The Art Blog

Caryn Drexl

2006-06-04T13:26:00.000-04:00

Caryn sent us a link to her site (hurrah, reader submissions!), and her photography makes me remember why I was so gung-ho about art photography in college. Her take on portraiture is quite unique, and her excellent technical skills push her work over the top. Very nice.

[Link]
AND I think she's still having a sale on her already reasonably priced prints. Consume, minions, consume!

Ryan Sanchez

2006-05-31T20:32:00.000-04:00

Unique style? Check. Big bold compositions? Check. Fresh use of recognized themes and pop culture imagery? Check. Surrealist attitude? Energetic painting technique? Tattoo imagery? Check, check check.

This guy's got a lot of stuff going for him, and some very nice work up on his site, well worth your time.

His work is not only visually pleasing but also makes you (or, at least, me) pause and consider his conceptual process. I'll try to get an interview, and we'll see if we can't all learn a little more together.

[Link]

Greg Houston

2006-05-30T08:04:00.000-04:00

You've seen his work. You know you have. It's been in a bunch of magazines.

His caricatures have far more life and style in them than most, and carry an energy that's entirely missing from a lot of the illustrative work I see. A very comprehensive overview of his work is available at his site. I just wish the images were bigger.

[Link].
*BONUS LINK* to his store at CafePress.

GUNSHO a.k.a. James Quigley

2006-05-29T15:44:00.000-04:00

Nobody draws like this. Primarily because they're scared to. All those lines, that detail, the color, everything looking all bold... this guy's got unique style for days. I've been checking his site often to see the progression of his "Demonology" series. From his site:

Gunsho is undertaking an intensive effort to create modern interpretations of the 72 demons of the Goetia and other works of demonology, to be completed by the end of 2006. Each demon will be the subject of a print, and the series is to be titled DEMONOLOGY.

And it shall be SWEET. I just ordered a print from this guy, and it showed up in the mail looking twice as nice as it did on the site. It's now one of the coolest things in my otherwise lame apartment.

[Link]

Matthew Woodson & Ghostco.

2006-05-27T09:05:00.000-04:00

What better way to prove we're back to business than by pulling an ace from my sleeve? I'd been saving this one for a special day, and I might as well pull it out now.

Matthew Woodson is an amazingly talented and (I think) under-recognized artist and illustrator who currently resides in Chicago. He's been a favorite of mine for years now, and I have been keeping track of him for a while, not only to see where his career goes (it'll be a good place, trust me), but also for him to break down and finally have some prints of his work made. I would buy several.

His site Ghostco, which is currently about as updated as I've ever known it to be, is chock full of his work. Be sure and click everything, it's all well worth it.

I have several years worth of questions for this guy, so I think I'll drop him a line and see if we can't get him on board for a good old fashioned Art Blog style interview sometime soon. I'll keep you posted.

[Link] to Ghostco.
*BONUS LINK*: A very straightforward tutorial on how he goes about making his work, from way back when he was a regular on DeviantArt.

Fanfare! Choruses of Angels! We're back (we think)!

2006-05-27T08:49:00.000-04:00

Telling someone you're coming back to blogging is like swearing that you're to quit smoking. Right, right, fine... they'll believe you when it happens. So perhaps a better title would be: we intend to be back. We really do.

Although strangely, I think the site was almost doing better in terms of comments and hits when I wasn't posting...

I myself hate it when bloggers on non-personal sites muck up their posts with personal details. And you don't likely care where I've been. So let's just say I was fistfighting dinosaurs and leave it at that. It's far more fun than the truth anyways.

Enough senseless banter! On with the art!

have faith!

2006-04-20T08:22:00.000-04:00

we are not dead. we are merely catching our breath.

for those of you with patience, be advised, and don't be afraid to check back soon.

Video Game Art: Michael French.

2006-03-02T20:23:00.000-05:00

Here's some information about a fascinating piece of multi-media installation by artist Michael French. You get to control God's hand to smush a neverending procession of soldiers. With all that violence, let's just hope there's no hot coffee mod as well to irk the censorists.

