Aaaand that pretty much sums up 2020, no? I seriously considered saving this post for December 31, but I couldn’t wait! These acrylic paintings are the work of Rome based artist Romina Bassu. I love everything about this work, from their dreamy, muted color palettes to their very to-the-point titles {the painting of the woman facedown in the plate, for example, is titled “Monday”}. Okay, I’m off to cut the fingertips off any gloves I can find … hm, I’m definitely gonna need a manicure too.

Sigh. These are some of the most recent mixed media paintings by Canadian artist Meghan Hildebrand. Anytime I write about Meghan, I make sure to include closeups because there is so much going on in every piece! Tiny houses, ghosts, forest animals… and is that a wizard three images up? I dunno, but what I do know is that I’d love to settle into one of those little log cabins for the next month or so. The final painting above is titled “Tucked In”, and yes I realize it’s only Tuesday, but that sounds like a great idea to me.

*Meghan’s work can be acquired through these galleries.

Gasp… cowgirls, gold leaf, and tassels!? Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes! These beauties are the most recent work by Pittsburg based artist Crystal Latimer, and as we speak they’re being installed at Paradigm Gallery + Studio in Philadelphia. Here’s a description from the gallery’s site:

“In her practice, Latimer reinterprets Western historical art to create a connection between the past and the present. The mixed-media paintings in KEEPSAKES are colorful and bold, as the artist uses acrylics, gold leaf, and cotton fiber tassels. The works look like tapestries, an art form that was long ago favored for its accessible and portable storytelling abilities and through the use of contemporary iconography, Latimer tells stories of inner strength, positivity and triumph. In her previous work, the artist painted masculine imagery like battle scenes of conquest and male historical figures, but for KEEPSAKES, the imagery and color story is re-interpreted as feminine. Power comes from within and Latimer’s works act as an evocative visual reminder of that inner strength.”

Amen to inner strength! “KEEPSAKES” opens TOMORROW, Friday December 4th at Paradigm. Find more info on their live online event right here. A link to the live event will be emailed to all ticket holders prior to the opening.

This is Brisbane based artist and designer Rachel Burke aka @imakestagram. Can you guess what she desperately wanted to be when she grew up? A lawyer or a doctor? Nope. A fairy. Well, as you can see by the photo above, she nailed it! Rachel makes the craziest most wonderful work – from art you can wear {even if you’re a mermaid}, to art you can sit on … and in, for that matter! And you know what else is crazy and wonderful? Her story. Rachel’s path has been anything but conventional, which actually makes complete sense. You can listen right up there under Rachel in her fairy floss dress, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts / Spotify.

First, let’s start with a few of the images I posted the other day:

Gasp! Remember all of that? Of course you do… how could you forget a tinsel cafe and those crazy dresses. Speaking of crazy dresses:

 

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Ah yes, perfect for everyday wear. Clearly, I’m gonna need some of that bling for my next trip to the grocery store {watch the video!}

Okay, let’s take a look at all of the fabulous brand collaborations we covered:

Yes! Talk about only working with brands that fit your own aesthetic! Love, love, love.

Next, this is just a teeny tiny snippet of Rachel’s artwork currently showing at Saint Cloche Gallery in Sydney:

Okay, there is no way her mom would’ve allowed this much glitter in the house. NO. WAY. The show is open until Dec 6th, but if you’re not in Sydney, you can also buy the work online. Oh, ps. she’s doing an exclusive workshop at the gallery {Saturday December 5th @ 2 – 3:30pm}, and you can buy tickets HERE.

Alright, let’s take a look at Rachel’s super sweet family. Brace yourself for cuteness overload:

Oh. My. Word. Hugo {the baby}, Tom {the lawyer willing to wear tinsel), and Daisy {the wiener}. Seriously, the cutest family evah* … *that’s ‘ever’ in Australian. Also, now do you see why I need those sparkly coats for my full dozen ‘o dachshunds? Yeah, you get it.

And finally, since this is the last episode until after the holidays, I figured we should probably wrap things up with these:

“Merry Craftmas” … you are talking my language, lady! So. Much. Fun! And with that I will give a great big thanks to Rachel for hanging out with me for so long; even bigger thanks to Rachel’s mom for hanging out with Hugo for so long; and thanks to YOU for listening. There will be more ART FOR YOUR EAR in 2021. Stay happy & healthy ~ Danielle xo

Other links:

1. Rachel on Instagram
2. Rachel’s shop
3. Victoria College of Art
4. Universal Store, Australia
5. Frankie Magazine, Australia
6. Material Girl Magazine, Germany
7. ‘‘Apomogy’ Project
8. Alt Summit
9. Next In Fashion, Netflix
10. LEGO Collab.
11. Disney Collab.
12. Rachel’s art show at Saint Cloche Gallery, Sydney
13. Danielle’s Skillshare classes {mentioned in the intro}
14. Danielle’s Liz + pompoms collage

 

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Okay, now that is inspiring… creating stunning artworks with a little assistant at your ankles! This is the absolutely dreamy work of Minneapolis based artist Suyao Tian. Sigh. I want to wander around in all of these magical worlds… I bet it would smell like flowers and taste like candy! That said, I did read this little snippet via the Soo Visual Arts Center : “As a child, she was often caught collecting small bugs in jars and would talk to these creatures since she didn’t have siblings. These childhood creatures have become symbols and language that she uses in her watercolor paintings.” Hm, so maybe I wouldn’t taste stuff… just in case they’re bugs, not candy! Here is Suyao’s artist statement:

“My creative process is to extract the fragments of memory and separate, reorganize and integrate them. This process is my communication with them, and a process of self- release and expression. These peculiar images often appear in my memory, dreams and subconscious imaginations, so I use abstraction to catch a moment, feeling, and unclear form when they appear in my mind. I use bright colors to celebrate my freedom. The title is the moment in time when I start creating, these moments have transformed my mind through beauty or ugliness I put into my work, that becomes my identity to speak out to the world.”

