Yep, “I’m too old / too young / too busy”… that’s just one of the bits of bullshit we’ll be discussing during the very first installment of “Pennylane Calls Bullshit”. If you know artist consultant/magical guide Pennylane Shen, you’ll know she’s a smart, funny, straight shootin’ kind of gal. She’s here to call out some of the excuses, or lies, artists tend to tell themselves. Oh, and we’re also going to talk about TV because that’s just what we do when we’re together. You can listen right up there under Pennylane in the studio of Marlene Lowden {wearing a shirt by Art Girl Rising, while holding … wait… oh, would you look at that … it’s my book!} –  or subscribe on iTunes.

First, Pennylane looks at A LOT of art, and I love the pictures of her looking at that art:

Oh look, there’s Jamie Smith from Thrive too! See, they both love art so much that they jump around it in whenever they can.

Up next, a tiny peek at Pennylane in action. Enter Dazed & Confucius:

Okay, this is just in here to make sure you have her contact info in case you want to do a consultation with her! She has quite a waiting list, so get on it ASAP if you’re interested.

Aaah, yes… more art. Here are the three artists Penny mentioned she was loving these days:

Malaysian artist Sheena Liam, aka TimesNewRomance. You might recognize these images because they’re from a post I wrote about Sheena the second Pennylane sent me a link to her work. Gorgeous!

Next, Korean artist Lee Jin Ju:

Gah! Ridiculously good.

And finally, Canadian artist Marigold Santos:

See? Pennylane has amazing taste… in both art AND TV!

Haha! I couldn’t resist. Thank you so much to Pennylane for calling allllll of the bullshit – both the little pellets and the big steamers! Thanks to both Thrive {check out Mastermind} and Create Magazine {submit before Dec 2} for supporting this episode. Thank you to my Charlie for showing up and talking about Roy Lichtenstein’s artwork, “In The Car” … although we may retitle it “Leroy kidnaps Janet” … and of course, as always, thank you so much for listening. ~ Danielle

Other Links:

1. Pennylane on Instagram
2. Ben Skinner: Artist
3. Creative Block: Book
4. Penny’s Framing/Hanging Seminar via Dazed & Confucius
5. Amelie: Movie
6. The Good Place: TV
7. Lodge 49: TV
8. Mindhunter: TV
9. True Detective: TV
10. Sharp Objects: TV
11. Handmaid’s Tale: Yes, more TV
12. Thrive Mastermind Program
13. createmagazine.com/callforart {This is the right link – I said it wrong in the intro!}

Sigh. I love everything she does, every time she does it. These are a few of the most recent oil paintings by Toronto based artist Jen Mann… and you can see them at Gallery Jones in Vancouver starting TONIGHT! Her new show, titled METONYMY, opens tonight, Thursday November 7th, at 5pm. Here is the gallery’s description of this must-see show:

“Jen’s first solo exhibition at Gallery Jones, is diving deep into the culture of celebrity, social media and constructed personas. Through a variety of media (film, sculpture and primarily painting), Mann employs the masking tools available in this hyper-selfconscious age to question perception and ideas of identity. With herself as the subject, obfuscated by luminescent layers of distraction such as glossy wigs, theatrical make-up and the text of magazine covers, in METONYMY Mann challenges our definition of real as it relates to the self.” November 7, 2019 ~ December 4, 2019

Jen will be there, and you should be too. GO! 

ps. Ooooh, last minute addition to the post, because these photos just arrived in my inbox … a sneak peek of the install:

Oh. My. Word. Those magazine paintings have spines on the side! And that GIGANTIC diptych? I have no words, just these … ♥ ♥ ♥

Gasp! These oil paintings {on panel} are the work of British-born, Toronto based painter Mark Liam Smith. Inspired by 17th and 18th century Flemish floral paintings, Mark’s goal is to “reinvigorate interest in the role of beauty and fragility in the mundane.” Um, mission accomplished! Oh, and ps. Mark is color blind…

“Because I am colour-blind, I long had to rely on my knowledge of colour-mixing formulas to recreate skin tones and other local colours. Later in my practice, I realized that local colours served only to restrict my expression. By viewing my colour-blindness as a strength rather than as a weakness, I began embracing the use of non-local colours to develop my work. I use non-local colours to exaggerate the idea of subjectivity.”

Ah, so fantastic! Speaking of fantastic, his newest series, titled In Bloom, will be showing in Montreal at Galerie Youn later this month. The opening reception is on Thursday November 21st at 6pm, and the show runs until January 19th, 2020.

