Young Artist Takes Surreal Self-Portraits to Express Emotions The mind can create all kinds of strange scenarios when we are asleep. In this series entitled Surreal-ity, photographer Kylie Woon brings those mind-bending stories and dreamy scenes to life. Conveying all kinds of dramatic emotions, including loss, fear, anger, and restlessness, Woon creates self-portraits where she floats, flips, and flies across each frame in seemingly impossible arrangements. The artist says her life has always flip-flopped between being obsessed with the small things in life versus being able to see the bigger, grander picture. She compares her experiences to photography and the idea of being zoomed in and zoomed out. Much like artist Sebastian Eriksson, Woon's passion for life, her emotional struggles, and her desire to feel all of the happy and sad emotions that come with life are evident in her work. If you love Kylie's works, you can pick up one of her prints over at our online art store, My Modern Shop. Kylie Woon's website via [Ian Brooks]
Beautifully Mysterious Underwater World Russian photographer Elena Kalis brings to life all kinds of magical stories, from her creative fantasy worlds to her darker, more serious work. It's no mystery that the Bahamas-based artist is inspired by the ocean. She says "It’s vast and multifaceted. In this collection, each image features the curiosities of a young boy or girl, simply exploring the world from a new perspective. Kalis has incredible talents for working underwater. Elena Kalis's website Animal Watercolor Portraits Burst with Color Oregon-based artist Dean Crouser produces some of the most fantastic watercolor paintings of animals. His lively renditions feature a multitude of vibrant colors that fit so perfectly, they make you rethink about the real colors typically found in these wild creatures. Crouser exhibits a truly artistic eye, mixing shades of green with reds, blues, and browns in the mane of a bear as well as an equally diverse collection of hues in his other subjects. His splashes of color invigorate his stylized wildlife portraits, adding a sense of life and personality to each painting. There is something so inexplicably refreshing and energizing about the artist's series of colorful works. A large selection of Crouser's work can be purchased directly through the artist's site or his Etsy shop. Dean Crouser website
Embroidered Graffiti by Sarah Greaves While one wouldn't normally associate the delicate craft of embroidery with the grittier art form of graffiti, there's really no other way to describe the unique works of Sarah Greaves. This mixed media artist takes the traditional craft of embroidery and turns it on its head by working in unexpected places. The Manchester-based artist sews her thread into everyday objects like fridges, doors, and food, and, through her thoughtful messaging, turns these objects into what she describes as "canvases for hidden thoughts." As she says, “My work explores stereotyped identities and gender roles, our internal monologues and the public and private ‘self’. It pushes the tradition of embroidery and reframes the location and voice of the graffiti artist. Recently, Aesthetica Magazine, an art and culture publication, named her as a finalist for their Creative Works Competition, which identifies new artists and writers and brings them to international attention. Sarah Greaves website
- StumbleUpon Photographer Robert Buelteman uses thousands of volts of electricity to create his photographs by zapping a little life and energy into already beautiful plants. The process, called Kirlian photography, was made famous in 1939 by Russian inventor Semyon Davidovich Kirlian who discovered the process accidentally through experimentation. To capture the glowing light through each flower, Buelteman first carves at the plants with surgical tools until they are thin and sheer. Next, he places a sheet of transparency film below a metal sheet floating in liquid silicone. He puts the plants on top of the film and connects them, with clamps, to a source of voltage. Buelteman works completely in the dark, so after he shocks the plants, he paints with light across the shape of the plant to add additional illumination and detail to the image. Robert Buelteman's website via [The Huffington Post]
Glowing Planets Float Along the Surface of Earth These creative illustrations by photographer and graphic designer David Jordan Williams bring the planets of our solar system right down into our everyday lives. In the project, entitled Our Solar System Takes a Holiday, Williams features stunning, everyday landscapes that, at first, don't seem out of the ordinary. Yet, viewers will fairly instantly notice the presence of a planet, quite out of place along the beaches, woods, and city streets of each scene. Drawn purely from his imagination, Williams formed these surreal daydreams featuring miniature replicas of each planet. If you love David's works, you can buy his prints over at our online art store, My Modern Shop. David Jordan Williams's website via [My Amp Goes to 11]
Colorful Umbrellas Magically Float in Mid-Air Flickr photographer Patrícia Almeida recently shot these great photos of a wonderfully whimsical umbrella art installation in Portugal. Like something out of a fairy tale, the umbrellas look almost like they're magically floating in mid-air. As she writes, "In July, in Águeda (a Portuguese town), some streets are decorated with colorful umbrellas. I felt like a kid, amazed by all that color!" Love this kind of outdoor art. Update: According to the Daily Mail, this installation is an initiative by the council in Agueda, Portugal and is a part of an art festival called Agitagueda. In addition to those photos, here are some by Diana Tavares. Gorgeous, isn't it?
Thousands of Threads Form Vibrant Rainbows Mexican artist Gabriel Dawe makes all kinds of wondrous things with basic textiles. His ongoing series, Plexus, is a collection of unique, complex structures that form intricate patterns of color with sewing thread. The artist says he builds the site-specific installations to "explore the connection between fashion and architecture, and how they relate to the human need for shelter in all its shapes and forms." In each Plexus installation, thousands of single strands are hooked into walls to collectively form brilliant prisms of color. From rainbow gradients to monochromatic palettes, Dawe explores the organized beauty of the interacting colors. Dawe originally started his work as a graphic designer, but through exploration and experimentation, he eventually turned to textiles and embroidery. If you would like to know more about Dawe and his work, you can read our interview with the artist here. Gabriel Dawe's website via [Designboom]
Color Pencil Portraits of Classic Pop Culture Families The McClanes, inspired by Die Hard Pop culture artist Kirk Demarais uses his skillful hands to produce color pencil portraits of some of our favorite fictional families from television and films. Whether it's a washed solid color or a red stage curtain, each realistic rendition is accompanied by a cheesy studio portrait backdrop. His list of impressive and fun works range from commercial hit TV characters like Mad Men's Don Draper with his traditional nuclear family to eccentric indie film families like the Hoovers from Little Miss Sunshine. Even cult favorites like the Bluth family from Arrested Development and the Weirs from Freaks and Geeks make the cut, to the delight of many pop culture enthusiasts. Within the mix of Demarais' collection of awkward family portraits are commissioned works in which the artist includes whomever the client chooses to be in the portrait with the popular fictional family. The Huxtables, inspired by The Coby Show The Drapers, inspired by Mad Men
Humongous Maze Will Be Made of 250,000 Books As part of the London 2012 Festival, a gargantuan maze will be created using 250,000 books! Starting July 26 through July 30, this installation, called aMAZEme, will be spearheaded by Brazilian artists Marcos Saboya and Gualter Pupo but constructed by the public. (See call for volunteers on Craigslist.) Once complete, the public will be able to walk through this hypnotic maze of books. The artists hope visitors will be able to discover new textures, images and emotions while being immersed inside the world of books. The final installation will be on view at Southbank Centre London from July 31 to August 26. aMAZEme website