Paint My Words

About Christopher:

Born in 1979 in riverside California, Christopher studied art, design, and film at UCLA and graduated in 2003. There, he absorbed the acute attention to color and form associated with Vasa Mihich’s sculpture and paintings, subsequently refining his own visual and conceptual vocabulary that emerged through his focus on large-scale allegorical paintings which Utilize the female form and the emotional afflictions of posture and stance, Cuseo,s paintings reflect personal memories he has had to address during the realization of his artistic process. His cinematic style creates a strong sense of familiarity allowing the viewer to embark on their own personal journey, evoking those raw emotions that inevitably get buried with memories of the past.

Christopher’s work can be found in public and private art collections both in the United States and abroad.. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles, New York, and Sydney.

About Jessica:

Jessica Drenk was raised in Montana, where she developed an appreciation for the natural world that remains an important inspiration to her artwork today. Tactile and textural, her sculptures highlight the chaos and beauty that can be found in simple materials. Drenk’s work is also influenced by systems of information and the impulse to develop an encyclopedic understanding of the world.

In 2006, Drenk was awarded the International Sculpture Center’s Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award. Her work has been pictured in Sculpture Magazine and seen in shows at the International Grounds for Sculpture in New Jersey, the Albuquerque Museum, the Tucson Museum of Art, the International Book Fair of Contemporary Creative Books in Marseilles, France, as well as galleries across the United States.

In 2009, Drenk received an Artist Project Grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, funding the installation of Archaeologica: A Museum of the Disposable at the Mesa Arts Center in Mesa, Arizona. In 2010 her work was featured in shows at Conrad Wilde Gallery in Tucson, Catherine Person Gallery in Seattle, and Aqua Art Miami contemporary art fair in Miami Beach. In 2011 Drenk is also exhibiting at Cain Schulte Gallery in San Francisco.

Drenk has an MFA from the University of Arizona, graduated Cum Laude from Pomona College, and is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society.

About Zhang:

Zhang Huan is a Chinese artist based in Shanghai and New York. He made his BA at the He Nan University in Kai Feng (1988) and his MA at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing (1993). He is primarily a performance artist but also makes photographs and sculpture.

Zhang Huan began his work as part of a small artistic community, known as the Beijing East Village, located on the margins of the city. The group of friends from art school pioneered this particular brand of performance in China and Zhang was often reprimanded by officials for the perceived inappropriateness of his actions.

By using quasi-religious ritual, he seeks to discover the point at which the spiritual can manifest via the corporeal. He uses simple repetitive gestures, usually regarded as meaningless work-for-work’s-sake chores. Buddhism, with its temple music, sculptures and philosophy are a prevalent theme in Zhang Huan’s work.

Ilana on her work:

I capture the unexpected vibrancy of hidden landscapes. I celebrate the weedy margins of swamp and woods – a world of unfurling fronds, floating leaves, elusive reflections, and the mysterious interplay of lightness and depth. My large-scale oil paintings arise from the patience and close observation I developed during my training as a naturalist; I contemplate minute details and allow them to reveal larger patterns in nature. In essence, I am looking at the small to make sense of larger truths.

I build up the surfaces of my work with rich color and translucent layers, then selectively scratch and sand to create a dimensional experience of luminosity, line and texture. Through this process, I fuse elements of both painting and printmaking traditions to uncover the spirit of place beneath the merely visual, leaving hints of what came before. My paintings, both as object and as image become a metaphor for change, for the connection between seasonal transience and the mystical stillness at its center.

About Noma: Noma Bliss is greatly concerned with global issues. World hunger, pollution, depletion of natural resources, the deterioration of the family unit, global warming—these and more issues are incorporated in her work Bliss attributes her figurative and simplistic style to her 25 years spent as a professional illustrator and designer. Her aim as an artist is to invoke love, kindness, compassion, and empathy for one another and the world we inhabit. ‘We are all responsible for the future of our planet,’ she remarks. Working in collaboration with her husband, Jim Bliss, her client list includes The London Times, Architecture Las Vegas, and Bike Magazine, among many other publications.

About Tim:

Tim Clorius was born and raised in Heidelberg, Germany. He studied fine arts and painting at the School of Visual Arts in New York and the Maine College of Art in Portland.

Influenced by his love for graffiti and his aerosol artist alter ego SUBONE, Clorius brings a postmodern sensibility to his work. His primary aim is to explore potentials or boundaries of fine art and graffiti art.

Working with students in Maine since 2002, SUBONE has become synonymous with the advocacy of the potentials graffiti art there. For him, graffiti is not only an art form but also a means to enhance communities and foster civic engagement.

About Shaun: Shaun Ferguson received a BFA from University of Trent in Nottingham in 1985 and a postgraduate in painting from Royal Academy of Arts in 1988. He is inspired by models in quiet, contemplative moods. Although conventional in composition, his portraits are instilled with a strong sense of energy and tension. Ferguson’s work has been exhibited extensively across the UK and featured in numerous publications. It has been awarded the 1989 Henry Wyndham Prize and the 1988 Elizabeth Greenshields Award, among others.

About Anne and Robert:

Anne Moran and Robert Brown are a creative team living in Wilmington, North Carolina.

They are best known for abstract wall sculptures. Their work contains a wide range of rich colors, achieved by torching sheets of copper. Spontaneity directs the creation process, according to Moran and Brown. They pride themselves in utilizing the reflective quality of metal alongside oxidized pigments, to original effect.

The team have been commissioned by hotels, financial institutions, and medical facilities across the United States. Most recent is a large installation behind the reception desk of the Setai Hotel in New York City.

About Mary Lou:

Mary Lou Zelazny was born in Chicago. She moved to California for college, but completed her study nearer home, receiving a BFA from the School of the Art Institute.

She has made collage paintings for twenty years. Blending spontaneity of collage with the rigor of painting and drawing, she creates multiple meanings in an improvised way. This unpredictable work mothod appeals to her because of the technical challenges it presents. ‘The fusion of photographic images and paint generates tensions within the vocabulary of picture making,’ she explains.

Zelazny sorts her work under separate headings—bodies of work dating back to the early 1980s. Some themes or motifs are recurrent, having been revisited or modified over the course of time, she says, but each period is distinct.

About Gail:

Gail Dawson received her M.F.A. from the University of Texas at Austin in 2000 and taught as a Lecturer there and at Texas State University for two years. She has received grants from the Dallas Museum of Art and the City of Austin; had solo and several two person shows; and has been included in curated group shows in Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston, Texas.

In Fall 2003, Gail began a tenure-track appointment to teach painting and new media at San Francisco State University, where she is also developing a digital media lab for the painting area. Dawson’s work explores the interference of media with images, and time and motion. She works between mediums translating video to paintings and drawings, and paintings and drawings to video.

Check out this set of five predatory cyborg furniture by James Auger, Jimmy Loizeau and Alex Zivanovic.

(The coffee table mousetrap robot. Photo courtesy of James Auger, Jimmy Loizeau and Alex Zivanovic.)

There’s the mousetrap coffee table. By placing crumbs on top, perhaps left there during a canape-laden soiree, mice are attracted to climb up the hole in its over size leg. When sensors detect that a mouse is standing on the trapdoor in the center, this door opens, and the mouse falls into a microbial fuel cell housed under the table where it gets digested and converted into energy to power the sensors and trapdoor.

Two kinds of infestation battling it out here: conspicuous consumption and vermins. And since there might be hundreds of rats hiding behind the walls, we really shouldn’t feel sorry for the rats decomposing in the table’s innards.

Meanwhile, there’s also the fly-paper clock, which is powered by insects captured on its flypaper roller and digested by its own microbial fuel cell.

(The flypaper robotic clock. Photo courtesy of James Auger, Jimmy Loizeau and Alex Zivanovic.)

(The flypaper robotic clock. Photo courtesy of James Auger, Jimmy Loizeau and Alex Zivanovic.)

Another one is the fly stealing objet d’art, which you could hang on that central space on your wall reserved for an LCD jumbotron or a flea market-bought watercolor. Like the rest, this, too, is powered by a microbial fuel cell, which churns up dead flies picked up from a web spun by its resident spiders.

One wonders if, rather than bringing spiders to it, you could just bring it to the spiders, at whichever corner of the house they may be. In other words, you’ll have an excuse to rearrange or even refurnish your entire living room to match the relocated mobile. Domestic boredom feeding on itself.

