Oh, I love the work of Chattanooga, TN based artist Mark Bradley-Shoup. Not only is his work fantastic, but so is he. So kind, so smart, and a fabulous teacher/lecturer at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. I love this episode because it’s so full of great advice! Listen right up there under the abandoned gas station, or subscribe on iTunes. As you’re listening, you can look at the work that Mark and I talked about, in the order that we talked about it. Oh, and at the beginning, when he mentions me having a shaved head and 5 o’clock shadow, it’s because I use my husband’s skype account, and so it’s his bio photo that shows up… apparently it’s quite strange to hear my voice and see that face! Anyway let’s take a look at a bunch of Mark’s work – from architectural paintings, to abstract, to collage:

Gorgeous. And so talented… what a range of work! Up next, a couple of shots from the “beautifully boring” show that I curated in Chattanooga in February of 2013. In the photo below: Samantha French, Me, Mark, Leah Giberson, and in front of us, Angela Usrey the gallery director {we missed you Holly Farrell!}

Ah, that was such a fun week in Tennessee! Below are a few images of Mark’s pages in “Collage”:

… and some studio shots {these are actually from his old studio, but they give a sense of his process… notice the HUGE mound of tape!}

We also talked about his most recent exhibition in Nashville at the David Lusk Gallery. Here are a few installations shots:

And finally, making Mark’s dream come true! He has always {since his teens} wanted to design a skateboard, surfboard, snowboard – I think his architectural pieces, or his collages would be amazing on any and all of those surfaces. After all, if Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst can do it, why not Mark Bradley-Shoup!

If you do such things, reach out and let me know… let’s make this happen! Ok, thank you so much to Mark for putting up with my time zone issues, to Saatchi Art for supporting the episode, and to you for listening! There will be more art for your ear next Saturday.

I wrote about UK based artist Pippa Young‘s paintings last year… and those bonnets made a lasting impression on me I guess, because today as I was scrolling through Pinterest {as you do first thing in the morning over coffee} I saw these lovely little interventions. I knew immediately that they had to be Pippa’s work… those bonnets again! Sigh. And now I want to finish my coffee and rush off to the thrift shop to look for old images to paint on. Gorgeous.

You guys, this is crazy  {I’m not very good at keeping secrets, and I’ve managed to keep this one since last winter… #miracle}. I’ve curated shows for galleries, created online collections, and now I’ve curated an art-inspired clothing collection. What?! Yes. So, so crazy. Last winter, Montreal based fashion house Art-A-Porter reached out and asked if I would curate an exhibition, that instead of hanging on a wall, would be displayed on clothing. Originally I said no, I was too busy {and nervous that there were no walls involved} … but I couldn’t control myself… it just sounded too fun! And so they gave me a huge folder of artists to choose from and off we went. This lovely, limited edition collection is the result, and I’m so proud of it! Here is my “curatorial statement”, and then a peek at some of the artwork/pieces:

From collage, to painting, to mixed media – the work of Joe Webb, Monica Trastoy, J.D Doria, Niki Hare, and Erin Case is very different, yet all of the individual pieces come together beautifully, creating one unified collection that is dreamy, modern, black and white – with just the perfect pop of vintage-inspired color. I chose these pieces because, well, each one is stunning on it’s own, but when brought together the combination of organic shapes and geometric lines was something I couldn’t resist – amazing on a gallery wall, and even more exciting when you can actually take this exhibition off of the wall, and wear it.

Gah! I love it all! And there is so much more to the collection… see it all right here. Thank you so much to AAP for giving me this bizarre and wonderful opportunity to curate on something other than a wall, and thank you so much to all of the amazing artists who are involved… it was an honor working with your art!

{Artists in order of images above: Monica Trastoy // Joe Webb // JD Doria // Erin Case // Niki Hare}

*A great article about AAP and this idea of wearable art came out yesterday. Read it here.

Felt collages? Love! And those color palettes? Love… again! This is the work of Colombian artist/pattern designer Ximena Escobar, and these pieces are from her series, titled “Blooming”. She posts some pretty fantastic work to her Facebook page as well, that you can see right here.

Lions and tigers and ladies, oh my … and some crossed fingers that I love but couldn’t fit into my clever little Oz throwback. Anywho, I absolutely love this ceramic work by Scottish born, Toronto based artist/illustrator Jen Collins. Her portfolio is filled with lovely drawings as well, but it’s these beautiful breakables that are calling my name… especially those ladies… I have a thing for portraits, and when they’re ceramic, even more so!

{via Kate Singleton on Pinterest … her ceramics board is amazing!}

Ooh! A beautiful, artsy mystery! Here’s the scoop… a couple of days ago, wedding photographer Meagan Abell posted these images, and this message to her Facebook page:

“I found 4 sets of medium format negatives while I was thrift shop hunting a few weeks ago. They were sitting in a box of old vintage photographs in these plastic sleeves, and from what I could tell, they had been taken sometime in the 50’s. So obviously I brought them home, and today finally had them scanned in, and holy wow they are beautiful!