[Link] to Michael's site. His paintings aren't half bad, either!

12 year-old gums up $1.5 million dollar painting.

2006-03-02T20:20:00.000-05:00

In this story on USATODAY.com, a 12-year old is in hot water for sticking his gum where it doesn't go, namely on an expensive piece of art.

The boy, who was not identified because of his age, was part of a school group that was visiting the museum last week when officials said he took a piece of gum out of his mouth and stuck it on the 1963 painting.

The gum stuck to the painting's lower left corner and did not adhere to the fiber of the canvas, officials told the Detroit Free Press. But it left a chemical residue about the size of a quarter, said Becky Hart, assistant curator of contemporary art.

Now obviously we wouldn't want to ban young people from museums, but how about getting rid of the gum? The chewing sound echoes something terrible in the gallery spaces anyways.

The Surrealist Goes To The Store.

2006-03-02T20:17:00.000-05:00

A hilarious short piece of prose over at McSweeny's to get you in a surrealist state of mind, should you want such a thing.

The buildings turned into ice cream, which soon melted under the heat of the deep-blue sun, which was now resting 74 feet from the surface of the Earth. The townspeople were very disappointed as they watched their houses and places of business melt into ice-cream soup. They yelled in anger at Jimmy. Some of them melted, while others turned into various 15th-century English noblemen.

Ah, surrealism!

S.D. Barber.

2006-02-27T19:14:00.000-05:00

Some very nice painted portraiture revolving around the theme of tattoos. People who have them, people getting them, and the tools and people involved. I like his treatment of subject vs. background quite a bit.

I am, however, a bit annoyed that his skinny little website insists on resizing my browser window. Be warned of that.

[Link] via Needled

Jonathan Gitelson.

2006-02-27T19:04:00.000-05:00

He's a jack-of-all-trades, and I appreciate that. Nothing to keep you busy like an iron in every fire. I especially enjoy the car series (from which the above image is borrowed), although I admit I'm not sure I understand it.

[Link]

Slowing down...

2006-02-27T19:00:00.000-05:00

Those of you who check here frequently (and bless your patient hearts if you do) have undoubtedly noticed that the posting has slowed as of late. I've come to realize that I won't consistently have the time to update here once a day. As much as I'd like to keep pace with professional bloggers or people with less demanding lives, I can't. Thus, you can expect posts to be hitting the page at least few times a week, more if fate will have it.

That's all. Thanks for looking and I hope you'll keep it up.

Public Chair.

2006-02-22T08:13:00.000-05:00

No posts for a few days, been busy with some personal projects. It's not always easy to take time out of my personal life to update here, but I really do enjoy it.

A neat little lo-fi public art/use installation is documented on this site. The concept of a sitting space for public use is not new (park benches, bus stops), so what gives? From the site:

They belong to every one, are public property. Thus the chairs can be reorganised, grouped or taken to other locations if necessary – an attribute that is often missed at, for example, fixed park benches.

Aha! Nifty. Keep an eye out for my upcoming extension of this idea... public beds.

[Link] thanks, Matthias!

Blum & Poe Installation Photos...

2006-02-18T10:55:00.000-05:00

There is no other way to say it. I want to go stand in this room. Like, more than anything. Truly inspirational treatment of the total space.

[Link] via 31x7

Jeffrey Hein.

2006-02-18T10:50:00.000-05:00

Fantastic paintings by Jeffrey Hein. His paintings have a very matter-of-fact quality to them that is not often seen in portraiture. They seem honest, somehow.

[Link] via Design Is Kinky

Carson Ellis

2006-02-16T22:01:00.000-05:00

Carson Ellis is the talented hand behind, among other things, all of the artwork associated with The Decemberists. Her ink and watercolor work is spectacular, and manages to really convey the feel of the time period her art depicts.

[Link]

Michael Vesen.

