Step one: Take a gorgeous photograph of a gorgeous girl.

Step two: Paint on it.

Yep, that’s what American photographer Shae Acopian Detar did, and the results are killing me! Love, love, love!

{via Design for Mankind}

I have a crush. Well, I have quite a few actually… so many, in fact, that I’ve turned them into a new series of guest posts, that start today, on the always lovely sfgirlbybay. The series is called girl crush. Can you guess why? Yep, the posts will feature amazing women artists that I have huge art crushes on! Here’s why I chose to do this…

When I was in university, I minored in Art History. As a young female artist, I wanted to know why there weren’t more women in my textbooks… surely they existed?! And it wasn’t just the Renaissance and Rococo periods that were lacking – I have a Pop Art book filled with artists that I love, but there is not one woman in it. Doesn’t that seem kinda crazy? Yes, yes it does. Luckily, contemporary art seems to be balancing things out a little more… I know that more than half of my posts feature women. Granted, I’m jealous of work regardless of the artist’s gender, but as a woman artist myself, I absolutely love to see, and celebrate, the successes of inspiring, crush-worthy “girls”… hence the catchy title of this series! Sigh… I have so many crushes, on so many artists, that these posts just might go on forever! So, now that I’m wearing my heart on my sleeve, you can tell me… who do you ♥?

{textbook worthy images by: 1. Tina Berning 2. Martha Rich 3. Maia Flore 4. Laura McKellar 5. Beth Hoeckle 6. Margaret Kilgallen ♥♥♥}

American artist Molly Briggs uses acrylic, tempera & ink on paper to create these lovely pieces, which are in fact only studies for one of her painting series, titled Clearing. Yep, I know… I wish that my “studies” were this gorgeous!

{Molly is represented by Zg Gallery in Chicago.}

“Love me two times”… no problem! First, I’ll love this series as it was intended… bright, bold, and beautiful gouache, ink, pen & vinyl on paper. However, for the second time, I’d like Australian artist Kirra Jamison to come over to my house and paint one of these pieces as a bright, bold, and beautiful gouache, ink, pen & vinyl mural on my wall! Yep, I would love that… two times.

Whoa. How can you not admire anyone that is capable of painting like this!? And, on top of the amazing skill/technique that has gone into this work, they also happen to fit under one of my favorite kinds of art… the “beautifully boring” kind! You know, those mundane, every day objects that your eye most likely skips right over – but, when you take the time to stop and study them, like Canadian artist Christopher Stott obviously has, you realize that each one has it’s own story, and that “boring” really can be amazingly beautiful.

{via Anthology Magazine}

I love, and I mean love, the work of American painter Mark Bradley-Shoup. In fact, I’ve written about him several times. His work is quiet, muted, and absolutely gorgeous. When I saw the pieces that he chose to write about, I was instantly jealous… jealous of the work, and even more jealous that he found it first!

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

I am insanely jealous of Ulf Puder!

There is something about German and Belgium painters that just make me swoon. From Richter to Tuymans to Rauch, there seems to be something in the water over there. Ulf Puder is no exception, and is one to add to the list. He is one of those artists that immediately makes me want to simultaneously stop painting, because he has achieved everything I strive for in a painting, and at the same time, ups the ante and kicks my ass into gear to get back into the studio to paint harder than ever before. Structural abstraction, gestural paint, German sensibility, what’s not to love. Makes me want to catch the next flight to Leipzig.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

I love it! That’s the best kind of jealousy… the kind that gets you back in the studio, working harder than ever! Thanks so much Mark – fantastic post. {Again, I’m away til Monday night, but will be back bright and early on Tuesday morning with an exciting update on the Ace Camp in Palm Springs!}

Gorgeous, washy, abstract-ish flowers by American artist Elizabeth Terhune… but hold on just a second… are they actually figures? Or flowers? Or figures? Hm, I’m going with floral figures. Yes.

{via Art Hound}

If I was in Brooklyn tonight, I would be at Curbs & Stoops Active Space {566 Johnson Ave}. In fact, I would be there right at 7pm because that’s when their latest show, Goodbye Space Shuttle, opens. Here’s what it’s all about:

To those born near or after the Apollo 11 lunar landing in 1969, the Space Shuttle Program epitomized the ascendant glory of U.S. manned space exploration. Now, thirty years after the launch of the first space shuttle, we react with ambivalence to the retirement of these artifacts of 20th century technology. Ending manned space exploration represents a silent admission of the United States’ lessening world status and ambition. It echoes the seismic shift in potential that seems to have been brought on by concurrent economic, environmental, and geo-political crises. This confluence of disasters points to another meaning of Goodbye Space Shuttle, which is: no rescue. What new visions can alter the trajectory of this overcrowded rock?
In retrospect, the abandonment of the shuttle program may prove to be as large a milestone as its first launch. It thus seems appropriate to dedicate an exhibition to the moment. Artists participating in this late summer homage include:
Taylor Baldwin, John Bianchi, Matthew Capezzuto, Jane Corrigan, Bill Donovan, Jen Durbin, Sue Havens, Alexis Knowlton, Andy Lane, Beth Livensperger, Sakura Maku, Brian Maller, Vasken Mardikian, Jason Mones, Wilfredo Ortega, Jen Schwarting, John Silvis, Lee Vanderpool, Peonia Vázquez-D’Amico, Letha Wilson

{The work shown above is titled “Payless” and is by Jason Mones. The show runs from Friday July 29th until August 19th}

Oh my. This is one of those posts where I seriously cannot type fast enough. When I saw this lovely,  moody, unique work by Norwegian, now UK based, painter Kristin Vestgard I had to write about it immediately. I wanted to show every piece in her amazing portfolio, but I managed to control myself… and besides, I had to hurry up and start typing!

{Thanks to Claire Loder for the link to Kristin’s work! Love, love, love!}

I think it’s safe to say that American artist Seth Clark likes houses almost as much as I do. The layering, the detail, the stories behind each home… whatever they might be. Personally, I want to know what’s happening inside that pretty pink window.