(The fly stealing robot. Photo courtesy of James Auger, Jimmy Loizeau and Alex Zivanovic.)

One also wonders about trapping larger preys that intrude the domestic sphere, like wildcats and alligators that regularly stumble into the backyard of houses abutting their home range? In such cases, one could turn swimming pools into carnivorous, pitcher plants. When a coyote climbs down to drink from its shallow water, it closes its tarp cover and drains the water along with the animal down to its microbial fuel cell. While this pool provide a similar form of dark entertainment as its interior counterparts, it ensures a more basic domestic need: a bubble of habitability amid the wilderness.

As as protection against the feral, augmented trees snatch avian flu-infected birds using their cyborg branches.

About Chris:

Chris Bowman was born in Calgary, Canada, in 1981. He received no formal art education, but the nine years he spent in Wardorf education is relevant to understanding his artistic practice.

His paintings are strongly influenced by his interest in organic matter and the laws of nature, and range from representation beauty and safety to unsettling eeriness and anxiety.

‘The structures I paint are developed in the way life is,’ says Bowmen, ‘by mixing sunlight with water and air, sparking a moment of genesis.’ He invites the viewer to interpret his work both as a cerebral process and in a chemical sense.

Bowman devotes his free time to travelling, in a mostly improvised way, around North America, Europe and Asia. He also enjoys photography. ‘I don’t necessarily do anything with the photos, I just enjoy the process,’ he says.

About Karim:

Karim Hamid was born on 31 July, 1966. He received a BFA from Brighton University in 1990 and an MFA from San Francisco Art Institute four years later.

Hamid’s concepts are based on the visual dialogue between representations of the female figure and the male gaze throughout (art) history. The distortion and exaggeration of the human body are his attempt to reinvent the female form and a reproach of an onslaught of media superficiality that promotes idealization and objectification of women, he explains.

Using unspecified found imagery and paint, Hamid endeavours to capture the psychological state of his subject in an honest and truthful manner, which he refers to as ‘broader composure’. His work has been exhibited across Europe and the United States.

About Adrian:

The initial intention of this work is to demand attention of a room. The juxtaposition of large flat shapes with the figure creates dynamic compositions. Color is key in these compositions. Depth is created in the color through texture and the layering of harmonious color combinations.

These paintings have an immediacy because of their simplicity. This allows the viewer to interact and become part of the work. I am interested in this relationship. Whether it is through the subtle tension of two figures on the canvas, or the dialogue of a single figure with its environment, the paintings create a relationship with the viewer. The painting becomes a proxy for their present condition. This way, the viewer can create specifics to my generalities and a continual relationship is formed.

Artist: Pete Watts

Website: http://www.petewatts.net/

Pete Watts (born 1984, Vermont) is an artist based in New York. He graduated in 2006 with a BFA in Printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design. In exploring humanity’s relationship with the natural world, his work depicts both the myriad technological systems essential to modern existence, and the temporal, elemental, and entropic forces that place these systems under a state of constant threat. Rendered in painstaking detail, and left unframed, the vulnerability of works themselves mirror the fragile equilibrium sustaining human life on the planet.

Artist: Heather Neill

Website: http://www.heatherneill.com/

My easel has been set up in every one of the 26 places I have lived so far. By the time I decided to give painting my full time efforts, I was well into my early forties. Those early decades of incubation have brought a sharper focus to the only formal training I received as an art major in college back in the mid-70′s.

The paintings have been described by some as narrative. I do enjoy a good storyteller, but I begin by listening to the subject itself. Studying, in ever deepening detail, the nature of an object. I learn from its bones and scars what stories it has to tell. Then I try to tease out the intersections of beauty and mystery between artist, subject and viewer…and hopefully weave some whimsy in between the brushstrokes.

Most of the objects in my still lifes are discarded, well used and worn, common and familiar, and, like the patina on my Aunt Imy’s old porcelain teacups, they resonate with the spirits of all the hands which have used and passed them along …and the conversations they each have overheard. The interiors, portraits and landscapes have histories as well. I invite the viewer to come close and explore the detail and, just as the characters are revealed and the interior brought into focus, a shadow appears in the wake of someone who has moved through a room, or a mysterious light glows from within a vessel and pauses your glance…and you are full of new questions.

Artist: Joseph Todorovitch

Website: http://onejoseph.com

Joseph Todorovitch is a young contemporary painter who has developed a reputation for his highly representational figure paintings. Growing up in Southern California, he became interested in traditional drawing and painting at an early age. His training introduced him to many artistic influences including notable ateliers and instructors.

His work is a culmination of these forces with a deep respect for the knowledge and sensitivities of the past. Joseph has been able to sift through the vast amount of information, be selective, and utilize what’s necessary to achieve an impact that speaks about a personal experience with his subjects. His paintings emote, and convey a care and sensitivity that is reminiscent of the naturalist painters of the 19th century. Utilizing subtle value and temperature shifts, fine draughtsmanship, and pure intuition, Joseph weaves a world of breathable air and psychological nuance in his work.

Artist: Ingra Haraldson

Website: http://www.ingriharaldsen.com/

Statement

I work mainly with drawing on paper as well as on walls. My practice is based around themes like the unknown, physically unreachable areas, our thoughts, the untold and the undescribed. I find some of my inspiration in the Norwegian folklore, science-fiction and surrealism. My drawings are usually produced impulsively and can sometimes be seen as series where the pieces are created based on each other, like a chain reaction. Some of the drawings show detailed technique-studies.

Artist: Lu Cong

Website:http://lucong.com/

About Lu:

Lu Cong is a contemporary American portrait artist. He is regarded by many as one of the most distinctive young artists to recently emerge from the American West. His paintings center on the faces of his carefully chosen subjects. His style pays homage to 18th Century Romantics, yet is unmistakably conceived in and relevant to the contemporary era. His portraits do not simply capture the physical and emotional state of the subject but rather they establish the complicated psychological interactions that ensue when one comes face to face with the sensual, inexplicable, and unsettling.

Artist:Nolan Haan

Website: http://www.addictedtowalls.com/

Nolan on the “Cinderblock Series” (left):

I enjoy the challenge of my cinderblock series. If an artist paints a peacock, for example, the result is a beautiful painting of a beautiful bird. There is little challenge in this. But to make a cinderblock wall compelling or interesting or beautiful–that is rewarding. I have been exploring the range of my cinderblock work for many years now, and still I am intrigued. I love to experiment with the subtleties of surface texture, of mortar and stucco. The variations seem endless. Whether I adorn them with portraiture, prehistoric cave images, or simply abstract fields of color, what draws people in is the cinderblock itself. This common building material has something more to say….

Artist: Erland Monk

Website: http://erlendmork.com/

Erland on his work:

My inspiration comes from an obsession with philosophy and looking behind and beyond everyday life as it appears to us, i.e. the usual existential questions. My works are symbolic representations of my views and reflections about these. The creatures in my works are as such mad, lost or isolated, in search of some absolute among the relative, trying to know an objective truth, or just become complete nihilists.

I reject most modern and avant-garde art, in other words, almost all the art that is seen, which is dependent upon time, context, consensus and stupefying vanity. I’m not headed for the instituted art world, I’m born of the underground and compare my work to the art of all centuries, or everything else, like a poem or a pocket calculator. Good things.

Artist  Sioban Lombard

Website http://www.siobanlombardiart.com/Site/home.html

Sioban on her work:

Painting creates a reality from a question, a fiction, or an interior place. My recent work suggests examination of manufactured, misplaced and inadequate constructs. The constructs are often the byproduct of the search for utopia that cannot be assembled in the physical or material world. Within my work, time, recollection and longing are collapsed, locating physical presence in time and space.

About Sioban:

Sioban Lombardi is a painter living and working in Chicago. She is creator and author of the blog, Art & Thinking, which mixes personal musings on art, contemporary culture, and her own experience. She served as a Board Director for Refuge Center for Artists and was a founding member of Margin Art Collective. Lombardi spent the last two years completing her MFA at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York.

Artist: Jacob Dahlgran

Website: http://jacobdahlgren.com/

Commentary:

Jacob Dahlgren is a Swedish painter, sculptor, and conceptual artist who works to a large extent with unconventional materials. The artist finds abstraction in everyday objects, which he employs to create dynamic interactive installations and performances. When arranged, the individual objects lose their intended function, their original value, and become part of something completely new. Along with experimenting with such artistic styles of the twentieth century as Constructivism, Minimal Art, and Pop Art, Dahlgren also quotes from the Op Art movement. A common theme for all the works is how art and our everyday life are intertwined.