2006-02-16T21:59:00.000-05:00

Michael Vesen's photoblog has some lovely work on it. I especially like the landscapes.

[Link]

Scott Pommier.

2006-02-15T20:11:00.000-05:00

Scott Pommier (whom I can only assume is the brother of uber-talented Andrew Pommier) has a weighty portfolio of skate and portrait photography on display. In visiting his site, I learned that he's the lens behind my favorite skate-shot of all time (it's the first one in the "two" section, with the leaves). Amazing work!

[Link]

Ryan Heywood.

2006-02-15T20:07:00.000-05:00

Ryan Heywood steps up to the plate with some inspiring surf and portrait photography. Some of the action shots of riders on waves are almost surreal in their content and composure.

[Link] via Design Is Kinky

An interview with Ryan Burghard.

2006-02-14T19:02:00.000-05:00

Art Blog got a chance to interview Ryan Burghard about his art. He gives us a look behind his scenes, and an insight into his work.

Art Blog: Images of people seem to play a central role in your art. More specifically, these people are usually altered, adorned, or obscured in some way. Can you talk a bit about that?

Ryan Burghard: Contemporary popular culture offers us compartmentalized identities to adhere to or to rebel against, all of which act as some form of identity alteration or masking. As a society we are consumed with the construction of our projected self and the adoption of new public facade. This assumption of an outward persona allows us to overcome our insecurities internally while augmenting our physical characteristics externally. I’m interested in how these augmentations affect our public/private personas and ultimately how we become informed of our individual ‘self’ within the desire for inclusion to a larger group.

AB: What goes into the conceptual process of putting a piece together? What determines the content of the images you produce?

RB: I’m frequently referencing a variety of themes in folklore, mythology, theory and philosophy in order to position my art within a larger framework of conceptual discourse. These sources allow me identify re-occurring symbols and imagery that are also applicable and existent in contemporary culture. The themes are social strategies that allow me to create a sense of cohesion with the past while defining my relationship to them in the present.

AB: What are you working on now?

RB: I’m working on a show that challenges ideas of masculinity. I’m particularly interested in rites of passage rituals and how as a young man we are required to adopt social codes of patriarchy. Our society currently celebrates a ‘softer male’ creating a paradox between the ‘man’ most of my generation’s male population have become and the ‘man’ we grew up thinking we should be. My new work will investigate these ideas with the creation of a new masculinity and the assertion of it through ritual.

AB: What’s the best way for people to see your work at the moment?

RB: The easiest way for people to see my work is by visiting my website. I can also be seen in Faesthetic Magazine #5 along with some other great artists that are worth checking out.

I just ordered my copy. Have YOU?

Green.

2006-02-14T07:54:00.000-05:00

Marcus sends us a link to his photoblog. The layout and interface are quite well done, but the photography is surreal and beautiful. Striking macro images of natural subjects. And I believe you can even download most of the images for wallpaper/personal use.

[Link] Thanks, Marcus!

Amazing night of music...

2006-02-14T00:04:00.000-05:00

Got home late tonight, having gone to see Sigur Ros in concert with some friends. I've seen a lot of shows, and a lot of good bands, and I was nothing short of BLOWN AWAY by their performance. I know you're not here to listen to me prattle on about music, but for those of you that enjoy listening to music whilst you art, may I highly reccomend throwing on theirs. And, definitely go see them play if you have the chance. It's music and video art and an amazing light show all rolled up together.

Those of you who have been anxious for updates as of late, please be patient. Tomorrow I'll be posting an excellent new interview with Ryan Burghard. Excitement abounds!

Kelly Haigh.

2006-02-12T21:09:00.000-05:00

Dollinthefamily.com is the homepage of Kelly Haigh. Her site shows a nice progression of her work to the present time, and her paintings are equal parts whimsical and creepy. Good stuff!

[Link]

The weekend away...

2006-02-10T18:26:00.000-05:00

I'll be out of town and away from the computer this weekend, so don't expect any new posts. I should be back updating again by Sunday evening.