It’s a beautiful morning, the sun is shining, and I am totally smitten. Her name is Laura McKellar, she lives in Australia, and she may very well be my new favourite artist. These two pieces {embroidery and digital print on fabric… I know, fantastic!} are based on The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Anderson, and were shown last November at the Once Upon exhibition in Melbourne. Sigh… nothing like a good girl crush to get you through a Tuesday.

These mixed media pieces by Swedish artist Daniel Milton make me so jealous I’m dizzy… no really, is anybody else getting vertigo? Maybe it’s my fear of heights, or perhaps I’m just a delicate flower, but all of these images {especially the last two} make me feel a little motion sick… in a good way of course!

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… I need multi-coloured masking tape RIGHT NOW!

I thought I’d leave you for the weekend with this incredibly meticulous, slightly sticky, and most importantly… insanely rainbowie installation by Austin based artist Rebecca Ward. Ok, I know ‘rainbowie’ isn’t a word, but in this particular case, I think it applies!

{via Design For Mankind}

I want to see what Vancouver based artist Zoe Pawlak sees when she looks out a window! Now, I have to admit, I’m not usually drawn to landscapes {abstract or realistic} but these oil paintings are stunning. Her brushwork and colour choices are brilliant. Literally. Electric blue skies, and fluorescent red horizons. Yep, I would love to open my window and see any one of these four views… and if I can’t see it out of my window, I’m goin’ to Zoe’s house!

Sigh.

Today I find myself totally caught up in the world of Swiss illustrator/designer Daniel Lachenmeier. I love all of the images shown above, but I have a soft spot for the last one. It was a proposed illustration for Du Magazine about time, which is interesting because I feel like I could just sit quietly and look at if for a really, really, really long time. I wish I could think of a fancy, artsy sounding reason why, but the truth is I just find it very calming. Maybe it’s the muted palette, or my love of suburban houses? Who knows, but if you’ll please excuse me, I’ve got some staring to do.

{I found Daniel’s work via Postcards to Alphaville… yet another insanely inspiring collaborative project put together by Paul Paper.}

There are few things I love more  than weird portraits and cute houses, so imagine my delight when I found* the portfolio of Canadian artist Gillian Wilson. Paintings and drawings and prints, oh my!… so much amazing work to choose from. Personally, my heart belongs to these intaglio prints, but if you happen to be looking for slightly odd gouache portraits of the Royal family, well then, you’re in luck!

*{This artist was delivered to me on a silver platter by another fabulous Canadian that makes me jealous… Zoe Pawlak.}

You really need a close-up view to get the full experience of these quirky paintings by Brooklyn based artist Edward del Rosario. If you can’t see the tiny little ham being served for dinner, quite frankly, you’re missing out.

{Last week I wrote about the art team of Michael Dumontier & Neil Farber. Well, about two minutes after finding their work, I came across Edward’s paintings. Jackpot. Three artists to be jealous of, all in one gallery… The Richard Heller Gallery in Santa Monica California to be exact.}

Found image on found image. Seriously, could it be much more simple/brilliant than this? San Francisco based artist Brion Nuda Rosch thought of this… but I really wish that this was my simple/brilliant idea.

{via Booooooom}

This is not exactly the work that British artist Julian Opie is famous for. He’s known more for his iconic stick figures… stick figures? That’s not a great way to describe them. They’re more like those bathroom icon symbols, and most of them are nude. If you can’t begin to imagine that, simply click here and all will become clear. Anywho, I had a whole bunch of these ‘semi-nude bathroom symbol/icon things’ all ready to go, but I couldn’t stop thinking about these two lovely ladies… so here they are.

{If Opie’s stylized faces look familiar to you, it could be because you own this album, which he did the artwork for.}

I’m not quite sure what to say. I usually try to keep my posts light and funny, but there is nothing funny about the work of Montreal based artist Sophie Jodoin. These simple images {drawings/collages/paintings on mylar} break your heart while depicting the impact of war. They are so beautiful, but very hard to look at. The first three are my favourite pieces, and are from a series called Small Dramas & Little Nothings. I also love the final three, but I struggled with showing them because quite honestly, they make me feel a little bit sick. Red Torsos is the title of the series, and all of them make me want to cry.

{Thanks to Nathalie for sending me a link to her ‘all time favorite’ artist.}