I don’t know how many times I’ve written about Martha Rich… ok, five. I can’t help myself! I really am so jealous of her work. It’s simple, raw, and hilarious. I want to make art that is simple, raw and hilarious. Her paintings of food are the closest to my heart, so when I saw the huge body of work {burgers, hot dogs, pies, cakes, ice cream, cupcakes, cookies and more!} that she just finished exhibiting in Palate, at Scion Space in California, I knew that I had no choice but to write about her for a 6th time… and then eat a piece of coconut cake.

{Some of the work from this show is still for sale on her site. It’s affordably delicious, and today is the last day for free shipping! What are you waiting for?! Go!!!}

There is so much more to this story*, but here is the quick version… After spending years with drug addiction, living on the street, two stints in rehab, and a lot of hard work, Ronan Boyle emerged as a very talented {and sober} artist. He had traded the “faded and discoloured concrete walls of his street environment [for] the artfully distressed concrete walls of the high-end real estate market”, specializing in commissioned decorative abstracts for these development showrooms. He continued working in the studio, and because of these two incredibly opposite life experiences, several beautiful series were born… Concrete, Lucky, and Dancers just to name a few. I love the  layering, bold type and distressed textures that seem so effortlessly combined. I am very jealous of his work, and even more inspired by his story.

*{If you want to read more about Ronan’s life, there is a great article in ION Magazine…}

Well, I did it! I got the piece I wanted! Unbelievable really, and I’ll tell you why… I was allowed in to the show a bit early {thank you Mana!} so that I could photograph some of the work, and interview a few artists before the masses arrived. The piece I had my eye on was by an artist named Ben Skinner, who by the way, was one of very first artists that I ever wrote about. Anywho, I was interviewing him when they opened the doors. Not even five minutes later, someone came over and put red dots on two of his three pieces. WHAT?! At that point I panicked and said, Screw the interview… I’ve got to get in line!!! And that’s what I did. I literally ran to the already very long line with cash in hand, and watched the big wall of projected  numbers. If there was a black dot behind the number, it meant the piece had already been sold. I stood impatiently watching No. 370 like a hawk. Finally I made it to the front of the line, and seconds later 370 was sold… to me! And then I went back to find Ben and finish our interview.

KIND of gorgeous, no?! Typographic inlaid wood veneer. Sigh. Ben Skinner is a Vancouver based artist, who by day is the concept designer for all of the windows at Aritzia and TNA. Most of his fine art is text-based, which is probably why I love him so {…well, it might also be because of those glasses}. He keeps a notebook of words and phrases that pop into his head, and when the moment is right, he takes them from scribbles in a book to stunning artwork using paper, thread, wood, and sometimes even glitter. Thank you Ben! I absolutely love the new addition to my slowly growing collection.

Oh, yes, and let’s not forget the other huge highlight of my night – I got to meet Jack Black! Unfortunately Jack was not victorious at The Cheaper Show. Here he is with the painting that he stood in line for… but sadly, as he waited, the little black dot of doom appeared behind his number. Poor Jack.

Are you having a hard time communicating with that ‘special someone’ in your life? No problem… just buy them a painting {gouache on paper} by San Francisco based artist Mike Monteiro, and I’m pretty sure they’ll get the idea. Granted, they’ll probably dump you, but hey, at least you will have been heard… and you can always hope that they’ll storm out, slam the door behind them, and leave the painting behind for you! Score.

{I discovered Mike’s work a few months ago on The Beholder. I really wanted to put him in my ‘girl crush’ show… but unfortunately, he’s not a girl.}

Oh Matt LeFleur, you roped me in with your rickety, little, snow-covered town… hm, actually, maybe it was those tree stumps connected by colourful pinstriped paths… ooh, or it might have been that fancy geometric-rainbowish-smoke? Ok, who cares how you did it?! You did it. I’m jealous of all of these drawings. All of them!

This job is starting to get really easy… look what landed in my in-box yesterday while I was sipping my morning coffee! Stunning, glowing-from-within, realist oil paintings of tattoo covered boys. Seriously, who wouldn’t want to start their day like that? Now, I should probably clarify that the insanely talented artist behind these paintings, Australian Deidre But-Husaim, also paints beautiful girls covered in floral tattoos, but when I was going through her portfolio, I just kept coming back to the boys. There is something incredibly special about them. Sadness? Vulnerability? I’m not quite sure, but I like it… whatever it is! Anyway, here’s the explanation of how these young men ended up on canvas:

‘An early studio overlooked a tattoo parlour, and [Deidre] watched the passing trade with its casual acquisition of permanent body markings on young and old. In Lonesome Doves (2009) she found her models through the posting of images and personal details of wannabe models on the internet, another public forum for display of personal identity and the immediacy of fashion. The resulting realist paintings of young faces and tattooed patterns capture the tension of the gaze that is simultaneously repulsed and fascinated.’

It was the combination of tiny pebbles and floral patterns that brought on the first pang of jealousy… and then I found those soft, gray, drippy rain clouds. Sigh. These mixed media drawings are a combination of conté, marker, ink, watercolour, and collage all lovingly applied to paper by Crystal Liu, a Canadian artist now based in San Francisco. She has so much work to choose from in her vast portfolio, but I managed to control myself and only show these four images. Those sad, washy clouds that I love so much are from a series titled remember when we used to dream, and the pebbles/pattern are part of a collection called the ground shook for him. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m suddenly in the mood for a long walk in the rain.

{via Kate Armstrong}

I don’t know anything about California-based artist Alisha Amirkhanian {ok, well, other than that she’s based in California}, but I do know that I absolutely love her paintings! I love her colour choices, her fine brushwork, and her attention to detail… right down to the incredibly poor dental hygiene of these very fancy ladies.

{via Design For Mankind}

Warm sun, cool blue water, and a brand new red swimsuit. This is where I want to spend my weekend… inside any of these new paintings by New York based {Minnesota raised} artist Samantha French. Ahhhh…

I want to see what Vancouver based artist Zoe Pawlak sees when she looks out a window! Now, I have to admit, I’m not usually drawn to landscapes {abstract or realistic} but these oil paintings are stunning. Her brushwork and colour choices are brilliant. Literally. Electric blue skies, and fluorescent red horizons. Yep, I would love to open my window and see any one of these four views… and if I can’t see it out of my window, I’m goin’ to Zoe’s house!