Art: Erin Cone

I discovered this amazing artist by clicking through to a board that someone I follow on Pinterest repinned from. Whoo! That sounded convoluted, didn’t it? What isn’t convoluted is the artwork that I discovered by Erin Cone. Her work has an cool, almost photo-realistic look to it. I also love the strange visual jogs that are seen in a lot of her work. Here are a few pieces I really liked while surfing her website:

Perchance by Erin Cone, acrylic 44×36.

Subtle (2010) by Erin Cone, acrylic 24×20.

Chance (2009) by Erin Cone, acrylic 30×30.

Transparent (2004) by Erin Cone, acrylic 35×36 (sold).

See No (2005) by Erin Cone, acrylic 30×30 (sold).

Amazing, yeah? I think so too! You can view more of Ms Cone’s work on her website, as well as finding news, and contact information… You know, in case you’re thinking of buying. 😉

Well, I’m off to spend a few hours at the big blue box. I’m hoping to get a handle on my storage in the coming days (it’s one of many fall projects I’d like to finish before the weather gets truly bad), knock out making a vase from a Pom Wonderful bottle, and looking into what it will take to switch this here blog to a self hosted vs wordpress.com site. I’ll see you tomorrow with a few words on hats… and scarves… and gloves… OH MY!

Framed!

I didn’t do it! I’m just a patsy!

Seriously, I did do it… I finally framed that Artaissance print that I got from the thrift store that was going out of business a few weeks ago. Remember that? Well, in case you don’t here is a pic of the print in question:

Breakfast Treats II by C Biggio.

It’s got some really beautiful colors in it and I wanted to let them stand out so I picked up the largest size of Ribba frame from IKEA.

It took me a few minutes to get it in there (all those brads to pry up and the flatten down again, the poster was curled up and wouldn’t lay flat, the plexi kept popping out of the frame…) but I finally managed. I think it came out pretty nicely.

All the components together...

Ribba frame is ready to go!

Prying up brads... NOT fun.

Peeling the protective film off the plexi.

Now I just need somewhere to hang it!

And done! All framed up!

Art: AJ Chu

“Ophelia” by AJ Chu.

Untitled by AJ Chu

AJ Chu is a high school student who is headed to art school in the fall… In the meantime she is making incredible art like the pieces above. I can’t wait to see where this young lady is heading. She has a blog call Ahh Chooo but she seems to post only when she has work to share… which is not very often. Still, what this young artist has shown so far makes her worth checking into every once in a while.

Hope all is well in your world and I’ll catch you next time!

Art: Zoe Pawlak

Zoe Pawlak is a a Canadian artist based in Vancouver (yay Pacific Northwesterners!). I’m pretty sure that I happily stumbled on her art while surfing arouond Pinterest or something like that… or maybe even while checking links from some of my favorite bloggers on TweetDeck. However it happened, I’m supremely glad that I did. Her work is full of color, movement, expression. I find myself drawn back to her website again and again just to soak myself in the color and beauty. Here are some of my favorites:

Over Oceans by Zoe Pawlak.

Every Word by Zoe Pawlak.

Spent For Fortune by Zoe Pawlak.

You Were Always There by Zoe Pawlak.

While looking for more about Zoe Pawlak and her artwork, I found this Vimeo on her process for a commission called A Sky Is For Dreaming Into. In it she chronicles how the commission came about, what influences her, all while she actually paints!

I’m definitely hooked! I have a Zoe Pawlak on my list of must own items now… If you’re interested in seeing additional works, or would like to purchase or commission original paintings, find more to love at Zoe Pawlak. Until next time!

Art: Joanne Poore

Wild Flowers print by Joanne Poore on Etsy.

Oriental Poppies II print by Joanne Poore Art on Etsy.

I discovered UK artist Joanne Poore’s Etsy shop by checking out my activity feed for the first time in ages. Jane, a lovely gal in my circle, had marked one of Ms Poore’s prints as a fave and… the rest is history! Well, as much history as one can garner in a single day of drooling over these ethereal, soft, yet vibrant prints.

Sea Spray by Joanne Poore Art on Etsy

Angelica print by Joanne Poore Art on Etsy.

Full Bloom print by Joanne Poore Art on Etsy.

Warm Glow print by Joanne Poore on Etsy.

Check out her shop: Joanne Poore Art. And enjoy a few more of my favorite pieces from her shop! Happy Friday… until next time!

The Color of Memory

I was surfing Pinterest today and I saw this picture from the blog A Beautiful Mess. It made me smile. You see, I wanted to be an artist when I was young. I took took art classes and spent my pocket change on sketchbooks and art supplies.

