Portraits, prickles, and post-its! Oh, the cactus people of Los Angeles based artist Ashley Mistriel. I love her gouache & xerox pieces oh so very much. And yes, a few of these pieces are quite tiny and bright because from time to time she uses post-it notes as her canvas! Love. So much love.

{I’ve seen her work in person, and it’s fantastic. Find her available work, online, via Good Eye Gallery}

Ok. I think I may need an intervention. I am obviously obsessed with bizarre portraits… painted or ceramic {that dog. omg, that dog.} This is the work of Montreal based artist Isabella Di Sclafani. Her portfolio is FULL of weird little faces that I could look at all day. Help.

{Isabella’s work is available in her shop}

Usually when you hear the name Jaime Derringer it’s associated with the very stylish, very popular blog, Design Milk. Since 2006, Jaime has spent her days writing about / discovering incredibly talented designers … furniture, jewelry, architecture, and of course artists. But when the sun goes down, or whenever she has a bit of free time {which isn’t often} she is also an artist herself. Drawing, painting, and a fine combination of both. I didn’t know much about how she started, her process, when the heck she fits this into her very busy life… so I asked her. Listen right up there, or subscribe on iTunes. As you’re listening, take a look at the things we talked about in the order that we talked about them.

Now, before we talk about art, we have to watch this little tidbit that came up fairly early in our conversation: Ross Geller from “Friends” on keyboard… Jaime, is this what it looks like when you rock out on your new synthesizer? Ha! So, so awesome. Alright, time for art. Here are some of Jaime’s abstract paintings, and her gorgeous “string” drawings:

I would hang a little cluster of these together on a wall. I love the combination of precision and her “go with the flow” / “happy accident” approach. It’s kinda crazy that these pieces were made by the same person! And, a little peek into her drawing sketchbook that she works in at night… once her day at Design Milk is over, and her little girl has gone to bed:

She has been keeping a great record of her sketchbook pages through the years… you can see them all right here. And finally, her love of jewelry design has made its way from her body {every time I see her she’s wearing some kind of stunning piece}, to her newest venture, ADORN\milk:

Gah! Gorgeous… art that you wear! Boy oh boy, she has amazing taste and is such a wonderful supporter of independent artists. These are a few of my favorite pieces – you can find them here: bracelet by pico design \ earrings by maple + mauve \ ring by maison 203 \ necklace by vulantri – and of course the whole collection can be found here.

And with that I will say thanks so much to Jaime, to Saatchi Art for supporting the episode, and to you for listening… there will be more ART FOR YOUR EAR next weekend!

Oh. Even her “mistakes” are stunning… those Polaroids?! Love! Ok, so I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve written about LA based photographer Stephanie Vovas, but her work literally screams “California Girls”, so there was no way I could do a show in LA without including her golden, 1970s, wish-I-was-a-vixen photographs. So gorgeous… and you should see them blown up to nearly five feet wide. Stunning. If you missed last night’s packed-house opening, there’s another one on Saturday night thanks to Malibu Magazine… RSVP to rsvp@malibumag.com  {6-9pm, 8745 W Washington Blvd, Culver City}

{Some of Stephanie’s work is available on Saatchi Art}

ps. The sixth and final artist in the show is botanical painter Jill Sykes. I just wrote about her a few weeks ago. Take a peek at her gorgeous work right here.

This is the vintage, pin-up-esque mixed media {paint, collage, printmaking} work of LA based artist Laurie Raskin. Beachy bombshells, bright colors, and clearly, the perfect amount of bras. Obviously, I had to include Laurie’s work in “California Girls”… which by the way opens tonight… [biting nails]… “don’t worry. everything’s under control”. I’m nervous, but so excited to finally meet all six of the talented women featured in this show. Hope to see you there!

{Her work is available on Saatchi Art}

Ahhh… the work of LA based artist Erin Tengquist. All of these photographs are from her series titled “Underwater”. I’m boarding a plane to LA as we speak for the opening of “California Girls” tomorrow night. I cannot wait to see these gorgeous, ‘make you wish it was still summertime’, large-scale photos up-close and in person … *pool/bikini not included.

