November 19, 2017
Quick Picks
November 17, 2017
Matt Andres
Matt Andres comfortable navigates through both traditional and digital mediums, and his work explores many different styles. My favorite is maybe the simplest – his explorations of gouache paintings that leave you questioning whether what you’re looking at it the real deal or computer generated.
November 16, 2017
Esthera Preda
Canadian illustrator Esthera “Estée'” Preda is kind enough to welcome us into an incredible world of her creation. Where rabbits have human faces, flowers grow out of the tops of heads, and rabbits are bipedal and ride around on skateboards.
As a child, she was read Hans Christian Andersen and Brothers Grimm fairy tales every night by her mother who escaped the iron curtain. She lived across the hall from her grand-mother who was prone to night terrors. Although, she had wonderful parents, one of her favorite pastimes was to pretend that she was an orphan so she could build, with her brothers and sister, multi-level cardboard houses in the summer and igloo villages in the winter. The world that her art exists in lies somewhere between those ephemeral seasons, night terrors and folk tales.
November 15, 2017
Matthew Rangel
Matthew Rangel is from the San Joaquin Valley of California, where he grew up among agricultural productivity and economically challenged communities. This setting plays a huge role in Rangel’s creativity. The maps in his work are generated using lithography as well as a variety of other traditional and digital printmaking methods, but it’s the overlaid illustrations that make his work hit home for anyone who has experienced anything like his youth.
November 14, 2017
Bobby Clark
I’ve had a crush on Bobby Clark for ages, but I’m just now getting around to sharing her paintings somehow. The Scottish artist is currently living in Melbourne, Australia, exploring the symmetry and balance of shapes through the creation of minimal composition studies. Her paintings on paper are quite distinctive and lovely.
November 13, 2017
Ezgi Pamir
Ezgi Pamir is a real wiz with embroidery thread. Not only is she able to create the smallest of details, she often trails some of them off the fabric itself. A scarf, a hat, a branch. But this is really just a pastime for Pamir, who lists herself as a stage and costume designer. So much talent, so few hours in the day!
November 10, 2017
Leah Pantéa / JANUS
I just saw that the Northeast is about to get its first notable cold front of the season, and these oil paint on hot-pressed watercolor paper pieces by Leah Pantéa seem fitting. In her latest collection, Janus, Leah combines abstract and geometric forms to create an atmosphere I’d be happy to spend a little time in.
In my Janus collection, I am pulling forward an elaborate, colorful and detailed abstracted landscape. As a work becomes fully realized, I begin to apply a veil of white, masking most of the work that lies beneath, pushing it back into the void for which it came. In this, my work discusses the mysterious, and how we place our faith. The veil is not intended to be deceptive or create space between the unknown and us; instead it is a tool to begin a conversation. What does it take to trust stories over our immediate perceptions? Why does the story matter at all?
November 9, 2017
ABLE Winter 2017 Collection
Rosario Flutter Sleeve Jumpsuit
FashionABLE, a lifestyle brand I’ve long supported and even collaborated with on product design, is now ABLE. They’re still focused on ending generational poverty by working with women who have overcome extraordinary circumstances. And still manufacturing directly in the communities they wish to impact, both locally and globally, creating jobs, and ending the cycle of charity dependency.
ABLE just released their latest collection, right on time for all of those holiday events you’re sure to attend and chock full of perfect gifts to give too. I recently picked up a cropped sweatshirt, loafers, a backpack, and a pair of statement earrings to help round out my winter wardrobe. Most pieces are available in several colors and everything is right on trend. In fact, I might have an eye on a few more things for my Christmas list!
Gabriella Bell Sleeve Pullover
November 9, 2017
Pete Nawara / The Mirror Conspiracy
Chicago-based artist Pete Nawara‘s The Mirror Conspiracy makes me smile and think about how ridiculous we can each look while checking ourselves out in the mirror! Each piece includes multiples of the same person primping, maybe for a date or a job interview or just another workday. I’m really drawn to the paint-by-number quality Nawara uses, giving his subjects an energetic pop art vibe.
November 8, 2017
Print Edition: November 2017
Library with Flowers by Kate Lewis
Little Cliffs (No. 4) by Hamish Robertson
My List of Demands by Stephen Powers
The Lantern Parade by Thomas Cooper Gotch
Tropical Palm Leaves by Cat Coquillette
YSL 1981 LOVE from Prints Bazaar
Posted In create, paper goods, prints, round up, series