Artist: Stephanie Clair

Biography

Raised in upstate NY, CLAIR drew her way through those cold winter days, then soon after high school she moved to Virginia where she got a BFA in painting/design at Old Dominion University. She had enough cold to last a lifetime and now has found home in sunny San Diego.

Artist Statement

With the matrimony of emotion, cubes and color, CLAIR shares her inspiration from happy, dreamy moments in life that we can all relate to, but so easily forget. -A first love, a last love, a memory, lovers sipping wine, being enlightened, inspired by sweet music… those moments are ours to remember- but the speed of time can erase the memories we all take for granted. CLAIR tries to capture a snapshot of that moment on canvas. Each painting has a feeling; each feeling tells a story. Her eyes in the paintings allow the viewer to reach in and let you connect. She feels they are the windows to ones soul. Clair’s technique is a delicate blend of color, technique, imagination, and cubism meant to evoke mystery and emotion. Her goal is to challenge the viewer’s eye and mind, as you get lost in a three-dimensional world of people passion and beauty. Influences in her work include Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, Modigliani, and Kandinsky – hence the bright colors, dreamy people, and cubist perspectives.

Website:

http://theartgallerist.com/product/everlasting-embrace?gclid=CN7RodeX5KQCFctw5QodlAZuMA

Artist: Ryan Hall

Website: http://ryanhays.co.uk/

About Ryan:

Ryan Hays is a Scottish born artist living and working in Berlin. His work focuses largely on painting & drawing but also explores sculpture and print making.

Thematically Hays’ recent work attempts to undermine the boundaries between abstraction and figurative art, citing that distinctions between the two have become an outdated relic of the twentieth century. The scientific discoveries that first established abstraction in contrast to figurative art have themselves been superseded by more complex theories that present a more encompassing outlook.

Artist: Steve McGhee

Website: http://stevemcghee.com/

Statement:

Born and raised in London Ontario Canada, I grew up wanting to be a fireman… But as luck would have it, my teachers in Elementary and High School noticed that I had something they referred to as “artistic ability”. Drawing dogs and cats playing together under brightly coloured rainbows might have been cool for some kids… but mine was designing huge “torture houses”… large, 20+ room mansions filled with the most diabolical inventions of evil I could think of, every room more perverse than the last… which quickly became the subject of a conversation between my parents, my teachers and my family Doctor. Fear not, all was well with little Steven, it was just a phase.

By grade 8, my homeroom teacher, Mr. Webster wrote in my yearbook, “Most likely to be designing cereal boxes”. I came really close to designing cereal boxes when I worked as an illustrator for a children’s promo items… placemats, cups, etc., but alas, no cereal boxes.

Now, I’m a professional designer living in Woodstock Ontario, working in Brantford Ontario.

Artist: Matt Cusick

Website:http://mattcusick.com/

About Matthew:

Matthew Cusick was born in New York City in 1970 and graduated from the Cooper Union with a BFA in 1993. He has shown his work internationally since 1995, including New York exhibitions at Andrew Kreps Gallery, Kent Gallery and the Pavel Zoubok Gallery.

Matthew on his work:

I am a painter and a collagist. I work with glue and printed material as well as acrylic paint and ink. The printed materials that I work with derive from archaic educational and cognitive sources, such as maps, atlases, encyclopedias, and school textbooks. I am drawn to the ephemeral nature of this printed information and the latent content that surfaces over time. I like to catalog, archive, and arrange information and then dismantle, manipulate, and reconfigure it. My creative process is informed by the visual properties and informative complexities of the material I am using.

Artist: Rob Evans

Website: http://www.robevansart.net/

Artist Statement:

Since my childhood the impulse has always been there to interpret the world in a visual way. At the same time my need to probe for a deeper understanding of the nature of things stems from being raised by two scientist parents (a biochemist and an archaeologist) with an endless curiosity about the world around them. Growing up in the suburbs of Washington D.C. provided unlimited access to the great art and science museums of the Smithsonian and awakened the sense of mystery in me which is still at the core of what motivates me to create.

Over the last decade my paintings have moved increasingly in the direction of dealing metaphorically with these broader themes inspired by real places, experiences and memories. The most common and everyday occurrences, places and things are transformed into the universal, allowing me, through my work, to examine and confront the issues I face as an artist, parent, spouse and as a participant in life at this particular time in history.

Artist: WK interact

Website: http://www.wkinteract.com/

Artist Statement

WK Interact was born in 1969 in Caen, France. He currently lives and works in New York. Starting at a young age, WK became fascinated by the human body in motion; an infatuation strongly reflected in his work, which often capture figures frozen in a flight of movement. The artist’s technique of twisting an original drawing or photograph while it’s being photocopied results in the monochromatic palette and streamlined moment-in-time appearance of his finished work.

WK site-determines his work by finding an appropriate location first, then his imagery is chosen specifically with a concern for encounters in an urban environment or “interactions” (as the artist indicates in his pseudonym). In the late 1990s his images began appearing on building facades in downtown Manhattan, complimenting the constant stir of bodies in the fast-paced city. By the end of the decade, his unique street art aesthetic was being sought after by galleries around the world.

Artist: Nathan Vernau

Website: http://www.nathanvernau.com/

Artist Statement:
The need to communicate is important. Being heavily influenced by comic books and the stories I read as a child, the idea of sequence and narrative has become essential to my drawings. By animating my body language, using symbols, and adding text I create a visual conversation with the viewer and myself. The words, phrases, or lyrics that appear offer multiple interpretations and double meanings that signify an inability to effectively communicate with others.

The objects I include with my figure come from real and unreal places creating the imaginary landscape of my mind. Throughout the work these symbols touch on themes of instability, insecurity, confusion and a misdirection of emotions. As self-portraits these drawings offer bits and pieces of my character, along with alternate identities or personas. By changing costumes there are different stages of confidence and inner conflict that I find myself in.

By drawing myself in self-deprecating poses I am able to temporarily rid myself of anxiety and overwhelming thoughts. My artwork chronicles my life cycling through frustration, happiness, confusion, and disappointment. Specific, personal experiences that can be universally relatable act as the stimulus for my drawings. As a verbally inhibited person my work has become the most direct and honest way for me to express the emotions and feelings that occupy my mind.

Artist: Josh Reames

Website http://joshreames.com/

Artist Statement:

Josh received a BFA from the University of North Texas and is currently pursuing an MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

He’s had several solo exhibitions in and around the Dallas/Fort Worth area as well as upcoming group shows in Chicago.

Josh was recently featured in New American Paintings and was the recipient of the Club Choice Award from the Union League Club of Chicago – Civic & Arts Foundation.

Artist: Cayce Zavaglia

Website: http://caycezavaglia.com/

Artist Statement:

I still consider myself a painter and find it difficult not to refer to these embroidered portraits as “paintings”. Although the medium employed is crewel embroidery wool, the technique borrows more from the worlds of drawing and painting.

Initially, working with an established range of wool colors proved frustrating. Unlike painting, I was unable to mix the colors by hand. Progressively, I created a system of sewing the threads in a sequence that would ultimately give the allusion of a certain color or tone. The direction in which the threads were sewn had to mimic the way lines are layered in a drawing to give the allusion of depth, volume, and form. Over time the stitches have become tighter and more complex but ultimately more evocative of flesh, hair, and cloth.

My work unabashedly nods its head to the tradition of tapestry and my own love of craft. Using wool instead of oils has allowed me to broaden the dialogue between portrait and process as well as propose a new definition for the word “painting”.

Artist: Tviga Vasilyeva

Website: http://www.iratviga.com/

Commentary:

The white forms in these photographs are the sculptural manifestations of audio footage that was recorded along the border between Russia and Finland. Here the unique old-growth forests stand, The Green Belt of Fennoscandia. Recently these ancient trees are being logged for their valuable timber. There are only few remaining areas of ancient forest in Europe with the vast majority of the vanishing old-growth forests remaining are in the North of European Russia.

The soundwaves are actual objects, each is 6 metres high, reminiscent of the height of a tree, despite looking like digital intervention. I recorded them when the forest was still there. Then, when the trees had gone, I put the ‘sounds’ back to where they used to exist, sounds that look like trees that will never be heard again.

