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Oil on aluminum. Sigh. I love the loose and luxurious work of Beirut born, London based artist Ilona Szalay. I’ve always found her paintings sort of mysterious and a little bit scandalous… but maybe that’s just the red paint talking. Ilona’s work will be showing all weekend, starting today {Dec 5th-8th} in Miami, so if you’re there too, stop by Pulse Miami and look for Arusha Gallery, Booth 204.
Acrylic paintings… pastel drawings… paintings… drawings… okay, I’m going to have to flip a coin {probably a toonie} to decide which I love more! This is the work of Canadian artist Erin Armstrong, and if you happen to be in Seattle this week, her latest show is opening at Foster White Gallery. The show, titled “The Space Between“, opens TOMORROW Thursday December 5th and runs until December 21st.
Wait. What? Sculptures? This is the reaction you have when one of your favorite painters lifts her surreal figures off of the canvas and onto, well, logs! Oh my word, this is the latest work of UK based artist Lisa Wright and I am completely smitten… late, but smitten. This show, titled “Infinite Forest”, was at Coates & Scarry in London and came down about a month ago. How did I miss this? I have no idea, but as far as a post gushing about this new development in her already fabulous repertoire, better late than never!
THEY’RE PAINTINGS. Yep, spray paint on paper. Oh my word. These drippy rainbows, smiley faces, birds, flowers are just some of the most recent pieces by Toronto based artist Ric Santon… I cannot express how much I love them. Spray? Paint! Happy Friday.
{His work is available via Dianna Witte Gallery – formerly Parts Gallery – in Toronto}
Sigh. Beauty in the wake of natural disaster. This is the work of Rochester, NY based painter Katherine Brown. I’m going to let her do the talking, because this blurb from Katherine’s site covers everything beautifully:
“I am a collector of objects and things and have always been a treasure hunter. I have always had little containers filled with small objects and am also the person who will dig through a deep bin at a garage sale to find a treasure or interesting object at the bottom. I love flea markets, antique shows, old photographs, and objects that have a story, or can tell a story. I have always written a history for objects in my head, whose hands have touched them, and the journey the object has taken to get to me. I am currently working on a series (Washed Ashore Collection) of objects found on the beach, inspired by my time living in a beach house on Duxbury Beach in Massachusetts during a very rough winter (Winter Storm Nemo and Hurricane Sandy blew through during my stay). The objects found on the beach that year ranged from vintage fishing lures, to watch faces, to skeleton keys, and finding these objects sparked so much wonder from me, so naturally they have become the inspiration for so much of my current work.”
See? Lovely.
Wow. Those flat fields of color, the gorgeous compositions, and oh my word, how does she paint hair like that? This is the work of Jamaican-American, New York based artist Jessica Spence. Her work is “inspired by her life, and topics relating to black female identity.” Here’s a few more photos of Jessica in the studio so you can see the scale of the pieces, and the tiny brushes she works with to paint those braids:
Wow. Again. {I found her work via Create Magazine’s Instagram}
Oh, those outlined people and their jungle animals. Sigh. This is just some of the latest work by American painter Shawna Gilmore, and it’s safe to say, I love it all. Now, who wants to have their Monday morning coffee with a tiger? Me too.
Ahhh, one of my very first art crushes… Philadelphia based artist, illustrator and teacher Martha Rich! Today’s we’re diving into, “Ask Martha – it’s like Dear Abby but not at all like Dear Abby.” Basically I invented this segment because I looooove asking Martha questions. Her answers are usually hilarious, she’s super smart, AND she has a really inspiring attitude when it comes to life. You’ll see what I mean when I ask her the questions that you guys sent in. Yep, I asked my Instagram crowd to send in some questions, and you did! I picked 5 or 6 of them – some serious, some silly and then I followed the whole thing up with a bunch of really dumb trivia questions, because listening to Martha answer trivia is hilarious. You’re welcome. You can listen right up there under “log head” (aka the photo I took of Martha while our show was being installed in Joshua Tree a few weeks ago), or subscribe on iTunes. ps. My intro is all about creating your own visual vocabulary!
First up, a couple of quick snap shots from the opening of “Crush It”, a group show at Hey There Projects in Joshua Tree featuring Martha, Bruce Lee (far right), and me! ps. The show is up until December 13, 2019:
“Double doink”. Yeah, I’m not sure what’s happening here, but it made me laugh so I threw it in! That’s me and Martha with Aaron Smith (left) and Mark Todd (right), the founders of Hey There, both of whom are fabulous artists and teachers at ArtCenter in Pasadena. Hm, maybe the “double doink” is for all the name dropping I just did! Ok, moving on…
Here’s just a little taste of the work Martha’s being doing lately, and yes, I love it all:
Donna Did It. Hahahaha! Oooh, and all of that pink FURY up there is a perfect lead into this:
YES! Martha’s new book, “The Furious Notebook”, perfect for “releasing your rage” and “chilling the heck out”. I held this furious little beauty in my hands when we were together last week, and not only is it filled with Martha Rich fantastic-ness, it’s also very helpful in the current political climate. Blarg. Anyway, let’s not dwell on that. Here’s a peek at the mural Martha is finishing up on Monday at the airport in Philadelphia:
Um, hello “selfie-opportunity” while waiting for your flight! I like the blue guy and his yellow beard. I hope he finds his missing dipping sauce. ??? (This is why I love her).
Now, I’m sure you were interested in this part of our conversation. BlueQ and Martha have been working together for a few years now, turning her artwork into bags, coin purses, socks, oven mitts, and PASSIVE INCOME:
So. Good. ps. I buy that “Random Crap” bag for people all the time. Hilarious, because it’s true.
Next, this is the fabulous artist Martha named as one of her faves, and the woman she’d love to have paint her portrait. California based artist Georganne Deen:
Oh my word, love love love! Okay, well now I need to see what “Martha Rich by Georganne Deen” would look like.
And finally, because she brought up the pineapple glasses, I have a perfect excuse to pop this beauty into the post as the final image:
Luv ya, mean it. Seriously, I’m so glad my art crush from eleven years ago turned into a really wonderful friendship with an incredible woman. Thanks so much to Martha for answering all of my questions – even the dumb trivia about cow graffiti in Texas; Thanks to THRIVE for being such a fantastic partner; and of course, thank YOU for listening. There will not actually be a new art for your ear next weekend. Saturday November 30th marks the one year anniversary of losing my dad, and I’ve decided to give myself the weekend to just be still. I’ll be back the following weekend though with Esther Pearl Watson, and she’s bringing a whole bunch of weird ‘n wonderful stories from art history. See you then ~ Danielle
Links from my intro:
Ahhh, when the weather starts to get cold in my hemisphere, I inevitably end up writing about Australian artist Maz Dixon … here we are again! I’ve loved her work for years, and for good reason. Hello giant pineapples, red swimsuits and pina colada’s on a coral reef. If you love pineapples as much as that last lady above, or if you need a little summer sun in your world, you can find Maz’s available originals are right here. Happy Friday!
Ooooh, I love these so much. This is the most recent fine artwork of LA based artist / illustrator Jason Holley. These pieces were all part of a show at Hey There Projects in Joshua Tree, California earlier this fall. I was lucky enough to see them in person, and whoa, they are amazing! And yes, I was pressed up against the wall looking at them from the side trying to figure out how he built these delicate beauties. Paper. It’s paper. I know… I dunno.
ps. Hey There has a few of my recent pieces available, too.
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