John Phillip Edstrand

“Deerest", 2006, Oil on Mdf board, 120x120 cm.


“Drippin", 2006, Oil on Mdf board, 120x120 cm.

John Phillip Edstrand paints and sculpts strange blob-like objects. His painting include sculptural elements attached to the surface. Looking at a photo of his work, it is hard to determine which is painted and which is sculpture. The objects in his paintings hover in a black empty background; themselves sparkling in a wide range of “poisonous colors“. They resemble gobs of paint squirted from the tube, or chewed gum, or some long lost sea creatures never seen before. That’s the fun of these images; they are so foreign and peculiar. He also creates these alien specimens with digital media. His website is very sleek and nicely designed, and includes multiple views of his work.
www.jpedstrand.com

Kim Piotrowski

“29 57’N 90 4’W (New Orleans)”, 2007, acrylic & mixed media on linen, 24” x 24”


“Princess Weigh In“, 2006, acrylic & mixed media on linen, 60” x 60”

Chicago based artist, Kim Piotrowski makes wonderfully colorful, complex paintings. Using found images along side highly abstracted elements, she creates unique compositions that suggest at content. Each piece seems hint at an underlying commentary on different social issues, but abstracted in a way that particulars of which not quite clear. There is an explosive energy to many of these paintings. Her color choices are unexpected and unusual, while the paint laid down in various styles on top of each other. Her website is being updated but there is plenty of work there to look through.
www.piotrowskiart.com

Lisa Selby

“Mouth”, 297 x 420 mm, Oil on paper, 2006


'Nose', 297 x 420 mm, Oil on paper, 2005

Brighton, England artist, Lisa Selby paints powerful portraits, the subjects of which engage the viewer directly; often clearly mugging for the camera. They are fully aware of their audience and they relate to them as such. She uses saturated colors in bold painterly strokes, giving them an almost other-worldly quality. These portraits and self-portraits, painted after photographs, are truthful, if not brutally honest in treatment of their subjects. The emotions expressed on the faces in these painting are intense, there is a strong psychological reaction to each piece. Her website is nicely organized and includes several different projects and mediums. There are also artist comments included with the pieces that add some wonderful personal incite to the work.
www.lisaselby.com/

Laurent Koller

“Asian Rhapsodie” - 130 x 97 - 2007 - acrylic resin and ink on fabric


“Haiku 19” - 41 X 33 - 2007 - acrylic resin and ink on fabric


“M” - 41 X 33 - 2007 - acrylic resin and ink on fabric

French artist Laurent Koller makes dynamic abstract compositions in true black and white. Reducing the elements of the picture to these high-contrast gestural shapes, figure and ground, creates a dramatic tension. Bold, expressive and energetic strokes sweep through the picture plain. The details and idiosyncrasies of his mark making are exquisite and engrossing. His website is straight forward with a beautiful presentation.
www.laurent-koller.com

Carol John

“Oh Huh”, oil on paper, 2005, 40"x60"


“Puff”, oil on paper, 2006, 40" x 57"

Athens, Georgia based artist, Carol John’s paintings are playful and bright. She uses iconographic symbolism and text, mixed with abstract shapes to deliver fantastic compositions and walls of wildly patterned chaos. Her use of color is off-beat and her choice of simplified text is quirky and humorous. The tone of this work appears to be rather light, but there are some interesting concepts weaving in and out. I will refrain from making any wild interpretations here, but The work on her website is definitely well worth a visit.
www.caroljohnpaintings.com

Raoolf Assefi

“Movement 3”, acrylic on canvas, 30”x40”


“Composition Dream”, acrylic on canvas, 36”x48”

Abstract painter, Raoolf Assefi’s work takes on formalist ideals of modern art head on and he manages to produce some very fresh and satisfying art. He creates canvases filled with cascading forms of color and light. Dizzyingly complex structures rhythmically pushing and pulling the eye through the maze of their own lushly painted surfaces. His color combinations are daring and complex ; harmonious and joyful. His website is put together with an impressive and fun flash presentation.
www.assefi.com

Earl Schofield

Crow 1 and Crow 4
both 15 x 15"


Alopecia 4
15 x 15"

Even in tiny digital reproductions, Earl Schofield's artwork is exceptionally beautiful. To see the work in person, however, adds a whole new level of appreciation. He uses both cold wax and hot encaustic to create finely rendered images with luminous, heavily worked surfaces. The paintings are built from many layers which are then scrawled through, gouged into and melted away to reveal the process. Earl is equally adept at creating coarse, craggy webs of violent texture and quiet, fluid meditative passages. The New England artist plucks his subjects from the world immediately around him and represents them with a keen sensitivity. His paintings of landscapes, trucks, insects and figures are an intelligent mix of abstract painterliness and representation. You can see Earl's work on his website at http://www.earlschofield.com/index.html and if you ever have the chance, do not hesitate to see his work in the flesh.

