Archive for March, 2008

Jonathan Weiner

Monday, March 31st, 2008

jonathanweiner.jpgJonathan Weiner does an amazing job of creating melancholy figures living in landscapes that include just enough of the surreal to keep you wondering just what it is you’re really witnessing.  Great stuff! 

Alice Tippit

Saturday, March 29th, 2008

alicetippit.jpgI have always found the use of text in painting to be a tricky thing.  My own experiments have most often resulted in abject failure, but every once in a while I come across an artist who succeeds at it, and it makes me want to try again.  Alice Tippit manages to walk that fine line, the one that differentiates between humour and gag, between re-interpretation and gimmick, between dialogue and preaching.  It’s not an easy line to walk.

Scott Waters

Friday, March 28th, 2008

scottwaters.jpgThis is a post about Scott Waters.  Sometimes he paints images of little birds with so much fantastic detail you can almost hear them sing.  Sometimes he paints images of military society with so much fantastic detail you can almost hear the grunts of the angry young men trying to find ways to burn off their aggression during down times.  Enjoy!

Dan Kennedy

Thursday, March 27th, 2008

dankennedy.jpgLet’s try a little “free association” here.  I’ll look at a collection of paintings, and type whatever words pop into my head:  

Pinocchio,  Apocalypse, Danger, Circus, Disney, Foreboding, Fairy Tales, Huckleberry Finn, Excitement

I’m not sure what that says about me, but it was fun!  Of course, you can forget about the free association exercise and just let Dan Kennedy’s work speak for itself if you like.

Thanks to David for the link. 

Liz Tran

Wednesday, March 26th, 2008

liztran.jpgLiz Tran’s paintings make fantastic use of colour, have an incredible amount of energy to them, and appeal to me in a great number of ways.  I only wish the images of them on her site were larger. 

Adela Leibowitz

Tuesday, March 25th, 2008

adelaleibowitz.jpgIt’s funny how, in the right context, cute little girls can suddenly seem so very frightening.  For example, Adela Leibowitz is busy creating an impressive world of little girls who are not to be trifled with.  It’s not easy being cute and menacing at the same time.

Thank you Peter for the link. 

Andy Kehoe and Ben Kehoe

Monday, March 24th, 2008

andykehoe.jpgbenkehoe.jpgToday is a bonus day.  In the interest of not coming between family, I’ve decided to post about highly talented artists/illustrators/brothers Andy Kehoe and Ben Kehoe together.

Andy’s work (top image) is highly detailed and populated with fantastical creatures  that seem to spend much of their time terrorizing each other.  

Ben’s work (bottom image) is also highly detailed and is populated with medieval creatures and knights that seem to spend much of their time terrorizing each other.  

Any chance we can get a cross-over happening?

Kathleen Lolley

Sunday, March 23rd, 2008

kathleenlolley.jpgIt’s a holiday today, so I’m going to take the day off and let an artist speak for herself (which in this case means quoting Kathleen Lolley, a great artist who not only paints, but also draws, sculpts and animates):

“Storytelling still plays a prominent role in her work. Critters try to break the spell of day to day heartbreak. Rabbits flee from hunters, girls are lost in the woods. Giant elk stumble over towns clasping bottles, is it a remedy they hold or just a beer?”

Sounds good to me! 

Jeff Soto

Saturday, March 22nd, 2008

jeffsoto.jpgThere might be a war coming.  You know, one of those “Mankind vs. Nature vs. Giant Fantastical Robots” kind of wars.  If Jeff Soto’s work is any indication, it’s going to be a beautiful thing to behold. 

Zachary Thornton

Friday, March 21st, 2008

zacharythornton.jpgThere is a really strong cinematic quality to Zachary Thornton’s paintings.  There is also a darkness and a mysteriousness to them, which I guess means they have a David Lynch-ian cinematic quality (the paintings aren’t nearly as cryptic though.)