Even though parts of Gordon Harper‘s Backlit Memories series takes place in winter, most pieces feel like a washed out summer day. No air conditioning, sweaty glasses of iced tea, as little clothing as possible and a fan whirring in the background. Harper’s quiet streets filled with vacant houses just about fade away with every stroke of his brush.
The world around us is forever changing, sometimes on its own and more often than not by human hands. Mya Kerner creates to capture these fleeting moments of vulnerability and balance.
My studies in permaculture revealed a new way of perception. I notice geological disruptions, moments and parts within the landscape; together, these notes present a segmented image of the whole. When I look out to the mountains, I see scratched lines breaking through the slopes, while flecks of white dapple on eroded surfaces, recalling cooler seasons. Light moves across planes, marking time with stretched and shortened shadows and form denotes the flow of water through rocky slopes. I record by drawing and writing in attempt to capture these moments of vulnerability, leaving the rest in the haze of lost memories. My concern for humanity’s precarious relationship with nature drives my exploration of the intricacies of terrain and the potential for balance through my material studies.
In today’s age of selfies galore, Jen Mann’s paintings step back and explore human identities a bit deeper.
In the society of “me”, where we document ourselves like celebrities and share our lives online for everyone, the self is a prevalent, and important topic to our generation. Our identities are curated like our online profiles to reflect only the parts of ourselves we choose to keep alive. Who am I? Who are you? What does my life mean? Why am I alive? Mann’s work aims to address these very illusive questions, and explore, but not necessarily answer all of them.
Maine-based artist Hannah Secord Wade creates luscious oil and acrylic paintings that are piles of… stuff. All sorts of things. But to me Wade’s Everything All Together series also resemble ice cream sundaes with multiple toppings, compost heaps from the kitchen, and tropical mountains.
If you’re feeling drained from this week – or this year – Sam Chirnside‘s psychedelic paintings might be just the thing to boost your energy levels. The Berlin-based artist, designer, and creative director mainly uses oils to create these trippy pieces that are equally at home on album covers or a gallery wall.
Ekaterina Popova‘s paintings centered around the idea of home, and the unmade beds that often find themselves beneath her brush, have me thinking about sultry summer nights and the warm spring ones we’ve already had that left me throwing off the covers. Popova references old photographs, images, magazine cutouts, and books that remind her of her old life in Russia to create these fictitious places that will inevitable make you feel something.
Milan-based artist Thomas Cian is a very gifted man, especially when it comes to portraiture. His watercolor pieces combine colors and shapes that would never represent any part of the human form one their own, except when brought together under his brush they do and they’re lovely.
French painter Jérome Romain has a knack for capturing the mundane moments in life and elevating them to the nth level through his brush. His photorealistic style captures every detail, highlight, and shadow.
Arranged Shapes by Christopher Bettig
Botanica #3 Tropical Fern by OAK Gallery
Greyscale Kitties by Stay Home Club
It’s Going to Be O.K. by Ladyfingers Letterpress
Woman Collage by Ricardo Garcia
X-Files Desert Screen Print by Genuine Human
Posted In create, graphics, illustration, mixed media, painting, paper, paper goods, prints
Last month was a whirlwind, so we’re doubling down on DIY art projects in April – here’s the first. I want to bring the joy and carelessness of art class back with these projects, in other words nothing complicated and lot of free spiritedness. We can all remember using a pencil’s eraser to create a stamp, but today we’re using one to paint!
I love using household items to create, and with a pencil there’s no worry about messing it up because you can simply throw it away when finished if you’d like. Like all of our art DIYs this one is fast and loose, stick to a pattern if you’d like or be more abstract. Go monotone with one color or use the whole rainbow.
Supplies
• canvas panel, I used an 8″ x 10″
• craft paint
• pencil with fresh eraser
• palette or paper plate
I started by eyeballing the center of the canvas and creating the middle square that’s twelve dots wide by twelve tall, but if you’re not the greatest at visualizing measurements just get out your ruler and measure to find the middle. All of the other squares were built off of that initial shape and the number of dots used. With each dip of my eraser in the paint I was able to create about three dots before having to reload, so some of them are more opaque than others. I didn’t pay too much attention to keeping super straight columns and rows, and in hindsight I actually wish it had turned out a bit more carefree. This DIY was really cathartic because I loved the mindless repetition.
