Gasp! New oil paintings by UK based painter Pippa Young. Seriously. I am always absolutely blown away by her work, but these pieces for her latest show, “Through a Glass Darkly”, are easily my favorites. The top-most piece, titled “Unspoken”, feels very relevant at the moment, no? Now, I apologize for the late notice on this one {just discovered this today, myself} but this show opens TODAY, October 12th, 6pm at Arusha Gallery in Edinburgh! Not to worry though, it will be up until November 5th. Go if you can!

Whoa. This is “Cityfold”, a new series by German (LA based) artist Nike Schroeder. I’ve had her on the podcast and she’s in my new book that focuses on female artists – past, present and future! Paint, thread, linen, and love. Sigh. I can’t wait to see what she does next … wait for it…

ps. Nike is currently working on a solo show, titled BACKSPACE/DELETE, opening in Los Angeles at Walter Maciel Gallery on November 4th. The show grew from the Cityfolds series and is a deeper exploration of materials and urban experience. It’s even more painterly with collage elements of concrete, different cloths and canvases, rope and of course thread. If you’re in LA, go!

HELLO! Oh my goodness… her work gets me every single time. Manila born, US based artist Dan Lam has a new show, titled “Bait”, opening at Spoke Art in San Fransisco tomorrow night! These pokey, drippy, rainbow-hued wonderful weirdos will be on display from October 7th through 28th. Happy Friday.

Carved and painted wood … LOVE! This is a new body of work by American artist Lora Fosberg. If you happen to be in the Bay Area this fall, you can see these gorgeous rainbow-coated chunks of wood in her latest show, titled “I Would Lie To Me”, at The Jack Fischer Gallery in San Francisco. The show will be up from October 7th through November 11th, with an opening reception on OCTOBER 7, 4-6pm.

SaveSave

Have you heard of NIAD? I just learned about them this past June when I was in San Francisco, and I was instantly in love. Here’s the description from their site:

NIAD Art Center’s visual art program promotes meaningful independent living by artists with disabilities—while its artists create remarkable contemporary art. In a unique open studio environment, and with the guidance of qualified staff, NIAD artists acquire new skills in artistic practice and in independent living. {located in Richmond California, Bay Area}

So exciting and inspiring! When they asked if I’d put together an online exhibit during the first week of October, obviously I jumped at the chance. My collection is titled “I Heart Art”, because I do, and isn’t that what it’s really all about? The images above are just a handful of the pieces in the show, and one of the works has already sold… because I bought it! Yes, the lovely lady at the top of the post is a piece by Jonathan Velazquez and it’s currently hanging in my living room. Get over there and buy a very affordable piece from one of these amazing artists… like this one, titled “David Bowie and His Cat”, by Ann Meade…

{Artists shown above: Jonathan Velazquez, Sarah Malpass, Carlos Fernandez, Phyllis Carr, Jeremy Burleson, Mimi Englin, Adonia Douglas, Sarah Malpass – again!, Ann Meade}

Drawings? DRAWINGS! The work of LA based artist Brooks Salzwedel never ceases to amaze me, and when I found out that he has a bunch of new pieces in this upcoming show, well, perfect excuse for another post! But wait, there’s more… this show, titled “Forget What You Know” at sp[a]ce in Pasadena, California, is curated by artist, illustrator, curator Mark Todd! Mark has lined up an insane roster including Brooks, obviously, Gary Taxali, Megan Whitmarsh, Jason Holley and more! Opening reception, Saturday September 30 from 6-9pm RSVP here. GO! 

{The show runs from October 1 to December 31, 2017}

I’ll be honest… it was those opulent gold frames and the illuminated silver doorways that pulled me into the world of LA based artist Kimberly Brooks. All of these pieces, and many more, are currently hanging at Zevitas Marcus in Los Angeles {until October 28th, 2017} in a solo show, titled “Brazen”.  Why brazen you ask? Here is a small passage from an interview she did with ArtScene that explains it beautifully:

… Using the word “Brazen” as a  mantra to free her paint brush to wander where it would, allowing the paintings to find new shapes, feelings and themes, the artist set to work. This rather extensive exhibition of large and small works attests to the fact that she met, if not exceeded her goal. It’s not that the figure and the landscape subjects of earlier paintings have vanished, far from it. Rather Brooks this time coaxes forth their visual DNA in a different manner. ~ Andy Brumer, ArtScene Review

“Free her paint brush to wander where it would” …. oh, YES!

