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Weird and wonderful in the form of gouache on paper… that might be one of my favorite combinations. This is the work of American artist Anne Buckwalter. These pieces are from a series titled “Nature Show”, all of which are super duper weird and wonderful {I particularly like those girls who appear to be hunting for fox… on TV}. Anne is on her way to Montreal as her latest show, “Faintly the Future” will be opening this Friday at Gallery Youn. Go if you can!
Yep, I feel like that sometimes. These fantastic pieces are the work of American artist Craig Hawkins. They are all from his series, titled “Superventions”, and are monotype prints with a swirling, twirling touch of acrylic paint.
Collages? Paintings? Yep. This is the absolutely gorgeous work of Spanish artist Jesús Osorio. They are in fact oil paintings, but he starts by gathering images and making digital collages… and then paints the final compositions onto wood panels. He has so much beautiful work on his site, but these playful / fractured pool scenes have me counting down the seconds until summer. Love.
{Thanks to Shelly for pointing me to this lovely work}
I often curse the internet for being a rabbit hole, but in this case it totally worked for me! So, when I interviewed Zoë Pawlak for the podcast this past weekend, she mentioned her trusty right-hand woman, her studio manager Ariane. Naturally I looked her up {it is the internet after all} and look what I found… color pencil on wood panel celebrating the coming of summer with these beautifully drawn swimsuits! LOVE. Yep, this is the work of Montreal based artist {and studio manager} Ariane Fairlie ♥
Oh, I love that painting so much. Sigh. Anywho, the episode today is titled “Chance favors those in motion”. It’s a favorite quote, by James H. Austin, of Canadian painter Zoë Pawlak. Not only is it a great quote, it’s a perfect description of how Zoë lives her life. She is a talented artist, a brilliant entrepreneur, a fantastic mother, a lover of tacos, and a great summer brunch date. I’ve known Zoë for a few years now, but I’ve never really dug in and asked where it all started and how she does the things she does… usually we just eat brunch. You can listen right up there under one of my fave “Zoë Pawlaks”, or you can subscribe on iTunes.
First up, her new studio in Montreal {she was based in Vancouver for years, but recently moved}:
Ok, how great is that little message on her big brush? And I had to include those photos of Zoë, because that’s generally what she looks like most of the time… giant smile ‘n fab style! ps. I grabbed all of these images from her gorgeous Instagram feed.
And now, her work! Here are a few of her absolutely dreamy and poetic figurative paintings:
Gah! Beautiful. Those colors, those curves. Stunning. Speaking of which, her ethereal landscapes:
Annnnd, exhale. Maybe just one more deep breath. Yes.
Next… the underpainting “pink girl” that I said I saw/loved on her Instagram feed the other day:
And that’s just the underpainting!? I’d take it just like that, thank you very much.
Up next… her paintings turned into gorgeous rugs. Yes. Paintings as huge, beautifully made rugs. This is such an ingenious collaboration between Zoë and the Burritt Brothers:
Wow, right? {speaking of wow, all of these photos were taken by the very talented, Vancouver based Janis Nicolay}.
Moving on to another beautiful collaboration, this time between Zoë and Vancouver based furniture designer Jeff Martin:
Right?! Ah, so beautiful and so smart. See, she is such a talented artist / brilliant entrepreneur.
And finally, I had to include this shot given one of her speed round answers:
Avocado, Corona … yep, I’m pretty sure she’s going to use that credit card to buy tacos! HA! Had to. Thanks so much to Zoë for doing this with me, thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting the episode, and BIG thanks to you for listening {and rating the podcast on iTunes? please? xo}. There will be more art for your ear next weekend!
Other links:
Thank you so much to everyone that entered this lovely / potty-mouthed giveaway! I love that it drew attention to the fight against cancer… if you know someone fighting now, just give them a hug {so much better them telling them to cheer up or calm down!}. Ok, so the winner of the pink 13″x19″ CALM THE F*CK DOWN” print is… TESS DILLENBERGER! Congratulations, I’ll be in touch to get your address. Thanks so much to Rose {aka Rose Lemonade} for fighting the fight, making great art, and doing this giveaway with me xo
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Seems fitting for the end of the week, no? These watercolor paintings are the work of Canadian artist Rose Currie {aka Rose Lemonade}. They are from her “Wallflower” series, and when I first saw them I thought they were hilarious… until Rose told me what they’re actually about. A few years ago Rose came face to face with cancer. She spent over a year in the hospital, away from her family and three small sons. It was a terrible time for her, and her recovery has been very taxing as well. She basically put her whole life, including art, on the back-burner while she concentrated on her fight… thankfully a fight that she seems to be winning. However, when people found out she was going to survive the general response was, “Oh, well then why so down in the dumps? You should cheer up!” No energy, her life upside down, years lost… yes she was grateful that she’d gotten through the worst of it, but was apparently not in the mood to “cheer the fuck up”. I’m happy to report that she’s feeling much better, and in the process we got these fantastic paintings!
In fact, one of you will get an 13″x19″ print to help you “CALM THE FUCK DOWN”. Yep, I have that very direct message made of pink blossoms to give away! Leave a comment below and I’ll draw one name on Monday May 23rd at noon PST. If you can’t wait that long, you can also buy these very affordable prints from Rose’s shop.
Oui, oui, a thousand times oui! These balloon-filled interventions are the work of Paris based photographer Charles Pétillon. These perfect white balloons, bubbling out of basketball hoops and old houses are all part of this beautiful series, titled “Invasions”:
“These balloon invasions are metaphors. Their goal is to change the way in which we see the things we live alongside each day without really noticing them. It is our way of looking at things that I am trying to transform and revive, and therefore make it possible to go beyond practical perception to aesthetic experience: a visual emotion. Each balloon has its own dimensions and yet is part of a giant but fragile composition. This fragility is represented by contrasting materials and also the whiteness of the balloons.”
… ‘a giant but fragile composition’. Sigh. Beautiful.
It’s very hard to write about UK based artist Claire Brewster without including a bird, so that little guy is in there just for good measure! I’ve written about Claire’s beautifully cut birds several times … but earlier today I found her gorgeous botanicals and this post basically wrote itself. Vintage maps, intricately cut flowers, delicate shadows. Sigh. Enough said.
Fancy hair, intricate patterns, and a whole bunch of very dreamy landscapes. These are the gorgeous reverse portraits {self, and others} of Barcelona based artist Alejandra Atarés. I love all of the pieces in this series – yes, editing this post was extremely difficult – but I have to say, that first piece {lavender hair & hot pink jacket complete with bits of shiny glass} is killing me. In a good way. LOVE.
Once upon a time, abstract paintings and concrete fell madly in love! Yep, I’m pretty sure this is the result from the honeymoon. These lovely concrete objects are the work of Scotland based artist Emma McDowall. Beautifully blended candy hues, paired with the rawness of concrete… gorgeous.
{Some of these pieces are available in her VERY AFFORDABLE shop}
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