heritage. Her photography has been published in the Telegraph , The Guardian, BBC News Website and on the cover of books and magazines in the United states and Canada. Her art is globally exhibited, having shown work in London, Paris, Indonesia, Los Angeles, Florida, Washington, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Canada, Spain, Germany, Japan, Australia and The Environmental Photographer of the year Exhibition (2011) amongst many other locations. She was also the only person from the UK to have her work displayed in the National Geographic and Airbus run See The Bigger Picture global exhibition tour with the United Nations International Year Of Biodiversity 2010.