Yes! Today’s guest on ART FOR YOUR EAR is New York based artist and illustrator Amber Vittoria. We have been overlapping on projects throughout this crazy quarantine, so clearly I took that as a sign from the universe to get her on the podcast! Amber works almost exclusively with the female form, which – you guessed it – I asked her about. Turns out, she worked in advertising at the beginning of her career, and found that she couldn’t relate at all to the images of women being used – so she started creating her own, very stylized bodies. Anyway, we’ll start at the beginning and work our way up to those stories! We recorded this a couple of weeks ago, knee deep in lockdown so take a listen right up there under that curvy, flower-carrying lady, or subscribe right here.

First up, the results of a six week artist residency she did earlier this year at Facebook’s Analog Lab in New York:

See why I asked her about these pieces? I love the work so much, and her reasons behind this series:

“Inspired by the modern embrace of individuality within office spaces, this risograph poster series leverages bright and colorful portraits of women heading into work. Historically, women and their personalities tend to be quieted or ignored within an office setting; these portraits aim to be a playful nod to celebrate how society has began to empathize with womanhood and the stories, thoughts, and ideas women bring to the table.” 

Amazing, right?! Okay, up next … Ambers’s HAPPY SOCKS!

So much fun! This was one of my biggest take-aways from this episode… that Amber continues to create the work she wants to create, using her very personalized style of drawing female figures, and the brands come to her FOR HER! This is the dream, and she’s living it.

Speaking of brands, here’s a lineup of some of her collaborations, starting with this pair of shoes she did with K-Swiss:

Not only are these sneakers delicious, I mean gorgeous, listen to the concept behind them:

“Through the bright colors of “This Space Is For You,” this collaborative K-Swiss Classic pair celebrates the space women have made to express themselves both physically and emotionally. The woman in the piece also pushes to create even more space, representing the continued crusade for intersectional feminism and equality amongst genders. This collaboration had an international release on International Women’s Day.”

Next, her mural that is installed in the Warby Parker shop in Boston:

So cool! I scoured Amber’s Instagram feed for the photo she took when she popped in for a visit, but alas, an official interior shot will have to do.

But wait, we’re not even close to finished! How about the work Amber did for the “social launch of Marc Jacobs’ Daisy Love Eau So Sweet scent. The pieces embody the bright scent of Eau So Sweet, leveraging fruity decoration, daisy iconography, and warm musk coloring.” Yeah they do:

I can’t handle all of this goodness… and we haven’t even gotten to Gucci yet:

The first piece was a commission for Gucci’s DIY knitwear collection and the second illustration was for a perfume campaign.

Oooh, and this just launched! Amber’s latest class on Skillshare came out a few weeks ago, and is titled “Intuitive Illustration: 4 Quick, Fun Exercises to Unlock Creativity”:

She shares all sorts of tricks for getting out of your head… which you just know I absolutely LOVE!

Oooh, this is brand new info too. I just curated a new online show on Showfields’ site, and of course I reached out to Amber to ask for a couple of her pieces. She said, yes:

Yes! I love everything she does, but there’s something about this soft, blurred colors that speak to me. These two pieces are originals and are still available… but I’m betting not for long!

And finally, I had to include a few process shots. I love that she combines digital and analog in her work because, as she said, that kind of defines her creative experience so far. Here she is adding analog to the digital right in front of our eyes:

Love! Speaking of love… she posted that ‘line and scribble or lollipop or rose or a stop sign’ on Instagram a couple of days ago, and I just had to share it... oh art, the possibilities really are endless. Sigh. Ok, with that I will say thank you so much to Amber for doing this with me, and thanks to YOU for listening. There will be more ART FOR YOUR EAR next weekend.

Other links:

1. Amber’s online shop : Originals / Prints
2. Amber on Instagram
3. Amber’s class on Skillshare
4. Showfields x TJC Show
5. Happy Socks… go get some!

Oh, you guys. This is such a lovely episode. If you don’t already know about New York based artist Elisa Valenti, I’m so excited to introduce you! If you do know her work, I’m still excited because I bet you don’t know that she’s a pharmacist, bakes ridiculous kick-ass cakes, and is irrationally afraid of sharks. Yep, we cover all of that AND we talk about her journey as an artist too. Wait till you hear her laugh, and the way she says COFFEE and TUSH. Pure gold. You can listen right up there under “Every Last Drop”, or you can subscribe here.

First up, the painting you might know her for… it’s definitely the first one I saw:

Hell, yes! “Confidence on the Rocks”… and the source photo from her phone. Gorgeous, both of them.

Next, here she is at Superfine 2019. Can you believe she pulled this booth together in two weeks? :

And that, my friends, was the beginning of the whirlwind that has been her past year and half!

Next, these two paintings are the reason I asked her about “baths or showers” in the Not-So-Speedy-Speed-Round. I really just wanted an excuse to show you “Pizza Girl” and “Solitude”:

Beautiful.

Oooh, and these are the line and contour pieces she mentioned:

Yep. People love tush… and you can see why!

