shohei abstract paintings

if you enjoy abstract acrylic paintings with vivid colors and thick brush strokes, you will enjoy the prolific work of japanese artist shohei.

see much, much more on his flickr stream!

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natasha preenja paintings

these acrylic paintings from indian artist natasha preenja are making me dizzy in the best way. i love the patterns and lines combined with soothing color schemes and the strong feminine subject matter.

wah - i hunted around but found no website for natasha. i found these pieces on pav’s lovely blog, though, and you can click over there to see more of natasha’s work and more cool things!

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jared may photography: miniview

i live in a major metropolitan city, which is not without rich history, architecture, culture and charm. regularly though, i find myself someplace that’s too crowded, tight, close, jammed, noisy, stinky or crammed. it is at these times i place my (imaginary) cone of silence on my head and daydream of wide open spaces. why not indulge a little with me right now and have a peek at this lusciously lit landscape photography from kansas artist jared may!

jared’s love of the medium began at the tender age of eight, and he has been drawn to it ever since. he has a unique point of view not only through his lens but also towards his art: he feels he has experienced enough trial (and error) to be able to identify his best shots. ever curious to know just a little bit more about the brains behind the operation, i asked just a few quick questions…

q: where do you live and where do you create your artwork?
a: i live in the flint hills of northeast kansas. my favorite spot for shooting is the konza prairie, which is a research area/semi-protected grassland. they have a few trails that are open to the public, and it’s just about my favorite place to be any time of the year, but i’ll shoot anywhere. sunset/dandelion was taken in my front yard, for example. i also like to pull the car over if i see something cool on the way to work, or on the way home. if you’re driving near manhattan, and you see a guy with his car off to the side of the road and a camera in his hand, it sure might be me.

q: i see that the bulk of your collection was shot in the midwestern heartland. if you could shoot anywhere in the world, where would it be?
a: i haven’t been to alaska yet, and i’d love to spend a few months there shooting. the trouble i’ve had with taking photographs of gorgeous places as i travel around is that i’m not able to spend enough time in any one spot to really know the place, so the photographs won’t necessarily capture the essence of the place, like i try to do with my photographs of kansas. i like to think that if i travel enough, i’ll get to learn places even if i don’t live there, but i’m not quite convinced that’s possible just yet.

q: what type of equipment do you use? do you have any special techniques that you would like to share with us?
a: i got into digital photography for the first time a little over two years ago. i was introduced to flickr at right about that same time, and i ended up falling in love with both of them. i was shooting with a little nikon coolpix 4200 at the time. most of the photographs i have in my etsy shop were taken in that time period with my trusty little coolpix. i recently upgraded to a nikon d40x, my first digital SLR. i haven’t fallen in love with it just yet, but we’re still getting to know one another. i’m excited about the start of spring. i have a lot of ideas that i’m ready to try out with the new camera.

in terms of techniques to share, my major advice is to pay attention to your strangest ideas and give them a shot. with digital photography, even the worst idea can be attempted to your heart’s content, and in the end all you’ve lost is a bit of your time. the best way to come up with fun new photographs is to allow yourself to brainstorm ideas and then shoot shoot shoot until you get what you want.

when i was a kid, my mom convinced me that it was okay to go out for a photo shoot and just come back with one or two really cool shots. i continue to think that way. if i shoot 200 shots, and one of them is fantastic, i’m a happy guy.

q: which components of your composition style do you think are most unique?
a: this is a hard question for me, because my photography is really just me trying to capture what i see, so i can share it. my favorites of my photographs fall into two categories. either i’ve set up the shot so that the light is doing something crazy with the image that lends a unique mood to scene, or i’ve managed to find the beauty in something that is easily missed by folks as they go through their day. i genuinely believe that there is beauty to be found everywhere, and the trick is to learn to see it.

q: what do you do when you’re not taking photographs?
a: my favorite things are travelling and spending time with my family, so i try to do a lot of both of those things. travelling can be expensive, but luckily hanging out with the loved ones is free.

i teach math at an alternative high school, which i really enjoy, most days. i’m studying to be an administrator, but i haven’t decided how i’ll use my degree. i’m still working on the whole what-you-want-to-be-when-you-grow-up thing.

q: sunrise or sunset — your preference?
a: this one’s easy for me, despite the fact that my most popular photograph is a sunset. there is nothing quite like being out in a field, breathing in fresh morning air, waiting for the sun to peek out. the photographs just about take themselves.

see a much larger selection and purchase prints in a variety of sizes at jared’s etsy shop. check out his other shop for more original art, and be sure to stop by and say hi on his blog too!

thank you jared!

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gordon halloran ice paintings - seen in person

do you remember when i said i would present a follow-up post on the spectacular ice paintings from canadian artist gordon halloran? please find what i saw in person below for your viewing pleasure. for some reason, i didn’t realize that they would be all frosty and frozen over until i saw them in person (duh!). when the guy came out with the blow torch to reveal the artwork’s true colors, people watched grinning, in stunned silence, as bursts of color came through one after the other.

the exhibit is gone now, but seeing the gorgeous, original work with my own eyes was worth bearing the frigid temperatures. and boy did i get the color fix i need on a regular basis this time of year!

i really hope he is taking his show on the road to some other fortunate city soon.

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bob crooks art glass

it may be sunny outside today, but we are still in the throes of winter here and i still need my shots of color. i will take them with gusto from the inspired glass work of uk artist bob crooks. bob is an internationally exhibited artist who has a studio in devon, and his one of a kind collection is made entirely by hand. bob is inspired by the material itself, in addition to architecture, nature and geometry. drilling deeper into those ideas he has made a success putting together soft curves and crisp angles with cloudy and clear surfaces. he has created a collection that compels us to discover the details.

this work makes me feel good, looking at the colors. this work makes me feel inspired, to see someone who so clearly, masterfully, effortlessly seems to integrate his talents and skills. we should all be so lucky to do that. we should all be so lucky.

see more beauty on bob’s website. when visiting the victoria and albert museum, be sure to look for his work there in the permanent collection. you might also be able to spot select pieces at cecilia colman, tracey macnee and the steam gallery at beer.

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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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susan shippey borski paintings

now begins the yearly automatic ritual for me to seek out bright happy colors as we near the depths of winter. please enjoy these contemporary mixed media paintings by bay area artist susan shippey borski. suz strives to capture the ideas of rampant movement and plenty of possibility, and frequently finds inspiration in nature. these expressive works are made with a variety of materials, such as oil, watercolors, golf leaf and acrylic.

i love these loose, abstract compositions that are filled with flashes of light, and the spirited feeling that emanates through them. i feel hydrated and refreshed now after looking at them.

find suz’s extremely reasonably priced paintings (nothing more than $250 right now!) over on here.

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