Yes. It’s true. Almost exactly one year later, and I am still jealous of American painter Michael Carson… but here’s a new twist… I’m also very jealous of my friend Charlotte, because she just bought this Michael Carson original:

Sigh… excellent choice, Charlotte.

Sigh… it’s pretty amazing what can be done with acrylic and colored pencil… well, I suppose I should say, it’s amazing what Montreal based artist Alexandra Levasseur can do with acrylic and colored pencil. Love, love, love {Flowered underpants, random flames, and a fur coat… oh yes.}

Yes. Oh my goodness… YES!!! This is a series, titled Attraction, by Australian artist Maz Dixon. Sigh… these hilarious paintings whisk me off to my childhood instantly! Oh, I wish that I was spending a sunny day at the beach with a giant pineapple, a huge shrimp, AND a dolphin that I could kiss – but I digress – here’s what this series is all about:

The Attraction series is an examination of the prescriptive nature of souvenir media. Souvenir manufacturers photograph the scenery and attractions of a holiday destination, and mechanically reproduce these scenes for mass consumption through postcards, view-folders, tea towels. These items become instruction manuals for viewers, showing them how they are to experience their destination. Mass-produced imagery becomes mass-produced experience.

By separating figures and landscape from each other, the relationship between viewer and souvenir is realigned. With context removed, the viewer is free to create their own narrative around figures or landscapes.

Yep… and my narrative includes a giant pineapple, a huge shrimp, AND a dolphin that I could kiss.

Profiles. Of dudes. Painted beautifully in watercolor, by American artist Stef Cook. Love. That is all.

HA! I love art that makes me laugh. These make me laugh. This is the work of Kelly Puissegur {aka retro whale}. I mentioned Kelly quickly in my last post, as she was one of the finalists in last year’s UncommonGoods art contest. Anyway, as soon as I started poking around her portfolio, I just kept finding gem after gem after gem! Girl fights, and animals doing ‘the robot’… oh yeah! And, because I am in fact a child of the 80’s, I had no choice but to show these:

Hahahahaha! Sigh… love.

{ps. On a totally unrelated note, I finally posted a bunch of photos from ‘beautifully boring’ on Facebook, in case you’re interested.}

Yep, it’s true! UncommonGoods is having an art contest, and they want to see what’s in your portfolio… AND, they’ve asked me to be one of the judges {pressure}. So, the deadline is MARCH 31st, 2013, and the grand prize… $500 + 5% royalties on a limited edition of 100 prints. Not too shabby! So, are you ready? Of course you are! You can find all of the rules right here. I can’t wait to see what you send in… Good luck!

{These are my three faves from the 2012 contest: 1) Kelly Puissegur 2) Kat Shoa 3) Valerie Galloway}

Ah, another weekend, another {pretend} brunch with one of my favorite artists, at their favorite brunch spot! Today I’m visiting with my lovely friend, painter Samantha French, in Brooklyn at Cafe Ghia. Grab your coffee, and join us!

JC: hey samantha! so, what’s good here?

SF: i’m starting with a coffee and orange juice. they’ve got a killer waffle with seasonal toppings, so I’ll have that along with the fruit & yogurt with maple granola. Yum.

JC: ok, you had me at “killer waffle”- i’m in! so, who do you normally share your waffles with?

SF: you can usually find me at brunch with my boyfriend, aaron and our two dogs (if it’s nice enough to sit outside)

JC:  aaron is an amazing painter too! do you ever paint together, or do you have your own separate studios?

SF: he is! and he just opened a group show in NY last week.  we’ve always kept separate studios, but still frequently bounce ideas off each other – he’s my go to when i need help with a technical drawing issue or an honest critique. though we’ve never actually collaborated on anything, we’ve talked about it. our painting styles are pretty similar already so we’d probably do something out of the ordinary from our typical work, more experimental.

JC: you should! i’d love to see what you guys might come up with! so, what are you doing later? do you normally spend the weekend in the studio, or do you use saturday and sunday for other stuff?

SF: i love going to the studio on the weekends. it’s nice and quiet and seems like there is less pressure – but it really depends – if i spent all week in the studio, and don’t have anything pressing, i might just head home to relax – especially if I just ate that whole waffle by myself. plus trying to run any errands in NY on the weekends leads to chaos. i usually spend sunday evenings working on print orders that have come in over the weekend.

JC: what about swimming? do ever spend your free time swimming – without a camera!?

SF: you know, it has been a long time since i’ve left the camera at home while swimming. you never know when you’re going to need it, and i’d hate to miss an opportunity  – but I still enjoy it, so that’s all that matters.

JC: totally! i can’t believe i passed up a chance to go swimming with you in chattanooga. next time! thanks for {pretend} brunch sam… mmmm {pretend} waffles! delicious.

psst… some of Samantha’s new work ♥ …

See you next weekend for brunch in Tennessee with Hollie Chastain!

What is it with me and food paintings? I love them. So much. These lovely paintings {egg tempera on gesso board} are the work of New Zealand born, UK based designer/artist Joël Penkman. So scrumptious! And now I want two popsicles. Oh, and I had to include this, because I had it when I was little:

Ah, memories.

{ps. Do you like food? Do you like art? Well then you should pop back here tomorrow for my new weekend series! I know… I don’t usually write on the weekends, but I had to make an exception for this. See you tomorrow morning… oh, and bring your coffee!}

I know that spring is just around the corner, but these lovely paintings by Canadian artist Karin Johannesson are making me feel a bit impatient! I want to be surrounded by pink flowers immediately! She calls these gorgeous watercolors, “studies”… I call them “finished” …hm,  Potato / PotAto.

February 22, 2009 was my very first post on The Jealous Curator. That. Is. Crazy. Over 1100 posts later, and I’m still jealous… but not in the same way that I was four years ago <insert tangent> I get a lot of flack for calling my site “The Jealous Curator”, but the truth is, when I started this whole thing, that’s exactly what I was. I was sad, and angry, and defeated, and yes, really jealous… but I so badly wanted to start making art again. I knew that, somehow, I had to push myself through all of the junk that was holding me back. Through writing this blog, I have learned so much – not only about contemporary art, but also about myself. I now know that there is room for everyone that wants to create. I also know that there will be creative blocks, and countless hours of self-doubt, but that’s ok. Everyone goes through that. It’s how you know you’re part of the club! Granted, I’ve also learned that every block can be cut through… although, yes, sometimes you have to use a chainsaw.

Now, four years later, when I find work that I love, it inspires me to get into the studio to work… actually… let me try that again. It inspires me to get into the studio to play. Allowing myself the time {and freedom} to play, and experiment, and mess things up, and try again – that is what leads me to work that I’m happy with.

So yes, I’m thrilled to report that I’m not ‘jealous’ in a bad way any more. Will I change the name of the site to reflect this… “The Inspired Curator”, “The Envious Curator”… nope. Let’s face it – it’s a catchy name, plus, I’d have to change my business cards! No, no… in all seriousness, I think that punch to the creative gut really is a bit of jealousy. But it doesn’t have to be something that makes me sad, and angry, and defeated. It can move me forward. I hope you’ll come with me… it looks like the next four years might be even more exciting than the first four, if that’s even possible.

Thanks so much to all of you for showing up here every day – I really do appreciate it oh so very much! xo

{image: detail of a painting by Trey Speegle}