Joshua Brehse

Past Lives, encaustic, 36x36, Maya, encaustic, 9x12, Remote View, encaustic, 28x18, untitled, encaustic, Manifest, encaustic, 36x48, Tikkun, 2007, encaustic, 24 x 24

Painting is meditation, devotion, exorcism, and synthesis as much as it is a method for image-making. Through a process of painting, pouring, digging, and scraping I hope to convey a sense of the history and turmoil that goes into the production of my work while also presenting a fully resolved and seductive piece of art. Rather than directing my paintings towards any one idea, I prefer to approach my work as a slow accumulation of solutions and possibilities worked on and through.

While my work is primarily abstract it is also very much landscape based. I enjoy the push and pull of space that allows for an entry into the atmosphere of the painting while refusing to settle on any one correct reading. I am very much drawn to the long history of American landscape painting and see my work as part of that continuum.

see more here.

elisa d'arrigo

Recollection...terracotta (2), 2008, cloth, thread, acrylic paint, 15 x 14 x 3, Cross Section (2), 2002, cloth, wax, acrylic paint, thread, 36 x 33 x 7, Carta (3), 2008, paper, thread. acrylic paint, 8 1/2 x 6 1/2 x 1 1/2, Budding (6) DETAIL, 2001, cloth, thread, acrylic paint, 33 x 47 x 49, Carta (5), 2008, handmade paper, thread, acrylic paint, marble dust, 11 x 8 x 1 , Cross Section (4), 2004, socks, thread, acrylic paint,marble dust, 40 x 25 x 3, Shift Into Black, 2007, cloth, paper, thread, acrylic paint, marble dust, 29 x 25 x 4

Attempting to translate a mental image into a physical object is fraught with frustration due to the fugitive, constantly shifting nature of memory. It sometimes seems that a piece could be worked on forever, continuously evolving, expanding, and also contracting....

...The tension and puckering created by sewing the individual components results in structures that billow, as if animated from within. These undulations are a chance product of the sewing process. My responses to such unplanned effects plot the trajectory of each piece. There is no understructure of any kind. These pieces are held together with thread alone. Seams define contours, and stitches create lines, marks and surface.

read the entire statement here and see more work here and here.

Bede Murphy

Name Dropper Series, 18, 2005. Acrylic, ink, and mixed media on canvas on board. 11 x 14, Name Dropper Series, 7, 2005. Acrylic and mixed media on canvas. 8 x 10, Art Nemesis Obscured, 2005. Acrylic and mixed media on paper on panel. 24 x 18, Name Dropper Series, 14, 2005. Acrylic, ink, and mixed media on canvas on board. 11 x 14, Untitled, 2, 2005. Acrylic and mixed media on canvas. 30 x 40, Name Dropper Series, 3, 2005. Acrylic, ink, and mixed media on canvas on board. 16 x 20

teeny images really stink...hopefully you can still make out the amazing details in these awesome paintings...see more here.

sunday church drawing

sherry markovitz

my mule, 2003-06, Glass beads, papier machê, and mixed media, 23 x 18 x 30, twins, 1995, Beads, papier mâché and mixed media, 36 x 27 x 27, white fawn, 1984, Beads and mixed media on papier-mâché, 14 x 9 x 9.5, morning ewe, 2006-07, Glass beads, papier mache, mixed media, 19 x 15 x 17, legs, 2003, Beads, papier mâché and mixed media 16 x 23 x 5, white fruit, 2003, Beads, papier mâché and mixed media, 4 x 4 x 7

In 1981, I began the series of ornamented animal trophy heads of deer, elk and moose and wild cats...they are beautiful images of rebirth, the death somewhat masked by their beauty. They are also a feminization of the traditionally male role as hunter, which has for centuries carried an unspoken taboo for women....

The aspect of collective memory refers to something people of my generation all remember. For people of future generations these iconic images become collectibles. "Collectibles" does, in fact, refer to our collective memories. It is important that these works not be nostalgic or sentimental, but offer a departure point for all of us to remember as we face the future.

i'm a longtime fan of this artist's work and she blows me away with every new series...read her entire statement and see more work here and a video here.

susan b howard

prince of tides, 2006, oil on canvas, 37x44, dream weaver, 2005, oil on panel, 6x12, shock and awe, 2003, oil on panel, 12x12, test of time, 2006, oil on canvas, 28x22, a day in the life, 2006, oil on canvas, 48x36, day dream believer, 2006, oil on panel, 24x24

so much fun on a hot summer day...see more here.

margery amdur

Surrogates III, 16 x 24, acrylic paint, photo transfers, beeswax, resin, Wisp 1 detail, 50 x 42, hand-cut frosted mylar, acrylic paint on acetate, Wisp 8 detail, 60 x 41, hand-cut frosted mylar, acrylic paint on acetate, Surrogates 3, 48 x 36, acrylic paint, photo transfers, beeswax, resin, Wisp 7 detail, 47 x 34, hand-cut frosted mylar, acrylic paint on acetate, Surrogates 2, 36 x 48, acrylic paint, photo transfers, beeswax, resin

the meticulous details and process, rich color and the ethereal quality of the transparent layers...i love it all...see more here.

emma walker

untitled, 2009, oil and mixed media on linen, 122x137, granite fire country II, 2007, oil on linen, 132x152, wing, 2009, oil and mixed media on linen, 122x137, granite fire country III, 2007, oil on linen, 132x152, the high road, 2009, oil and mixed media on linen, 122x137

exquisite graphic detail combined with lush organic form...see lots more work here.

chris ofili

Rainbow-Red Cave, 2008, Spit bite aquatint with flat bite etching and drypoint printed in red, 20 x 15, Rainbow - Purple Palms, 2008, Spit bite aquatint with drypoint printed in blue on yellow gampi paper chine collé, 20 x 15, Last Night. New Day, 2008, Color spit bite and sugar lift aquatints with hard ground etching and drypoint, 54 x 28, Rainbow-Blue Friends, 2008, Spit bite aquatint with drypoint printed in blue, 20 x 15, Rincon Falls-Black Leaf, 2008, Color spit bite and sugar lift aquatints with drypoint, 32-1/2 x 22-3/4, Rainbow-Pink Particles, 2008, Drypoint printed in red on gampi paper chine collé, 20 x 15

In the process of making art the mind wanders and gives way to instinct, which feeds off areas the intellect doesn’t. The process is one of distillation to the point where it’s just essence, just itself.

i'm not a huge fan of chris ofili's work, but i'm loving the bold patterns in these recent prints on view at crown point press...see more here.

sunday church drawing