Happy weekend everyone! I’m going to be spending it with my family, knee-deep in chocolate that was delivered by the Easter Bunny. Keep your eyes open for him though… clearly, he’s a master of disguise:

See you on Monday! xo

{1. Lissy Laricchia 2. Andrea Zuill 3. Ann Marshall 4. Joost Van Brug 5. Langdon Graves 6. Debra Broz 7. Denise Nestor 8. Bayley Collins}

Yes – it’s a blog switch-aroo! I’m not really here, I’m actually over on Pikaland today, writing about my favorite illustrators… and I’m leaving you with the lovely Amy Ng of Pikland who has come to write about her favorite contemporary artists! Ready? Here we go:

Hi there! My name is Amy and I run a blog called Pikaland where I share lots of love for illustrations. Whether it’s emblazoned on a pillow, or a print on the wall, you could say that I go bonkers over anything remotely illustrated. And here in the interwebs I get to meet loads of lovely people and Danielle is one of the most fantastic ladies I’ve ever had a chance to know online. If we were in the same postcode (or country, for that matter), I’m sure we’ll be hanging out with a cup of tea and cakes before we bust out our list of online peeps who rock our world just so that we could swoon all over our screens. I’m sure we are pretty much doing that now, but nothing beats having company!

So the thing is, Danielle and I – we have a bit of a thing between us. She tries her darndnest to find me names of illustrators that I have not come across in the four years of my blogging, and I enjoy myself thoroughly with a giggle whenever I have to tell her “nope, I’ve written about them before!”. So today, the tables are turned and when it came time for me to find artists that she has not already got all huffy and jealous about, I almost wept with despair.

BUT.

I have managed to pull this one off. Because of late I have been super inspired by pattern, abstracts and color. I can’t explain it, but I am inextricably drawn towards the brazen works of a few select artists who wield their brush and their imagination to create art that draws me in, and here are my three favorites that Danielle hasn’t touched on quite yet (AHA!):

Misato Suzuki lives in Los Angeles and her paintings feature glorious colors and elements of repetition, brought to life through scale and interaction! I love how in her images, there’s this one prominent element that is offset by subtle patterns that add so much texture!

What I love about Jenni Rope is that she toggles between being an artist and an illustrator effortlessly! Apart from that, she also runs a gallery and a publishing arm called Napa Books where they have books that are to die for. She is based in Helsinki, I am really digging her latest paintings! They’re mostly staged abstract landscapes that really show off her affinity with color, but you have to check out her website for all the wonderful things she’s putting out in so many different mediums.

And lastly, Mara Caffarone is based in Bueno Aires and I really love her bold use of colors. I discovered her via Little Paper Planes (check out this interview with her) and her paintings have haunted me ever since. What I enjoy watching was how she gradually shifted her style; from figurative works to her current abstracts. I especially love her experimentations that use different base materials to see how each piece is transformed, ultimately bringing out the beauty of individual artwork.

Well D, I hope you enjoyed some of my picks for the switcharoo! I had so much fun getting all these abstract art out of my system, and I hope your readers will too!

Whoa. Brooklyn based artist Luli {aka Lourdes} Sanchez has a huge portfolio full of stunning textile designs. YES, textile designs! I want her work on all of my fabric – pillows, sheets, dresses… or maybe I’ll just frame them, and hang ‘em on my wall! I decided to go half color/half b&w, but there were so many ways I could have done this post. Flowers, dots, abstract… and the list goes on, and on, and on, and on.

“A month of” all sorts of amazing little drawings and paintings by New York based artist/illustrator {and former art director at The New York Times} Leanne Shapton. Every day of the week she draws or paints something… here’s how her week breaks down: Sunday Walks; Monday Shower Songs; Tuesday Blooms; Wednesday Patterns; Thursday Nights Out; Friday Swims; Saturday Flea Markets; Sunday Night Movies. Genius! My favorite groups were the Mondays, Tuesdays, and Saturdays:

What a lovely way to spend your week, yes?

Ah, the beautifully bizarre portraits of Canadian painter Kris Knight. I included some of his work in a “Jealously Curated” {aka totally made up} show in 2010, titled Head + Shoulders. His new work has been showing up all over the place lately, and I could not control myself… I had to show it too! So sensual, so beautifully executed, and just a little bit creepy. Love.

{via Booooooom, and Escape Into Life}

ps. some of my own work went up on ‘Buy Some Damn Art’ yesterday… it makes me kinda nervous to show it, but hey, it’s out there now!

Every day I take my laptop to the same lovely coffee shop to write my posts. And everyday a lovely young woman, named Lauren Brevner, makes me a yummy latte. I knew that she was an artist, but she hasn’t wanted to show me her work… but I a few days ago I convinced her, and look what I found!

Yep. Fantastic, right? These are all works in progress, but I love them just the way they are! Lovely paintings on wood, and hand-made ceramic ball-jointed dolls! She is completely self taught, and actually just found out that she was accepted into art school this coming September – of course! How could they not have accepted her with a portfolio like this! I can’t wait to see how her work changes and grows over the next few years ~ good luck Lauren! xo

Polka-dots, flat florals, and pretty girls. Sigh… lovely paintings by American artist Michael Carson.

