CasaSugar

Commissioning a Painting...of Your Dog

CasaSugar — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 06:58:18 -0700

Sometimes I worry about walking that fine line between being a responsible pet owner and an obsessive pet owner. ("Your dog is wearing a backpack," my sister recently observed.) Still, that concern didn't deter me from commissioning a painting of my dog, Ozzie. Portland, Maine, artist Elizabeth Fraser, whose work I'd found on Etsy, started out with a photo of Ozzie, and two weeks later, the painting arrived in the mail.

The painting's diminutive size, at at only 5x5 inches, made me feel like less of a weirdo for getting my pet's portrait commissioned. But as more of my friends saw the final result (framed and placed on my fireplace mantel) they stopped thinking that I was slightly nutty and began to realize that I was on to something really cool.

Fraser, who works primarily in oils, was a delight to work with, and I thought that $75 was a major steal for an original piece of artwork of my pet.

What do you think? Would you get artwork commissioned of your pet?

Artist of the Day: Miguel Ornia-Blanco

CasaSugar — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 06:15:04 -0700

Inspired by his travels through London, Manchester, and Buenos Aires, artist Miguel Ornia-Blanco paints urban landscapes full of movement, energy, and life. Contrary to the stark, gray skyscrapers, blacktop roads, and dingy sidewalks you might see in some of those metropolitan areas, Ornia-Blanco finds a vibrant color palette in the cityscape. He sees emotions, life, laughter, pain, and solitude in places where, on a whole, people seem to pass by each other unknowingly. His brushstrokes are free-flowing and his colors blend with no straight lines or distinct outlines, further evoking the reality that nothing is constant in these hectic terrains. Although his paintings seem to illustrate that the world is colliding in these places, Ornia-Blanco brings beauty to the chaos, and that's not an easy thing to do. Check out the gallery below and his website to see some more work by this London-based artist.

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How-To: Steal Decorating Ideas From an Artist's Studio

CasaSugar — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:00:59 -0700

In its latest men's catalog, J. Crew features the work of several artists and also takes behind-the-scenes shots of their studios. One of the studios that caught my eye was that of artist Billy Sullivan. See some of my favorite ideas to steal from the painter's studio.
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Artist of the Day: Sophie Blackall

CasaSugar — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 10:00:22 -0700

Whether she's drawing two spritely little girls for a children's book or a more sober illustration for a national magazine, artist Sophie Blackall's signature style always shines through. What exactly is this style? When it comes to describing her illustrations, Sophie cites influences ranging from Chinese packaging design to train journeys and pipe fish. I'd say that Sophie's illustrations are reminiscent of a gentler, prettier version of Edward Gorey's work, and are whimsical, graceful, and full of expertly crafted main characters.

Sophie claims that as a child growing up in Sydney, Australia, she was a terrible artist, and writes that "In spite of my lack of talent, however, I kept at it because it was fun. (Sometimes it wasn't fun; I remember having a dreadful tantrum when I couldn't draw a deer that didn't look like a plasticine dog, made by a person without hands.)"

Well, Sophie certainly has proven that tenacity pays off. Her illustrations for books such as Ruby's Wish and the Ivy + Bean series are absolutely lovely. One of my favorite projects of Sophie's, though is her illustrations of Craigslist "Missed Connections" ads.

To see those illustrations, read more.

Like what you see? Read more about Sophie here.

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Artist of the Day: Daniela Cunha Lay

CasaSugar — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:00:05 -0700

It's not unusual to find a 26-year-old who cites Andy Warhol as an inspiration or who thinks she can emulate Jackson Pollock. But, it's a rare thing to meet a young woman whose mixed media, Warhol-inspired pop art speaks of revolution in Spain, war crimes in Iraq, and human perishability, whose Pollock-inspired paintings give you chills. I recently caught up with the young São Paulo-born, Brazil-and-California-raised artist Daniela Cunha Lay at the opening of her exhibit at one of my favorite design stores in San Francisco, Flipp. With little background on her work, I asked what medium she used. "Mixed media, of course," she said, speaking a mile a minute, "Nothing that I do is simple." After a tour around the exhibit, it was apparent that she couldn't have related herself or her work more succinctly.