We just talked about this quickly in passing, re: the transition from painting herself clothed, to blocked, to nude. This is step one. The nightie:

Isn’t that gorgeous? That piece above is one of my favorites. I absolutely love the sheerness of  the fabric, the embroidered flowers, the sunlight, all of it.

Elisa and I also talked a little bit about her color palette, and how she likes to include all sorts of skin tones. Here are a few inspiration shots she’s posted to her Instagram feed:

COFFEE! I could listen to her say ‘coffee’ forever and ever. Also, I want those donuts. Speaking of sweet treats, Elisa’s cakes.

Brace yourself:

WHAT THE ACTUAL Whaaaaa? “Oh yeah, I used to make cakes for my family.” LOOK AT THAT THING!? Okay, I have to move on, even though that cake deserves an episode all to itself.

Finally, here are a bunch of shots of Elisa in action:

Awww, little Elisa with colored pencils firmly in her tiny hands. Ah-mazing. Thank you so much to Elisa for doing this with me, given the week she’s been having. She just told me she’s going to name her inner critic, “Pluto”. Good plan! And, of course, thank YOU for listening. I hope your week has been okay. Stay inside, stay well. There will be more ART FOR YOUR EAR next weekend.

ps. Esther Pearl Watson and I will be doing some LIVE painting/collaging on Instagram next week. Tuesday, April 28th at 6pm PST is the plan! 

Other links:

1. Elisa on Instagram
2. SuperFine Art Fair
3. The Other Art Fair
4. ‘The Shallows’ – Blake Lively shark movie
5. ‘Open Water’ – another shark movie
6. ‘Splash’ – NOT a shark movie
7. Elisa’s cakes on Instagram

Yessssssss. These drawings {colored pencil on paper!?} are the work of Seattle based artist Amanda Manitach. Beautifully executed, empowering, AND funny? Well that’s a win win win, if you ask me. Now, go make some chocolate cake with lemons. Happy Monday.

{found via Create Magazine on IG}

Two artists? Yep. This is Manja Eland {left} and Saskia Overzee {right}, but together they are Observe A Fishtank. I have been following them on Instagram for ages, and have been totally curious about their collaborative paintings? How does it work? Who does what? I asked, and they told me:

OBSERVE A FISHTANK, a visual dialogue  Observe a Fishtank is the second of five drawing lessons by Paul Klee. It’s also the title of the drawing collaboration two artists from Eindhoven, the Netherlands initiated in 2018. Looking to challenge their artistic ability they started a visual dialogue. Saskia Overzee and Manja Eland met each other when they both had their studio at Sectie C. Since Manja moved they have been meeting at Saskia’s studio to draw together every couple of weeks.  

PROCESS  The artists try to stretch their artistic routines and drawing hand. When drawing on the same piece of paper they respond to each other’s input in texture and line, not shying away from working over what the other has drawn. The essence of their creative process is searching by doing. In the end result it is impossible to distinguish who did what, sometimes even for themselves. To work so closely together requires flexibility and trust. In this synergy they create work that they wouldn’t make alone. 1+1=3, you could say. The artists prefer work to be layered and complex, maybe even with a little friction.

All works are made with liquid acrylics, ink, pen, pencil and sometimes crayon on heavy paper. Dimensions vary from 30×42 to 100×150 cm.

SPIN OFFS  Under the title Observe a Fishtank they create collaborative originals but also individual spinoffs. Saskia makes digital collages based on parts of the drawings they made together. Manja sometimes incorporates bits and pieces of the originals as layers into her digital drawings. So not only do they create new collaborative work, they also let the style and creative process inspire and influence their own work.

So beautiful and fun and exciting! ps. Here’s an example of two of their “spin offs”. The first is by Saskia, and the second is Manja’s work:

*bio photo by Anniek Mol

I am so excited for you to listen to this episode! American artist Phil Hansen is my guest today, and we’re going ‘old school’ with this one. Was he an art kid? Did he go to art school? How did he end up doing an absolutely inspiring TED Talk? Did he really make a portrait of Edgar Allan Poe out of earthworms? Is he seriously going to rip up one of his pieces and give the chunks to some of you!? Let’s find out! Listen right up there under Phil and all of the portraits of Phil, or subscribe here.

First things first, a few grabs from his fabulous TED Talk:

“Embrace the Shake” … such an inspiring story and message! To watch it in full, click right here.

Alright, next. Grabs from his project titled, “Just Peachy”, ie., Trump made from canned peaches, because, impeachment:

Apparently the whole thing turned to mold and required an air purifier for the room it was in, along with having it closed off from the rest of the building. Sounds about right.

Okay, moving on. Edgar Allan Poe’s portrait made from 7000 WORMS!?

Ew. But also, WOW. That’s dedication. *All worms were returned to the earth.

Ahhh, happy little stamps:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Happy little stamps 🙂 . . . . . #art #artist #artistoninstagram #design #stamps #stamp #bobross #philinthecircle #happylittletrees

A post shared by Phil Hansen (@philinthecircle) on Jan 14, 2020 at 8:03am PST

So, if you’ve already listened to the episode, you’ll know what this is about:

Yep! Get over to Phil’s instagram feed, @philinthecircle if you want a chance to win one of four framed pieces of this “destroyed” portrait … good luck!