Ah, there is something so comforting about these everyday subjects… I want to sit at that kitchen table and eat donuts all afternoon. This is the work of New Zealand born, US based painter Rachel Campbell and, if you happen to be in Seattle right now, you can see most of paintings in her latest show! What Are You Looking For, opens this Thursday, Nov 7 {5-8pm} at Zinc Contemporary. Here are Rachel’s words on why she does what she does:

“I think of my work as similar to that of a poet who writes about the everyday, but instead of words, I express myself in paint. I engage in narratives. I’m reflecting on stories I have been told or experiences I have had. Humor is often prevalent in the work—often with a sense of playfulness around things that are common and ordinary. In my most recent work I am commenting on the importance of joy and celebration in life and how this is critical to our well-being. My paintings are landscapes, so whether they are traditional landscape or they depict food, or portraits of objects, these are all a form of landscape to me. I paint about the relationships between elements and our relationship to those narrative elements.” – Rachel Campbell

The show runs until December 14th, 2019.

What helps me deal with Monday morning? How ’bout a post that starts with “Guy Fieri Riding a Cheetah”, and ends with “Steven Seagal Strangling a Panda”. YES. This is the weird and hilarious work of Australian artist Marc Etherington, aka @hugeskull on Instagram. He paints on canvas too*, but his acrylic on cut plywood pieces are THE BEST. Magnum PI and Cameron Poe (aka Nicolas Cage in Con Air, circa 1997), plus a smoking squirrel?! Yeah, Monday’s gonna be alright.

* Here’s a peek at Marc’s wall at Sydney Contemporary, via Michael Reid Gallery, in September. So good (love that blue, snow-covered wall!)

Witches! …and if you look closely, I believe there’s a tiny ghost sneaking out of that shotgun. Clearly I couldn’t let Halloween creep by without sharing the latest work from Vancouver based painter Rebecca Chaperon. Spooky – check! Beautiful – check! Little touch of magic – check! Happy Halloween.

ps. A lot of Rebecca’s work is available, either as originals or prints, in her shop. Definitely a treat, not a trick.

Seafood, anyone? Oh my word, these are a few of the most recent oil paintings by Hungarian artist Naomi Devil … and I LOVE THEM. Did you notice the lemon glasses? Gah! I’ve written about Naomi before, and those ‘past-meets-hilarious-present’ portraits were fantastic too, but the first platter of oysters above? Clearly, I had no choice but to write again. Fabulous technique AND humor… easily one of my favorite combinations {almost as good as lobster with lemon}.

Uh oh – you better go to this show because you don’t wanna upset that lil lady, do you?

Last year, Jen Tough of Jen Tough Gallery asked me to jury a show that she had titled, The Ladies Room. I said, YES!!! The Ladies Room is happening in San Francisco’s Dogpatch {1599 Tennessee St} THIS WEEKEND, and features the work of 18 female artists from around the world. The above work is just a teeny, tiny snippet of what you’ll see there, AND almost all {if not all?} of the artists will be on site wo-manning their booths so you can actually talk to them about their work, process, hopes and dreams, etc. The opening reception is on Friday, Oct 25 from 6-9pm, or stop by on Saturday, Oct 26 {11am-8pm} and Sunday, Oct 27 {11am-6pm}.

Go. Buy LOTS of art. Give the artists a high five from me. {Artists shown above in this order: Amy Stewart, Jill Stoll, Sasinun Kladpetch, Adriana Villagran, Margharita Paoletti, Monique Martin, Mary Souza, and Laura Johnston.}

Ah, the gorgeous ‘n hilarious book paintings of Australian artist and illustrator Anna Hoyle. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. I’m guessing here, but it certainly feels like she’s allowing us to “read her mind”. They really cover the full gamut too – from awful art parties to anxious pecking – pure gold {especially for those of us who have anxiety about awful art parties}. Sooo many of Anna’s fabulous book paintings are available as prints in her online shop. Just sayin’.

ps. I had her on the podcast in 2017, so have a listen if you like.

Sigh. The work of German artist Tina Berning gets me every single time. So dreamy, and ridiculously beautiful. If you happen to be in Toronto, I have some good news for you. Alison Milne Gallery will be presenting Tina’s work at Art Toronto 2019 this coming weekend (Thursday October 24th – Sunday October 27th). But wait, there’s more. Not only will her gorgeous work be there, but so will Tina… all the way from Berlin! Find her in Solo Booth #S11.

ps. Tina was on my podcast a few years ago, and it’s still one of my favorite episodes! Look/listen here.