Welcome to the first post of 2010!  To be honest, I was having a hard time trying to single one artist out for this first post of the year, so when I received a message about the Cuckoo Collection, a hybrid gallery/art project, I realized my problem had been solved. The Cuckoo Collection is a (mostly) online project featuring works by great artists like Mathew Borrett (see above image), Scott Griffin, Amy Bowles, and Phil Taylor (see images below the fold), so there’s a little something for everyone there.

Thanks Bettina for the link!

Also, thanks to everyone who’s made their picks already, and if you haven’t chosen your favourite featured artist(s) from the archives yet, be sure to do so in the comments here to be entered in PaintBlog’s first ever contest!

Combining his architectural background with a healthy defiance of all known laws of physics Mitchell F. Chan creates images of fantastic buildings in his paintings.  Just don’t expect them to pass building code inspection.

It’s that time of year again! If you are in Toronto, near Toronto, or can get to Toronto this weekend, it’s time for another excursion down to Nathan Phillips Square for the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition. This is one of my favourite art events of the year, and a great chance to see works from hundreds of amazing artists, like Stephen Noble, whose painting is pictured above. Hope to see you there!

Jeff Cohen‘s method adds an interesting element to what are already impressive paintings; his canvas is made up of small square tiles, each of which is painted separately, and when they are brought together to form the final image the slight shifts in colour and alignment create an almost collage-like effect. Great work!

Brian Bishop keeps his subject matter tightly cropped, which is something I’ve always appreciated.  That slightly skewed perspective is all it takes most times to see things fresh again, and sometimes that is the best thing art can do.

Julie St-Amand’s cityscapes are rendered in a rough, scratched, and weathered manner, much like the actual buildings she is depicting.  I’ve always felt that buildings and environments that have been scarred by time are far more interesting than the new, and St-Amand’s work really captures that sense of time, history, decay and renewal in her paintings.  

At the moment her site is only available in french, but anglophiles needn’t be afraid, the site is easily navigable.

Jeff Schaller has a great pulp-novel-cover sensibility that is highly entertaining.  Check it out here.

Ron Eady covers a great deal of subject matter in his paintings, but his exploration of texture is consistently impressive.