Working in the film industry has clearly influenced the brilliant lighting and colour choices Samuel Michlap makes in his paintings.  He has some great concept art on his blog too, where you can see how his painting is influencing him as a production designer and art director.

On a separate note, it has been an eye opening month for me, being away from PaintBlog.  I missed the daily routine of discovering and sharing a new painter every day, but I also discovered that I had many more hours available to work on my own paintings.  I have been very disappointed with my output this past year and a half, and have come to the realization that I have to narrow my priorities, which unfortunately means much less PaintBlog, and much more painting.  PaintBlog will remain, but my posting will be limited and somewhat sporadic from here on out, which hopefully will mean my work will be less so.  Thank you to everyone who has read and supported the blog these past years, and I look forward to sharing more work with you in the future, both from other artists, and my own.

Mike Shankman’s paintings are relics of an aftermath, the debris left behind after powerful and destructive forces have toppled what once stood.  His images are both desolate and visceral, and I like them very much. Enjoy!

The longer I look through Laurel Hausler’s portfolio, the more amazed I am at the fine line she walks between control and abandon, order and chaos, reality and fantasy.  The fact that she manages to maintain an equilibrium between these contrasting elements time after time is incredibly impressive.

I love these vibrant and detailed paintings by Erin Ann McCarty, who according to her website is in her last year of school. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with after graduation!

Judith Hoffman has set up an interesting project for herself to kick off the new year; she will be creating and posting a new painting 5 days a week all year long, each one based on an image found in that day’s newspaper. I’m looking forward to checking in on her project as the year unfolds.

Happy Holidays everyone!  I will not be posting tomorrow, as I will be far too busy celebrating Christmas to get near the internet, but I leave you in good hands.  In fact, I leave you in the astonishingly fantastic hands of Andrew Hem, whose work makes me jealous and awestruck beyond belief.

Have a great long weekend, and thank you for visiting!

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Combining strong, bold colours with fine, deliberate lines, Amze Emmons portrays ruined landscapes in a very captivating manner. His  storybook-like style visually conflicts with the broken and abandoned subject matter, but somehow these opposing forces come together to produce a stronger image than either could alone.

Over the weekend I had the great pleasure of meeting a multi-talented artist who not only works as an art director and background painter in the animation industry, but also finds time to maintain his own painting practice. How does Martin Smith manage all of this you ask?  I didn’t ask, but I sure do enjoy the results.

During my brief conversation with Jesse Lown I discovered that last weekend’s show was his first show ever. From what I could tell the reaction he received was excellent, which hopefully means many more shows will follow.  He also promised to offer prints for sale in the near future, and that is a very good thing.

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!