Artist: Richard Galpin

Website:http://www.richardgalpin.co.uk/

Commentary

Richard Galpin’s complex art works are derived from the artist’s own photographs of chaotic cityscapes. Using only a scalpel Galpin intricately scores and peels away the emulsion from the surface of the photograph to produce a radical revision of the urban form. The artist allows himself no collaging, or additions of any kind – each delicate work is a unique piece made entirely by the erasure of photographic information.

The works enact a reimagining of the city, but their futuristic vision is predicated on the city as it is now, with the intricate details bearing traces of contemporary urban experience. Playing between abstraction and representation, the works draw their visual language from a variety of early 20th century movements such as Constructivism, and Vorticism…

Artist: Tine De Ruysser

Website: http://www.tinederuysser.com/Site/Welcome.html

Commentary:

Tine is a jewelry designer who makes wearable metal origami.  Her work is absolutely amazing.  Her work appears as technical as architecture, however as delicate as ornate decoration.  Stunning to say the least.

Artist: Anthony Santella

Website: http://www.santella.org/anthony/

Commentary: Wow: Take a computer science major with a longing to create and what you have is Anthony Santella’s gorgeous collection of works.  His works run the gamete from dark monocolored figurative paintings, to bright illustrative works full of emotion, to lustrously carved wooden sculptures. I’m amazed by the vibrancy of his work and the myriad directions that his mind’s eye takes him. Anthony’s world is wickedly sad with a glimmer of ironic hope. The images can best be associated with Tim Burton’s movie creations. Linear, lone, and lean figures glare out at the viewer inviting a stare.

Artist: Harry Harrington

Website: http://www.bonsai4me.com/index.htm

Commentary: Harry’s work is amazing. Put simply he is a master at his art. I’ve spent the last few days absorbing as much information as I can from his collection of work. I have an image in my head of crafting deliciously large bonsai. These will be paired atop sculptures and hand carved feather rock pots. It will be a fusion of ancient and modern art forms. It will be a fusion of pop and classical. This process unfortunately will take years, but that is what makes it so great. Trees cannot be grown in a day.

Check out Harry’s work, specifically the Articles section. You won’t be disappointed, and you may become a convert.

Artist: Julie Steiner

Website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/OutsideTheBoxArt

Commentary:

Julie’s  story is below.  The way that she paints strikes me as I work in a similar manner.  The difference between the two of us being that my works tend more towards destruction rather than construction, whereas here’s verge more on construction. It’s a minor point but worth noting.

Per Clarissa “I create my paintings by combining chaotic gestures with structured lines…A style that also imitates the way I live my life. I work on my paintings a little bit at a time…mostly because I am juggling many tasks that are not art related, but also because it gives me time to let the painting take shape and grow slowly, letting the personality unfold as I watch from afar. I let the painting make decisions for itself, and correct the ones that don’t work. After a painting is complete, I stand back and reflect on the process of creation, and the steps it took to get things just so. Most of the time I am just flying by the seat of my pants, but when the day is done, all the chaos finds a peaceful resting place, and I am pleased”

Clarissa’s faces are moving, haunting, and vibrant. They would fill a room with warmth. While these are great selling pieces as the general public can approach them, I’m particular fond of her tar paper painting series. I like the black, the heavy oil stick look and the randomness of artistic abstraction which has yet to devolve into a mottled mess of brown. In a series together as seen in the images below, the works are striking. They are reminiscent of primitive paintings yet at the same time extend into contemporary European modern art. I can see them originating from the artistic studios of an underground cold war era eastern bloc painter.  The works have power, fury and are contemplative.

Artist: John Lee

Website: http://www.jonleestudio.com/

Commentary: John’s works are modern abstractions in that an idea is presented, deconstructed and than reconstructed throughout the piece. Numerous colors harmonious in the works. Shapes, specifically string formations pull the pieces together. Black and White focal points of easily recognizable images are superimposed on the fore and background between layers of cacophony.  John’s works engage the viewer to sit and stare for awhile.

Artist Dolf James

Website: http://3rdboxdesign.com/black_box.html

Commentary: There is something to be said for an artist who can take mundane industrial objects, hardware, wood, scraps of this and that and create assembled works which claim the space that they occupy as their own.  Dolf sees the potential that a dab of color and texture can provide to a work of art. He isn’t afraid to play with his medium.   Flexible wires, attach orbs and rectangular shapes together. These forms are adhered to the wall, however they transcend from the wall by jutting out towards the viewer as if the wall is not their home. The space between the viewer and the work is their home. Twisted wire is juxtaposed elegantly against the austere rectangular frames drawing the viewers eyes across the works, unifying diverse colors, textures and shapes.  The works are classy, engaging and approachable.

Artist: Pablo Picasso

Commentary: Pablo’s own historical record plays out as one of a man who is seen as an active artist. He moves throughout his works in furtive encompassing gestures. The female subjects remain, docile and submissive.  His art is composed of a jumble of artistic imagery inclusive of art history, ethnology, popular culture, philosophy and contemporary art. These images played against each other are what make Picasso’s work so enduring.  While cubism and may be Picasso’s most lasting artistic image, his works evokes similarities to others working at the same time such as Matisse and Cezanne. Picasso’s works portray life in a separate reality. A vivid life full of emotion, action, intrigue, beauty, but all the still a life of disjointed and juxtaposed realities.

Artist: Ryan Rowozski

Website: http://www.ryanmrozowski.com/

Commentary: Ryan’s world is one of muted warm colors.  Indistinguishable human forms interact in surreal landscapes, taking part in imaginative and evocative actions. His works are worth the mental enigma that they pose.  They are warm, inviting, and appealing to the viewer.  The color palette and themes are reminiscent of the early 1920’s era.  Painted on canvas the works absorb into the linen rather than bounce from it. These pieces would hang exceptionally well in a gallery, or as a figure piece in a nested room.

Artist: Kat Zinn

Website: http://www.katzinn.com/

Commentary: Whimsical swirls, colors and geometric shapes collide in symmetrical portraitures of visionary landscapes.  Nature in all its glory is on display. Lakes, mountains, trees, fields – the splendid terra is drawn in pen and ink, and accented with color washes. Kat has a number of original prints for sale on her website.

Artist: Molly Trezise

Website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/MollyTrezise

Commentary: Molly Trezise

Molly’s style offers a modern take on Americana by combining hand-drawn images with graphic patterns, and a strong pop-art reference. Portraits are created by hand on glass using permanent ink and spray paint.  Molly’s works are worth checking out. They are a great example of modern iconoclasm.  Her work is detail oriented, rich in color and depth. All of her works remain true to her style and would sit well paired together.

Artist: One Love Art

Website:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/OneLoveArt/227724555551
Check out my new blog:
http://one-love-art.blogspot.com/

I love Nan’s work. Pure inspiration, mood, randomness with a balance. The piece above is examplary of his style. This is the closest to Jackson Polluck that I have seen without diverging into chaos. The prices on etsy are reasonable. The works would suit an open space extremely well.  I can also fully agree with the one love mantra.

Artist: Michelle Daisley Moffitt

Website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/MDaisleyMoffitt

Commentary: Michelle Daisley Moffit works in vibrant patches of unadulterated color.  Her works are cacophonous collaborations of brush/knife strokes, impasto techniques, and texture.  Primary and Secondary colors dance from the canvas in unadulterated joy. Repetitive forms interact upon the canvas – moving from top to bottom or side to side. These shapes are often familiar and easily recognizable, consisting of circles, squares, hearts, etc.  Michelle’s works are bright and vibrant. They would well accent a kitchen or other well lit living space.



Artist: Sam the Dot Man

Website: http://npaper-wehaa.com/yes-weekly/2009/12/01/#?article=671157

Commentary: Sam McMillan the 83 year old painter Winston Salem native is a beacon of light for those of us who hope to remain artistically inspired during our golden years. His works inspire scores of children and adults yearly.  To put it simply, the Sam is retired, driven, full of artistic vision and driven. He speaks with a wisdom which only comes through experience “If I go tonight, I’ve lived a life that most people don’t live it because I love everybody in the world, everybody. If you do that, somebody’s going to love you.”  Sam’s love can be seen in his work, each piece an object of passion, an object of resplendent childhood impulse, a collection of dots linked through color, and repetitive automation.  As an artist working in a folk medium, Sam has carved out a niche for his work. The vibrant dots blend well with the American southern cultural landscape. If you are lucky enough to have purchased or been given one of Sam’s works, the highly lacquered aspect will allow them to last for generations.