Beautiful. Speaking of beautiful, to buy Suyao’s work please email her here: tiansuyao@gmail.com {ps. I found her work through SooVAC, a gorgeous gallery in Minneapolis.}

Weird ‘n wonderful! Those are the two words that always come to mind when I see the work of California based artist Teresa Watson. Bits of conversations, social observations, and I’m pretty sure the occasional odd thought that magically pops into her creative brain serve as the inspiration behind all of her kitsch-meets-folk / outsider artwork {how’s that for a description?}. All of that to say, I LOVE IT ALL. Oh, and if her last name seems familiar, her sister is LA based artist Esther Pearl Watson… yep, this family is jam-packed with artistic talent!

Some of Teresa’s work is available through Webb Gallery in Texas.

These paintings {oil on aluminum!?} are the most recent work by American artist Hilary Swingle. I’ve always had a thing for female portraiture, and lately I’ve been all about hyper-real bows so, clearly, these gorgeous pieces are working for me! Now, as joyful as those ribbons are, you might notice the subjects are not happy at all. Here’s why:

“Hilary Swingle was brought up in a home which didn’t celebrate holidays. These oil paintings explore the threads between her social anxiety and the exclusion from these festivities while in her youth. The bows symbolize anxiety and inflict an irrational weight on her subjects.”

Beautiful and powerful, much like the artist herself.

{Found via Ashley Longshore … she just bought one of Hilary’s pieces. Smart move.}

 

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I mean, what is even happening here!? Fabric caught in the wind, yet frozen in time? Yep. These jaw-dropping pieces are the work of Marela Zacarias, an artist currently based between Brooklyn, Seattle, and Mexico City. Okay, I already know you’re thinking… ‘but what? how did she?’… because that’s exactly what I was thinking! Here’s the answer:

“Working with a labor – and research- intensive process merging sculpture with painting, Marela Zacarías moulds window screen and plaster to fabricate undulating forms with the quality of fabric, bodies filled with movement and expressive quality. The sculptures’ surfaces are populated by socially committed geometric abstractions––shapes and patterns born from the artist’s study of the history and specificity of the site of work.”

Brilliant, thoughtful, and beautifully executed. If you want to see Marela in action, there’s a great video from a couple of years ago on Art21… watch it right here. Happy Monday.

{Thanks to @melaart for pointing me to this artist’s work. Images via Marela’s site, her Instagram, and Sapar Contemporary, NYC.}

“Wall and Floor”. She’s not kidding, and that work in progress studio shot above is cold hard proof! Yep, Rhode Island based artist Kirstin Lamb has been painting the bits and pieces that serve as inspiration around her studio… both on her wall, and on her floor. From pages ripped out of old books to found cross-stitch works {gah – gorgeous!}, Kirstin considers each one – even the blue tape anchoring them in place – as visual treasures. Here are a couple of snippets from Kirstin’s artist statement about this latest work:

“In my studio I hang a range of objects on the wall and arrange things on the floor. Documenting the changing arrangement of objects and ephemera in my studio is a portrait of a moment in time for my creativity. The pictures function as images of a studio, but also a kind of curation of my wall of inspiration, love, compulsion, collections  … I feel a need to lionize the project of all artists, especially at a moment of great precarity and conflict. My love of studio as a refuge, bunker, or some might say dubious ivory tower, is equally tempered by what I feel is an interest in the concrete way studios suggest individual and collective wishes and dreams. Why make now? It is a quiet stubborn optimism that keeps a maker making, and I wish to depict that, to share and spur my peers on as much as image my own creative endeavor.”

Beautiful. “Wall and Floor” can be seen at Periphery Space @ Paper Nautilus, both in person {Wayland Square, Providence, RI} or online, from now until January 3rd, 2021. Happy Friday!

Ahhhh, as soon as we can travel again, I’m booking a flight into all of these wondrous paintings! Fragrant flowers, cool waterfalls, and magical underwater worlds… yes please! This is the work {gouache on paper} of London based, American artist Ashley Amery. Here are her words about these dreamy, detailed worlds:

“My art practice is based upon drawing and pattern making as a way to investigate form, depth and spatial representation. The process of revisiting a painting many times over the course of weeks, months, or even years, is essential to the way these paintings develop. The resulting images are as much a tracing out of time and visual thinking as they are pictures that reference the outside world. Beginning from the smallest marks, and using the simple materials of water-based paints and inks on paper, these works grow into complexity gradually, reflecting the very processes of nature they depict, often changing directions throughout the course of their evolution. Imagined shapes from memories and impressions of nature form an all-over landscape that speaks to this process of slow growth, wandering pathways, and multiple layers.

I am interested in the way memory informs image making. I draw from a personal stock of impressions to make sense of them through painting. My early years as a child spent in South America and Southern California feed into my use of bold colour, as well as subjects that centre around water and the ocean.”

Beautiful! Ashley’s work is available through Rebecca Hossack Gallery {ps. She has a solo show opening at their London gallery – and online – in the new year: January 30th – February 27th 2021}