“I like the fact that the face can be such a subtle subject and one brush stroke can be the difference in the feel of the entire piece.  That gives me the ability to work in one subject matter and still find that I learn something new in every painting.  I love to incorporate my love of design, fashion and architecture into my work.  My nondescript surroundings help me to create a mood or a story that I am trying to relay through my painting.  Seeing how the work evolves, the subtle and drastic differences, and looking forward to the future is what keeps me painting.  I view a painting as a success when I take from it something new that follows me into my next work.  It’s just learning to become a better painter.”

Yes, I know… I have a thing for vintage portraits in which the faces have been altered in some way {please find evidence here and here and here}. I love the patterns, the colors, and the fact that these ordinary citizens look like they’ve been initiated into some kind of bizarre art tribe! American artist April Deacon uses gouache {in stunning colors!} to turn these found photographs into my latest obsession. LOVE.

ps. that neon boy is missing a pinkie, right?

{via curate1k}

I’ve always wanted a tattoo, but I’ve never had the guts to do it… this might be my work-around! These vintage gloves, covered in elaborate painted tattoos, are kinda crazy… and I kinda love them! Chicago based artist Ellen Greene is clearly inspired by objects, and symbols from another time. Here’s a little snippet, in her words, about this series. It is titled, quite appropriately, Gloves:

… traditional American tattoo is a symbol of masculine adventure, rebellion and sexual exploits. At the same time gloves were a staple of “good” American women, tattoos were only for sailors bikers and criminals. No proper woman also had tattoos – especially not on her hands.

Yep, I’m going to need a pair of these. Gorgeous tattoos, no pain… and I can still keep my “good” girl reputation! Maybe.

I literally don’t even know where to begin… well, at the beginning I guess! The first of eight Girl Crush workshop + tea parties happened this past Saturday in San Francisco, at the lovely studio of artist/illustrator Lisa Congdon. She welcomed 14 of us {12 attendees, me, and my amazing intern Taylor} into her creative, inspiring, art-filled studio for the entire day:

She shared her story {from 1st grade teacher, to full time artist… ok, there were a few other stops along the way!}, and the behind-the-scenes of her process. So much beautiful work in one place! The other thing there was an abundance of {besides neon pink}… lovely, warm, inspiring, open women. Really, their reasons for attending the workshop were amazing, and their willingness to share their experiences truly blew me away. We spent  the morning talking inspiration, artist blocks, and the mean things we might like to say to our inner art critic {which I won’t repeat here!}

… and then of course there was the tea party! The food was amazing, and did not stop coming! {Thanks so much to Batter Bakery, Square Meals, and Coffee Bar …mmmmm!}

Of course after five or six chocolate ganache cookies, what better activity than a gallery walk! Lisa had arranged to take us to three galleries around the Mission. We popped into Guerrero Gallery, Southern Exposure, and Gallery Hijinks:

Gallery Hijinks is the gallery that reps Lisa’s work in San Francisco. Jillian, {on the right} the owner/director was amazing! She gave us the low-down on how she got started {just fueling the whole ‘insanely inspiring day’ theme}, and then back to the studio for a few more cookies, and a raffle {Lisa gave away two of her Collection-A-Day books, and two large panels… not to mention a zillion things in the gift bags! See, is it any surprise that I have a girl crush on her?}

Thank you so much to everyone that came… I am so honored that you trusted me, and I’m so thrilled with the lovely, inspiring day we had. It was a dream come true for me! And of course, thank you to Lisa for inviting us into her creative space – we loved every single minute of it! xo

*Most of the photos were taken by Taylor, my heaven-sent intern! Also thanks to Maggie, and Tiffanie who took a few of the shots as well.

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Ok, I’m not usually a ‘testimonials’ kind o’ girl, but I just had to share some of these email snippets from the women who attended! {If you weren’t at this one, I hope you can make it to one of the other 7 cities – there’s a list of cities & dates in the right side bar}

The experience on Saturday was such an amazing one and to think I was so super nervous about the whole thing. Everyone was so interesting and beautiful and I wish I had miniature versions of all of you to keep in my pocket. On my drive home, I thought a lot about the things that were talked about and I felt a shift in my thinking and just now writing about it, I’m getting teary eyed because Saturday was exactly what I needed to get me over the rather significant hump of ennui that I was using as an excuse for not moving forward with my creative work. ~ Catie

I had such a blast yesterday.  What a great group of inspiring women!  Thanks everyone for being so supportive and encouraging. ~ Kelli

Thank you, Lisa, for sharing your space.  I don’t know if it’s the light, or the nooks and crannies of art and collections, or if it’s all the creativity that you’ve already oozed all over the place, but that room does make one feel like all kinds of amazing things can come spiraling out of one’s head at any time. And to all of you, thank you for being so gosh darned neat-o yourselves. Surrounded by so many interesting stories and pursuits, it would have been easy (for me) to feel overwhelmed and somehow lesser.  Instead, you all left me feeling like I was riding a rocket of supersonic awesome. ~ Maggie

A day later and I am still beaming about yesterday. What a fantastic time being with like-minded women and having the chance to hear Danielle and Lisa’s stories, and ask all those questions. I came home a changed person.~ Tiffanie