This can be compared to the strength and firmness that Viagra advertises and the self-confidence of taking a tadalafil pill.

Blown glass and steel. What? This is the jaw-dropping work of Brazilian artist Túlio Pinto. I can’t find any information on why he does what he does, but I can tell you that my breath has been taken away by what he does. Oh my word.

Broken and, oh, so beautiful! These pieces are the work of Dutch artist Bouke de Vries. I’m going to let this little snippet from his site do the talking:

… Using his skills as a restorer (c.f. Ron Mueck’s model-maker skills), his ‘exploded’ artworks reclaim broken pots after their accidental trauma. He has called it ‘the beauty of destruction’. Instead of reconstructing them, he deconstructs them. Instead of hiding the evidence of this most dramatic episode in the life of a ceramic object, he emphasizes their new status, instilling new virtues, new values, and moving their stories forward.

Sigh. Even that was beautiful.

Ah, a find blend of chaos and control… terrifying for some, but thrilling for California based artist Heather Day. Her latest works, complete with Heather’s vibrant washes of color and confidently drawn lines, are about to be hung in a new show, titled The Hysterics, at Stephanie Chefas Projects in Portland. The show opens this Saturday, October 19th from 5-8pm. Here is part of the statement from the show:

As the title suggests, The Hysterics is a reference to Day’s process of mark-making. Her process demands motion, requiring her entire body as she pours and pushes paint across the canvas. The canvases are subsequently drenched with water, enabling an element of vulnerability that remains essential to her work. Acting quickly, Day adds marks to the canvas and thereby allows each gesture to inform the next. An eternal dance between control and chaos ensues, climaxing with a unique and vivid creation.

“It’s moving, it’s rapid, and you can’t always predict what’s going to happen. I’m pouring the paint, I’m manipulating it, and there’s a level of understanding of what might happen as I control the fluidity of the paint or the opacity. Then there’s also the unexpected when I pour a bucket of water and it splashes everywhere.”

“The Hysterics” runs until November 23, 2019.

ps. I looooove Heather’s studio / WIP shots. Always very inspiring… see:

Sigh.

Don’t you kinda wanna go on summer vacation with Portland based painter Lisa Golightly? Me too. Dreamy, beachy memories painted beautifully. I’ve written about Lisa approximately five zillion times, but it’s not my fault! She’s the one that keeps making work like this. Visit her site for available works.

Aaaaaand, exhale. This is the work Tokyo born, UK based printmaker Misa Gott. These pieces are from her most recent series, titled “AOKI FUMU”, which translates to “stepping on green grass”. Sigh. Beautiful. Speaking of beautiful, I usually just take a small excerpt from artists’ sites, but in this case I couldn’t decide! Here’s Misa’s entire artist statement:

“I am an artist printmaker working in south London. I was born in Japan and grew up on the outskirts of Tokyo, but have lived in the UK for more than half of my life. 

I produce intricate abstract images by cutting, layering and overprinting prints made using variety of printmaking techniques, mainly monotype, relief and collagraph. 

The starting point is always my relationship with nature, one that was forged in Japan where the natural world is woven into the fabric of daily life. Instead of Us and Nature there is a real day-to-day sense of Us as Nature.

My images are visual Haiku poems that celebrate the elusiveness and transiency of nature; their simplicity belying the complexities involved in their craft and production. They play with the juxtaposition within nature of apparent amorphous randomness and the underlying systems, patterns and rules. The inherent contrasts between randomness and regularities, fluidity and stability intrigue me.

Printmaking helps me to cultivate colours, shapes and patterns in my work. The process facilitates a sense of spontaneity and happy accidents. Nature is constantly changing, destroying and recreating in order to maintain a dynamic state. My practice explores this constant movement: Yuragi (dynamism/ fluctuation) in nature in the process of creating images. 

Through my work, I try to open up rooms for reflection, contemplation and imagination.  I hope the viewers will sense the flow and the shapes and patterns in my work will carry on evolving in their imagination.”

See? Beautiful. Happy Monday.

Another weekend, another new episode of ART FOR YOUR EAR! If you didn’t hear last week’s kick-off episode, I’m shaking things up a little this season. Instead of interviewing artists about their personal journeys, I’ve recruited a group of creative experts to be my co-hosts. We’ll be digging deep into the nitty gritty of being Artists {with a capital A} covering a huge range of topics from critique to pricing. Today’s co-host is the kind and generous painter / art school professor, LA based Samantha Fields. The theme today… lessons that Sam has learned from her students! This runs the gamut from how to pencil in eyebrows to heart-wrenching stories of survival. You can listen right up there under that disastrous celebration, or subscribe on iTunes.

