Beautiful, but almost painful to imagine their execution, Alexi Torres’ intricate oil paintings are created from an obsessive, “woven” technique. We want to see the size of Torres’ paintbrush that he uses to craft a labyrinthine maze of knotwork and interconnected strands. The artist focuses his attention on recreating several iconic images, like the portraits of Marilyn Monroe and Mick Jagger. His unique process takes on a more mythical feel, however, when constructing fantastical feminine figures, incorporating organic elements and other nature-inspired forms. Visit Torres’ complex, woven creations in our gallery below. Is your hand cramping yet?
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Robert Brandenburg’s “Pop Surrealist Intervention Art,” which we first spotted over at Metafilter, transforms found paintings into dark re-imaginings of pop-culture figures. As the artist explains, “These pictures began as a family tradition of giving each other ‘gag gifts’ for Christmas; I took cheap oils from a local flea market and embellished them with absurdities.” Absurd indeed — the paintings range from silly to scary, and might have you looking at your favorite characters in a whole new light. Click through to see some of Brandeburg’s work, and then head over to his website for even more.
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Inspired by the interiors of Vermeer, Chardin’s still life works, and the realism of Thiebaud, painter Christopher Stott recreates vintage objects with hyperreal precision. Quiet, yet powerful, portraits of antique typewriters, telephones, and alarm clocks employ all the traditional still life characteristics. New narratives surface, however, when different objects are placed in the same space. Take a closer look at Stott’s incredible paintings of vintage wonders past the break. Read More »
This past Thursday marked the 20th anniversary of cultural icon Freddie Mercury’s death of AIDS-related pneumonia. In some ways, however, it doesn’t seem that long — the Queen frontman is still an incredible influence in art, music and fashion, and has been frequently name-checked as one of the biggest influences of many musicians, including Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, two of pop culture’s current reigning queens. Indeed, something about the Zanzibar-born Mercury (née Farrokh Bulsara) is singularly inspiring — his incredible showmanship, his forward-thinking, his unimpeachable talent both for singing and songwriting, his independent attitude, that moustache — and he continues to have a hand in many forms of art today. On the 20th anniversary of Freddie Mercury’s death, we’ve rounded up a few artworks, both large and small, that pay homage to the man, the myth, the legend. Click through to see our Freddie-art, and let us know which capture him the best in the comments. Read More »
This Thanksgiving, when you bring the family together for a few board games — which will ultimately result in a screaming match, because someone always cheats — let these hyperrealistic paintings of classic board games by Tim Liddy distract you from the nostalgic aftermath. Painstakingly rendered with incredible detail, Liddy’s works capture the graphic beauty of vintage tabletop pastimes. The series is also a fascinating look at the cultural and social milieu of the time period that each game hails from — with a particular focus on the 1960s. Classic games such as Life, Monopoly, and Candy Land are painted on copper in the exact dimensions of the original. Liddy then manipulates the metal to mimic the box’s cosmetic damage — so you get all the rips, stains, scribbled note-making, and frustrating tears that old games accumulate over the years. The artist even paints the yellowed Scotch Tape that holds the cardboard corners together. Click through for more of Liddy’s incredible paintings of vintage board games. Read More »
Depicting derelict cars and graffiti-covered vans that your mama warned you to stay away from, Kevin Cyr’s hyper-detailed paintings of grimy vehicles are broken-down gems. His series ranges from random vans he documented in Brooklyn (of the Vandura, Chevy, and Econoline Chateau variety), to various delivery flatbeds, and creepy ice cream trucks. The oil (and sometimes silkscreen) works on panel are almost reminiscent of Matchbox toy cars that have been destroyed with a Sharpie — but their photorealistic details make these paintings far from a mere caricature. The inclusion of vehicles with brand logos (we’ve always loved the Utz girl) bring up questions about commercialism. Check out our gallery of Cyr’s paintings past the break.
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Spanish artist Paco Pomet creates stunning oil paintings that are reproductions of vintage photographs. The works use a monochromatic palette and photo real style, which in itself is quite impressive — but Pomet adds something a little unusual into the mix that isn’t always recognizable at first glance. His strange, nostalgic illusions transform the vintage photos into something unexpected. He changes these real people and places into surreal landscapes and portraits by tweaking tiny details that go unnoticed at first. (It took us a few moments to catch the “trick” in a few of them.) Then it suddenly appears that scale has been skewed, body parts are deformed into something comical (or disturbing), and more. Click through to see more of Pomet’s incredibly detailed, well-rendered works, and see if you can spot the subtle nuances.
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You’ve probably never heard of Ebru, but it’s an amazing artform that everyone should be made aware of. The opposite of traditional water colors, this technique involves applying paint to water and then adding more water or paint to upset the water’s surface and thus, change the art design. While the finished result is gorgeous, this is one of the handful of art techniques that is actually even more fascinating to watch being created than it is to examine the final product.
That’s because the artist can change the design over and over again until she feels it is just right. At that point, she just drops a piece of paper onto the surface of the water, sealing in the design for eternity. See a video of the process and more examples by clicking through.
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We all remember how mysterious life was back when we were children. It makes sense — when you don’t understand how things work, it’s only natural to make up your own explanations. That’s why Pierette Diaz’s art is just so fun.
While we love her style, it’s the perfect way that she captures the imagination of a child that make her artwork so wonderful. From baby apartments in a mother’s belly to dragons heating the food in the oven, Diaz’s art helps us remember how we thought the world worked when we were too young to know any better.
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Toronto-based artist Amy Shackleton creates detailed paintings, combining urban and natural landscapes, without any paintbrushes at all. Instead, she allows the paint to drip naturally — sometimes guiding it with a string, or by changing the direction of her canvas. And these aren’t the “drips” your art school professors always told you were cliché. You can check out her entire process sped up 800x (it took her about 30 hours) to see how she finished her newest work, Terraced City.
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