Friday, February 25, 2011

Featured Artist: Mike Moore

Meet Mike Moore from MMstudios. "I'm from Columbus, Ohio, but right now I am out in a tiny little town about 45 minutes away (thats 45 minutes from Columbus, not from you. Unless you're in Columbus, then it is indeed 45 minutes from you). It's been a huge adjustment moving here. No night clubs, no coffee shops, no Columbus art district." But he adds that there IS indeed a diner down the street that closes just past noon.
Unwanted Guests series by Mike Moore

Mike recently opened his Etsy shop (MMstudios) and he's investigating selling locally. "Columbus really does have a nice art district with lots of galleries and shops dispaying work."
Detailed Orchid by Mike Moore

Mike is a fan of many different styles of art. "I am in awe over the old masters. I had a classically trained painting teacher that really made me appreciate the techniques...careful layers and layers of thin glazes building up and giving life to an oil painting is an amazing thing that cant be duplicated any other way..." He adds that his love of retro culture, commercial artists, tattoo artists, and "passion for the pin up artists like Elvgren and Vargas of the 40s and 50s" help round out his inspiration as well as his comic book collection as a child. "I loved collecting comic books as a kid, so of course I came to appreciate some of the better artists involved...Milt Caniff (known as the Rembrandt of the comics), who did Steve Canyon and Terry and the Pirates comics is a personal favorite, and his famous chiaroscuro shadow technique inspired me..." One of his new favorite artists is Mark Ryden. "He is amazing to me for his combination of lowbrow subject matters, mixed with truly old master quality painting techniques."
Eye, Heart, and Sharpies by Mike Moore

Besides art (Mike says, "Well...its ALL about art isnt it?"), Mike says, "I love classic movies, vintage clothes, old diners, collecting old glass cocktail shakers and USING them, hot rods, road trips, food and cooking, Food TV, tattoos, coffee shops, riding bicycles, and playing with my three year old daughter! When im out with my daughter, women approach saying, 'Oh how beautiful! How old?' I say, 'I'm 50.'" He has a long-haired dachshund named Hans, and says, "I'm in pretty good company because Picasso and Andy Warhol both had pet dachshunds..."
Mosquito by Mike Moore

Be sure to check out his Etsy shop... it's great... and totally affordable!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Featured Artist: Sebastien Millon

Meet Sebastien Millon, our third featured artist. Sebastien hails from Phoenix, Arizona, though he considers himself a "child of the world," since his French family moved from place to place when he was a child.
Mr. Woodpecker by Sebastien Millon
Sebastian has an Etsy shop and sells locally in Phoenix in such shops as Made Art Boutique, Red Hot Robot, Acme Prints, La Grande Orange, and Revolver Records. He's been drawing since he was a child, starting with an early pet German shepherd inspiration, but truly took to art as an adult.

Owlie's Present by Sebastien Millon

"I've always loved pencil drawings. In painting, it is easier for the artist to hide their hand, but in a pencil drawing, there is a nakedness, you can more easily perceive the artist's line and method. Some of my favorite art pieces are artists' sketches of studio models, usually pencil, pen or ink work." Sebastien lists some of his favorite artists as Joan Miro, Otto Dix, Ivan Albright, Josh Keyes, Maurice Sendak, Miroslav Sasek, Luke Chueh, Esao Andrews, Jan van Eyck, Charles Addams, and Bill Watterson.
Truck Drivin' Bunny by Sebastien Millon

In Sebastien's home, other than his own brilliant work, he features Josh Keyes and Esao Andrews. "Keyes' work has an environmentalist bent to it, his imagery is gorgeous and almost always features animals. Esao Andrews' pieces are lovely as well, he is a fantastic painter; I love the way he paints human flesh. His imagery is usually dark and has a sinister feel to it." YES!
Drawing Carnivorous Cyclopean Bunnies by Sebastien Millon

Make sure you check out Sebastien's Etsy shop... it's not to be missed!

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Featured Artist: Andrea Doss

Meet Andrea Doss, my second featured artist! Born and raised in Texas, she still calls the Lone Star State home. Andrea sells locally in Fort Worth as well as online at her Etsy shop Andralynn Creative Designs. Did you know she can bend her left arm backwards? No, really... she can!

Funny Hat by Andrea Doss

Andrea says she's been drawing and painting since she could walk. "I started drawing on the walls as soon as I could get my hands on a pencil. My mom didn't appreciate my wild creativity, and had me using paper as soon as she could. That's when I started pasting my work to the walls. Yeah. That didn't go over too well either." Her formal training came from just a few classes in college. She settled on English (don't we all?), so most of her experience comes from painting on her own. "I actually started painting storybook paintings to go along with the stories I told to my nieces and nephews. They would practically beg me to tell them another adventure story, and, of course, they wanted to see the characters I was describing to them, too."

Bedtime Story by Andrea Doss

Andrea enjoys working with acrylics the best "because it's so forgiving when you make a mistake and the clean up is quick and easy." Ain't that the truth!
Watching Fireflies by Andrea Doss


Besides her own work, her home is filled with her niece's photographs, her brother's robot sculptures, and her daughter's color and shape studies. She enjoys classics, such as Van Gogh, Monet, and Rembrandt, but also loves "indie, creative people who aren't afraid to show their own style and individuality," especially some she's seen and met on Etsy (including me?! really?! I'm honored!).

Sunday Stroll by Andrea Doss

Andrea is currently working on a children's book "that is in a perpetual state of incompleteness that will be done sometime in the unforeseeable future." While we're waiting on that, make sure you check out her Etsy shop - you won't be disappointed!

Andralynn Creative Designs


Thursday, February 17, 2011

Selling venues

I'm curious what my readers, the few I have, use as selling venues.

I use Etsy (though once the listings expire, I will likely not use the site anymore - too many pointless changes are making it not the place I want to sell), Artfire (not sure about this one yet - I have the free account to try it out... have had a few views, but not a ton), Zibbet (just signed up tonight... no clue yet), ArtBreak (no sales, few views... but an interesting website) and Ebay (where I've sold a decent amount, but have also had a dozen or so non-paying bidders - which is really annoying).

Where've you had luck?

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Featured Artist: Adam Fonos

Meet Adam Fonos, my first Featured Artist! Adam is a watercolor and oil painter
from Malaysia.


The Big Three by Adam Fonos

Adam has been painting since he was 7, focusing mainly on watercolors until
2010 when his medium changed to oil. He says his inspiration comes from movies
and his own imagination, and that he paints mainly when he's happy because his
emotions affect his work.



It's Raining Color by Adam Fonos


Adam is known for painting landscapes, but has begun figures and portraits as
well. His favorite artists include Lena Karpinski, Leonardo da Vinci, and Roz.



Warm Petals by Adam Fonos


In conclusion, Adam says that he's simply a guy with an unbelievable passion
for art.

Be sure to check out Adam Fonos here:
Etsy Shop

People's Artist
(blog)
and Bluecanvas


I want to offer a special thanks to Adam Fonos for taking a moment and sharing
some wonderful art with us. I hope you love his work as much as I do... and
it's totally affordable! Pick up a painting or two today!


Forest Fire by Adam Fonos

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Kev Munday

You have to check the brilliant Kev Munday out. Here's a sample of some of his work:







Thursday, February 3, 2011

Artist features!

I'm hoping to compile some features on some artists I've come to like... but who's gonna want to be featured on a blog with so few followers?

In the meantime, check out NovemberStudios on Etsy. His art is groovy!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011