Hey, San Francisco … any plans for tonight? No? Great! Go to this! This show opens tonight at Mirus Gallery {6pm – 10pm} and features 14 women* making art about women. It is quite appropriately titled, “The Looking Glass: Refraction through the Female Gaze”. These are a few of my favorite images, but there are plenty more where this came from. Ok, go have fun tonight!

{*Artists in the show: Kimberly Brooks, Sandra Chevrier, Naja Conrad-Hansen, Mercedes Helnwein, Alexandra Levasseur, Jen Mann, Sari Maxfield, Alyssa Monks, Jennifer Nehrbass, Casey O’Connell, Claire Pestaille, Rachel Walker, Janelle Wisehart and Christine Wu // Work shown above 1) Claire Pestaille  2) Mercedes Helnwein  3) Alexandra Levasseur}

“Paradise” - a lovely, magical, pastel-hued series by British artist/illustrator Katherine Tromans. These were “the outcome of [her] final degree project… that explored the theme of paradise, interpreting different people’s descriptions of their own individual paradise, and then transforming them into otherworldly landscapes.” Sigh. Otherworldly, indeed! Ok. so I realize that final detail is a bit pixelized, but I really wanted to make sure you saw that tiny blue village, perfectly perched on that pink grass, only inches away from glass-like cliffs. Oh, and those pastel trees on the far right… Love! {ps. That final drawing looks like pelvic bones, right? I wonder what that particular friend’s description of paradise was? Curious.}

{via Fine Line Magazine}

Ok. I just saw these amazing little things over on sfgirlbybay… about 10 minutes ago. I know, I know, but I could not control myself – I absolutely had to show them too! Tiny graphite drawings of places, that Krista Charles finds on Google Street View, to match {no pun intended} the address on the matchbook. She even includes itty-bitty notes under the drawing, to document what is in that location now… see that final one? “Now Empty Lot”. I can’t imagine how obsessed she must be with collecting matches… and sharpening her pencil, for that matter! Love.

I absolutely love this series by American artist Evie Woltil Richner. Feathery, delicate drawings lovingly applied to old, family photos – memorializing those who are no longer with us. I would try to explain further, but Evie’s words are so much more powerful:

“…Each of these pieces is a burial, but also a memorial. Working from photographs of deceased relatives, I am physically burying them in a shroud of drawn feathers. Through burial, we acknowledge loss. The person is removed from our lives.
My Grammy, as I always called her, moved in with us when I was in elementary school. She had Alzheimer’s disease and we took care of her. Over time, I could see her memory disappearing. She would forget who people were and repeat the same stories and phrases over and over. She lives now only in my memory and in the memories of those who knew her, but my memories are wispy, like bits of dreams a few hours after you’ve had them. Some of the memories are barely there. I can see only a sliver of them. Afraid of the erosion of my own memory, my creations are also an act of remembrance – remembering my Grammy as she was when she lived with us, and also reconstructing who she might have been before I knew her. Through the ritual of drawing over images of her, I return to thoughts of her again and again.
When finished, the pieces become a signifier, like a gravestone, of a person who once was, and just as gravestones serve to connect us with a loved one after they’ve passed, these pieces are a physical connection I have to her. The feathers specifically reference the cross-cultural symbolism of the bird as a connection between heaven and earth.”

Beautifully said… and beautifully executed.

Spanish born, London-based artist Oriol Angrill Jordà has me totally smitten. Wanna know why? The first three pieces above were done using only colored pencils. WHAT?! Yes, it’s true – and I am in complete awe. And, the final two pieces {which look like a whole lot like double exposure photography} are colored pencil and watercolor. Sigh. Gorgeous.

… I cannot get enough of that first drawing. Let’s look at it again, and marvel at his drawing skills, ok? Ok.

♥

Oh my word. These mixed-media portraits by Montreal based artist Louis Boudreault grabbed me immediately! They are part of a series titled “Destiny”, as these are the childhood portraits of such greats as Picasso, Warhol, van Gogh, Elvis etc! So, so good. The sweet vintage {and famous!} faces in graphite, the bows, the stripes… and then, you realize this:

The scale! Oh, the scale!!!! ♥ ♥ ♥ {yes, three little hearts worth of love!}

And with that, I hope you enjoy the end of 2012 ~ I’ll see you in 2013! xo

Merry Christmas! I hope all of you are having a lovely, cozy, happy holiday with your friends & family. I’m going to take a few days to be with my boys, but wanted to leave you with my most favorite piece of art that I’ve ever been given:

Stunning composition, excellent use of color, and the tension between the yellow-fin tuna and salmon … palpable. Mark my words, this artist is going to end up in a text book one day!

{My very sweet little boy made this for me last Christmas… excuse me while I go check under the tree for his newest masterpiece!} xo

Gah! So simple, so amazing! Damn, I wish I thought of that! You know who did?  Toronto based artist Cathy Daley. If you happen to be in LA in January, you can see some of her new work {oil pastel drawings, on vellum} at Edward Cella Art + Architecture. The show opens on January 5th, and runs until February 23 2013. Here’s a lovely little sneak peek:

♥

Detailed graphite on big white paper {22″x30″!}… whoa. These drawings are from a series titled self-deception, by Gillian Lambert. Oh those stripes, ew that spaghetti, ouch those strings, and gasp! - that unbelievably amazing aluminum foil! Stunning.

{via Curate 1k’s blog}

Paint on found glass {I would love to try that!}. This is the swirly, perfect, hand-painted work of Chicago based artist Emmy Star Brown. I had the pleasure of meeting her a few weeks ago – she was one of the attendees at GIRL CRUSH Philly. {Boy oh boy, there are some very talented ladies at those tea parties!}

Anywho, not only does Emmy specialize in beautiful organic shapes, but she also makes these:

So sweet! But wait, there’s more… check out a few grabs {or the full video} of the project that Emmy did with Sharpie. I absolutely love this campaign – amazing artists working on some pretty crazy surfaces!

Fantastic!