Elizabeth Peyton is a contemporary American artist who paints stylized and romanticized portraits of her close friends, celebs, and European monarchy.After graduating from New York's School of Visual Arts in the mid-'80s, she had her first solo show at the Althea Viafora Gallery in SoHo in 1987, and rose to popularity in the mid-'90s. Among her subjects, which are often inspired by photographs, are Liam Gallagher, Julian Casablancas, Jarvis Cocker, Chloë Sevigny, Princes William and Harry, Abraham Lincoln, Marc Jacobs (above), Keith Richards, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Eminem, and members of the Kennedy family. And, on Wednesday, just one day after Barack Obama was elected president, Peyton's portrait of Michelle and Sasha Obama at the Democratic National Convention was unveiled at her Live Forever exhibit at New York's New Museum.
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Inspired by his travels through London, Manchester, and Buenos Aires, artist 
Los Angeles-based painter Melissa Moss makes artwork that seems fit for a children's fairy tale. From her graceful, curtseying trees to her odd little nubbin creatures resting beneath the splayed gills of gigantic mushrooms, these paintings beg for a fanciful storyline. And her use of color? 
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