Ok, yes, I just wrote about New York based / Australian artist CJ Hendry, and her hand-drawn, large-scale blobs of paint. Well, clearly, those drawings were just the tip of the hyperreal, colorful iceberg! First of all, yes, those are DRAWINGS of crumpled up Pantone chips. DRAWINGS. Secondly, they are obviously not hanging in a white-walled gallery. CJ has a special installation that opens tomorrow in Brooklyn – an installation that takes “buying art to match your couch” to an entirely new, and refreshing, level:

MONOCHROME is born into a 22,000 sq. ft industrial space in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Hendry has designed a seven-room home around the art hanging on the walls. You will walk through seven distinct rooms, each room consisting of only one monochromatic color. Seven rooms, seven colors… this will be a visual feast for the senses.

“People generally buy art as the last item, they find art to match their home. I have become close with my collectors over the years and have noticed how differently they live their lives. Art is the first thing they add to a space and they design their entire home around their collection. I have taken this concept to an extreme level. Each room has been designed to emulate the art on the wall. The art is the focus, everything matches the art.”

MONOCHROME opens tomorrow – Thursday, April 5th through Sunday, April 8th, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at 276 Greenpoint Ave in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Go… and Instagram the hell out of it for those of us who can’t be there!

Concrete. Acrylic. Aluminum. Whoa. This is the grey & rough / colorful & perfect work of Miami based artist Troy Simmons. With a background in architecture, the inspiration for this work makes complete sense:

The inspiration behind his latest series evolved after a recent trip to Germany. He spent time exploring (Architect) Rainer Disse’s Feldberg Church, in Baden-Württemberg located in the southern part of the country. The postwar Brutalist Architecture is a fragmentation of Germany’s traditional heritage mixed with simple modern geometric construction.

And, of course, Troy with one of his pieces so you can see the scale of these very heavy, concrete beauties:

No, your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you… those are bouquets of roses, tulips, and peonies made with silverware! My forks and spoons are just thrown in a drawer, but British artist Ann Carrington makes magic with ordinary, everyday objects. I wrote about her “Pearly Queens” a few years ago, but this being Easter weekend, and the first weekend in April, these “blooms” were the only way to go. Happy Monday.

ps. Ann is one of the 45 contemporary artists featured in my new book, “A Big Important Art Book – Now with Women”. I am beyond thrilled to have Ann’s story and work included! The book will hit shelves worldwide on October 2nd, but you can preorder now… you know, if you wanna : )  

Oh my goodness, how gorgeous is that? The first time I wrote about Swedish artist/illustrator Stina Persson was way back in 2010. That’s insane. So, here we are eight years later speaking to each other for the very first time… and I asked her everything! I found out that she studied fashion in Italy, then illustration at Pratt in New York, and eventually found her way back to Sweden to become a successful illustrator/artist {and mother of three sons}. I also asked her if Swedish people actually shop at IKEA. They do. Listen right up there under that beautiful ink ‘n cut paper piece, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

Let’s start with a few inky, washy, fashiony pieces that pop to mind when I think of “Stina Persson”:

Ooh la la… rich vintage glam! Now, you know how I feel about collage, right? Well look at these cut paper pieces that blend Stina’s inky strokes with colorful bits of paper:

Stunning, and an excellent segue into some of Stina’s very high profile commercial illustration work:

And that is just the tip of a huge illustration iceberg!

Now, not only does Stina make spilled nail polish look delicious, look what she does with lettering {ps. beware of killer kittens}:

Gorgeous (and note the beautifully buckled paper). Well, let’s up the ante, shall we? These videos of Stina in action, found on her Instagram feed, are absolutely mesmerizing… and a little Beyonce quote never hurt either:

A post shared by Stina Persson (@stina_persson_illustration) on Dec 8, 2017 at 11:05am PST

A post shared by Stina Persson (@stina_persson_illustration) on Mar 9, 2018 at 7:00am PST

Seriously, I could watch those on repeat all day loooooooong. But I won’t, because now it’s time to show you this gem:

Dreamy and, oh, so beautifully bizarre. This is a promotional video Stina worked on for a single, titled “Left For Dead”, by  RABBII.

And finally, Stina herself:

Ah, I always love seeing the artist doing what they do. Thank you so much to Stina for taking the time to do this with me; thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting the episode; and big high fives to YOU for listening. There will be more Art For Your Ear next weekend.

Other links:

1. Stina on Instagram
2. Stina’s Online Shop
3. Stina’s Illustration Agents {UK, NYC, Japan, Sweden, Australia/NZ}
4. Pratt Institute, NY
5. Hey, fancy white-walled galleries… call her to put on a big, beautiful show! 

Does your junk mail look like this?! Nope, neither does mine! These gorgeous, textured, papery sculptures are the work of Brooklyn based artist Jaynie Crimmins. Here is how and why she does what she does:

“My medium is the proliferation of promotional mailings from government representatives, non-profit and political organizations in addition to consumerist advertising and bills.  I shred these mailings to generate elements that are uniform in size, assigning equal importance to all the shreds. I then subject them to a rigorous practice of separating colors, rolling or sewing the shreds and commingling specific mailings. 

The fragments, past the point of re-assemblage, still reveal bits of text, imagery, envelopes, and colors; traces of their cultural origins.  Once a means of direct communication, my manipulation of these materials obscure their messages to promote my own.”  

