mark milroy

untitled

charcoal on paper, 60 x 40", 2007

Alice 2

charcoal on paper, 60 x 40", 2003

private collection

alice

charcoal on paper

64 x 40", 2004

Martin Bourne

oil on canvas

36 x 48",  2007

Last month, an article in domino magazine was highlighting some contemporary portrait artists.  Among them, was the magnificent Mark Milroy. I love his drawings.  They are honest, yet vulnerable and his paintings hold a raw quality.  

Mark Milroy received his BFA at the art institute of Chicago and studied abroud under Duncan de Kergommeaux.  Milroy has been in numerous publications including; The New York Times,  New York Times Magazine and The New Yorker.  

Robert Kingston

When we were walking around San Fransisco, I found Robert Kingston's work at the Dolby Chadwick Gallery .The scale of his pieces were wrapped on thick 6 foot canvases with subtle color shifts and texture qualities that were stunning.  Kingston was born in Sumatra, CA and currently teaches painting and drawing at Pierce College in Woodland Hills.  So, the next time your strutting around in the bay, don't miss out on these masterpieces. But until then, you can visit his website or charming blog. 

"lapine agile"

"lotus lake"

"on a foreign shore"

"tuonela"

"something you might have"

dear to wear it

Black eel textured black leggins $42

acne leather leggings $150 

I'm really liking the way this girl is sporting her thigh exposing, daring leggings with the grunge top and rock and roll heels.  I just bought the cheaper version of the acne leggings at american apparel last week and I've had mixed feelings towards them. My gut says, go for it, while my husband thinks I should belong in the jetsons clan, there is a fine line between looking trashy and looking mod. So, if you dare to go this route, our kids might mock us later, but keep in mind that what you pair them with is key, and work it girl! 

Urban Delights

I want these little accessory gems from urban outfitters.  The enticement helps that they are all on sale, yep, on sale.  This is my favorite 4 letter word.  Too bad I'm going out of the country for 5 months.  By the time I get home these bad boys will probably be out of style, or not.  

Yancey Richardson Gallery

These photographs are from a comtemporary photography gallery in New York City called Yancey Richardson Gallery.  I feel like a poser because I've never been there, just heard about it.  So if y'all are in New York City for the weekend, you should go fly by this joint.  I used to be a black and white junkie, but I have officially been converted to color.  Come over to the dark side my friends.  Color is where it's at.  

Humble Arts Foundation

Christopher Wurzbach

Celeste Fichter

Brian Berman

Ashley Macknica

Amy Elkins

Johanna Reed

Irina Rozovsky

Erin Nelson

Dana Miller

Cornelia Peiper

Serena Mccarroll

Paul Salveson

Ofer Wolberger

Luke Stephenson

Jonathon Kambouris

If y'all haven't heard of Humble Arts Foundation, you are going to be thanking your lucky stars that you have finally found it. "Humble Arts Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that works to advance the careers of emerging fine art photographers by way of exhibition and publishing opportunities, limited edition print sales, twice–annual artists grants and educational programming." well said. They have the most amazing artists always exhibiting. I will show there some day. Here are some amazing photographs from their website. You can buy some limited editions on their website here.

Raghubir Singh

This is the work of Raghubir Singh; an Indian born photographer. I love his ability to capture moments with his amazing compositions. They remind me of Freidlander, playing off of windows and mirrors. I was so glad to find him right before me and Cubby are headed to India. Cubby has informed me (while we were frantically putting music onto our ipods) that we were going to spend hundreds of hours on buses in the next six months. So, now I am more inspired than ever to photograph from the moving bus that we will be in.

I'm getting tingley for the 'ting tings'

Theresa handy

Theresa Handy graduated from the university of Wisconsin in Fine arts.  I found her while flipping through one of my favorite art publications, new American paintings.  I'm enjoying Theresa's subdued color pallet and design worthy compositions. "Lutifisk" looks as though she painted over some kind of photo transfer, but I'm not sure on that one. It would be interesting to learn more about Theresa's painting process because of the subtleties she's achieving with the painting surface. The collaboration of pieces together is pretty nice, although I would like to see one painting stand on its own. 

"lutifisk"

mixed media    1" x 12"

"green swimmer"

mixed media 14 x 22"

"bird feeder"

mixed media  15 x 33

"pink swimmer"

mixed media  

jean watch

so, ever since this whole skinny jean trend has begun, my legs are in need of some breathing. I've been on the look out for some slouchy, worn out, light colored vintage looking jeans. Any suggestions? The whole vintage quest threw me for a loop after the 500th pair I tried on with the over sized hips and long crotch.  So there is a secret that needs to be told... last week, regrettably, I entered the Abercrombie store searching for my newest jean addition. The loud pounding music made my journey into a very, um, short one.  After some major research, behold, the contendors.  

acne jeans $150

Diesel Cherock bootcut $239

miss sixty marvel $149

true religion $319

melissa joy manning

handmade necklace with moroccan azurite $940

bezel set pink calcite ring $590

red rutilated quartz ring $885

Uruguayan green agate drop earring $865

I just about gasped when the prices were revealed for these gems. so sad, so sad.  Melissa keeps it real with the organic rawness quality of the hand cut gems with pure 14-k gold bling.  Forget diamonds for the alter, I would love to go this route and have something more obscure. 