To create "Divine," a mixed media collage of sorts, she took a 1928 photograph of her quite glamorous grandmother on the day of her wedding, and photocopied it on several different machines to achieve varying tonalities. Then, she "cop[ied] the copy of the copy, so as to crumble down the image, driving it as far away from its original print as possible," further establishing the obvious passage of time, and tore some to suggest that, "we and everything around us is inevitably perishable."

Lay's work speaks for itself, so hear more and check out some images of her work when you read more.

Standing on a 2-meter ladder, she painted "Rust," a splatter painting of a deformed, human-like figure amidst a crimson background, by throwing acrylic paint across a stretched canvas on the floor. I simultaneously felt violently haunted and calm viewing this piece, proving that her efforts to evoke "solitude, stillness, and inner piece in the midst of a violently chaotic world," succeeded.

Be sure to explore Daniela Cunha Lay's website to see more of her portfolio of paintings, photographs, conceptual videos, and graphic art, as well as several artist statements. And, if you live in the Bay Area, stop by the reception for her exhibit at the Diego Riviera Gallery tonight from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

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Artist of the Day: Jill Bliss

CasaSugar — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 04:05:28 -0700

A week ago, we gave you a peek into Jill Bliss's home. This week, we're going to show you her beautiful artwork. And check back in later today, when we give away a set of her beautiful native herb art prints!

Jill is a talented artist and craftsperson who works in a number of mediums. Her artwork has graced journals, stationary, and notecards, and has been featured in magazines such as ReadyMade. To find out more about Jill's nature-inspired artwork, take a look at my interview with her when youread more.

Casa: What attracts you to drawing flora and trees?
Jill Bliss: Originally i began drawing plants as a way to remember their names [which actually didn't work within my visual brain!], but then i found the design repetition and small details within them intriguing-both individually and collectively. Drawing the subtle movement and growth within plants suits the meditative quality of my drawing style. Whenever i try and draw people or people-made things now I'm distracted by their "speed."

Casa: When did you first think of yourself as an artist? What prompted this realization?
Jill Bliss: It wasn't until a few years ago that i was willing to accept that i was an artist! This realization only came about after a business deal went wrong and i stood to lose everything I'd created.

Casa: Have you had any "big breaks" in the art world?
Jill Bliss: Having a series of stationery published by Chronicle Books certainly seems like a "big break," and I'm very happy to have fulfilled my childhood dream of designing a line of stationery! But unfortunately it's not the financially rewarding endeavor that everyone assumes it to be. I continue to juggle various day jobs to make ends meet.

Casa: You recently moved to Portland. Any plants up there that you find particularly intriguing?
Jill Bliss: There are different weeds up here! There are also many more types of nut trees, and lots of mosses now that the rainy season's started, which i love. My dog gets annoyed on our daily walks because I'm constantly stopping to inspect things!

Casa: What other artists' work do you find inspiring?
Jill Bliss: Working with Saelee Oh and visiting her studio she shares with several other artists is always so inspiring. There's always so much to see there!

Casa How do you use your artist's eye to your home's best advantage?
Jill Bliss: I'm pretty handy with fabric, paint, and a table saw-or a jig saw in a pinch. I have a constant list of home improvement projects no matter where I live or work, and no matter how long I plan to be there! There's something in my DNA that needs to constantly improve my surroundings with whatever materials I have on hand. With our current place, I'm excited to have a yard for the first time as an adult and explore working with native vegetation and a vegetable garden. And poppies, of course!

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Artist of the Day: Rah Crawford

CasaSugar — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 10:10:15 -0700

Casa reader Whiplash Girlchild recently wrote in saying, "Hey Casa, I wanted to tell you about Rah Crawford, in case you needed any more artists to profile this month (great feature, by the way). I used to work with him before he quit his job to be a true artist. His stuff is pretty awesome. You can read all about him on the site as well as see his paintings."

Thanks for the tip, Whip!

In his artist's statement, Rah says: "I create works for the modern enthusiast in search of a new approach to contemporary art. My subject matter consists of “the now” –modern lifestyles and culture along with its connection to the past. As a social observer, I seek to define our modern society through my work. A creative journey of passion and pain, my artistic duty is to simply share these visions. There is no division between the art that I create and the life that I choose to live."

