Suburbia, and stunning natural environments {made of tiny strips of paper & oil paint}, brought harmoniously together on wood panel… Um, I think I might be in love.

Maybe if suburban Long Island had actually been this beautiful, American artist Cheryl Molnar, wouldn’t have felt the need to escape it’s identical houses, cul-de-sacs and strip malls. She now lives and works in the eclectic, culture-rich neighborhood of Greenpoint Brooklyn, but luckily for us, her experiences in the burbs have become the fuel for her lovely work. Hm, I wonder where the kids growing up in suburban Grand Canyon {shown above} will end up running off to? It’s a pretty long drive to Brooklyn.

How’s the water today? ~ Oh, a little bit ‘concrete floorish’ but other than that, quite lovely thanks.

I found this stunning work through a blog called I Heart Wood. Yes, that’s right, these unbelievable sculptures, by Italian artist Willy Verginer, are carved out of wood! His undeniable talent as a craftsman would be enough to make just about anyone jealous, but then you throw in these clever compositions/use of gallery space, not to mention his bold application of colour, and I don’t think you could find any artist who wouldn’t say ‘Damn, I wish I thought of that’… or maybe more likely, ‘Damn, I wish I could do that.’ {… that’s what I’m thinking right at this very moment!}