Never in my life have I been more in the mood for coffee, fajitas, and marshmallows than I am at this very moment. Ok, normally I wouldn’t think that combo was a very good idea, but Danish artist Jonna Pedersen has me convinced otherwise. Fantastic color choices, and beautifully boring subject matter. Now that’s the kind of combo I really love!

{via Art Hound}

Let’s see, how can I explain this? When a mommy lion and a daddy lion love each other very, very much… hm, ok, they might not love each other very very much, but there’s definitely some major chemistry going on there!  Well, regardless of how the lions feel about each other, I love this series, titled Animal Acts, by Vancouver based artist Helen Eady. So pretty, yet kinda dirty – in a totally natural, circle of life kind of way.

Computer nerds. You gotta love ’em… right down to their tinted glasses! Inspired by class photos of computer science majors from the 1970’s, American artist Jonathan Viner uses oil paintings to pay homage to these “prophets of Computer Science”. We should all thank them, really. If it weren’t for these graduates, and their transition lenses, we wouldn’t be able to blog, facebook, or tweet. Oh my… I can’t even think about that.

{I added the ornate gold frames to these paintings – it seemed only fitting, what with them being prophets and all. Thanks to Junkculture for the link!}

Ooh, that was fun! I just spent the better part of an hour going through the loose, muted painting portfolio of San Francisco based artist Jennie Ottinger playing an artsy version of  “finish your own adventure”. Quite the little story I’ve managed to put together, wouldn’t you say? RV’s, guns, a random hazmat guy, a race to the hospital, and of course, a jury to decide how the whole thing should turn out… hmm, or maybe I can decide how it turns out by visiting her portfolio one more time. Gotta go!

{Thanks to Kate, from Art Hound, for pointing me to Jennie’s work!}

Well, it only makes sense that with a name like Carlos Donjuan I’d be smitten, right? His color choices, those masks, all of that beautiful wood grain… oh, so much to love from this Dallas based graffiti artist/painter. Sigh.

{… if you’d like to read more about his work there’s a great interview, by Kate Singleton, in New American Paintings}

I wrote about American painter Mark Bradley Shoup almost two years ago, and yep, I’m still very jealous.  I love his simple landscapes, lonely subject matter, and don’t even get me started on those color palettes! In fact, it was his work, along with the work of a few other very talented artists, that inspired me to create one of my first jealously curated shows. It’s a dream of mine to see this show hung on an actual gallery wall… so if you’re a gallery owner with a love of all things wonderfully mundane and beautifully boring, have your people call my people. Ok. I don’t have any people. You can just call me.

Oh sure, I’ve heard of “cops and robbers”, but “cops and volleyball players” is completely new to me… and I like it! American artist Jansson Stegner has a gorgeous portfolio chock-full of both. Ok, that’s it… at the next summer BBQ, that’s what we’re playing! Who’s with me?

{via Booooooom}

Sinks, shelves and hallways. Ah yes, San Francisco based artist Chelsea Bentley James has found her way directly into my heart with these muted color palettes and her everyday/mundane subject matter. Simply perfect… hmm, you might even say beautifully boring.

Ahhh… it was a blur of glitter, candy sprinkles, painting, assembling, matting, and a whole lot o’ coffee. Yep the opening of, TRY A LITTLE TENDERNESS AS PAINFUL AS IT SEEMS, New Work by Ben Skinner, was everything I’d hoped it would be. I had planned to write this post last week, but honestly I needed a bit of time to come down from the thrill of seeing this show actually come together. Aaaand exhale. Ok, I’m ready. From the 65′ text mural, to the 20′ foam board scaffolding, everything came together perfectly. All of Ben’s work looked amazing, the opening was filled with wonderful/excited people, and I still can’t believe I got to curate my first show with such an incredible artist at a gallery staffed by really, really, really nice people. Thank you Ben, and the Honfleur Gallery. It was an amazing journey. What now? Well, on to the next proposal I guess!

{1. TRY A LITTLE TENDERNESS AS PAINFUL AS IT SEEMS ~ glitter on Alupanel  2. HOME WRECKER ~ ink on wood  3. TWICE ON SUNDAYS ~ candy sprinkles on wood  4. A SIMPLE GESTURE ~ paint & dye on wood  5. I’VE GOT JUST THE THING ~ watercolor, gold leaf on glass  6. MAYBE WE CAN WORK SOMETHING OUT ~ RGB LED’s & light tube  7. UNTITLED ~ 20′ foam board scaffold  8. THIS TIME NEXT YEAR ~ 65′ text mural  9. THE BLINDS LEADING THE BLINDS ~ ink on wood blinds  10. a. THIS ONE’S GOING TO HURT ~ spraypaint on mirrored plexi  b. NOW TAKE A DEEP BREATH ~ paint on plexi  11. MY HEART IS BIGGER THAN YOUR FIST ~ glitter coated screenprint 12. The Honfleur Gallery on opening night… the show runs until April 8th, so pop in if you’re in DC!}

Ice is really hard to paint. When I was about six, my mom {who happens to be a very accomplished artist} told me to use blue when painting snow or ice… blue?! I didn’t believe her, and decided to stick with white. Clearly, I should have listened. I saw these paintings by American artist Jeremy Miranda about a week ago, and instantly loved them. Beautiful compositions, simple horizons, and big chunks of breathtaking ice… blue ice.

{via Poppytalk}