While it may be safe to say that the natural world is a consistent source of inspiration for Jennifer Walton’s paintings, she makes a pretty good case for just how limitless the possibilities are when you choose to mine nature for your source material. Her “Google Earth” inspired landscapes might be my favourites, if I were forced to pick favourites.
It’s tempting to allow Eric Zener’s impressive hyper-realist technique to become the focus of my appreciation of his work, but in truth, there is something I appreciate far more; Zener’s uncanny ability to layer complex emotional states into frozen moments of seeming tranquility. The swimmers and sun-bathers in his paintings may find themselves in idyllic settings, but their minds are elsewhere, transfixed in states of introspection. The end result of this contrast, for me, is almost hypnotic.
You could argue that Karla Wozniak is a cultural archivist as much as she is an artist (or is that the same thing?) While I find myself completely drawn in by her paintings, I’m equally repelled by the accuracy of Wozniak’s depictions of urban and suburban landscapes. Or maybe I’m just repelled by how ‘at home’ I feel in the landscapes she has created. Â It might be time to get out of the city for a short vacation.
The people who populate Brett Amory’s paintings seem to have been stranded in a strange, ethereal landscape. Â Some individuals appear to be simply passing through, while others, it would seem, live in this dream-like world permanently, though nobody seems entirely enthused about being where they are. It’s a great reflection on how much of our own lives are spent in a similar state of waiting and wandering.
Fantastical depictions of historical events, anthropomorphized animals, an intense sense of fun, epic battles, and immersive worlds gone awry. Â What more could you ask of Jeremy Fish, he’s given us all of this and more.
There seems to be a lot of conflict in Tamara Muller’s works.  I suppose it would be more accurate to say there are a lot of conflicting elements in her work; beautifully rendered skin and faces on enlarged and misshapen heads, frail bodied girls that emanate a sense of power and intensity, soft and translucent colours that speak of innocence used to render scenes of  slightly demented sexuality.
The conflict continues outside the canvas, I find myself alternating between a state of wrought fascination and being made to feel as though I’ve become an unwilling voyeur. It’s an impressive trick that Muller pulls off painting after painting.
I couldn’t find much biographical information on Minchi’s site, but the incredible art makes up for it. Â The paintings are a cross between the hyper-colourful black-light posters of the 60’s and the stylized figures found in Manga comics (o.k. I don’t really know much about Manga, but the scenes Minchi depicts are the kinds of scenes I imagine would be in Manga if I got around to reading some. Also, I wasn’t alive in the 60’s, so I’m kind of winging it on that reference too.) Anyways, enjoy!
Do you remember the scene in “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” where Jim Carrey is frantically running around inside his mind trying to salvage his memories as a team scrambles to erase them from his bedside? That intense sense of witnessing your memories evaporate right in front of you has been captured by artist Miquel Wert.  His haunting paintings feature blurred figures in snapshot moments; fragments of the past caught in a suspended state of hazy, diminished memory, and I am a big fan.
Zachary Proctor’s portraits are everything I could want in a portrait painting: they are full of personality, beautifully rendered, and a whole lot of fun.
I recently discovered Women Painting Women, a great blog that features some amazing artists, artists like Francesca Marzorati.
Marzorati’s portfolio gives the sense of going through a friend or relative’s photo album; the images are both familiar yet foreign, and create a powerful sense of nostalgia for a life that isn’t your own.
