Things I Learned in Kindergarten

As a child, like most I would think, I was encouraged to play with paint. And i have never stopped. Wasn’t it Pablo Picasso that said “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” And I would reply to him, you just never grow up! There can be a negative connotation to becoming an adult and forgetting childish things, but when it comes to creativity, we want to be as wide-eyed and open minded as a child, discovering life a new each day. So I change up my routine getting up alittle earlier perhaps, I try new foods, take new routes to work, look up when I’m walking, less time on my iPhone…. and hopefully it comes out when I hit the canvas. I’m drawn to abstract expressionism because it’s so unique and personal. For me it’s tapping into a child-like wonder with the medium and acting with a loose feel for what appeals aesthetically to my senses, for what expresses my self. Ironically, no 2 paintings will ever look alike, even when I paint multiple works at the same time. Above, a diptyque that I finished back in 2009, I’ve entitled “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, shows 2 canvases that compliment each other. Hope you like it! I’ll be showing more as I continue playing with paint.;)

When Nature Takes Over Your Selfie

Commercial Photographer Cal Redback from Paris is showing a new photo series that is shocking and disturbing and informative, all at once. Called “Tree Beards”, he digitally mixed botanical and other plant matters with portraits of everyday people, to question how much we have alienated ourselves from Mother Nature and to remind us of our connection to the natural world in this day and age. See more on his 500px profile: https://500px.com/calredback .

Developing Photos on Skin

French artist Thomas Mailaender ‘sunburns’ old photographs onto human bodies. In his new book “Illustrated People”, he applied 23 original negatives from Modern Conflict’s archive onto the skin of models, before projecting a powerful UV lamp over them. The result reveals a fleeting picture on the skin’s surface (burned in), which he then photographs before it fades in the sunlight.

Paintings of Paper Cranes

While ill, artist Ariel Deandrea started folding paper cranes in a spiritual exercise, making thoughtful selections of paper and then creating 1000 origami cranes. And in creating these, the importance that each played to make the 1000 became evident. She moved to painting with oils the single crane in a tranquil setting – bodies of water from around the world. These realistic paintings are inspiring for her and for her audience. She says, “My goal in the execution of this work is to create imagery just realistic enough to convince my audience that the world is real, while maintaining a painterly and interpretive approach that allows for emotionality in the work. Up close I like the strokes to inspire feeling and decisiveness.” You can see this new body of work entitled “Chasing the Current” this weekend at ThinkSpace Gallery in Culver City, or on her website here: http://arieldeandrea.com/

This Is The Makeup Transit Authority

Brooklyn artist Lydia Cambron has decided to recreate those vandalized billboards in the subway in NYC. She applies makeup to match the ad and photographs herself for a new series called Makeup Transit Authority. Who’s to say where your next inspiration may come from? You can see more on her portfolio at: http://lydiacambron.com/

For Sale – Drawing By Tree

British artist Tim Knowles takes plein-air performance art literally with his poetic and uncomplicated Tree Drawings created by the branch tips of living trees. Using simple drawing tools attached as freehand extensions to the tips of tree branches and in collaboration with the wind and local weather conditions, calligraphic gestures and automatic drawing readings are recorded on paper. Knowles claims that there is an unmistakable signature that each drawing reveals as an indication of the unique characteristics and even genus/species of a specific tree. See more including the gallery installation on his website here.

Coffee Gives Her Paintings a Buzz

Originally a cake designer, Maria A. Aristidou’s paintings have been getting noticed not just for their subject matter but for what she uses to paint with. Instead of watercolors, she uses different roasts of coffee, sometimes from different roasters as well. She says, “Each brew has its own (qualities), and I choose accordingly to what shade, mark, splatter I need to achieve. That may be an Americano or an espresso. But my favorite is Greek coffee, in terms of taste, quality, and the effect it gives out.” Watch her work in hyperlapse here.

Sculpture on the Tip of a Pencil

Artist Salavat Fidai has crafted a series of miniature sculptures from the ends of graphite pencils. An Oscar trophy, Batman (shown here), Darth Vader, and a graffiti can, among other pop culture references, all painstakingly hand carved from the lead of a pencil to make an impressive collection. He also paints pumpkin seeds, just check out his Behance site here.

Post Punk Icons Reimagined as Marvel Superheros

Brazilian Illustrator Butcher Billy brings us some of our favorite 80’s Goth and New Wave singers drawn as classic Marvel superheros. He has Siouxsie Sioux as Scarlet Witch, Mark Mothersbaugh from Devo as Iron Man, John Lydon from his PiL days as Wolverine, and Ian Curtis from Joy Division as Spider-Man, but this is hilarious – Morrissey as the Incredible Hulk! See them all and buy prints on his website here.

A Mother’s Love For A Doll

Photographer Jamie Diamond became a Reborner after discovering the community on Ebay. She wanted a fuller understanding of what drove these women to spend sometimes more than $10,000 on a life-like but utterly lifeless infant. Hence, her photo series “Mother Love”, which involved traveling across the US photographing the subculture that has grown up around Reborn dolls. Her work explores the murky waters of reality mixed with artifice, where Reborners create relationships with inanimate objects — an art form born of fantasy. See more on her website.