What category am I supposed to put this under? Painting? Well, yes, he’s covered in paint. Installation? Kinda. Street art? I guess so. I should probably just start a new category called ‘Slightly Mind Blowing’. All of these pieces are from a series called Hiding in the City by Chinese artist Liu Bolin, also known as The Invisible Man. I’m sure you can see why… if you look really hard.

“Take something; do something to it; then do something else to it.” – Jasper Johns

I think I may have just found my new art credo. Ok, American painter Trey Speegle was using it first, but I’m jumping on the band wagon. In this case, the something he’s taken are vintage paint-by-numbers sets, and then what he’s done to it is add words and phrases to add meaning to these usually meaningless images. I’ve shown only 4 of them here, but this collection has over 2500 pieces. Now that’s inspiring.

{Fashion designer Stella McCartney commissioned Trey to do the runway backdrop for the launch of her Spring collection in Paris this past October. I’ve included this amazing piece in my most recent show, Fashion Show.}

Two words: Jack. Pot.

A whole bunch of other words: Gorgeous colour, rich textures, unique style, bizarre narratives, beautiful illustration.

I really need to get paid for this somehow because I really want to buy pretty much everything that I show. These glazed ceramics, by American artist Amanda Smith, are definitely on my wish list… hint, hint.

Vintage family photos are one of my favourite things. I love the relaxed/familiar body language, the stories you can’t help but inject, and the little peek you get into other people’s lives. These paintings (oil and charcoal mixed lovingly together) are by Spanish/Swedish painter Miquel Wert. I’ve seen a lot of work that references old family albums, but these are definitely unique. All of his pieces have a very ghostly quality, with most of his subjects being faceless. To me, it feels like memories that are slowly fading away. A bit sad, but beautiful none-the-less.

Maybe it’s because today was the first time I’ve had to scrape frost off of my car since last winter that I feel the need to share these warm, beachy, end of summer photographs. I love the feeling that American photographer Alicia Bock has managed to capture, well, perfectly. You can almost smell them… fresh air, salt water, and just a hint of Hawaiian Tropic.

{You’ve also got to see her I love Paris in the Springtime series. Be warned though ~ you may want to pack a bag and head for the ‘City of Lights’ almost immediately.}

There are way too many amazing projects in Lauren DiCioccio’s portfolio to choose from… that’s why I’m jealous again. Last time I wrote about Lauren I showed her organza shopping bags, and today I went with my other fav, her color codification dot drawings. These are so beautiful and so labor intensive. Here’s Lauren’s secret behind them: ‘I lay a sheet of frosted mylar over a magazine page. I assign a color to every letter (numbers are shades of greyscale) and apply tiny dots of paint over every character on the page according to my color-code.’

I wonder which seven colours spell ‘jealous’?

Holly Farrell, Solo Show

December 2nd – December 31, Chase Gallery ~ Boston

Holly Farrell has been featured on The Jealous Curator more than any other artist I think, and now with a new solo show opening in Boston tomorrow night, how can I not write about her again? It’s a combination of her subject matter and her amazing technical skill that gets me every time. I saw some of her work in person this past summer and it’s even better up close. And, if you go to the opening tomorrow, you might even be lucky enough to meet her. She’s just like her work… oh so lovely.

What is it with me and bizarre storybook imagery? Seriously, I cannot seem to get enough. These lithographs, with chine-collé, are by the multi-talented Peregrine Honig. What I love about them are the soft, delicate backgrounds combined with the bold, somewhat disturbing characters. A bear that is clearly up to no good. Kids with antlers hanging around in their underpants. Little Red Riding Hood wielding an axe and a pretty decent bikini tan… is it morally wrong that I love these?

Ah, the simple and serene suburbs. A place where nothing ever happens… wait a minute, is that a body in the front yard?

I love suburban subject matter, especially when things aren’t quite right… because, let’s face it, we all know that there’s crazy stuff going on in most of those houses! And lucky for us, painter Amy Bennett is giving us a little sneak peek into a few of them in her series entitled Neighbors. These scenes almost look like architectural models of an ideal suburb (the perspectives, the cut-aways, the perfect little trees and cars) until  you look a little closer. Obvious artistic talent and a really good story – you can’t ask for much more than that.

Forget Christmas gifts, I’m going to wrap myself in these beautiful custom patterns by illustrator/artist Julia Rothman. When I came across her work I recognized her name right away but couldn’t figure out from where… had I already written about her? Nope… Ah-ha! Of course – she’s the author of one of my favourite blogs, Book By It’s Cover. Wow, jealous twice in one post. Busy day.