Artist: Corry at Silver City Iron

Website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/SilverCityIron

Commentary: Once in awhile it is worth noting an artist who works in forms other than paint and canvas. Corry is one of those artists. I have been following his work for the last few months, and slowly watched the rise in his product line. Corry builds beautiful hand forged furniture and sculpture using traditional blacksmithing techniques.  I am particularly fond of his joinery skills and the apparent craftsmanship of each piece. The wine barrel side table he made reminds me of a similar piece that I finished myself a few years back.  His work however is better.  The works function as both artistic centerpieces and functional sculpture.  If you are in the mood for some modern day furniture with an eclectic appeal than his works are worth viewing.

Artist: N. Lambert

Website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/AtelierLambert

Commentary: N. Lambert is a life-long fine artist, former graphic designer, and an art educator at the middle school level. N. Lambert works primarily with bees wax and acrylic pigments. The works are tactile in nature, often comprised of a three dimensional element.  Box and circle shapes are prevalent in the abstract works. Pieces created exhibit a refined primitive element similar to new age modern South American art. The works evoke a sense of grown up artistic play, doodling with form and color as opposed to pen and paper. On the creativity scale, these works are original. They would look well, paired or set up in a display for comparison in a calm inviting room. N. Lambert’s works demand attention and would simply look too cluttered in a space where they visually had to compete.

Artist: Stuart Pearson Wright

Website: http://stuartpearsonwright.com

Commentary: Stuart Pearson Wright paints with the hand of a man who knows his abilities and has honed them into a cohesive and compelling vision. Unlike runners, painters must find their own path to success. Success for a painter is not as easy as being the fastest man on the field. Stuart has managed to find success, despite the less than obvious path to it. His work possesses the qualities of seduction, nudity, death, and decay. The color choices are often muted with an aged appearance. Graphic elements are highlighted through darker hues contained within the paintings.  Women engaged in various actions are often his primary subject matter. Each work appears to have the qualities of a classic created before its time.

Artist: Cheryl Molner

Website:http://www.cherylmolnar.com/

Commentary: I found Cheryl’s work through www.artistaday.com which is an excellent resource which profiles emerging and talented artist. There was an art movement in the 70’s and 80’s in California where artist painted in a realistic yet boxy style. Images and subject matter often included perfectly manicured lawns and American dream homes. Cheryl’s work reminds me of that movement. Her subjects are collections of homes inclusive of their lawns and formal facades. She uses muted lighter tones often working in springtime colors balanced by earth hues.  She works in various media forms from collaged paper, to oil, to painting atop building blueprints. Her work is intriguing and in series would allow for amble comparison. Her website and work history are worth a view.

Artist: Jill Moser

Website: http://www.jillmoser.net/

Commentary: Jill Moser’s work is reminiscent of silent statues gazing out at a changing world.  Her works are created using monotone or black/white color palates which capture the solemnity of the works. Jill works on paper and canvas, creating her forms through silkscreen, printing and painting techniques. In the center of white negative space, slightly skewed to one side forms emerge. These forms often appear pre -complete in that the viewer is compelled to determine their final shape. The pieces are left abstract. Circles or lines jump from one side of the page to the other connecting and intertwining the forms. Jill’s work is austere, solemn and profound. One can view the pieces and uncover the beauty of winter. I would like to own one of her prints. I would place it in a calm room, a room for thought, a room for making decisions.

Artist: Able Parris

Website: http://ableparris.com/

I have been following Able’s work for the last two years.  Able Parris was one of the first “web 2.0″ creators of content that I found. Thus, his work and process has been an inspiration for the work that I produce.  If you are in need of a company logo, a website graphic redesign, a collage with artistic appeal or a view into social cultural-ism than Able Parris should be on your list of people to contact. Simply put, anything that you receive or buy from him should be treasured lovingly as a family heirloom. His work will stand the test of time. Subject matter for his collages include surreal realists works similar to those painted by Neo Rauch, Animals in odd planned interactions, themes of life and death, and historical remembrances to name a few.  His color palettes vary widely from blue, red, yellow, green, white and black, however always remain well balanced.  Able enjoys the act of drawing and frequently sketches in moleskin journals similar to those created by Hugh McLeod from gaping void.  Video flashthroughs of his sketches can be found on youtube and Able’s website.  Able is a master of Typography and has created a wide variety of corporate level work inclusive of collage and typography design aspects. Simply put, he is prolific.  For me, Able’s work is comparable to a modern “digital” version of Magritte. Creating is Able’s passion. His work causes one to question the realities that our eyes perceive daily.

I found the below poem from Arthur O’Shaughnessy on Able’s website. For those familiar with Roald Dahl, you may remember this from “Charlie and the Chocolate factory”.  Regardless, the poem is appropriate as a description of Able Parris, a mover and shaker.

We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams;—
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems.

Artist: Igor Koutsenko

Website: http://igorkoutsenkoart.com/

Commentary:

Igor Koutsenko’s work is simply amazing. Igor is a prolific, awe inspiring creator of the modern age. He works in the mediums of linocuts, woodcuts, paintings, and drawings. His works range from colorful effervescent in the style of Matisse, to monotone prints colored in themes which mirror the subject matter of the work. Frequent images include picturesque European landscapes and scenery, human figures often with a musical or literature based religious theme, and still life compositions. I love his work. It will stand the test of time simply based on his hands virtuosity.

Artist: Robert Mihaly

Website: http://www.robertmihaly.com/

Commentary: There is a castle located in Rouge Mont, N.C. designed of stone, copper and wood. It is fabricated as a summer residence and artist study for Robert Mihaly. The fame of this oddly situated castle is how I came to discover Robert Mihaly as an artist. He works primarily in stone, however I have seen some of his wooden and medal sculptures which hold their weight when compared to some of his more traditional works. His stone sculptures are monumental, decorative in the Italian form. They are quite simply stunning. His paintings are less, formal in presentation and subject matter verging on modern realism with a pop twist. They are bright, intricately detailed works which comment on society at large. His work and website are worth checking out especially if you are located in the Durham, N.C. area.

Artist: My Mom

Website: http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=701399196

My mother Janet Williams made this extra large quilt for me. It is hand sewn, stuffed with warmth, composed of some of my old triathlon race t-shirts and spare fabric.  It is large enough to cover an entire king bed. It is well constructed, full of sentimental value, and a labor of love. I’ll always treasure this work. The cats love it unfortunately – fleece and fluff help with that.

Artist: Michael Johansson

Website: http://www.michaeljohansson.com/

White framed by off white and black negative space.  Cushion and wooden frames. Metal and smooth.  Linear, vertical and horizontal. Abstract, functional and categorized. Cement and wood, with pipes. Random yet with pattern. Planned and unplanned. I love it.

Artist: Pretty Random Objects

Website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/prettyrandomobjects

I am  focusing on an etsy artist today namely because her work is modern, functional, and elegant. You should check out the etsy shop available through the link above.  This is collectible one of a kind stoneware created for specific purposes. Each piece is unique, charming and entirely handmade – thus it retains its value.  It is rare that I find a potter who creates functional work that I admire – as I am often drawn to the abstracted, however in this case Pretty Random Object’s work is captivating. In the example to the left a figurative animal vessel is shown.  The vessel is described as a bear however, the viewer could easily determine this to be representative of any number of animals.  Bottom line, the etsy store is worth checking out for the warm homely feelings that the images and creations produce in the viewer. These works would fit any lifestyle, and any person. They are vessels waiting to be filled with life.

Artist: Richard Salcido

Website: http://richardsalcido.com

Commentary: Richard Salcido’s creations are captivating, haunting and fleeting.  Human female forms emerge from densely laid patterns and loose threads.  The female forms are clad, seductive in nature, eyes staring directly at the viewer.  Heavy impasto techniques applied with and over the forms add to the ethereal affect of the painting.  Richard’s subjects evoke a feelings of personal revolution.  His figures possess a religious mythological base, often evoking qualities reminiscent of the Virgin Mary or mother Teresa in somewhat desolate or unnerved states.

