So fun! Well, except for that lady that is currently drowning in a sea of hard candies… but if you’ve gotta go, that’s a pretty fun way to do it! Colorful, simple, vintage collage work by UK based artist Cassia Beck. I wrote about her photography years ago, and was so pleased when I came across her collages! I had no idea that she did this kind of work as well. SO FUN!

ps. All of these pieces are very affordably priced and available in Cassia’s Etsy shop.

Oh, Jennifer Davis. I have written about her so many times, she was the host artist for GIRL CRUSH Minneapolis, and she’s one of the artists in CREATIVE BLOCK. And, if all of those things weren’t enough, now she’s got an amazingly beautiful new show, Joyride, that opens tomorrow night at Public Functionary {7pm- midnight} in Minneapolis. Huge 4’x4′ pieces all inspired by vintage carousels… gorgeous! Jennifer traveled all over the US to gather images & inspiration for this body of work, and tomorrow night it will finally be revealed… well, except that I’m going to let one piece leak today! Yep, this gorgeous horse print will go on sale tomorrow at noon (CST). Here’s the info:

And here’s the link to purchase, but remember, you can’t buy until Saturday at high noon! NEIGH!!!! {that was meant to be a horse sound… hm.}

Oh, the flora n’ fauna! These gorgeous nature-filled watercolor groupings are the work of American artist Michelle Morin.  If you happen to be in the market for a dodo bird surrounded in pink lilies, a pod of narwhales visiting a coral reef, or a spiky little group of cacti, then you are in luck… all the fantastic pieces shown here are available as prints in her Etsy shop!

{via Booooooom}

Ok. This is taking affordable prints to an entirely new place…

Vintage paint-by-number. On circular, salvaged wood. For $22. Gah!!! These cool little nods to the past are the work of Canadian couple Patrick Lajoie and Mara Minuzzo. At their home studio, in the rolling hills of beautiful Caledon, Ontario {just outside of Toronto}, they manually transfer the pigments of an archival print onto wood… 1/2″ thick birch plywood scraps left over from the construction of their studio workshop. LOVE!

{ps. I bought one before I posted this just so I could be sure to scoop the one I wanted! Any guesses?}

Do you love old photos? Do you wish you could get one as a giant print to hang on your wall? Perfect… listen to this:

“PROJECT B specializes in a fascinating world: vernacular and anonymous photographs culled from the lively margins of history. We discover and preserve exceptional vintage photographs from unknown photographers and make them available in limited edition prints…. Our work is a culmination of more than 30 years’ experience in the fields of fine art, photography, folk art and material culture. By bringing together the best practices of collecting, curating and publishing, PROJECT B pays homage to the mysterious power of the anonymous photograph to transcend time and enhance the spaces we live in today.”

So cool! I want a 36″x36″ sea monster (very Scooby-Doo-esque) in my house!

Holly Wales: Most likely to make me jealous using only felt-tip markers and white paper!

Oh I love this piece, titled “Class of” by London based artist/illustrator Holly Wales. This puts the doodles in my year book to shame! … hm… I’m pretty sure I dated the guy with the horns. Aaaaanyway. Oh, and look what she does with colored markers:

Vintage motel signs, hand-drawn with brightly-hued, juicy felt-tip markers… ♥

{ps. all of these drawings can be purchased as prints, right here.}

I might have to start a “Beth Hoeckel” fan club… I can already see my PRESIDENT sweatshirt… it will have meat & roses on it. I have written about Beth soooo many times because of her work, yes, but also because she does what so many of us wish we could do … she just makes and makes and makes! Yep, it’s something I admire very much in an artist – the head-down dedication to always be creating. Every time I go back to her site, there’s more, and look what I found today… Gah!!! Meat, roses, and a collection of junk food. All of it brings me pure joy. Would you like a little pure joy? Ok… every piece above {and many more on her site} are available as prints for $16. Six. Teen. Dollars. Crazy. I know.

Flower covered portraits… YES! This is the lovely work of American artist Clare Elsaesser. You might recognize her work, because her Etsy shop, tastes orangey, is very popular! Well no wonder, with flowered covered portraits like this, you just can’t go wrong. However… I also crazy love this portrait, and there’s not a flower  in sight:

♥

I wrote about Canadian photographer Amy Friend just over a year ago. It was her gorgeous series, titled Dare alla Luce, that took my breath away. Amy has had a zillion people ask her to make prints from the series… and she listened! As of this very moment, the four images shown above are available in her brand new Etsy shop…  for $35 each {wait, what?!} Ok, that’s it, I’m going over there right now – I’ll meet ya there!

p.s I got “Waning Lights” – the two ladies on the beach! LOVE it!!!

I just landed in San Francisco! Yep, tomorrow is the very first Girl Crush workshop + tea party, and it’s happening at Lisa Congdon’s lovely studio in the Mission. The fancy sandwiches & stacks of sweets are almost ready, the gift bags will be stuffed this afternoon, the neighborhood galleries are waiting for us to pop by, and the inspiration/artist block bashing starts tomorrow at 9am! I’ll report back with photos and details next week… have a lovely weekend! xo

{1.Hello Halo 2. Victoria Smith ~ Sunday in the City series 3. CJ Prints 4. Victoria Smith ~ Sunday in the City series 5. Ork Posters