Great New Artists

In keeping with the tradition of counting down and looking back which seems to transcend generations and religions every year round about this time I decided to write about some of the best new artists I found this past year.

Valsartdiary I actually found out about her a while ago before 2008 started but her style is classic.

Katarina Sokolova one of the best digital painters I have ever seen.

Kawaii Goods.com great little shop full of pink stuff.

Graffiti Paris is a book not a person or organization but it still counts as one of the best art related things I found this year.

Of course there have been a lot more great things this year than just these but it’ll be more fun if I don’t tell you what else to like

I have a confession to make; I am a Nerdfighter (if you don’t know what that is then go here). Actually this confession is not so shocking once I tell you what I have to tell you in this post but nevertheless I think it’s something that doesn’t get said enough.

The reason I brough you this news is that the Project for Awesome is coming up once again on Dec. 20 and it was started by, you guessed, John and Hank Green who wanted to further the Nerdfighter’s cause of decreasing world suck by bringing attention to charities that Nerdfighters in the YT community liked.

I will be participating this year for the first time making a video about two charities Free Rice and the Christmas Day Art blog network which raises money to drill wells in Africa. What’s unique about these two charities is that they don’t require supporters to give money they both get all their support from ads (sponsorship for Free Rice and Google AdSense for Christmas Day).

Watch the video and visit the site to learn more about the Project for Awesome. Also visit Christmas Day Art you can also score some free clip art and learn about some other cool stuff.

The NoHo Scene Festival is happening on October 5^th this year from 11am until 5pm featuring art, music, theatre, dance, acting, art workshops and screenings. I’m assuming this happens in LA or Hollywood or somewhere else I can’t get to by then. You have to wonder about their slogan though, if it really is more fun than you can fit in a day why don’t they make it longer?

The artists village part of the festival will feature exhibits by Danz Art & Deb Ash, Vera Arutyunyan, Thom Bierdz, Ralph Berko, D.V.L. Productions, Fine Art Fire, Felicite Imam’s Fine Art Prints & Cards, Ruggiero Photography and many more

Another day of writing about art and oh the places I would be right now if it weren’t for time, distance and money. However I have to admit that this one is over and has been for some time.

The World Bodypainting Festival took place in Daegu, Korea in August and the winners were incredible. I have been fascinated with bodypainting for some time now ever since I found out that one of the main characters in the second X-Men movie was built around it.

Their website has a behind the scenes video shot at the festival that shows some of the artists and models at work and a lot of the stuff that went into the shows.

Painter Vladimir Kush has the kind of surrealist mind that I have always wanted. His ideas are amazing and articulate blending fantasy and reality so seamlessly you actually start to believe that these things could happen.

Not only does he paint things like ships with butterflies for sails but he also points out the everyday things that children use when they are playing pretend like a bed sheet as a substitute for water. His work is relatable even to those viewers who don’t like or have never been exposed to surrealist art. Personally he reminds me of Tim Burton with his super slim figures of people and the way he switches textures like in the painting of a row boat being rowed through a wood grain river.

When you think of art you may not automatically think “Rice paddy!” but that’s just what the people of Inakadate, Japan thought when they decided to plant their paddies in the shapes of intricate designs and famous paintings.

Inakadate is a small village with a small population and every year the farmers plant rice in extraordinary patterns which this year includes the famous woodblock carving “36 Views of Mt. Fuji.” In the past the farmers have created impressions of other famous paintings and figures from Japanese culture. But if you haven’t seen it yet this year you’re too late. The crops are harvested in September. Oh, well better luck next year. At least there are pictures.

I have always been fascinated with realism in painting particularly when it comes to paintings dealing with water and other delicate things. This is what attracted me to the work of Gregory Thielker. According to him he has always held this same fascination when it comes to looking out the window of the car in the rain.Raindrops provide an unusual lens with which to view the world no matter where they land because of their familiar and exact but ever changing shape. They have an unusual density that is so fragile just touching the surface can totally change it. It is for this reason that they are so magical and hard to paint. However Gregory has done it and done it rather well I must say.His website showcases some of the best (and come to think of it the only) raindrop paintings I have ever seen. They are all positioned as if the viewer of the painting was a driver or passenger in a car. Not only are they different and new compared to other artists subjects but familiar to anyone who has ever ridden in a car in the rain. I would not hesitate to put this artist up there with Katarina Sokolova on my favorites list.

Since I’ve been into street art in this blog lately I thought I would continue the trend with a totally personal and non-objective article about some of the street art of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The 6emeia project was started by two artists in Brazil called SAO and Delafuente. The objective of the duo is to modify everyday objects of modern urban life like manhole covers, gutters, street lamps and so forth. Their work is cartoonish but still encompasses the objects enough to be believable. I think of it as a Tim Burton film come to life.Some of the structures they have painted I didn’t recognize because we don’t have some of them here in America but they are all totally unexpected and relatable to passing viewers. This is the only time in my life when I have wanted to go to Brazil.

If you’ve ever wondered who holds the record for largest toothpick mosaic the answer is Saimir Strati. The Albanian born mosaic artist created his work “Rainless Spirit” a mosaic of a horse using 1.5 million toothpicks in 2007. Before that, in 2006, the artist recreated the self portrait of Leonardo da Vinci from industrial nails. Currently he is working on a cork mosaic which when finished will consist of 300,000 corks over a 13.5×7m surface.Sadly information on this artist is hard to find but his homepage lists all his accomplishments since graduation from high school in 1984.  He also holds the world record for the largest nail mosaic. The best place to see his art online is the Amazing Art blog.

Great New Artists is looking for new artists from all genres to participate in this blog. You can be an artist from any discipline including film (even actors), music, visual arts, writing or anything else you can think of to be profile subjects. Whether you have had your big break or no one has seen your art outside of your hamster’s cage we want to see your work.

Great New Artists is a blog which desires to showcase the new and exciting works of the contemporary art scene all over the world. I know you guys are doing some amazing work out there that no one has thought of before so show it off!

Just contact me, Whitney at missfishdesigns@yahoo.com or on MySpace or on The Outer Post just make sure you send a small sample of your work (this can be an attachment or a website address in the message) and include Great New Artists in the subject line.

I can’t wait to hear from you all!

XOXOXO