 {Erin’s work is available on Saatchi Art}

How do I get an invite to that after party? I need to be there. This is the weird ‘n hilarious work of LA based painter Kelly Puissegur. I have written about Kelly before {here and here}, but I have never seen her crazy narratives in person… but that is about to change! Kelly is one of six LA based female artists in my latest show, titled “California Girls”. It opens this Thursday night in Culver City… I’m kinda hoping there’s an after party, and I’m kinda hoping it looks like this! ps. You should totally come.

{Her work is available on Saatchi Art}

Oh. My. Letterpress on found ephemera by LA based artist/designer Ophelia Chong… gorgeous! Ophelia is the first of six female artists that I’m featuring this week. They are all part of “California Girls”, an art show I curated that opens this week! I have loved Ophelia’s work for years and I’m so excited to see a few of these beauties in person. For more info on the show, click here, and to RSVP for the opening on Thursday night click here.

{Some of her work is available on Saatchi Art}

Today I’m talking to Tiffanie Turner… now, normally I’d be calling her in San Francisco, but today she’s in a beautiful barn in New Hampshire. Yep, she’s in the middle of a wonderful, creative, soul-restoring residency where she’s knee-deep in paper flowers. When we met in 2012, Tiffanie was an at-home-mom who had put her architecture career on hold (indefinitely) and was, well, in flux. Clearly, she has found her way! Book deals, workshops, shows, residencies… and from time to time, she takes her clothes off in front of a crowd. Seriously. Listen right up there, or subscribe on iTunes. As you’re listening, take a look at the things we talked about in the order that we talked about them. First up, a few of her stunning, handmade, often large-scale, paper flowers:

Sigh. Gorgeous. And now, to the barn! This is where she is right now… working away in complete, wonderful, creative solitude:

That’s the mess she was able to leave all over the place… a luxury when you’re used to a studio that also doubles as your family dining table! Oh, and that is the shot of her glue covered fingers that I was concerned about. Next up, a couple of shots from her workshops:

Lovely. Speaking of lovely, here’s Tiffanie in all her burlesque/paper flower beauty:

… gorgeous! Man oh man, I’d be terrified! Tiffanie learned the ropes from Bombshell Betty in San Francisco. Also in San Francisco, a beautiful shop & gallery called Rare Device. This was the location for the “Dead of Winter” show that Tiffanie curated last year. Here she is in action, followed by my collage (that I was thrilled to have included), and her stunning/huge decaying paper flower:

Love. So from a residency in a barn, to a month-long residency at the de Young. Look at this insane space that she’ll call her own next May:

Whoa. Crazy. And I could have stopped there, but I had to include this photo from her gorgeous Instagram feed:

Sexy lady. Maker of beautiful handmade flowers. Exhausted mother. Yep, Tiffanie in a nutshell!  Thank you so much for talking to me, Tiffanie! Thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting the episode, and thank you for listening… there will be more ART FOR YOUR EAR next weekend!

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Other links mentioned:

Our friend Katharine Daugherty’s residency in Hudson, NY: Drop Forge & Tool 

Arts funding groups: Fractured Atlas, NY  & Intersection for the Arts, SF

Oh my goodness! Thanks to all of you that entered to win this gorgeous book {if you didn’t win, I still think you should pick one up… Christmas is just around the corner, after all!}. I am very happy to announce that the winner is: KRISTIN LIU! 

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Gasp! Stunning! Lewis Carroll’s classic, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, made new again by New York based mixed media artist Andrea D’Aquino. I cannot get over how beautiful this book is, and I’m so excited to read it to my son. I love Andrea’s work {I featured her in my book, Collage}. Not only is Andrea insanely talented, she also happens to be one of the nicest people around! She sent me two copies of this beautiful new book {that just hit shelves two days ago} … one for my family, and one for YOU! Just leave a comment below and I’ll draw one name on Monday September 21, 2015 … anyone can enter : )

{This gorgeous book is published by Quarto, and is available to buy in all sorts of bookstores… find them all right here!}