Artist: B.J. Stevenson

Website: http://www.bjstevenson.com/public.shtml

Commentary: I discovered B.J. Stevenson’s work while searching out stone sculptors who worked in the Feather Rock medium.  There are not many who work in Feather Rock due to its coarse and potentially flawed nature. The rock is often filled with pockets of air which could prove to be a hindrance to an artist working to create a specific shape.  Many stone sculptors thus choose to work in either limestone, marble, alabaster or some other traditional rock medium.  The benefits of feather rock however should be considered before outweighing it as a potential medium.  Its weight to volume is easily half that of denser rocks. It can be carved without dulling tools and once a rough shape has been formed it can further be enhanced through sanding with an orbital or palm sander.

B.J. Stevenson forms large boulders of feather rock into delicate and inticrate seashell like designs. They are abstract in nature however they have rhythmic elements which unite the sculptures.  The viewer’s eye is thus forced around the object being drawn into the view of alternating negative and positive forms.  His works are left unpainted and are not polished, thus there is an earthy quality that the feather rock sculptures convey.

Artist: Gustav Klimt

Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Klimt

Commentary: I did not study art history until my college and high school years were completed. Thus, as with most “famous” artist I only learned about Gustav after seeing the works of ‘lesser” artist in galleries and museums.  Gustav work for me surpasses many contemporary and historical artists.  He was one of the first modern artist that I studied and years later, he still remains high on my list of favorites despite the fact that I have viewed thousands of works. His work is unified through a style that is distinctly his. Gustav’s subject matter normally involves human male and female figures entwined in a close embrace or landscape scenes. His work bridges the gap between impressionism and pointillism. Squares and circles of colors unify and adhere to one another forming a patchwork of brilliant color. His works are large, stunning and captivating. They would bejewel any location with their presence. I would hypothetically of course, loose a pinky finger or more to own one.

Artist: Norman Rockwell

Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Rockwell

Commentary: Norman Rockwell’s work began in the 1920’s and continued through the 1970’s. I am a child of the eighties. His work was so prolific, so consumed by American culture and so approachable that children from later generations such as myself have grown up with his images and have come to see them as part of the American cultural landscape.  His images of boy scouts engaged in manly activities are still in use today by numerous publications. His images of Rosy the Riveter are an icon of the WWII generation of American workers.  Norman Rockwell was an artist, an illustrator, and a husband. He married three times during his life and suffered from mental instability during the later stages. Through all of this, he continued to work as a full time painter.  His works reflected the stylized ideals of American life, despite the fact that his life was anything but stable or ideal. His technique especially regarding the presentation of the human form was masterful. His chosen subject matter unfortunately in most works was unappealing from an artistic sense in that he chose to portray illustrated staged scenes of idealized life rather than reality or hyper reality. Similar to Nazi wartime sponsored propaganda; Rockwell’s work straddled the line between art and artistic propaganda.  Regardless, Normal Rockwell was a masterful painter whose work has endured the test of time to date.  He has made his mark on the American art scene. His work spoke to a generation of people searching for the American Dream. Only time will tell if his work will speak so elegantly to those who view it in the future, or if it will simply be seen as a stalwart of false hope from our nations past.

Artist: Charmaine Olivia

Website: www.charbage.deviantart.com

Commentry : Charmaine Olivia portrays people and animals as her primary subject matter. Her colors are warm and soft, evocotave of water colors or light pastels.  This is a unique effect in that the works are primarily created using oil paints.  Her works are medium to small in scale, often being painted on 10 by 12 inch blocks of canvas. Her figures are realistic portrayals, slightly seductive with an emphasis on celebrating youth.  Whimsical feathers, birds or unique patterns adorn some of her works. These detailed regions of the paintings highlight the fact that Charmaine Olivia has a well honed painter’s hand. Every brushstroke is placed with a purpose. Her works are planned, however they retain a painterly quality which other realistic artist sometimes loose as the works approach photorealism.  Charmaine’s works are happy celebrations portraying the beauty in life.

Artist: Neo Rauch

Website: http://wapedia.mobi/en/Neo_Rauch

Commentary:Neo Rauch for me is in imposing figure in the art world. He walks the fine line between old and new. He is irrefutably German in subject matter. His paintings appear to alway shave a political agenda.  His characters originate from desolate tortured scenes.  Soldiers from WWI and WWII allied and axis dominate his works.  Maidens can be seen engaged in various forms of work. Paint tubes grotesquely large occupy many of the works spilling their colored fluid across the canvas. His color choices are often muted, and dulled browns accented with glints of green, blue, red and yellow. His works are entirely realistic stylized and figurative with an emphasis on narrative painting.  Particular attention is paid to motion in the works as well as shadowing and location of light sources.

Neo Rauch is a modern master.  if I could afford his works they would hang in every room of my house.

Artist: Faune Yerby

Website: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=39276271&ref=sc_25

Commentary:

Black and White hand colored photos of New York city architecture and icons collaged on canvas.  The images are easily recognizable as being from New York.  The monotone nature of the coloring adds to the affect of faded age, vintage glory and unified cohesion.

Artist: Micheal Banks

Website: http://www.mikesarttruck.com/banks.html

Commentary: I discovered Micheal Banks while visiting “the krumpleton” a local dive bar in Chapel Hill, N.C. The walls are covered in numerous works by Banks. The pub master told me that he was personal friends with Micheal Banks and that the pictures were on display for the benefit of Mr. Banks. I being under the impression of a good scotch, enjoying a night out, dutifully walked around the large bar inspecting all of the works.

Micheal Banks works are composed of tar, plywood, and oil.  His work is unique in that few artist have found a way to work with tar in such a new and dynamic method.  Micheal applies tar to wood and while it is still wet, he carves his subject matter, humans, flowers and animals.  Once the initial tar layer has dried, Micheal reworks the paintings with lustrous color applications.

Micheal Banks redefined the possibilities of oil painting.

Artist: Sophie Blackall

Website:

www.sophieblackall.com
www.sophieblackall.blogspot.com
http://missedconnectionsny.blogspot.com/

Commentary:

Sophie Blackall is an illustrator living and working in Brooklyn, New York. She is an accomplished and well known artist and illustrator. I have chosen to highlight her, namely because it is rare for such an accomplished artist to post original paintings for sale on etsy.  Her works often include figures as the subject matter engaged in daily routines.  Often figures are conversing or interacting in some routine expected way with one another. The subjects are drawn in an expressive yet figurative artistic manner. The figures are characterized in order to highlight aspects that the painter deems as important, such as seemingly excessive flowing hair.

Her color palate is often flat and muted, with tone build through rounded shading.  Her works do not use texture and are 2D in pictorial design.  This gives each work a look similar to that evoked by the clay animation of Tim Burton in works such as “A Nightmare before Christmas.”  This effect is most likely due to Sophie’s illustrator background. It allows for the focus of the viewer to remain on the subjects face and actions rather than for the focus to spread across the viewing plane.  Thus each work draws the viewer in without overwhelming their senses in needless detail or aesthetic disharmony.

Artist: Donna Gotlib

Websites:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/DGotlib

http://twitter.com/DGotlib

http://brainzapart.blogspot.com

Commentary:

Donna Gotlib’s work available through her etsy shop is reminiscent of raindrop dissections, cellular biology and musical scores. Her works are vibrant, busy and expounding with motion.  Colorful spheres and geometric shapes cut across, emerge from and dissect the canvas. The subjects of her works are the interaction of these shapes. One is reminded of the anatomy of insects presented inches from the eye or the conglomeration of disparate flowers joined together through distant fields. Her works are composed using artist paper, paint pens, acrylic and gouche.  Red, yellow and purple are the primary color choices with color delineated by black line outlines, which are often surrounded by white negative space.  Her works are abstract, yet approachable, and unintimidating.

Artist: Nick Gentry

Website: http://www.nickgentry.co.uk/

Commentary:

Nick Genry’s work is simply put a modern breakthrough. His painting style is choppy and unsubtle in the works presented thus far. This is not to say however, that they are inglorious.  Instead, his style mirrors the dissonance associated with discarded computer memorabilia.  Busts and facial portraitures erupt from a facade of discarded VHS tapes and computer floppy discs. These found objects are placed into unique positions throughout the works and the color and form of the works highlights the specific orientation of the included objects. In one piece a VHS tape is subdued behind the eye’s of the portrait. Nick Gentry uses the plastic turn knobs on the VHS tape as the subjects eyeballs. In other works, floppy disc compose the background. They have been made neutral through an application of white paint and the subject has been painted on top of them as if the discs where once the property of the subject or more earily as if the disc contain a historical record of the subject. Yellow/Blue are the primary colors used, augmented by heavy layers of black and white. A sober Picasso meets the computer age.