Speaking of Bob, here’s the info for the event I’m doing at my local gallery that also happens to have a Bob Ross show opening in March!

Gah! I cannot wait to see a few Bob’s happy little landscapes in person! Also, how much do I love that my photo is next to Bob’s on an event calendar?! Okay, and with that I will say a huge thank you to Phil for “philling” in the circle for us, thanks to YOU for listening, and thanks to my family for letting me sneak away on our Hawaiian vacation to get this podcast up! There will be more ART FOR YOUR EAR next weekend. See you then!

Other links:

1. Phil’s Instagram to enter the Bob Ross giveaway
2. Phil’s TED talk, “Embrace the Shake”
3. My talk at the Penticton Art Gallery, March 11, 2020

Yep, he’s back! Minneapolis based artist / gallerist Terrence Payne has returned for a second installment of … “PAYNE POINTS WITH TERRENCE PAYNE”. Today we’re tackling the good, bad and ugly around social media… what to do and what to avoid. He’ll also be telling us some insane stories about tattoos and potato chips, because he’s him. Let’s get started, shall we? You can listen right up there under that blob of butterflies, or subscribe here.

First up, a look at the sloths Terrence was talking about for his latest show {titled “Stand Ins” that opens on February 8th at Rosalux Gallery in Minneapolis!}:

The amount of work he puts into each piece is just insane… hence the work in progress shot above, once he begins drawing.

Here is another piece for the same show, with a different type of WIP image:

Yep, that’s the digital version that he figures out on the computer. See? So many steps just to get to the “coloring” phase.

Ah yes, and I have to show you this…

The baby devil skeletons that the bathroom construction guys assumed was for Halloween. Fair enough 😉

And finally, I know Terrence said ‘no photos of your dogs and babies’ on your art feed, but since we talk about his sweet dogs and his amazing wife, Carolyn, so much, I thought I better throw in this little gem from a couple of years ago:

Awwww… and now you can see the face that goes with the voice you’ve been hearing! Thank you so much to Terrence for sharing his wisdom… and ridiculous stories; thanks to the THRIVE Network for supporting this episode; and as always a HUGE thank you to you for listening! ART FOR YOUR EAR is slowly climbing up to the top of the list in the Visual Arts category on Apple Podcasts, so if you wanna help it get to the top I’d love a rating/review to make that happen 🙂 Thanks! There won’t be an episode next weekend because I’ll be flying to MAUI {yassssssssss}, but I’ll be posting a brand new episode from there the following week. See you then! ~ Danielle

Other links:

1. Rosalux Gallery
2. “Stand Ins”, Terrence’s upcoming show at Rosalux
3. SQUARESPACE
4. Terrence on Instagram
5. Ashley Longshore episode re: building a team
6. THRIVE Network / Resource Library
7. Booooooom
8. Colossal

Oh my word… this is the absolutely gorgeous work {acrylic and graphite on canvas} of Nikoleta Sekulovic. She was born in Rome, to a German mother and a Serbian father, and now lives in Madrid with her family. Not only do I love her work, but I also love that her entire portfolio site features her work AND her daughters running around while she works… a perfect example of a woman being an artist and a mother. Nikoleta creates large-scale portraits of women, and this is why:

‘Every single woman is different; the way my models pose reflects a part of who they are, expressing their personality. There is no pretense, no trying to act out, they are simply themselves, and that’s great. The way a woman thinks she should look or tries to conform to an ideal of beauty should not hold her back from being who she is.’ 

Ah, so beautiful! Also beautiful, this video of Nikoleta talking about her practice, motherhood, and the drive that pushes her to create.

ps. From January 28th until February 22nd some of her work can be seen at Rebecca Hossack Gallery in London.

Patterns and lines and boldness, oh my! This is the simple yet striking work of London based artist/illustrator Rosie McGuinness. She describes her work as a place “where fashion drawing meets life drawing”… I would like to live in that place.

Blurry photographs? Nope. Pastel, pencil, spray paint and ink on paper, mounted on panel… have I said ‘gasp’ yet? Gasp! This is the work of Geneva based artist Eliana Marinari, and this is a description of how and why she does what she does:

Eliana Marinari ‘s practice employs a longstanding discipline of drawing, reinterpreting the genres of landscape and portrait as a means to question our perception of reality. Her work reflects an intense fascination for the power of images and explores the human ability to recall a visual object and generate semantic associations.

Her interest has been formed by current theories on visual recognition to explain the transition from a perception-driven representation to memory-driven elaboration of concepts: meaning is attributed to each feature and translated on assumptions based on previous experiences, cultural beliefs and values.

Eliana Marinari’s two main series Recognition and Recollection borrow details from archives, found images and her own photographs. Carefully constructed by glazing aerosol acrylic on pastel and pencil drawings, the vestigial image mimics the process of creating a visual representation in our mind and brings time, memory, loss and an emotional narrative to the subject.

Beautiful! If you happen to be in Geneva, be sure to stop by her solo show, titled “Recollection Memory”, at Le Salon Vert. The opening event is this Thursday January 16th from 6-8pm, and the show will run until February 22nd, 2020.