NOW this is where I need the Internet’s help. I would absolutely love to find the women in these photographs/the photographer who took them. The only info I have is that the negatives were found in a thrift store on Hull St in Richmond, VA. They are medium format, and judging by the style of dress, made in 1940-1950. The owner of the thrift store had no idea where they came from. I’m posting the best/clearest scans of the images, so if y’all could share this around, HOPEFULLY we can make it go viral and find the original photographer/subjects!”

So cool… and some of the most beautiful, haunting photos I’ve ever seen {reminds me of the final scene in Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus} If you have any info you can comment on her Facebook page, and if you share any info you can hashtag it ‪#‎FindTheGirlsOnTheNegatives‬. Here’s one more closer view of the woman in the photographs… recognize her?

No. I cannot get over the amazingness of this gorgeous, large-scale mixed media work by British artist Ann Carrington. Buttons. And chain. On velvet. STUNNING. And then of course there is her use of Queen Elizabeth… I have a thing for artwork that features Queen Elizabeth {probably due to my Canadian-ness}. Sigh. So good.

{Thanks to Robert Novogratz for pointing me to Ann’s work… he owns the pearl button queen on black above. Jealous? Yep, me too.}

Here we are, project number 8 of 12! {If you missed the other projects, no problem, you can catch up right here.} This project is from American artist Sidney Pink. The idea this month is to set some rules and then play within them… in 30 minutes or less! Ready?

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#creativeunblock // august // by sidney pink, pg.91

I have been a big fan of the The Novogratz for ages. Robert & Cortney Novogratz are a married couple, who also happen to be an amazing interior designer team. And Robert {aka Bob} loves art… which is how we “met” just over a year ago. I wanted to ask him how they went from being a finance guy and an actress, to sought after interior designers. I also wanted to know how he chooses art for clients, if he has any favorites in his own collection, and I really wanted to know how they manage to do everything they do {TV shows, books, design projects} while having seven kids. Seven. Let’s find out, shall we? Listen right up there under the entire Novogratz crew, or subscribe on iTunes. As you’re listening, you can take a peek at the things that Bob and I talked about, in the order that we talked about them.

Alright, first up, the first “real” piece of art that Bob bought… a stunning pearl button Queen by British artist Ann Carrington:

Gorgeous! That’s their son Major {a few years ago} enjoying a bath right below that stunning piece! Speaking of his kids, these next two pieces were done by his son Five {yes, the fifth of seven kids}… he’s obviously a young up and coming artist to keep an eye on:

I asked Bob about a few of his favorite pieces from his own collection. Obviously the pieces above by Ann and Five were on the list, and here are a few others:

Amazing! And I love seeing them actually hanging in their home. Jealous? Yeah, me too. Here are links to all of those artists: Erwin Olaf / Francisco Larios / Vic Muniz … and it turns out he knows my friend Trey Speegle quite well too {you can hear my interview with Trey right here}. This is Trey’s piece that Bob and Cortney hung in one of their hotel projects:

… and a peek at a few of the pieces from the art/chair project that Bob and Cortney organized at Art Basel Miami:

And finally, their castle! Yes. A castle. They’ve just moved from New York to LA and are currently renovating this insanely cool castle… just imagine the art they’re going to hang in here:

It’s going to be amazing. They have a pretty fantastic Pinterest board going at the moment if you’d like to see their design plans for this crazy place. There might even be a show {TV or webisode} coming soon… keep an eye out! And with that, I will say thanks so much to Bob for doing this with me, to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode, and to you for looking ‘n listening. The next episode will be ready for your artsy ears next Saturday.

ps. You can find the Novogratz on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube.

There are so many things that fascinate me about Australian artist CJ Hendry. First, her insane ink drawings obviously, but… I think I might be even more obsessed with the images of her working! So fascinating to see her process in perfect black and white. But wait there’s more. I absolutely love her story… a few years ago she dropped out of an architecture degree to follow her passion. Good move.

“After having left school I enrolled in architecture and immersed myself in a world of lines, rendering, and architectural history,” Hendry said. “It was a completely captivating degree and I spent hour upon hour dissecting oversize black and white scale plans. All my assignments were hand drawn with a pen and ruler as I couldn’t figure out how to navigate CAD and Revit… [so she decided to take a year off]… I made a deal with myself – if I didn’t sell anything in 365 days I would re-enroll in university and go back to what I was doing. Luckily, after a couple of months I got my first major sale and there was no way I would ever set foot in a university campus again.” {via Mashable}

Ah-mazing. Ok, and there’s one more thing. She doesn’t seem to have a portfolio site. She posts all of her work via her Instagram account. Very smart. I’m not sure why she decided to do it that way, but it’s a great idea for any of you that want to share your work with the world but can’t afford {or can’t figure out how} to set up a full website. Final work, shots in progress… an amazing way to share your work… for FREE!