Artist: Emily Jeffords

Website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/EmilyJeffords

Commentary: Emily Jeffords works merge the artistic mediums of photography and painting.  Painting mediums include water and oils on artist quality paper.  Subject matter often involves ubiquitous springtime flowers and other familiar compositions such as a house or car lining a street.  Emily often uses vibrant, bright single toned colors which are balanced through delicate layering. Her photographic works focus on arranged wooden compositions which have texture as well as color. These compositions maintain an incredible tactile sense of depth. Colors for her works are often red/green based with hints of yellow and blue. Black also plays a predominate role especially when compared to the relative lack of white in her works.  Her photographs would well suit a small room with the aim of making it more inviting and adding subtle warmth. Her watercolors would suit any room with bright lighting and open spaces.

Artist: Silga

Website: http://www.etsy.com/profile.php?user_id=5749284

http://www.5erg.com/

Commentary: Colorful often yellow, red and blue in tone forms are present on Silga’s canvases. Miniature in scale, his works often use animals, flowers and cats as the primary subject matter. His works in clay and jewelry mirror his fragmented painting style. Splashes of color which seem random, yet add balance emanate from the works.

Artist: Colors of South – Yuriy Petrov

Website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/colorsofsouth

Commentar: Colors of South finds a balance between discord and symphony.  Acrylic colors disperse in Dionysian passion.  Colors are often separate, unmixed, contained within white lines.  Thin veils of black further highlight this color seclusion by tracing the outline of the white dividers.  Subject matter often includes fruit, cities, flowers, drinks, and plant material. The paintings while seemingly approachaple at first, astonish with details upon closer inspection. For instance ice cubes dance in the glass above, painted in such a way to only give the impression of there appearance.  Blue, yellow, red along with the obligatory white/black dominate as the main color schemes.  The works, given their vibrancy and size (window size) would well suite a kitchen, or bright living room.

Artist: Lisa Congdon

Website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/lisacongdon

Commentary:  Lone animals and tree scenes dominate Lisa’s work.  The color schemes are muted, well balanced, yet full of life.  Paintings are predominated by blue, red, green, and white.  Forms are seperated by color and texture rather than black lines.  Most images have a sense of depth created through shadowing and a general rounding of figures.  Lisa’s works are painterly in the color application techniques used.

Artist: Sricther

Website: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=35636871

Commentary: Doodles layered into a strikingly complex composition surmise the style which Srichter’s work conveys. Most works are smaller scale in nature 11 inches by 14inches, perhaps due to the complexity and time demands of the painting style. All works are completed on a white ground with positive space filled out in black doodles often through the use of oil pastel or marker.  These doodles appear to dive into and emerge from each other.  White spaces are then subsequently filled into to complete a patchwork of color.  Red, yellow, orange. blue and green dominate the color palate, each radiating its warmth against the surrounding colors.  The images are complex in nature reminiscent of style composition from both M.C. Escher and Pollock.

Artist: Tali

Website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/tushtush?section_id=5745516

Commentary: Tali is an artist whom I found while scouring etsy. He sells a large number of smaller prints along with works in oil color and acrylic. Many use black/white grounding juxtaposed against light vibrant color schemes.  Human figures dominate the subject matter.  Yellow, Red and Blue reside as the primary color scheme.

Artist: Lucy V

Website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/lucyvnz

Commentary

The above dress is my second purchase from Lucy V etsy shop. When the first dress that I purchased (for my wife) arrived a few months back, it was laced with an aromatic perfume and wrapped in fine tissue paper.  Customer service and going the extra mile are key selling points for Lucy V.  On a whim, and simply because I admire Lucy’s style of dress making as does my wife, I decided to purchase another one of her dresses.  Coincidentally, I realized that she, like many Etsy sellers is an artist whom I admire.

Her primary medium is cloth with a leaning towards vintage fabrics, bright and/or muted colors, silk and lace. She weaves these disparate components into one of kind wardrobe compositions.  Articles created primarily include, dresses, aprons, and handbags.  Each article is handmade and well balanced in that it functions as a work of art as well as a functional article of clothing. Simply put, I love her work; I’ll come back to her store for years to come as long as she is still producing. Oh, I forgot to mention one of the best points; that her prices are comparable to mass produced clothing from a traditional brick and mortar store.

Artist: Chris Roberts

Website: www.Deadclownart.com

Commentary:

Chris Roberts is a younger, angrier Andy Warhol; that is in terms of the byproduct of his mind and the product of his hand. His paintings are dominated by compacted space filled with either lone figures or distorted facial visages.  His figures are separated from the background solely through the use of colored lines which creates a haunting affect.  The figures meld and merge with the background, thus creating a highly unified composition. The majority of images are produced in yellow, red, blue and green hues with minimal use of black or white for balancing.  Works include photography collages, mixed media, acrylic, spray paint and ink predominantly.  These paintings are not of a style which one would necessarily want to place in a refined living room, however they do have a place within the home of an art lover. Perhaps, a cozy warm breakfast nook or hidden reading retreat would be the best location for showcasing them.  Chris Roberts paintings demand attention and should thus be placed in a location where the viewer can stumble and reflect upon them without their presence distracting from other objects of interest in the surrounding room.

Chris Roberts images are simple, nostalgic in nature and compelling in subject matter.  The subject matter is readily approachable by masses of people due to the use of easily recognizable forms.  For instance, his works include images of Mao, Michael Jackson and Napoleon Dynamite.  Chris Roberts is an artist worth watching in the coming years.  As a semi abstract figurative artist he has a bright future.

Artist: Rodgy Roundy

Website: http://www.rodgerroundy.com

Commentary:

I found Rodgy Roundy through an RSS subscription to Artistaday.com.  Artistaday is a well designed user interactive forum/blogging site which has the aim of highlighting one artist a day.  The good folks there have been doing this for years, and have built up an extensive collection of searchable artist.  The format is such that an artist is highlighted using his/her bio alongside a picture of their work.  Artistday.com focuses on sculpture artist, photography artist and painters.  In short, every medium is accepted so long as the end result of the artistic process is a tangible object or image.

I am primarily interested in the painters and sculptors presented on the site.  Rodgy Roundy in particular arrested my scrolling hand as my RSS feeds rolled down the page.  His work has been to date a gleeful fusion of “Where’s Waldo and M.C. Escher”.  The focus of many of Rodgy Roundy’s work remains the interaction between many seemingly identical characters.  These figures interact with one another in such activities as swimming through a sea of letters, horse back riding, archery, building strange structural monoliths.  The figures are often female, often of a generic hair color (blonde, brown or red) and often wearing catholic school girl outfits. Color is not the primary focus of the works. In later works color was an accent to the composition. In present day it has been eliminated entirely from the palette. Earlier works from ten years previous are less complex in subject material and composition compared to those being produced today.  The viewer can readily see the progressive style that Rodge Roundy has cultivated over the years.

Artist: Sylvia Grantins

Website: http://tinyurl.com/2d9fdpk/

Commentary:

Sylvia’s Grantins paintings contain the “terroir” of her home. Sylvia’s paintings evoke the rich textures of Ontario erupting with springtime joy. Her works are bright, produced in a flurry of seemingly spontaneous yet purposeful action.  Her images evoke the mood of a sparsely populated meandering land of lonesome nestled hilltops, fields of pulsating flours, and trees blown through the wind.

Her art is primarily produced on mounted canvas. Dimensions vary between 4 inches square to larger museum sized panels.  Prices for her work are extremely reasonable given that they are one of a kind works.  The tonal value of the color of Sylvia’s work is high, in that when compared to a peacock feather her works would hold their own weight.  This does not mean, however that they are gaudy or ill conceived.  Instead, Sylvia manages to find a rich harmonious balance through the combination of brilliant liquid hues.  Often forms are created in a waving manner, through white infused paint, creating lava like texture. Once this layer has dried, subsequent layers of paint are applied to create forms such as poppy flowers or tree branches.  This process is repeated until the image is complete.  I am particularly fond of her smaller works when combined into a series of related frames.  These images 4 inches square when mounted as Sylvia does on wooden supports create a quilt like appearance which would warm any room painted in a muted earth tone.

