Whoa. These are the paintings {oil and india ink on linen} of Brooklyn based artist Eric LoPresti. I absolutely love the combination of the lonely landscapes, washes of color, and perfect/graphic lines… oh, and they’re HUGE, ranging between 30″x40″ to 40″x65″!!! I’m sure, if you were to see these in person, that the scale would make these dramatic environments that much more eery. In Eric’s words, his work “investigates the cultural after-effects of dramatic conflict, focusing on the aftermath of the Cold War and its associated landscapes.” Chills.

{A few of his originals are available for purchase on Uprise Art}

Sweet little floating baby bubbles? Oh yes… I’m in! These delicate little babies are the work of Brooklyn based artist Cameron Cundiff. Here is his his description of this work:

“This series is about meditation. My idea of meditation is that it is very human and personal, so I wanted to represent the idea through figures. I chose babies because there’s no baked in narrative with babies; they are souls without stories.”

These paintings are part of the latest show on Buy Some Damn Art, and at $300 for an original I think we should all go over there right now and get our floaty-baby-meditation on… Om.

YES! This is exactly the kind of portrait I need heading into the weekend… strange, vibrant, beautiful! These large-scale blue & yellow lipped faces are the work of Patricia Derks, and granted, I realize that Google Translate has something to do with this, but the first paragraph on her about page says “Painting, love to do.” Awesome. Happy weekend : )

Oh, the flora n’ fauna! These gorgeous nature-filled watercolor groupings are the work of American artist Michelle Morin.  If you happen to be in the market for a dodo bird surrounded in pink lilies, a pod of narwhales visiting a coral reef, or a spiky little group of cacti, then you are in luck… all the fantastic pieces shown here are available as prints in her Etsy shop!

{via Booooooom}

I don’t even know what to write… this has been hush-hush for so long… but finally, I can tell you all of the ins & outs of my book that has just been released by Chronicle Books {available in stores all over the world?!!} Let’s start with the title. It’s called CREATIVE BLOCK, and here’s what it looks like (an instagram taken with my very old phone, but you get the idea):

*The cover was designed by Dinah Fried at Chronicle, and then painted by Toronto based artist Amanda Happé. I love it so much and am proud to have had such talented people working on this project.

SO, WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT:

I came up with the idea for CREATIVE BLOCK for myself, just as much as for all of you. I wanted to make something beautiful – a contemporary art book filled not only with inspiring images, but also inspiring words, advice, and tips to help amateurs and professionals alike, find their way through those days when the ideas just won’t come. Because everyone who dabbles in something creative feels that way at some point – right? Right. I wanted to write this book to show you that if you’re feeling this way you’re not alone either. I’ve written hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of posts about successful, working artists who seem to have this whole “creative thing” figured out. But surely they have blocks from time to time? How do they get through them? Where do they find fresh inspiration? How do they handle negative feedback? Does it stop them in their tracks? Now, these full time artists don’t have the luxury of not finishing, or giving up on a project – not when they’ve got a gallery or art buyer waiting on them! So how do they push themselves through those moments when the ideas just aren’t there? Or when the ideas are there, but their hands or materials will not cooperate.

THE ARTISTS:

Finally! I’m thrilled to reveal the list of 50 amazingly open, honest, witty, thoughtful, funny, talented artists that allowed me to interview them about their own creative blocks, insecurities, and inner-critics. Not only did they give us a candid view into their creative process, but each of them wrote a “creative unblock exercise” to help shake us out of our own blocks. Amazing? YES!

Gah! Almost 300 pages of stunning contemporary artwork, insightful advice, and creative-unblocking tips. It’s soooo good, all thanks to that amazing list of people who have been such a huge inspiration to me. I’ll hope, actually I know, they’ll inspire you too!

WHEN & WHERE:

The book is now on shelves, all over the world, as of March 2014, and online via GREAT.LY, Chronicle Books, and all of the other usual suspects. Check the side bar for upcoming book signing events! See you there!

ps. Thank you so much to Jerry Saltz, Brené Brown, and Faythe Levine for writing endorsements that will appear on the back cover – I love that you love it!

Hey Minneapolis, I know what you should do tonight:

Terrence Payne and Nick Howard have a new show, titled CAKE, opening tonight:

…………………………………

{this is the first of my new weekend posts. i want to give you the head’s up on a new show opening every weekend. so, galleries/artists/art enthusiasts… if there is a show i should know about, give me a shout!}

Oh, the quiet blue hilltops of Atlanta based artist Lynn Pollard. We should probably just sit silently, taking them in and enjoying them for their tranquil beauty… but I also really, really, really want to tell you how she makes her indigo mountains!

“This piece is made with a special technique I developed. I dip paper into a vat of natural indigo dye and move it in ways to create the image–no paintbrush is used. The paper is dipped multiple times over a number of days to add complexity and to take advantage of the fact that the indigo vat is constantly changing. The paper has a deckled edge, and reflects the fact that it has been wet.”

Amazing! It sounds almost as relaxing as the final image looks ~ Om.

{ps. If you’d like one of her hills, a few of her originals are available through ugallery.com}

Ok… this is certainly not new work by Australian artist Gemma Smith, but it’s the first time I’m seeing it. It’s safe to say that I love these pieces right now, just as much as I would have loved them when they were originally shown {2008 I believe}. Giant, colorful, perfectly precise, acrylic gems perched on white pedestals, light bouncing off and through them. Amazing… then, and right this very second!

Is it weird that I can almost smell this post? Ahhh… delicate, feminine, washy perfume bottles by Polish born / US based  Marta Spendowska. She has a portfolio full of lovely things {lots of fashion illustration} but it was these pretty little glass bottles that got me! Oh, and I kinda crazy love these watercolor pattern designs too:

Love.

ps. I don’t usually show images with watermarks on them, just because I feel like it takes away from the art… however, Marta told me that some of her pattern designs have been stolen/claimed by other people. I know that happens way too often {which is ridiculously insane to me} so I thought this might be a good chance to just say that out loud. Not cool, art stealers, not cool.

Who wants to go for a walk in an eerily quiet, yet absolutely beautiful forest? Me too! And I’ll bet that Austin based artist Joseph Noderer will meet us there with his oil paints! {All of these pieces are at least 2 feet x 3 feet, and some are up to 4′ x 5′!! Gorgeous!}

ps. If you’re in Austin, Joseph has a show on at Tiny Park Gallery until October 19th, with scupltor Jamie Panzer.