To read more about Rah Crawford, and to see a gallery of his work, just read more
Born, raised, and currently based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Rah Crawford has only been on the national art scene for three years. However, in that short time, he's shown in galleries in New York, London, and Amsterdam, has also created art live on stage with The Roots, been commissioned by Outkast and Jill Scott and has also inspired a couture collection.

I love Rah's use of mixed media, bright acrylic colors, political content, and (of course, since I'm a writer), words. Check out the messages woven into the hair and skin of the people he paints. Pretty cool, indeed.

Rah calls his style Neoteric Pop-Iconic Clairvoyance, which, according to his site, is "a new approach to art...a technique that asks the viewer to not only study and admire the images but to seek and find hidden text or numerals within the work and associate the words or phrases with the visual to come to a more vivid understanding of the work."

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Best of 2007: Artists of the Day

CasaSugar — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 07:54:41 -0800

This year we introduced our Artist of the Day posts. While these didn't actually run every day, we sure did rack up a lot of them! There's no way that I can include all of them in this best-of post, so please follow the link back to check out all of the posts. You might find a new favorite artist somewhere in the archives - I know I have.

Here are some of my favorite Artist of the Day posts this year:

Whitney Smith makes beautiful pottery evocative of the early twentieth century.
Forget boring, old stretched canvas - painter Yvette Molina prefers aluminum.
Karen Ondracek makes art out of tiny scraps of paper.
Yellena James's art is a beautiful hybrid of Dr. Seuss, Jill Bliss, and Barbarella.
Speaking of Jill Bliss, you loved her delicate, flora sketches and paintings.

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Artist of the Day: Karen Ondracek

CasaSugar — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 05:56:55 -0700

Artist Karen Ondracek makes deceptively simple images out of difficult-to-manipulate scraps of paper, photographs, and ephemera. Her fanciful, creature-filled collages often feature animals speaking nonsense out of comic-style dialogue balloons. And now, for full disclosure, I'll also say that Karen is a good friend of mine. I've known her since she was 12, and now she lives across the street from me, where she and her boyfriend throw elaborate parties and host craft days. Even if I wasn't friends with Ms. Ondracek, though, I'd still definitely recommend her art.

To see a gallery of Karen's collages, as well as read my interview with her, just read more

CasaSugar: What is your background, artistically?
Karen: I've always liked to make all kinds of art projects. I also studied Textiles at Rhode Island School of Design, where I received my BFA.

CasaSugar: What attracted you to collage?
Karen: My penchant for ephemera and other flat things I can take a pair of scissors to.

CasaSugar: What influences your art?
Karen: Accidental discoveries and nature.

CasaSugar: Who else out there is making art that you admire?
Karen: I have a new artist/designer/craftsperson crush every day. Sometimes I have more than one per day. The true answer to your question would make my fingers very strong from so much typing!!

CasaSugar: What do you do with your time when you're not making art?
Karen: I work as a textile designer, bake pies, have parties, play board games, give bones to Ozzie, go to flea markets...

You can buy Karen's collages at her Etsy shop.

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Artist of the Day: Tim Groen

CasaSugar — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 09:30:13 -0700

During Dress Your Walls month, I'll be introducing you to a new artist every weekday of the month with our Artist of the Day feature.

One of my back-burner, life-long goals is to be an art collector. So, when I realized that the work of Tim Groen, an Amsterdam and NY-based mixed media artist, was available to private collectors, and at very reasonable prices, I started to mentally rearrange things on my walls.

Groen's mixed-media collages, which frequently incorporate vintage wallpaper, blur the lines between graphic design, illustration, and art. His work keeps a very minimalist theme with influences from the late '50s and from his very own collection of mid-century home accents.

To learn more about Tim Groen and his artwork, read more

Groen has been commissioned to create installations and advertising campaigns for Barneys New York, and has worked for MTV Networks, Maybelline, Cotton, Inc., Levi’s Europe and a variety of magazines including Dwell, House & Garden, Tatler and The New York Times' magazine, B.

Groen's work is available through prime design retailers, such as Velocity Art and Design, rather than through art galleries, because, he says, “I just want to be a part of what people do to make their place look cool.”