Melissa Joy Manning bases her jewelery making base in her Oakland, California studio.   She relies heavily on our natural environment for her inspiration. 

Angela Bentley Fife

angela with two of her daughters, bentley and naomi

angela in the earlier years {the shoulder pads say it all} at a family wedding

body language

grandmas chairs

visible facade

waiting for eve

Angela Bentley Fife's paintings are stunning. She's not only my older sis, but she is one of my all time favorite artist.  Angela graduated from the University of Utah in painting and drawing and currently lives in slc with her three adorable girls and husband.  To my surprise, she finally joined the blog world, I never, did I say never, thought she would cross over to the virtual world, but she has and her art blog is  an insightful look into her painting process. You can find her "all things right brained" blog here, or click here to view more beautiful paintings at her art website.   

You need to see Angela's paintings in person to really view the viscosity and simplicity of strokes. Pickett Fairbanks in slc has some of her pieces, and also Terzian gallery in Park city, so check it.  I just found out Angela was a finalist for the artist magazine 25th annual competition. pretty cool sis!

its your turn tory

The Wondrous W magazine is always jam packed with inspiring high fashion clothing for all of us who can only browse and admire because of the crazy steep prices.  One of the name brands that keep on popping up is Tory Burch, so I hit the net to check out their fall line.  Among the cardigans and some "mommy" numbers  I found this beautimous piece. I don't know about you, but summer tank tops with shorts gets old. Fall is approaching and I can't wait to bust out my bomber jacket, scarfs and lil hats, or maybe something like this Tory Burch number. Yeah, its time. 

charles david

charles david has the most stunning line up of accesories this summer.  They feel vintage, with a polished and modern touch.  Don't you just love this ad? you work it girl! 

yogamatic

ok, so lately I've become a little of a Pilates and yoga buff, and I am in desperate need of a stylin' mat. Not only can you upload and stain your own photo for a design at yogamatic, but a percent of your sale goes to global green.  For $85 bones{shipping and bag included}, you can take this goodie to the gym. 

fish

couch

enhabiten

enhabiten's background began in the fine art and painting department, i know how that goes, and she finds inspiration from beautiful sentences, soulful rooms and art.  her choice of vintage looking fabrics are lovely. I'm especially wooing over this cuff number. It reminds me of an Indian havasupi village in Arizona.  I don't wear a lot of jewelry, but this cuff keeps things simple, which is always nice.  

Enhabiten displays her paintings on her flicker page.  for a peek, click here. 

blue cuff number  $14 (its on sale girls!)

all blue silvie  $23

vivi bag  $38   natural linen lines the inside with a stamp and vintage button for extra specialness. 

delta spirit rocks my world

odd molly

Odd Molly has an eclectic and hippy feel to their fall collection. I especially love the bold pattern collaboration with silky vs. cotton textures.  What a fresh take on hippy wear.  You can read more about Odd Molly's recent press and diary here.

northern idaho bliss

I'm always pleasantly surprised when I develop film from my $20 water camera. The unexpected light leaks are a total bonus. 

Say hello to Northern Idaho{and the journey there}.  The architechture of the mountains and the magnificent lake remind me a lot of the patagonia in Argentina. I never jumped in the patagonia lake, but this one is creamy, clear and refreshing. We camped our boat on a sea of soft, skipping stone rocks.  I couldn't get enough of the textures and patterns, so pretty. 

those stylish shoes belong to my friend jessica. 

I really like the simplicity of the little studio house framed with windows.  One day I will live on this lake, its seriously my heaven. 

this perfectly shaped v of ducks passed by just in time for me to get a shot. 

I am constantly inspired by the dessert textures and colors. 

thats my dog frida. 

throw me the statue

xl Photography

This is a photography collection by Deutshe Borse. It has the most amazing pictures in it. When me and cubby went to Portland, we kicked it at the powells bookstore for 7 hours. That's right, 7 hours. It takes up a whole city block, and once you walk in you get sucked in. I checked out the photography books for hours. I'll be posting a bunch of them in the next month...enjoy!

Catherine Ryan

Catherine Ryan was born in New Jersey and later ventured to San Fransisco where she recieved her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the California College of Arts in 2000.  If your going to be in LA this August, make sure to check out Catherine's solo show at the Carasoli gallery.  She uses charcoal and acrylic which delivers such a lusterous surface quality. The mark making from erasing charcoal also adds to the atmosphere, which I love. I've had my eye on Catherine for a couple of years now. I originally found her figurative work intritguging because of the 2 dimentional quality they owned and her figures painted with no faces.  Sometimes its more interesting what the artist left out, rather than painting everything. 

"White Bear"  20 x 26

"Great Owl"  20 x 26

"black cat"  20 x 26

one tiger, two tents    20 x 26

Some of her older work. collaborating flat colors with charcoal textures. soo cool. If she painted in the faces, this piece might come across as creepy.  I love the color combination she used. 

some beats for your weekend

Sundance holds my heart...

