Love. These collages are the work of New Jersey based artist Kirkland Bray. He’s been painting for over twenty years, but in 2012 discovered a love for using found bits and pieces to create his work. Ah, a man after my own heart. I love his description of this…

I’m inspired by the hunt to find new materials and the challenge of editing. A piece is finished when the combination of shapes and ideas comes together like a puzzle; when the positive and negative space have equal say; when I’ve exhausted all other possibilities.

Ditto. And ps… I love these ones too:

I love it when you’re looking through an artist’s polished portfolio… and then you stumble onto their loose and lovely sketchbook! Yep, this is a peek into the sassy sketchbook pages belonging to London based artist/illustrator Alexandria Coe. Such simple, elegant, lovely lines.

These wooden figures are the work of South African artist Claudette Schreuders. Her portfolio is full of these curious characters {made from jelutong, enamel and oil}. These selections are from a few different series going back as far as 2000. Not to pick favorites, but … that final piece, from her 2001 series “Burnt by the Sun” might be at the top of my list. Gorgeous.

{thanks to Maria of @nosideup for pointing me to Claudette’s work}

Ah, a series of lovely traditional doilies. Well, that’s what I thought… until I looked a little closer. These are drawings. DRAWINGS! They are from a series, titled “Tedium”, by Canadian artist Lindsay Arnold. Here is her beautiful description of these drawings (DRAWINGS!):

“Tedium is a series of drawings using the doily as a metaphor for feminine experience and the process of aging. The crocheted pieces I use as models are sourced from yard sales, auctions and second-hand stores. Each portrait includes stains, holes, loose threads and errors. The imperfections which have rendered the doily unusable for its original purpose now provide narrative and meaning to the drawing. This series honours experience, acknowledges tedious labour, and attempts to reveal a part of the anonymous maker’s story.”

Love. So much.

{ps. Lindsay has a show opening, titled “Hearth”, on March 17th at Estevan Art Gallery}

Sigh. Yet another artist whose work I’ve loved for years and years. I’m talking to American artist Stephanie K. Clark. Right off the bat she answered one of my questions almost poetically… how does she describe her work? She “paints with thread”. Love. We talk about art vs. craft, our love of houses, and our shared fascination with peeking into people’s windows at night … don’t judge us. You can listen to our conversation right up there under that lovely blue house, or you can subscribe on iTunes. 

Let’s start with a few of her fantastic houses. The plan had been to pick two or three… but clearly that was impossible:

Gah! I love them all so much {and ps. she does commissions… in fact, she quit her day job because so many people want their homes “painted in thread”}. It’s really hard to tell from the photos, but a lot of these are shadow boxes, so you really can look into the windows as the pattern you see is actually a couple of inches back. Did that make sense at all?

Now, onto her dreamy clouds… thread with just a bit of pastel in the background:

Sunsets, not sunrises apparently … the speed round revealed that she is not a morning person! Up next, her tiny but gorgeous little rugs:

Oh. I love them… all 3 inches of them! These are a few of the pieces she’ll be showing this coming May at Good Eye Gallery in LA (Eagle Rock). And of course, after all of the talking about her red hair, I had to show you what a hot mama Stephanie is:

Look at her, doing it all! Baby in arms, fabulous hair, holding up a magazine featuring her beautiful work. Not too shabby!

And with that I will say thanks to Steph for taking a break from her incredibly busy life to chat with me, thank you to Saatchi Art for supporting the episode and as always, thank YOU for listening {and if you feel like leaving a rating on iTunes that would make me so happy}. Ok, happy Saturday… see you next week when there will be more art for your ear.

Other Links: UMOCA  //  Flight of the Conchords

Oooh, pretty and sassy. These paintings are the lovely work of California based artist Sherry Knutson. Golden, delicate and loose… yet strangely perfect. Happy Friday.

Ah, the ghostly, strange, and beautiful large scale {most are 48″x36″} paintings of German born, Seattle based artist Anne Siems. I wrote about her way back in 2012. Her work was lovely then, but it has evolved so beautifully. Here are Anne’s words on that:

“My work has moved from semi-abstract, room-filling plant and insect drawings, to paintings of detailed botanical and anatomical imagery on waxed paper bags, to my current work of young women and children on wood panel. The thread here being my fascination and awe of life on this planet and the connectedness I feel to all, but find hard to describe in words. In the process of finding healing for chronic pain and fatigue (I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia eight years ago), I have deepened my interest in shamanism, ceremony and the deep nurturing that nature provides.”

Love.

I wish I knew what’s happening in these wet ‘n washy paintings by Chilean artist Nicole Tijoux… my theory… I imagine all of them running and huddling in a torrential downpour. What do you think? And Nicole, if you read this, let us know!

And speaking of being in water {if they are in fact in rain}, I also love this dreamy piece from her portfolio:

Ahhh.

Oh, I do love a bizarre narrative  ♥  These gorgeous mixed media collages on canvas are the work of the prolific, Chicago based artist, Phyllis Bramson. I feel like I’m flipping through my old art history books… except that the traditional Chinese paintings suddenly have a fantastic pop culture wink! This is how Phyllis describes her work:

“I use images that are infused with lighthearted arbitrariness and amusing anecdotes about love and affection, in an often cold and hostile world. Mostly, I am making work that percolates forth life’s imperfections: that doesn’t take decorum all that seriously, refusing to separate manners of taste from larger questions about “good behavior.” The paintings are reactions to all sorts of sensuous events, from the casual encounter to highly formalized exchanges of lovemaking (and everything in between). Miniaturized schemes, which meander between love, desire, pleasure and tragedy; all channeled through seasonal changes. Burlesque-like and usually theatrical incidents, that allow for both empathy and “addled” folly, while projecting capricious irritability with comic bumps along the way.”

{found via Littlejohn Contemporary, NY}

Sigh. The portfolio of New York based artist Valerie Hammond is filled to the brim with beautiful things – oh, so many beautiful things – but it was these lithographs and wax sculptures that took my breath away. Those soft delicate wax hands… stunning.

{via Colossal}