After I had used a few different kinds of mediums, I fell madly in love with oil pastels. They were easy to use and so much fun to work with. I loved the colors! But the best part was how tactile it was. Using pastels is like fingerpainting. I would have pigment all over me, not just on my paper! I didn’t care though. I thought the mess was as cool as the rest of it.

I think reason why I enjoy interiors so much is because it reminds me quite a bit of using pastels. It can be vibrant or muted, tactile, and messy… But the end result? Yeah, that makes me smile.

Works in Progress…

Paintings by UK artist Tom French.

Artist Tom French presents some of his new works in progress on his blog. They are beautiful black and whites with a kinetic sense of movement. I’m a huge fan… and hoping that at some point he offers prints for the budget conscious among us. In the meantime check out his post
Works in Progress…. You can also check out my previous ode to his work here.

Yucky yucky snow in Seatown. 😦

We’re getting acres of snow here in Seattle. That’s definitely put a damper on my storage clean out activities!

I hope you all are having an amazing and snow free Monday! Until tomorrow!

Oddhero

In order to sooth my frazzled mood yesterday, I sat down and read through Grace Bonney’s book, Design*Sponge at Home, again. I noticed that in the dining room of her own home, she had hung this print by Oddhero.

It was a picture I have seen online before and even saved because I thought the print was amazing. So, after seeing the name of the shop that Grace had purchased it from, I looked them up online and found a shop full of graphic prints and tees that would look stylish in any design lover’s home. Here are some of my faves:

Clockwise from top left: Why is the sky blue? – $40, Why is the sun yellow? – $40, Why are clouds white? – $40, Why is grass green? – $40, all at Oddhero.com.

These paper size prints explain why certain natural elements are the colors they are in simple language that children would love. The set would be a great addition to a nursery or school age kids room.

Clockwise from top left: Aachen Bold – $180 (regular)/$380 (large), Tower – $220 (regular)/$430 (large), Helvetica – $220 (regular)/$380 (large), Futura – $380, all at Oddhero.com.

This set features fun and graphic homages to classic fonts. The jaunty angles and bold presentation would make these a great way to perk up a kitchen or the end of a hallway.

Grace Bonney’s dining room.

Grace Bonney has the large size Tower poster featured in her dining room. The red in the poster playfully complements the bamboo dining room chairs.

Thursday is upon us already! The week is floating past. I hope your day is going well… and if it isn’t, there’s only one more day until the weekend. Perhaps a little time for some much needed r&r. It’s time for me to finish up my laundry and take some more staples out of the office chair so I can get to the reupholstery. Catch you tomorrow!

Art: Kim Davies

I don’t know what is lately but I keep coming across links to amazing stuff and getting so caught up in it that I can’t remember how I got there. That’s totally the case with the artwork of Australian artist Kim Davies. I landed first on her paintings page and immediately fell in love with the tonal ranges of her abstract pieces… that prompted more exploration, which led to the best part of Kim’s website: the illustrations.

Felicity

Lip Service

I think it’s safe to say that her work falls firmly between portraiture and modern fashion illustration. Her colors are pinks, buttery yellows, and pale grays. The subjects are provocative and provide an interesting counterpoint to the palette.

Blue Sky Dreaming… on a side note: I bought the original drawing a few days ago and I’m, rather impatiently, waiting for its arrival from Australia!

Needless to say, I’m totally smitten. I actually went ahead and purchased the beautiful illustration above. My first piece of real art ever, can you believe it!? I’ve got to wait for it to come from Australia… does that take a long time? I hope not, I’m already on pins and needles as it is!

Blushing Nude

Check out Kim Davies illustrations and paintings or follow along with her blog, where shes shares news and inspiration. For more on Ms Davies’ process and what inspires her, see the interview that the online magazine, Ivy & Piper (also based in Australia), featured her in here.

Rouge

If you end up loving Kim’s work as much as I did, you can purchase originals and limited edition prints directly from her website by simply clicking the ‘buy’ button on available works. The prices are amazingly good, even with the exchange rate… and I have a strong feeling they’ll only gain more value! Have an amazing, artful Thursday all!

Art: Arian Behzadi

While surfing some of my bookmarked design blogs, I came across this post by Bri Emery on the collage work of biological sciences major Arian Behzadi:

4 1/2

Soot

Notus

Marc

Unfortunately, none of Mr. Behzadi’s work is available as prints for sale but you can check out the amazing collection of pieces at his Flickr page.