I love the jelwery at Sundance. Here are some of their new jewlery designs.

This is one hallway at Sundance with these rugged wood floors lined with black and white portraits of movie stars and movie sets.
This rock wall inside sundance was so beautiful. It had hug rocks laid into a wall spontaneiously with concrete filling the gaps. All the different colors of rock and textures combined with the random layers made this wall look like a piece of art.
Here's a close up...
I love these little lace iron guys covering the vents.
This quilt was displayed on the wall making it look like a piece of art work. It was beautiful. Making lots of ghetto blankets in my day made me appreciate the craftsmenship on this quilt. Mine end up being mismatched in a bad way.



For my birthday wish, me and Cubby cruised up to Sundance to take the chairlift up to the top of the mountain and get some eats on the way. If y'all haven't heard of Sundance before, it's where Robert Redford built a haven in the mountains and started the sundance film festival. It's so beautiful up there, and in the winters it's even better. It's my favorite place to ski in Salt Lake (when there's lots of snow) because of the undiscovered mountains and fresh powder everywhere. Since Sundance is the cheapest place to ski in Utah, you get to see lots of scrapper skiers with mismatched gloves and ski's from the 80's {which makes it so much better}. Sundance is also the best place to get some eats. The food is so good, and you get the view of the mountains and the rustic interiors.

cg sparks

CG Sparks specializes in handmade antique and rustic Indian furniture. My sister just introduced me this gold mine store located in SLC. Situated right in the middle of the store was the most beautiful handmade green house built with recycled antique glass and metal. Too bad it was only $27, 000.  I would totally sell my soul for these beautiful unique, and pretty inexpensive pieces. CG sparks design their products with three important factors in mind; beauty, utility and longevity. They also stress the importance of making the product to last. In utility, and also in timeless design.  You really have to check out their store in person to view all the pretty trinkets and unique pieces.  CG sparks is located on 454 south 500 west slc, Utah. My interior designer friend says the prices are aaamazing. Find out for yourself

I love the simplicity nature of this table. the top was constructed of two weathered wooden planks. Check out the genius box leg work

the reclaimed saddle short stool was made from reclaimed hardwoods used in building and construction projects in the deserts of India. no two stools are alike.  They sell for $98 each

The Rosewood orissa bench is handcrafted from solid Indian Rosewood. They go for $280

This picture does no justice.  This beautiful little table had a rustic marble top with handcrafted ruby stained legs. Underneath the marble was feminine wooden details. 

I love this table. It feels vintage, yet has an exotic flavor to it. When I went to India, I never saw cool stuff like this. The tea stained acaccia table sells for $495

Here is another look at the wooden plank table. Isn't the grey stain soooo pretty? 

Artist to Watch: Brian Blackham

This is one of Brian's small still life paintings. Don't worry, this isn't Brian (It's just my bearded husband cubby).
This is Brian

These pictures below were taken from coda gallery's website where Brian sells his work.

"I dig on thinking about balance. I’m amazed at how much impact moving my subject matter around has on the composition. Slowly refining the still-life setup is similar to tuning guitar strings – when it’s balanced it feels harmonized. Love that! If balance was the melody, color could be the solo on top of the melody. Color is a powerful addition to the painting, creating an atmosphere of any desire."
"My days are spent in that world."

This is a quote from Brian Blackham, one of my favorite artists. He grew up in Utah, and is now selling his art across the country at different galleries. His work has so many layers, making his paintings complex and simple at the same time. I would sell my soul to have one of his large still life paintings. His paintings are so magical in person, the pictures don't do them justice. Brian was at the Utah arts festival last week, where we saw some of his paintings and some of his beautiful sculpture work.

Lykke Li

I love this new artist that I just discovered.  She sounds like feist with some more funkity funk.  Her name is Lykke Li.   Lykke with a double K.  Enjoy friends...

Little paper planes

I stumbled across this golden website called little paper planes.  I found these lil' leaf earrings that are the perfect mix of urban and down to earth girl.  Lately I've been obsessed with feathers.  I'm telling ya, I can't get enough of them these days.  Fuel the fire.  These bad boys are $24 here...

Jessica Mary Baucom

My very talented friend Jessica just finished this house in the hamptons. These are only a few of her pictures {I'll get more soon} of the new house that she remodeled. I love her uncomplicated vintage modern interiors. She's a genius with color too, and always knows the best color combos. She just graduated from Parson's in New York and is now doing freelance work...anywhere you please. If you need an interior designer, call her up. It will be the best call you ever made! She's just a hop, skip, and a jump away. . . you can contact her at jessicabaucom@gmail.com

or on her celly 801.712.5399

W mag blues

I love W magazine {even though sometimes I have to hide it when my mom comes over due to the racy pics inside}. I always end up mutilating them as soon as I get them out of the mail box by ripping out my favorite pictures. Have you ever noticed how beautiful the photography is inside? If I had to do commercial photography, this is what I would want to do...more racy artsy stuff. These are from a later W magazine issue, so I'll be posting more in the future of my favorite pics inside. They're amazingloy beautimous.