laura plankser dioramas (photography)

Good grief have you seen the stunning diorama collection of brilliant Los Angeles-based artist Laura Plankser???? She’s combined her skill and passion for photography with her extensive experience in set decoration and miniature model making to create these extraordinary vignettes.

Each one is beautiful, funny, horrifying, entertaining and so, so successful.

Stare at it for hours (or at least a few minutes) on Laura’s website.

via (the truly inimitable) Terry Border

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carole ochs paintings

I love the mood of these two oil paintings (the only two in the shop) by Kansas artist Carole Ochs, aka the mysterious Etsy seller cochs. The fact that they are only $50 each just blows me away too.

Say hello to Carole on her blog, and purchase these pieces right here. You better hurry though - I think I might need both of them!

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paul pardue photography: miniview

if you are a regular visitor here you know i like to talk about “falling into” the details of some of the artwork i feature. i liken it to walking around with peripheral vision and then finding something that you can focus on sharply as you stumble along your daily path. this is how i felt when i saw the work of paul pardue. the consistency within his collection is noteworthy. each photograph has a powerful combination of great framing, incredible lighting and compelling subject matter. i really enjoy his work, so i decided to investigate further…

q: where do you live, and where do you create your artwork?
a: i live in sacramento, california which is where the bulk of my work is created, though if circumstances allow i do try and get out and shoot. most recently i went on a three day camping trip and visited two state parks and two federal parks. since i currently shoot digitally i do almost all my “processing” at home on the computer though i do have a laptop that i can take with me as a portable darkroom. i generally spend a lot of time on my photos, i may take a hundred photos and only work on a few. it really depends on the shoot.

q: what is it about photography that you enjoy the most?
a: i love that in photography you have control over your final image, but at the same time you have zero control over it. it’s a balance where you’re forced to take what is in front of you and make it your image. being able to control your environment to suit your needs is a really cool thought, in some ways it’s like how a painter takes their scene in front of them and paints in as they see. the difference of course is that the painter is open to their interpretation and style whereas i am forced to the constraints of what i can capture through the lens and later, through the processing and printing.

q: did you think when you were a little kid that you would grow up to be a photographer?
a: i remember as a little kid playing with my mom’s polaroid camera, even if there was no film in it. there is always something magical about photography, i really got in to it in high school and the thrill of watching a print develop in front of your eyes in the dark room is something that very few people get to experience. but, it wasn’t till high school that i really thought of photography as anything. as a kid, i’m sure i wanted to grow up to be an astronaut like all other kids.

q: if you could shoot anywhere in the world, where would it be?
a: i’d love to travel and do more of the landscapes and visit the state and federal parks, and even leave the country, but until that day comes i’ll continue to shoot locally. i guess above anything else it depends on what i want to shoot, where i end up shooting. if i continue with the landscapes and such i can inevitably end up anywhere in the world or even all over the world on some world trip of photography. maybe once things pick up in the sales department i can consider planning a trip.

see what’s available for sale at paul’s etsy shop. if you enjoy the human form, he also does fine art nudes, and that shop is here. view his full portfolio on his website and while you are at it, say hello to him on his blog.

thank you paul!

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amy stein photography

excellent work in new york photographer amy stein’s portfolio. i especially am enjoying the stranded collection today. amy traveled back and forth around the country for weeks creating this brilliant chronicle, which is as much about isolation and anxiety as it is about faith and community.

i don’t know about you, but i’ve been there.

see more work from amy on her website, and see what she is up to on her blog while you are at it.

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bill fantini photography: miniview

i am always on the lookout for beautiful sepia toned imagery and so when i saw these pieces from bill fantini, aka etsy seller houseofsixcats, i thought the mothership had landed. the lighting, texture and composition is so lovely in each and every photo. fortunately for us, bill’s skills are not exclusive to the sepia style. as i dug deeper, i found his shop to be a virtual treasure trove of through the viewfinder, sepia, black and white, still and urban photography. it is inspiring and impressive to see such a breadth of work in just one shop, which really got the old hamster wheel in my mind running, so i thought i would ask just a few questions…

q: where do you live and where do you create your artwork?
a: well, presently i live in ossining, ny. that is in westchester county, about 45 minutes north of the city. but i have lived on both coasts and we are planning on moving back to portland, oregon in october.

i don’t have any one particular place i create my art, i shoot in many different locations. i guess the one constant is that i use adobe lightroom and photoshop to help make the shots i took into images of art.

q: how did you get into photography?
a: i got my first 35mm SLR, a Minolta X700, for my 16th birthday, and have been hooked ever since!

q: browsing through your collection, it is clear that you have a broad mastery of several different styles. do you have a favorite piece of equipment, a location or technique you like to use?
a: thank you for the wonderful compliment! i really like shooting ttv, through the viewfinder, it’s great fun using the old argus 75 to compose the shot.

i have to say my favorite shot is rusted gear (below), and it is also from my most unique location, an abandoned power station.

q: what inspires your creativity?
a: that is the most difficult question. i really don’t have any one thing that inspires me. what i love to do is walk around a location and look for unusual angles or ways to shoot what i find interesting.

q: if you could shoot anywhere in the world, where would it be?
a: the first place that comes to mind is japan, i love the asian culture, and from what i have seen that country looks fascinating. another photo journey i would love to take is to explore more abandoned buildings here and in europe!

q: are any of the six cats in the house photographers too?
a: when i started my shop we had six cats, and i wanted a unique name that people would hopefully remember. since then two have passed, but i think it is a nice homage to their memory.

see more of bill’s broad portfolio of work on his flickr stream, and purchase these prints and more at his etsy shop.

thank you bill!

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matthew woodson illustrations

let’s have a look at some gorgeous emotional illustration work from local chicago artist matthew woodson. matthew uses traditional and digital techniques to create these lushly evocative pieces.

crack your piggy bank open for a good cause: recently, matthew was bitten by a strange spider and his course of treatment may require 8 more months of doctor and hospital visits! matthew has decided to take on some commission work to offset these extraordinary expenses. now is your opportunity to help and receive a very special piece of art in the process.

if a commission is not in the cards for you, you can still help by purchasing one of matt’s prints (shown above) at thumbtack press. checking out his website and saying hello to him on his blog might also cheer him up - try it!

via drawn!

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jon klassen illustrations

i love this waterfall print from portland-based artist jon classen. i love the lines and the angles, and that color palette fits so cleanly with the themes of isolation and loneliness. i don’t think it was an accident.

purchase the print at the robot walrus and head over to jon’s website or blog to see more great work.

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andrea moneta photography

i am a big fan of street photography and italian artist andrea moneta has a fantastic, moody collection. this passion started as an occasional hobby but gradually became more and more important to him. andrea shoots exclusively with a leica camera. he prefers to work in black and white exclusively now, due to its expressive quality. no argument there, that’s for sure.

see many more gorgeous images on his website.

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