Brilliant. And, clearly, I have to finish the post with an image of Jaynie in action:

Craziness. Happy Friday.

It might have been the rainbows that pulled me in, but the strategically placed Hello Kitty sealed the deal! This is the bold, fun, pop-inspired work of British painter Teresa Duck. I love her combination of flat fields of color, beautifully painted figures, and of course, that touch of 80s nostalgia that I just can’t ignore. Clearly I’ll have to spend the rest of the day flipping through my old sticker collection … strawberry scratch ‘n sniff, anyone?

{another find via Create Magazine’s Instagram feed}

Tigers, alligators, unicorns… hell YES, to all of this goodness. These 3D paintings are the work of Florida based artist Boy Kong. He does all sorts of things, from murals to tattoos to paintings – some personal and some commercial – but a unicorn jumping right out of the wall? Yeah, that speaks to me. Here is a little bit about him via Glitter&____ Gallery, NY:

“Boy Kong is a self-taught painter, illustrator, muralist, and collage artist. Inspired by a mixture of Ukiyo-e, Surrealism, Graffiti art, and animal folklore, Kong’s visual style juxtaposes these elements with a mastery of color and rhythmic application. In short time his body of work has become immediately identifiable without succumbing to a signature aesthetic. Kong divides his time between Orlando and NYC.”

… psst … the unicorn is hanging at rag & bone in Miami.

It’s moments like these that I have to remind myself not to touch, and or lick, paintings. Both are very frowned upon, but in this situation, can you blame me!? These oil paintings are the work of London based artist Dragica Carlin, and I love them…. I also love her artist statement. Here’s just a little snippet:

“… Mixing the paint is an intuition. In my work, it is not possible to predict how colours would relate to one another, sometimes the most extreme hues balance with the movement of my brush, and at other times, they shout at each other.  My process is intense. It requires the equilibrium of my physical togetherness, independence on my mind and openness of my soul. … The speed of my brush and the hues that I use create the painting. Every brushstroke that I apply onto the canvas and every swirl in combination with another, or in relation to the space around, is suggestive to another relationship or possibility. So, in painting, everything co-exists in relation to another element. The main agenda is always light. The light captured in the painting is the soul of the painting, and the movement of my brush determines its personality. I am constantly astonished by how a single movement of the brush can change the energy of the entire painting, and how the touch of paint on the canvas can produce something so complex as swirl, in a single moment.”

But that’s not all! I have to show you the SCALE:

Gor. Ge. Ous.

ps. all of these scale images were found on Dragica’s Instagram feed, and her work can be purchased via Saatchi Art.

You know how I love funny art, right? Enter Miami based artist Javier Mayoral aka Pulp Brother. Apparently he’s a chef by day… but obviously a very prolific painter during all of the other hours. These paintings {acrylic on wood} have everything I love… humor, vintage-ness, and the stuff crazy dreams are made of… sleep tight, Toby.

{via Create Magazine’s Instagram feed}

That’s Helen. She is the inspiration behind a huge, most likely lifelong, painting series, and a beautiful film by American painter Robert Townsend {or Bobby, or Rob}. The film is titled, “My Indiana Muse”... perfect, as Helen basically screams MUSE. I loved every second of this hour and half long episode… Rob’s paintings {yes, paintings} are insane. He is a self-taught, funny, modest, artistic genius as far as I can tell. Also, he loves donuts, so clearly we’re going to be friends.

First up, his watercolors from a few years ago. WATER. COLORS. I mean, I don’t even know:

What the?! Ok, that’s insane. And on that note, the first painting in the “Helen” series, back when Robert had named her “Kay”:

This was the piece he had titled “Kay and Patty”, before he found the slide with Helen wearing a name tag!

And, here are Helen and Roy on one of their many road trips, in matching outfits no less:

Hooray for pink pants! Looking good, Roy. ps. these are actually Rob’s paintings, NOT the original photographs. Crazy, right?

Now, for some people, painting the images would be enough. Rob is not one of those people. The film begins with him heading out onto the road to track down some of Helen’s fabulous mid-century destinations:

Note the orange/mud layer he uses for underpainting his large-scale oil paintings … it certainly does lend a warmth to Helen and her crew. Speaking of warmth… HAWAII! This is the painting Rob was working on throughout “My Indiana Muse”:

Note Roy’s Hawaiian shirt above. That took Robert six days to paint. SIX. DAYS.

I really do think Helen and Rob are kindred spirits, even though they never met. They certainly both love road trips:

How cool is that! He went where Helen went … ♥   I wish they could’ve gone on a trip together. I have a feeling they would have stopped here to buy a postcard and a slice of “World Famous Cheesecake”:

I double-checked with Robert, and this is actually an oil painting, not a watercolor – thank goodness because that would’ve broken my brain.

And finally, a peek at the trailer {and one of the posters} for this lovely ode to a mystery woman … who is now more like family:

Beautiful. If you can see this film at one of the many film festivals it’s part of, please do… it’s just so lovely. Gigantic thanks to Rob for taking so much time to answer all of my questions; thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting the episode; and thank YOU for listening. There will be more Art For Your Ear next weekend.

Other links:

1. “My Indiana Muse”
2. Film Festival Schedule: Up next Beverly Hills, Phoenix, Palm Springs, Florida, New York…
3. Film Makers: Ric & Jen Serena
4. Original Score by Paul Bessenbacher & Matt Bowen
5. Rob’s show in April at Altamira Fine Art, Scottsdale AZ