sarah spitler paintings

reader hilary pointed me towards the powerful, engrossing work of san francisco artist sarah spitler. sarah relates her work, crafted from ink, acrylic, graphite, enamel and other media, to geographical forms and the chance combinations that come together to create such entities. she is also mindful of chaos and the ephemera that is created and affected by it. i don’t think i need to urge you to look at the details of these pieces; they speak for themselves.

there are extraordinary delicate and intense details, explosions of color and feathery lines and bulges and drips that lead my eye down and around and in, and lead my mind to otherworldly places.

we don’t need permission to fall in.

see more and contact sarah on her website, and also find select works at the beholder.

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thomas broomé illustrations

perhaps you know swedish artist thomas broomé for his low res man sculpture, but i also love what clever pieces he has created here in his modern mantra collection. he is using a liberal amount of the alphabet to create texture, depth and positive/negative space in his clean lined drawings, and takes us on a very funky house tour at the same time.

i love the walk-in closet.

thomas is represented by the galleri magnus karlsson in stockholm. you can see lots more intriguing artwork in a variety of media from thomas on his website too.

via fabrica

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hope gangloff illustrations

i have always been drawn to pen and ink illustrations, and these ballpoint pen works by new york artist hope gangloff are no exception. these pieces are drawn from photos and recreated with details that are soft but still precise and complete. her vivid scenes of daily life, both in palette and composition, take me to a place where i have been before at some point. a place where i felt liberated, hard, youthful and wise all at the same time.

the combination of ennui and casual confidence within her subjects is just so excellent.

hope is represented by the art department and the susan inglett gallery. view her portfolio and contact her on her website.

via wrong distance

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chris jordan photography

hold onto your hats folks, as you look at these unreal large scale works from seattle artist chris jordan. this series is entitled running the numbers and depicts the surprising (and frequently depressing) statistics relating to consumerism, politics and crime — literally. chris created this series to have a look at contemporary american culture through the harsh lens of statistics. each image portrays a specific quantity of something (seen below, in increasing zoom view, in order): one million plastic cups, the amount used on us airline flights every six hours; 32,000 barbie dolls, equal to the number of elective breast augmentation surgeries performed monthly in the us in 2006; or 2.3 million folded prison uniforms, equal to the number of Americans incarcerated in 2005.

chris has created these images in the hopes we will better relate to these sobering facts by visual communication, rather than simply staring at the plain, bottom-line numbers we see in the paper or in books. these very large, highly detailed prints are assembled from thousands of smaller photographs, and the goal is to recognize the impact, actions and importance of each of us, single individuals, in the ever-growing, perplexing and intense culture we inhabit.

chris feels that the impact of these prints is lost a bit when viewing on the computer screen, but i tend to disagree. sure it would be more profound an experience to see these grand-scale works in person, but to me, the point and the fact come through loud and clear, and that’s enough in my book to make a lasting impression.

chris is currently exhibiting this series now through june 8th, 2008 at the allen art museum at oberlin college in ohio. be sure to check out more of these amazing works on chris’ website, and stay tuned too — this series is a work in progress and new images will be posted as they are completed.

via the widgetbroker

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bottle cap mosaic art by john unger

okay, okay, one last blast with the upcycling and then i will be quiet. look at the beautiul details of these folksy mosaic fish from michigan artist john unger. they’re carefully and obsessively made of bottle caps, with select metal accents.

purchase the fish and see more sustainable design work at john’s etsy shop. be sure to check his blog out too for much, much more!

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james fowler abstract art - let’s chat!

look at these abstract paintings from canadian artist james fowler. the obsessive compositions are intricately crafted and orderly and are softened by the vibrant color palettes. unlike piet mondrian, the king of neo-plasticism, these pieces are less rigid with their looser lines, and break from the traditional exclusive use of primary colors. however, similar to others in the cubist-inspired movement, they tell graphic horizontal and vertical stories, which in turn create mazes in my mind. as my eye traces those details that twist and wind around, a gateway to mysterious stories opens that i could spend hours trying to unravel. let’s have a chat with james and find out a bit more!

q: where do you work?
a: i have a studio on queen street west, in toronto. it’s the birthplace of all that is cool in toronto.

q: what is your background, and did you study art formally?
a: i was not formally trained in art. my great grandfather was a commercial graphic designer and a water colour hobbyist, my grandmother also paints so i was born with a silver paintbrush in hand. by age six, i was doing paint by numbers adequately and by the time i was in the ninth grade i had surpassed the standard value exercises others were doing, and was stretching 4′ x 8′ canvases. i turned to the film for university and abandoned art for the film industry for many years. by 2002 though, i had had enough of the “type a” personalities in the industry, and after a friend asked me what i would do if i could never paint again, my path became pretty clear.

q: are your pieces made using acrylic paint exclusively or do you use some other types of media?
a: i’ve been thinking of switching over to oils. i’m currently working in acrylics, but also have another line of art that uses men’s business shirts and plaster in a low lever relief to tell stories of relationship.

q: how large are these pieces and what is their price range?
a: the pieces range from 8″ x 12″ to the largest (to date), 4′ x5′, but i’ve painted 3′ x 7′ pieces too. i do a lot of commission work and the work ranges from $300 to $2500 with the majority being 22″ x 30″ on paper unframed for $550 - relatively inexpensive in the art world.

q: what is your inspiration and message you want to send through these elaborately patterned pieces in these expressive color palettes?
a: i’m fascinated with the business world and what makes a strong capital market, what buildings are made of and what builds a city, who designs them and what makes good human traffic flow. i am also inspired by ancient decorative arts with a high level of craftsmanship, such as early chinese dynasty pots. there is something about steel and iron in molds too that is compelling, that frequently are used in the construction of cities or automobiles.

basically the collection consists of imagined cities from above, using color palettes to give a feeling of place or season or mood (winter in new york, paris in the spring, lost in the city, california, etc.) i’ve been doing the cities now for a while but i’m really encouraged from the attention my work has been gathering in the last six months. the work is also a lot about cities and traffic movement, about balance, a tough mix. i like to spend a lot of time away from the work and add in squares in fits and starts.

q: are you currently exhibiting in any shows or is there any other meaningful information you would like to mention?
a: you can see my work in the march 2008 issue of canadian house and home magazine, the special condos issue. it can also be viewed at toast restaurant and in stores on queen street east in leslieville. my new website is up, and i have a flickr stream as well.

thank you james!

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