29. may.08

Daniel Martin Diaz is a self-taught Mexican artist producing powerful images, seemingly snatched from the underside of early Judeo-Christian mythology. The images he produces are heavily influenced by the Catholicism inherent in Mexican culture, yet they take as their starting point the darker side of the religion. Also playing an influential role is humanity's apparent obsession with the afterlife, almost as means of explanation for the suffering Mexicans have known and endured over the years.

The otherworldly figures are often contorted and twisted, often-mutilated into startlingly beautiful tableaux that play with archetypal images and symbols. Using Latin texts and alchemical symbology to aid their unnerving journey into the sub-consciousness of the viewer and with a Byzantine slant to them, the sorrow and the longing found lurking when the surface of religion is scratched and laid bare for us to see.

28.may.08

i've always been fascinated by the use of light to create subtle impressions and dramatic force.  Hence my love for Joseph Mallard Turner (1775-1851), one of Britian's most celebrated artists. A landscape painter, renowned for his vibrant and dramatic treatment of natural light and atmospheric effects in land and marine subjects, his work had a direct influence on the development  of impressionism. Turner was the foremost English romantic painter and the most original of English landscape artists; in watercolor he is unsurpassed. The son of a barber, he received almost no general education but at 14 was already a student at the Royal Academy of Arts and three years later was making topographical drawings for magazines.  His first oils are sombre in colour but reveal his preoccupation with contrasted effects of light  and atmospheric effects such as storms and rainbows. Idyllic, dream-like landscapes, often of Venice, represented one side of Turner's late style.  The other was the increasingly direct expression of the destructiveness of nature, apparent in some of his seapieces. I feel the force of wind and water when I lose myself in his paintings. Turner's body of work includes around three hundred paintings and over twenty thousand drawings and watercolors, the majority of which were given to the English government upon his death. Most are now owned by the Tate Gallery in London.

love the animation and story....

20. may. 08

Virginia Lee is an artist specializing in magical, surrealistic work that uses imagery from folklore and myth to explore themes of transformation.  Virginia was born in Devon, England in 1976.  As the daughter of the acclaimed English book artist Alan Lee (illustrator of J.R.R. Tolkien's works) and the Dutch artist Amarja Lee Kruyt, she was surrounded by the images of myths and fairy tales throughout her childhood.  As a young girl, she posed for her father's work, as well as for faery painter, Brian Froud, a close family friend and neighbor.  She played the young Lady Cottington in photographs for Brian's Laddy Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book.  As a teenager, she worked in the doll-making studio of Wendy Froud, sculpting accessories for dolls.  Recently, she has worked as a sculptor on the set of Peter Jackson's film trilogy, The Lord of the Rings and currently lives in Brighton, England, where she’s at work on two children’s picture books. i write about mythical artists often. i like sharing them with you,  maybe because i'm tired of seeing hate and violence.  i love stretching the boundaries of imagination. 

16. may. 08

my new find over at etsy...

storiesdivinations.. in their own words, "jewelry fiction (and some nonfiction): Short stories in an interpretive collage of vintage photos, music, rescued prints, old letters, sterling, and occasional odd bits. Stories about growing up in America, commentary about being a "grown-up" here, political and personal divinations, and stories about the stories we make up and then believe... Written while the moon hovers over the old tree outside; beautifully gift-wrapped and ready to give to yourself or someone else you love. "

13. May. 08

I have discovered the most amazing interactive website for you!  I am always attracted to experimental flash animation, and I happened to find an interesting new site that explores new art forms -- allowing for a richly textured and interactive experiment with fiction. Dreaming Methods is a website that combines art, flash animation, and narrative together in complex and adventurous ways. There are many ongoing projects -- so come back and visit often to see what's new. You will need flash and a fast connection to view and participate fully in these projects. And make sure you subscribe (it's free) as it will give you access to more projects and an interesting look at resource materials associated with each project. 

One of the projects I found truly beautiful and ethereal is The Sketchbook of Annie Sykes, a fascinating collage of text, imagery, sound (which is best turned up), and video. "Turning" each page presents a kind of "living" journal.