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Yeah. THEY ARE COLLAGES! American artist Celan Bouillet paints, and then painstakingly cuts, these little bits of nature. Rocks, plants, more rocks. I was already totally in love with her work on paper, but when I popped over to her Instagram feed and saw those WIP shots… Mind. Blown. {ps. the thought of cutting out all of those rocks makes my hands hurt!}
Amazing, beautiful, uncomfortable … all of it. These are just a handful of portraits from the “Hairy Children” mixed media painting series by LA based artist Erik Mark Sandberg. Why all of the hairy children you ask? Here’s a tiny part of an interview he did with Beautiful/Decay a few years ago:
The inspiration for this series: “The complex effects of contemporary pop culture on children… the increasingly uncomfortable expressions of today’s elementary school photos… news reports claiming traces of Rogaine, Viagra and other various pharmaceuticals found in tap water…”
Hm. Maybe I’ll get a coffee instead, please.
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.
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…
A few months ago, I put up an Instagram post asking who you might want to hear from in Season Two of Art For Your Ear. Well, I got a lot of great suggestions. I also got “HEATHER DAY!” about a zillion times. Ok, ok! I heard you, and I got her … San Francisco based painter, traveler, nature-lover Heather Day is on the podcast!
First things first, I suggest pausing the podcast, watching this video from the home page of Heather’s site, then coming back to hear the rest. This one minute and nineteen seconds gives such insight into the way Heather works. Now, do your best to only watch once or twice, because you have a podcast to listen to!
Isn’t that mesmerizing? And doesn’t it make you want to pour paint on something right now!? Yeah, me too.
Up next, the insane augmented reality project Heather just did with Facebook:
Ah-mazing … the work, not to mention her story about the letter she had written, but not sent, to Mark Zuckerberg! Oh Universe, you’re so crazy.
Now, when her paintings aren’t on a bare wall at Facebook HQ, they are on both canvas and paper. Here are a few of my faves from Heather’s beautiful portfolio:
Gorgeous! Speaking of which, brace yourself for these images of her travels. Sketchbooks filled with abstract inspiration, and even full size pieces that she paints outside … sometimes in “inconvenient spots along rivers”:
Oh, so inspiring {ps. Some of these photos are from her Instagram feed, and the two sunny photographs of Heather were shot by Kat Borchart}.
And finally, you have to see her studio:
I know, right? I’d pour paint {or draw with smelly markers} in there anytime! And that’s that… such an amazing hour filled with so many topics. Thanks so much to all of you who asked me to reach out to Heather, and thanks to Heather for saying YES; as always a big thank you to Saatchi Art for supporting the podcast, and of course, thanks to you for showing up and listening! There will be more Art For Your Ear next weekend.
Other links:
And the winner is…. Vikky Hammond! Thank you so much to everyone who entered, and don’t worry, more giveaways coming very soon!
……………..
What do you get when you cross a newly released album by a band in Nashville, with a cross-stitching artist in Toronto? This:
Ahhh, I love this video … a visual artist in action while musical artists play in the background. Yes, this is Old Dominion‘s new album, “Happy Endings”, and the cross-stitching dynamo who you just saw recreating the cover is Toronto based stitcher Caitlin Sailor {aka Cross-Stitching with Caitlin Workshops}. The original was designed/stitched by an Alabama based artist named Dawn Sylvester, and to celebrate the international release of the album, Sony Music Canada reached out to Caitlin and asked her to recreate the CD cover as a 12″x12″ {the size of a vinyl album} original piece to be given away to one lucky person… see where this is going? Yep, they asked me to give this gorgeous original to one of you! This framed beauty AND a “Happy Endings” CD is destined to be owned by one of you. I told you… music and art and love all rolled into one! Just leave a comment below and I’ll draw one name on Tuesday October 3rd, 2017 … happy ending, indeed!
Sometimes, when you open a box of surprise art supplies/candy, you are overwhelmed with memories of doodlin’ as a tween in the early 80’s. That may have happened when I opened the September ArtSnacks box. See for yourself:
Gah! I couldn’t control myself! Those colors screamed unicorns and rainbows to me … perhaps I’m alone there, but the heart wants what the heart wants. Also, bubble letters. I haven’t drawn bubble letters in YEARS, and I’m not embarrassed to admit that I loved every bubbly second of it {well, those lowercase bubbles were not up to par, but then I got my groove back!} There are only a few days left to get in on the October box, but you can still get it if you sign up by September 30th! Order one month at a time or sign up for 3 months, 6 months, or a full year… whatever works for you. Click here for all of the ins and outs. ps. enter coupon code ‘thejealouscurator’ and you’ll receive 10% off your first month of ArtSnacks. ps. hashtag your box openings / what you make with, #artsnacks
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}
“Fruitless”. Mic drop.
This is the clever, funny, and very green work of Copenhagen based PUTPUT {aka Stephan Friedli (CH) and Ulrik Martin Larsen (DK)}. I wrote about their sponge popsicles almost five years ago, and the moment I saw that greenhouse filled with “plants”, well, this post was written! Happy Wednesday.
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!
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