This is either a series of stunning screenprints, or a party that I really want an invitation to… hm, I think it might be both! This is the gorgeous work of American artist Jeffrey Dell. Oh, I would love to see these bold beauties in person {most of them are at least 34″ x 26″}. Those shadows, those layers, those colors! Yep. I’m going to need an invite ASAP.

ps. Speaking of parties, a little birdie told me that today is Jeffrey’s birthday… I hope he gets the biggest layer cake he’s EVER seen!

Oh. Those pools! The diving boards! That shower! This is the gorgeous mixed media series, titled “Pool & Water”, by American artist Kristen Martincic. I loved all of these pieces the second I saw them, and my post would have been complete with this amazing, blue, perfectly composed work… but then I found these:

Gasp! Bathing suits. Bathing suits cut and crafted out of Japanese paper, with perfect monotype lines / patterns to finish them off… and there’s more! This is already the longest post I’ve EVER put together, so I’ll stop with these amazing suits, but please go to her site to see her bathing caps, and wardrobe series. Seriously, I could have shown her entire portfolio ♥ Sigh.

{Thank you so so much to Jenni Freidman for sending me a link to Kristen’s work!}

AND THE WINNER(S) ARE:

Yep, I said winners. I’ve decided to give away TWO $100 gift cards to be used on any item on GREAT.LY!!! One of them is from the generous folks at GREAT.LY, and one of them is from me… so many of you lovely people entered, I couldn’t have just one winner! Oh, and all of you should buy something today because GREAT.LY will be offering FREE SHIPPING, all over the world, from today until Aug 17th. True story.

So, the two winners… DANIELLE CAMPBELL and HEATHER BOWLING! Congratulations, ladies! I’ll be in touch with your special checkout code ♥

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A week ago I did post about Lisa Golightly as part of #makegood – a campaign that shone a bright light on several GREAT.LY makers. Well, we decided to turn it into a bit of a competition between tastemakers by putting everyone into teams, and seeing which group could make the most sales for our makers… my team won! Guess what the prize is?

Ok, fine. I’m going to give the card to one of you {to buy whatever you love on GREAT.LY} but let’s just say that I got to keep the card… I have been eyeing all three of these gorgeous things for ages! I rarely buy myself pretty things, so maybe I should just get all of them, yes? YES! {Leather tote by the always amazing/inspiring FashionABLE; Oh. That bar ring, by Handmade Lemonade. Love!; Chunky sparkly earrings, by Bird + Beau, that should clearly be mine}

Of course, it would be really hard not to spend the $100 on art…

I have written about all of this work before, yet I don’t own any of it. Well, obviously, that should be fixed! {Floral/graphic screenprints by Print Club Boston; Dreamy beachy print by Lisa Golightly}

And since I am continually looking for amazing things to put into our hundred year old new-to-us farmhouse, I had to add these beauties to my pretend shopping list too:

Hm. Bit of a woodsy theme going on there. Works for me! {A firewood bag made from recycled fire hoses by Oxgut. Amazing; A geo-wood planter by C.C. Boyce; A set of very foxy bookends by Dmitriy Olshevskiy; and just to keep the woodland creature theme going, ceramic animal dessert plates by Jill Burns.}

Ok, now for some real shopping! Leave a comment below, and I’ll draw one name on Monday August 11th at 9am PST… good luck and happy weekend!

I could not be happier to end this very busy week with a HUGE stack of donuts, a pink balloon, and two ze-bras … Get it? Ze-BRA… ok, that wasn’t actually my joke, that’s the title of that gorgeous screenprint by Korean born, New York based artist/illustrator Boyoun Kim. All of her work is just so fun, colorful, and beautifully executed. Sigh. So good. Ok, I’m off to eat a giant pile of sprinkle-covered donuts. Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Whenever I don’t have a post lined up for the next morning, I pop over to Saatchi Art and search for “portraits”… I am never ever disappointed! So when Saatchi reached out and asked if I’d be interested in curating a selection of work, I said Um, YES! They asked me to pick 10 ~ 20 pieces in any theme that interested me. Yeah, you guessed it, I went with all portraits all the time! Here’s my curatorial statement:

Oh, portraits. There are two main reasons why I love them so much. One: I am always in awe of how such a familiar, every day subject (a person!) can be handled so differently depending on the artist. Washy and mysterious. Unbelievably realistic. Partially complete, allowing your mind to fill in the rest. And two: Um… it’s hard! To capture the likeness of a person in a few brushstrokes or pencil lines? Yes sir, that’s tricky, and I admire anyone that can do it… like these fourteen artists, for example:

This is when you pop over to Saatchi to see the entire collection! I hope you love it as much as I loved putting it together… and thanks so much to Saatchi for inviting me over. I’m so honored that you’d ask.

{Art above by: 1) Hyunju Kim  2) Christopher Stacey  3) Pawel Mendrek  4) Karoline Kroiß  5) Miguel Laino  6) An Siying}

I ♥ BREAD!!! Can you tell that I am a bread lover with a gluten allergy? Nope, can’t eat any of it. Croissants, buns, bagels… I love them all, but I might love these illustrations by Izumi Morito & Hikosaka Yuki even more than actual dough. They run a woodblock workshop specializing in food illustration {they also do some pretty fantastic business cards and posters!}

So, to recap, I love bread, and bread art. You know what else I love?  This little lady who, I’m pretty sure, “bakes” all of these yummy things:

Yep. A woodblock print baker. Love.

Sigh. I could look at these amazing pieces, by New York based artist Juan Fontanive, all day loooooooong. So beautiful, and oh, so brilliant! Birds and butterflies in flight {on your wall!} thanks to:

4-COLOR SCREEN PRINT ON BRISTOL PAPER, STAINLESS STEEL, MOTOR AND ELECTRONICS.

Gorgeous.

{via Colossal}

Oh boy. I absolutely love these photopolymer prints by Hailey Walsh, who happens to be a soon-to-graduate art student at Colorado College. First, we all know how much I love gems and geodes, yes? Yes. And then there’s the combination of line, photographic imagery, and those little hits of color… love, love, love! I majored in printmaking when I did my BFA and I am in awe of Hailey’s work. I’m very excited to keep an eye on her career as it unfolds. Good luck with your last few weeks of school, Hailey!

Ah, my favorite… houses! I love these colorful, fun, retro-looking prints by LA based artist/illustrator Chris Turnham. I also really love that my friend Melinda {curator at Good Eye Gallery} sent these three prints to me as a little gifty that arrived late last week. I would absolutely live in any of these beauties… although that A-frame is sort of screaming my name. Ok, off to the frame shop to give these homes a home!

ps. A quick pop over to his site and I found even more buildings to be smitten with:

Yep. More love.

Yes! This might just be the ultimate Valentine’s Day gift… although I’m gonna need a drink first. Ready for this? You can send a nudie shot of yourself to LA based artist Jill Kleinhans, and she will turn you and your birthday suit into a custom block print… for $100! My friend, Melinda from Good Eye Gallery, may or may not be one of the subjects shown here {hint: she’s not the one on the bear skin rug}, and she may or may not have her custom nudie portrait hanging in the front entrance of her house… one of the many reasons she is my friend {so hilariously awesome!} Ok, are you gonna do it?! I’ll pour the first drink.