“The outdoors spills through a window or door, location or setting. Pots and plants teeter on the edge of a table whilst trees grow convincingly from rooftops and pillars are cut off abruptly, hovering slightly above ground level. The interiors are minimally furnished with large glass open spaces, leaving it exposed to the vulnerability of the outside world that encroaches upon us. The landscape has no boundaries; we are unable to control and confine it, forcing the inside out and the outside in.” ~ Charlotte Keates, Artist Statement

Ah, I love that artist statement. I also love the insightful words of the grandmother of today’s guest… ‘Nothing in nature clashes.’ Sigh. Grandmas are so smart. London based artist Charlotte Keates and I are talking all about architecture, nature, epic trips in small vans, and even an up close and personal mama bear sighting. Oh boy. You can listen to our chat right up there under Charlotte in her studio, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

First up, these are the architectural “cut-aways” that I brought up right out of the gate, because yes, I totally want to live in one of her paintings:

Ahhhh! So beautiful. And can you see why I asked her if these pieces are mixed media or paintings… doesn’t her chalky underlay look like marbled paper or something? Those dreamy backgrounds are also an excellent example of how wonderful “happy art accidents” can be!

These next few images cover a bunch of things we talked about – she has started working on dark backgrounds lately, not just the light wood she normally uses as her starting place; her love of Palm Springs and the Florida Keys; and of course, the epic North American road trip she went on last year. Here’s a peek:

Palm Springs influence? Um, yep! And, clearly, the Canadian in me had to show some of her Canada-inspired pieces, including the boat house in Banff and the cosmic ray station…

Oooh, I can almost smell the fresh mountain air! So, if you’re going to do a crazy amazing, super scenic trip across North America, it’s a very good idea to travel with your professional photographer boyfriend, Ian Froome, who will capture some very lovely moments along the way:

Gorgeous! Charlotte drawing in their van {before it died}, and Charlotte standing on the edge of a cliff that you could not PAY me to stand on. I wonder if this was moments before the mama bear showed up!? Thank you so much to Charlotte for taking time from her very busy schedule to chat with me; thanks to Saatchi Art for continuing to support me and this podcast; and big high-fives to you for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

Other links:

1. Charlotte on Instagram
2. Golden Acrylics
3. Arusha Gallery, Edinburgh
4. London Art Fair 2018
5. Ian Froome, Photographer / Boyfriend
6. US & Canada… VOTE FOR ME! Bombay Artisan Series

Deep blue denim and a lot of fire power! This is the gorgeous, “American West” inspired, work of Wyoming based artist June Glasson. These gouache & pencil pieces can be seen right now at Kenise Barnes Fine Art in New York. Here is their description of her work:

In her multidisciplinary practice of drawing, painting, and installation art, Glasson explores and questions iconic “Western” imagery. Depicting women juxtaposed with buffalo, beaver pelts or pistols, for example, sets up a visual investigation into dominant narratives about the region and narratives that often ignore its complicated and violent history. Glasson’s figurative work depicts semi-realistic representations of the women in her life, a personalized way of expressing concern for the treatment of the female figure in art and popular culture while challenging historic and contemporary notions of gender roles.

From the artist’s statement: “Through drawing, painting, and installation, my work often deploys iconic “western” imagery — buffalo, weaponry, truck nutz, etc. — to investigate dominant narratives about the region, narratives that often ignore its complicated and violent history.”

ps. This gorgeous show will run until October 28th, 2017.

Sigh… this is the latest dreamy work from London based artist Sue Williams A’Court. And yes, I included close-ups because these “portraits” are drawings. If you happen to be in London this weekend, you can see Lady Di, Rocky, Belle and Audrey starting THIS THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 14th at START Art Fair {Stand 12 BoLee Gallery} Saatchi Gallery in London, 14-17th September. Here is a description of this Rococo-ish work:

Sue Williams A’Court’s exquisitely intricate and beautiful Escape From Eden borrows details from Arcadian landscapes of historical works to create an extraordinary series of ‘portraits’. Exploring the way we subconsciously see human forms in the world around us, the muted, delicate paintings evoke Victorian photographs, yet the faces within emerge from delicately interwoven trees, paths and boulders. Playing with ideas of identity, and perception questioning reality, the portraits are landscapes of our own imagination, a state of mind rather than a specific location. Hovering ambiguously between our inner and outer worlds, their mesmerizing, miniature scale invites viewers to lose themselves in an intimate, contemplative reverie in which we no longer feel wholly separate from what we observe.

Lovely. For ticket info etc, visit the START site.