Here’s a rundown of everything you heard about on this episode. Let’s start with a few of Sam’s insane airbrush paintings, just to set the mood:

Boom! Literally. So unbelievably good. Okay, I can’t control myself… one more set of her jaw-dropping paintings:

Alright, now I feel better. I needed you to see all of that greatness.

Now, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… I WANT SAM TO BE MY TEACHER! Here’s the manifesto she gives to her Art 307 students:

“Critique is our mirror”. I loved that part of our chat.

Okay, let’s take a peek into Sam’s home studio, shall we:

Works in progress, gouache sketches, and Sam’s bio photo… ? I asked her for a recent photo and this is what she sent, with this explanation: “The stars are the kind teachers give students, I liked that they were like a mask of affirmation!”  Ha! See, just another reason to love her sooooo much.

And finally, speaking of love… the @csun_squirrels_ :

I lay flat on my belly when it’s too hot out as well. And with that, I will say thank you to Sam for sharing all of her stories and lessons learned; huge thanks to THRIVE for supporting this episode of ART FOR YOUR EAR; and of course, thank you for listening ~ Danielle

………

Links, so many links {ie., proof that Sam really is a teacher!}

ps. The winner of Ashley Longshore’s stunning new art book is… Leila Simon Hayes!

She never ceases to amaze. American artist Kara Walker‘s latest piece, a 13-meter tall working fountain titled Fons Americanus, is currently installed at the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall {until April 5, 2020}. This text is a snippet of the description from the Tate:

“Fons Americanus is inspired by the Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace, London. The memorial was designed in 1901 and unveiled in 1911 to honour the achievements of Queen Victoria who was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1837–1901), as well as the Empress of India. Rather than a celebration of the British Empire, Walker’s fountain inverts the usual function of a memorial and questions narratives of power. Walker explores the interconnected histories of Africa, America and Europe. She uses water as a key theme, referring to the transatlantic slave trade and the ambitions, fates and tragedies of people from these three continents. Bringing together fact, fantasy and fiction, Fons Americanus stands as a representation of this narrative in the form of an allegory or fable.”

So powerful. And that is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the meaning and importance of this work. Read the entire article on the Tate’s site RIGHT HERE. 

*All photos from tate.org.uk, Matt Greenwood

Risograph prints, costumes, and odd characters who I assume live in those dreamy candy-hued houses. This is the whimsical and vibrant work of Netherlands based artist and illustrator Ellis Tolsma. Her portfolio is full to the brim with weird wonderfulness, from animations to installations. Check out her Instagram feed for lots of lovely stop-motion movies and closeups of her prints {also, go follow her because she only has 476 followers which seems crazy to me}.

Gasp! This is the work of Malaysian artist Sheena Liam. I’ve been recording episodes for my podcast over the past couple of weeks, and one of my fabulous co-hosting experts told me about Sheena’s work. I couldn’t wait for that episode to air … and can you blame me!? Elegant drawings turned into forest green stitches, tiny details like those stripes and fabric creases and, oh my word, that free-flowing hair! Here’s a little bit from Sheena’s ABOUT page:

Sheena Liam is a Malaysian born artist and model. As a child, Liam learnt the basics of embroidery from her mother and found herself revisiting the medium time and time again as means of self expression between traveling and modeling. 

“In a strange way modeling parallels my art in the sense I often have to use body language as means of expressing a certain sort of mood. It’s no different from my embroideries.”

Lovely.

Not that you need a reminder, as I’m sure you’ll recognize the dreamy work of New York based painter Samantha French, but yes these paintings are what she’s become famous for. I’ve loved Sam’s work for years – the water, the stripes, and the scale. Well, recently she’s taken SCALE to a whole new, kinda crazy, level. She and her long time partner {in life and love}, fellow painter Aaron Hauck have taken Sam’s pools outside. You know what they say… a couple that murals together, stays together:

What the? How? Oh my. Whoa. Good job, you two!  And look, they’re still together … exhausted, I’m sure… but still together ; )

{Mural 1: Kingston, NY / Mural 2: Benelux Restaurant, Brooklyn / Mural 3: The SoNo Collection, Connecticut}