Karneeleus L. Bobbeaux

"Shy Guys" - acrylic , gauche, ink and sock on cardboard


"Hypocratic Advocate" - 24x25 - acrylic and ink on cardboard

Connecticut artist and illustrator, Karneeleus L. Bobbeaux makes brash, biting, sexually charged paintings and drawing in a style that could be described as punk-expressionism. His work is unconventional in its aesthetics; sacrificing beauty for raw emotion and blunt psychological truth. His work can be juvenile and downright offensive, but it’s a holds no punches look directly into the psyche. He uses a phonetically spelled messages adding commentary on top of commentary, creating a challenging in your face experience. I find his work exciting, and there is lots of it on his website to check out.
www.karnarchy.com/

Sunny Belliston

“Untitled”, 2006, 48"x72", acrylic, collage, graphite on panel


“Itapua I”, 2006, 46"x46", found papers, acrylic on panel

Ohio based artist, Sunny Belliston makes stunningly colored and textured surfaces. He uses found materials collaged and painted into geometric abstract compositions. Strips of paint and paper combine into irregular patterns and fields of subtlety varied colors. There is an interesting tension between the bright, fresh color schemes and the warn and weathered surfaces created. He also touches on minimalist sculptural elements with several of his found object pieces.
sunnybellistonart.com

Marcus Kenney

“After an Absence“ - Vintage wallpaper, end paper, acrylic, car decals, school book illustrations, acrylic polymer medium on canvas - 48 x 48 inches - 2004


“The Perfect Memory” - Cigarette stamps, wrapping paper, lithographs, vintage wallpaper, acrylic, currency, pencil and acrylic polymer medium on canvas - 36 x 48 inches - 2005

Marcus Kenney is a great collage artist, His work is littered with amazingly, fascinating little treasures and cleverly placed everyday items. He creates quaint landscapes and tableaus occupied by wallpaper geese, children’s book characters and paint-by number houses. They are charmingly witty and whimsical scenes of surreal Americana. The faded images and discolored paper make a warm and familiar feel, but with such a fresh and surprising execution. On his web site the work is wisely organized according to exhibition with several accompanying articles and reviews.
marcuskenney.com

Rebecca Saylor Sack

“Loop, Again”, 185 x 200 cm, oil on canvas, 2006

Rebecca Saylor Sack creates explosively energetic paintings. These magnificently colorful abstracts allude to landscape with all the depth and complexity of a lush forest. Dense areas of chaotic, layered, paint marks contrast beautifully with restful pauses of broad brushstrokes and delicate wisps of line. The movement described by expressive gestural brushwork is invigorating and difficult to resist; they simple draw you in. They are raw and earthy, reminding me of the never-ending ebb and flow; growth and decay of nature. Her website also includes some of her equally great drawings.
rebeccasaylorsack.com

Chris Crites

Seattle based artist, Chris Crites makes rather unconventional portraits. His subjects are most often painted from their own mug shot photos. Also, he paints these telling portrayals of individuals under arrest on everyday grocery store paper bags. He captures the contours of their intensely expressive faces in limited palettes of bright colors. Attempting to read the hard luck stories behind the eyes of these lost souls of the past is endlessly intriguing . The color treatment and great attention to detail add a level of mystery and surrealism to these haunting works. Chris Crites’ website features several archives of paintings and drawings.
www.bagpainter.com

Marie Hvid Pørksen

"Den Kongelige Porcelænsfabrik", olie på lærred, 60x70 cm, 2007


"Den Kongelige Porcelænsfabrik", olie på lærred, 60x70 cm, 2007

Marie Hvid Pørksen is a Danish painter who makes simplified abstracted views of domestic and industrial interiors and exteriors. She portrays the trappings of human existence in a almost naïve, completely charming way. Her lines and brushwork have and awkward beauty to them while her color choices and compositions are sophisticated and challenging. I love seeing these bleak, somewhat mundane subjects in this brand of flattened childlike honesty; its such a unique and surprising perspective on life and our surroundings.
www.mariehvidporksen.dk

Kim Kibby

“Five Lipsticks”, Oil on panel, 5x7 inches, 2007


“Guiness Is Good For You”, 6x6 inches, oil on panel, 2007

Artist and designer, Kim Kibby has taken up the practice of daily paintings. She paints small scale still-life, figurative, wildlife and floral pieces in oil, loosely but accurately rendered with deftness and sensitivity. There’s a wonderful femininity to the handling and choices of subjects; each given thoughtful attention. They are lushly colored with very focused compositions. Her website also features examples of her commercial design work. There is also a blog for current updates on the daily paintings.
kimkibby.com
almost daily paintings - blog

SAL

“Perfection”, acrylic on wood panel, 910x 450mm,


“Rebirth ver.3“, acrylic on wooden panel, 1030x728mm, 2007

Japanese artist SAL makes beautiful abstract paintings centering on nature, pattern and the sublime accident. He uses limited palettes of harmonious color to make energetic compositions of drips, splatters, and graphic shapes. He references trees, water, and wind in his refreshingly tranquil but dynamic works. His website is beautifully designed and has several pages of paintings and other projects.
www.ilooli.net

Becky Yazdan

“Turtle Hill“, oil on linen, 72" x 60", 2005


“Autumn Sleeper“, oil on linen, 60" x 72", 2005

The paintings of new York based artist Becky Yazdan are wonderfully composed abstracts. Rich colors are thickly applied, scraped, smeared and blended into wonderfully textured surfaces, but there is also a depth to them. Many of them hint at landscape, with a definite push and pull between elements that make them very compelling. I find these paintings to be very charming and authentic.
beckyyazdan.com