Artist: Andrea Le Beau

Website: http://www.andrealebeau.com/

Commentary:

From Andrea Le Beau’s work, one can perceive that she is an artist who continually experiments with her technique.  Without inhibition she attacks the object of her focus with an artistic passion.  Her body of work includes traditional mounted linen with flowers as the main subject matter, clothing, works on found objects and encaustic creations.  When compared alongside one another, these works all convey the sense of originating from the same hand.  Primary similarities include an earth toned base coat with sparing applications of complimentary color applied.  Andrea Le Beau’s creations are simplistic in design, thus the images created are not overwhelming to the viewer.  They could be positioned in any space without fear of overburdening the room which they inhabit.  I have chosen to profile her work, namely because there is a vibrant painterly quality to her encaustic work.  For those of you unfamiliar with the term encaustic, it is an artistic application form whereby hot beeswax infused with color or left unadulterated is applied to canvas.  This technique has the ability to create window like semi translucent glazes or in the case of Andrea le Beau the entire composition of a work.  In the image above, yellow golden organic shapes emerge and dissipate from the ethereal canvas.  The monotone color palette adds rather than distracts from the complexity of the piece by further highlighting the color gradients.

Artist: Karl Greaves

Website: www.Karlgreaves.com

Commentary:

Think Jackson Pollock distilled into a purified essence.  Karl Greaves work can be categorized as refined entropy.  Quickly shaped semi organic forms emerge and dissipate into the canvas.  Separation between the “subject” and background is minimal however remains apparent in most work.  Delineation between forms is created by differences in color applications.  Human like forms often with a ghostly and disjointed appearance pervade Karl Greaves work.  The shadowing on these figures is reminiscent of that used by Salvador Dali on his surrealist renditions of human subjects.  The colors are vibrant; however remain harmonious throughout each piece.  Clashes of yellow, red, green and blue dominate with a preference for black over white.  The entire canvases are filled with color, thus making it harder to discern the “subject” from the image as a whole.  Forms and figures thus appear to spring from the canvas rather than being distanced from it.  The colors in most works appear to be layered and compounded to develop or enhance chosen areas of the works.  This technique is labor intensive in that Karl must work with a random unknowing right mind and an informed left mind, with the ultimate goal of finding a balance between chaos and form.

Artist: Jenny Watts

Website: http://www.friendsinmay.com

Commentary:

Jenny Watts is an artist that I have chosen to profile, namely because I admire her work – specifically her use of color.  Her work is reminiscent of early Marc Chagall, at least so much in the choice of color palette.  Her works are smaller in scale and synergize well when displayed in series.  Color schemes and style thus transfer well when comparing images side by side.  The color palette chosen primarily involves blue/green juxtaposed against hollow white/black figures or yellow/red juxtaposed against hollow white/black figures.  The backgrounds of most works have distorted rhythmic appearances which convey a weathered and antique appearance.

Animal forms and figures are the primary focal point of Jenny’s work.  The figures appear whimsical yet resolute, as if they are aware that one is watching their movements. They are drawn in a stencil/pop fashion in that most are white/off white with roundness achieved through the use of black lines outlining the counters.  The relative lack of color separates the figures from the background, thus giving the images a sense of depth.

Personally, I would like to see larger scale paintings produced, with the characters interacting together. This concept would produce a painting with potentially less visual impact at first due to the inclusion of more white from the figures; however it would be fun for the viewer to untangle the actions of the characters on display.  A painting of this style would require the viewer to actively engage in the painting.  Being said, the works as they stand now hold value and are unique and noteworthy on their own merit.  Jenny is a young artist with a bright future.

Artist: Jessica Doyle

Website: http://jessicadoyle.com/

Commentary

I set up a Google reader account about a year and a half ago.  For some of you, this is late in the game.  For others, I am ahead of the curve. I discovered Jessica Doyle while using Google image search to find artists work I liked.  I signed up for her RSS feed available at her blog and have been receiving regular blog updates for the last year. A paramount goal for any blogger is to provide regular updates with desirable content. Jessica Doyle has always provide regular and juicy content. Her personality shines through the written word on her blog.  Jessica Doyle is an artist who sells prints, original paintings, cards, and functional objects through etsy and other online venues. She is also heavily active in the online blogging world and has a number of side projects which she willingly details on her website. These include her vintage article blog, her home remodeling projects and personal details regarding her life.  I admire her forthcoming personal disclosures.  For an artist, selling art work can be as much about the impression of oneself as an artist that prospective buyers see as it is about the actual artwork itself. When a buyer purchases art, they are not only purchasing the art itself, they are purchasing a persona, an image, and perhaps a perceived artistic legacy.

Jessica Doyle has done well to create a web persona as an artist. Those who purchase her work can rest assured that her artistic images will endure, and hence the value of her work will increase as it ages.  Jessica draws/paints primarily figurative and representational forms.  The images are normally composed of muted color and the compositions are well balanced.  Most images convey a sense of negative and positive space created by the intertwining of whimsical forms.  Trees, flowers and animals are prominent in her work.

Artist: Hugh Macleod

Website: www.gapingvoid.com

Commentary Hugh would describe himself as a cartoonist. I would describe him as a marketer.  The two terms are not entirely distinct, in that one can be a cartoonist as well as a marketer.  He is unique in that many artists lack the desire or knowledge to promote their own work.  While artist often cultivate their own style and thus progress artistically, they often fail in the realm of progressive marketing.  Hugh Macleod has succeeded, and is continuing to succeed at both.  From his extensive blog, one can gather that he spent years in New York drawing small cartoons on the back of business cards. Those were Hugh’s “seven years” – the theoretical learning curve whereby one learns and becomes competent in any desired skill.  Those seven years were the backbone for Hugh overcoming what Seth Godin another great marketer and author of business related books would describe as “The Dip”.

Hugh’s cartoons are simplistic in design, often black and white, full of seemingly random forms, often containing figurative shapes which are used along with words to create an insightful joke. Additionally, Hugh Macleod has authored a book titled “Ignore Everbody” which is a motivational conglomeration of some of his prized cartoons along with reprocessed and synthesized thoughts from his frequent business/marketing related blogging.  Hugh Macleod is now working on his second book “Evil Plans”.  Furthermore, Hugh has experimented with some larger canvases as well as journal pages as an artistic medium.

He is the first artist that I am profiling, namely because his website and purpose have been an inspirational force behind my own planned blogging pursuits as an artist.  I am fond of some of his larger scale works as they evoke a sense of loneliness and emptiness within the viewer.  His smaller work on the back of business cards however will most likely be the vehicle of his notoriety.  There are few if any artist working in the same medium with such an available and prodigious body of work.  See for yourself by clicking her which will take you to a google image search for GapingVoid Hugh’s “brand”.

Blog Purpose

I am restarting blogging with a renewed and focused subject matter.  I took a break from blogging in mid 2009 in order to redesign the sight and focus on some sculpture projects. I plan to keep those projects moving forward, however at the same time, I also would like to contribute to the blogging world.

As normal, posts will include progress of my own projects which will be listed in the “painting” or “sculpture” categories.  Posts will also be focused on artists who I discover through research.  These posts will be categorized under the “Critique” category. Sources will most likely include eTsy, Artistaday.com, Flickr and other collaborative artist’s sites.

I commit to distributing two feed updates a week. Most likely this will occur on Monday and Thursdays however occasionally variances will occur.

A Bit About Me.

Daniel was born on Sept 28th, 1982 in Durham, N.C. He played in the woods building forts and pioneering through high school. He graduated from Durham School of the Arts in 2001. In 2005 Daniel graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with a degree in Political Science and Economics. Daniel raced as a professional cyclist and as a professional triathlete through his collegiate years. Daniel no longer races professionally however he can still be seen at occasional marathons, cycling events or ultra-runs.  He would describe himself as an intellectual hippie. Daniel’s vice’s include Espresso, Red Wine, Chocolates, Whiskey and Good Greens. Daniel lives with his Wife Lindsey and their two cats Alibaster and Maeve at their home in Durham, NC. Daniel graduated with an MBA from Campbell University in the fall of 2009. Daniel Is an Artist.

D.B. Williams

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