Gor. Ge. Ous.

When I first saw this collaborative work, by Britt Bass and Morgan Blake, I thought “Oh, ok, so Britt painted over top of Morgan‘s photos. Nice.” … but wait, that’s not quite right. Morgan’s photos are actually printed on transparencies, and then laid over Britt’s painted canvas. I realize the effect is similar, but I kind of love this “reverse” way of doing it. There’s a lot less control, because what’s underneath is already underneath. An exciting surprise to see what shows through!

{ps. All of these prints under $45… framed! Yep, you better go get one right this very minute!}

These are the stunning oil paintings of British artist Mary Jane Ansell. I am in awe of her undeniable talent, but I have to admit… what really got me was the beautiful/odd subject matter. Pretty girls in colonial military hats? Perfection.

I absolutely love the watercolor frescos of American artist Ali Cavanaugh. I am in awe of her painting skills, and I love, love, love her unique subject matter. I wrote about her in 2009, and as I started to think about packing for Alt Summit {less than a week to go!}, her work came springing back to mind. Striped tights, polka-dots, and pretty girls with their hair twisted back… ok, maybe just one more pair of stripey socks in my suitcase.

I’m not sure if this is my dream, or my nightmare? Yowza, Brooklyn based artist Aya Kakeda has some crazy images floating around in her head… and I love them! I love them all! Oompa Loompas, strange little mouse girls, flowery candy as far as the eye can see… and she can embroider?! Love.

I found this work through a very cool project, that is part of a Masters thesis by Sara Barnes {of Brown Paper Bag fame}. She has created an online gallery, called eyra to:

“…celebrate illustration as a popular art that helps us to understand and interpret the world at large. It strives to showcase not only beautiful and thought-provoking illustration, but to add to the greater cultural dialogue. With each exhibition, eyra has original illustration, high-quality prints, and limited-edition projects that correspond to the theme and spirit of the show.”

Fantastic, all’round.

Spanish born, London-based artist Oriol Angrill Jordà has me totally smitten. Wanna know why? The first three pieces above were done using only colored pencils. WHAT?! Yes, it’s true – and I am in complete awe. And, the final two pieces {which look like a whole lot like double exposure photography} are colored pencil and watercolor. Sigh. Gorgeous.

… I cannot get enough of that first drawing. Let’s look at it again, and marvel at his drawing skills, ok? Ok.

♥

Oh my word. These mixed-media portraits by Montreal based artist Louis Boudreault grabbed me immediately! They are part of a series titled “Destiny”, as these are the childhood portraits of such greats as Picasso, Warhol, van Gogh, Elvis etc! So, so good. The sweet vintage {and famous!} faces in graphite, the bows, the stripes… and then, you realize this:

The scale! Oh, the scale!!!! ♥ ♥ ♥ {yes, three little hearts worth of love!}

And with that, I hope you enjoy the end of 2012 ~ I’ll see you in 2013! xo

Oh boy. I found the work of LA based artist/designer Ming Ong when I was putting yesterday’s post {about Garage Gallery} together. Um, I love these little paintings on found paper oh so much! Slightly disturbing? Yes. Crazy awesome? Yes.

And on that note, may your weekend be filled with cow cuddles and giant bras… you might want to avoid birds and bunnies though.

Garage Gallery started as just that… a garage in LA where art was shown, shared, and sold affordably:

They had some amazing artists hang their work! Here are a few of my favorite pieces from various shows:

Love! {1) Ming Ong  2) Aaron McConomy  3) Alika Cooper}

Now, Garage Gallery has gone online, stretching their community from a neighborhood in LA, to the world!!!

Lovely… and boy oh boy, do they have some great artists in their roster. Again, a few of my faves:

Yep, this is definitely a garage I could hang out in all day long! Go check it out… right now! ; )

{The pieces above are the work of 1) Emily Barletta 2) Emma Lawrenson  3) Paz Lopez  4) Elliot Beaumont}

Do love children? How about children on horses:

… or children sleeping on mats, and in tents:

… or at school, being attentive {and not so much}:

… or doing a little hunting & fishing:

LOVE! Tiny, strange subjects on great big canvases! This is the beautifully bizarre work of Argentina-born artist  Carolina Antich. And just to make sure you’re all heading into your weekend feeling super duper inspired/jealous, you should know that she is currently based in Venice, and has an amazing, jealousy-inducing studio! Have a look over at sfgirlbybay today, and get a sneak peek at Carolina’s fabulous space. Inspiration overload…

Ooooh, the soft, gaussy, acrylic paintings of the Miaz Brothers. Yes. Acrylic paintings – not blurry photographs {although, I do enjoy the occasional blurry photo!}. I’m not quite sure how they do it, but Milan-born artists {and brothers} Roberto and Renato Miaz are clearly masters of the brush! Ahh, so very dreamy.

{via Booooooom}