robert hudson

yellow light, 2009/2010, mixed media sculpture, 42x48x34, double frame, 2008, mixed media sculpture, 19x17x13, signature, 2009, mixed media scupture, 28x37x39

i imagine that these pieces were once paintings and one night they decided to escape the confines of their two dimensionality to have an awesome party, but once morning came they couldn't remember how to put themselves back together, so they became these awesome sculptures instead...see tons more here and here.

virginia saunders

elysee la defense, paris france, beneath the grande arche de la defense, paris france, la defense, skyscraper bridge, paris france, la defense, metal awning, paris france

i love it when a great photograph evokes the same interest and emotion as a great painting...see more here.

linnea gabriella

slag (detail), 2009, acrylic on canvas, 59x71, delta, 2007, acrylic on canvas, 51x78, subatomic stitch, 2008, acrylic on canvas, 72x60

I am interested in limits, specifically, in their ability to generate surprise, even freedom. These limits need not be elaborate, or even obviously visible; in fact, it is often the most humble and self-evident limits, which, over time, build bizarre chandeliers of glimmering crystal, guide the catacomb construction of ant colonies, or shape the swoop of flocks and tidal currants with eerie similarity. Awareness of these limits does not guarantee predictive power, or the ennui of omniscience.

This is good, and fascinating.

And it is through this means that I make my work: every piece is the manifestation of a predetermined scheme – a system of small limits, with clear a beginning and end. These scripted pieces of visual choreography are allowed to accrue to show me their beauties and surprises, allowing discovery in the midst of certainty. Which, in the end, is a satisfying contradiction – a tension of philosophical forces hospitable to directed freedom and consistent astonishment.

good and fascinating...see more here.

fiona rae

this instantaneous eternal, 2009, oil and acrylic on canvas, 84x69, maybe you can live on the moon in the next century, 2009, oil and acrylic on canvas, 72x59, slow mother gathering, 2009, oil, acrylic and gouache on canvas, 60x50, special fear!, 2009, oil, acrylic and gouache on canvas, 60x50

i've always loved her work for it's freedom, fun, splashy color and devil may care attitude...see more here and search for fiona rae.

jack stuppin

marin rocks, 2008, oil on canvas, 51x72, pepperwood day, 2006, acrylic on canvas, 16x20, chocolate ship, 2006, oil on canvas, 49x79, forest at quail hill, 2007, oil on canvas, 32x40, michael's apples, 2008, oil on canvas, 35x44.5

love the smooth, clean forms and graphic painting style...see more here.

sunday church drawing

this series is called 'egg' and followed the stain series in 2005-2006. using inks, gouache and colored pencils, i was experimenting with chaos and control, the idea of controlling the happy accident.

mark havens

mark is my friend and as you can see, a fabulous photographer. i was torn as to which series of his to post about, but i chose this one because of his sensitivity to the buildings of the jersey shore-a place where i grew up in the summers as well as the awesome use of rich color and attention to pattern and repetitive line...see lots more work here.

philadelphia wireman

yellow tape dispenser, c. 1975, wire and mixed media, 13.5x9x5, tastykake, c. 1975, wire and mixed media, 5.5x4.75x1.5, car antenna, plugs, c. 1975, wire and mixed media, 7x3.5x4, Christmas tree ornament, c. 1975, wire and mixed media, 4x3x3

i've posted about philadelphia wireman a long time ago (see this post), but i feel his work is worth another look and i found a site with a large inventory of his sculptures pictured online. see the above post for a great statement about the artist. i look at his work quite often as i'm drawn in by the sinuous lines, the act of wrapping and the fabulous use of found materials...see more here.

leisa rich

view of the garden, detail, wool, fabrics, vinyl, thread, recycled elements, plastic straws, plant stakes, packing materials, strapping tape, bubble wrap, carpet samples, quilts, cut up art pieces, 25x20 feet, liquid force, wool, 60x48x4, from the ground up, wool, thread, 36x36x108, lilliput's cloud, detail

recently, i read alan weisman's fabulous book the world without us. i was amazed a the theory of extinction and disintegration he postulates. the grounded facts of the rapidity with which the natural world would overtake man-made detritus upon the cessation of the human species was sobering at best...apocalyptic at worst. my own on-going and growing disenchantment with the negative impact of humans on the world has led to my art practice of forming pieces that morph human detritus with little-shop-of-horrors-type, hyper-real, nature-gone-wild-soul.

this work interests me because the artist has taken the craft of felting beyond most of what i've seen. the work possesses a sophisticated palette and the artist has created some unique, approachable and interesting multiple forms and installations, i'd really like to see this work in person...read the entire statement here and see lots more work here.

rachel whiteread

untitled (double mattress yellow), 1991, acrylic ink and watercolor on graph paper, 11x16.5, study for village (1st), 2004, ink, pencil and collage on paper, 12x16, study for wax floor, 1992, correction fluid, ink and watercolor on graph paper, 18x12, study for floor (perspective), 1993, correction fluid and ink on graph paper, 28x19.5

lovely repetition of the grid...see more here.