Personal piece - Mixed media - ‘The Halloween Banquet’ / “The Fortune Cookie Hunter”, Mixed media on wooden panel in vintage tin can

Here are a some example pieces by Dutch artist/illustrator Femke Hiemstra, who’s work is currently on display (Through May 3) at the Roq La Rue gallery, seattle (with Travis Louie). Am sure you will agree Hiemstras paintings have an incredibly unique and quirky Lowbrow style that evokes the work of Mark Ryden and Robert Williams. Here is an excerpt from her show:

(Amsterdam) meticulously tight, jewel like mixed media paintings are homes to a dark, lush fairytale land where inanimate objects come to life and frolic with animal neighbors. Gingerbread men hunt for elusive confections, persian cats attended by moths smoke opium pipes, and flowers extract their revenge on insect tormenters. Femke uses typography in her work, using words and phrases from various languages and letters in her paintings to further enhance the narrative while still retaining a playful sense of mystery, or as a visual device to frame in the scenery, as if you were looking at her world through a secret window. Drawing from a range of influences, from firework wrappers to Japanese woodblock prints, Femke’s use of both pop culture detritus and child-like fantasy create a vibrant playground for the imagination, with each piece looking like a cover for a fantastical adventure book, which is left up to the viewer to imagine the story inside. She will be exhibiting 12 original paintings and several drawings.

On her website Femtasia, Hiemstra sells prints, shirts and buttons, and while it all looks to be of excellent quality, I’m most impressed with the button designs. You can see more of Hiemstra’s charming paintings from the show after the jump. more…

The enigmatic Korean artist known as Alien1452 creates tantalizingly erotic anime type imagery. Most of his/her portfolio consists of futuristic characters and otherworldly oddities that are strangely exotic and enticing at the same time. With a portfolio consisting of literally hundreds of images (some NSFW), Alien 1452 is a real painting machine….

There is a great tutorial by alien452 here. (Note: Online translation needed, as this is written in Korean). You can view some of Alien1452’s biomechanical beauties and steely sweeties after the jump.Enjoy. more…

Song of Birth: The 3 Magi , Oil on wood, 30″ x 28″

Born in New York, Isabel Samaras’ a painter/illustrator with a difference: she’s an ‘enigmatic storyteller who uses paint instead of words’. Her paintings submerge you into a multi-layered world: a world that echos forgotten parables from bygone eras using characters that have their own (modern) mythologies. You’ll find characters from 70s sitcoms, in particular from popular TV shows like “The Avengers,” “The Addams Family,” “Star Trek,” “Bewitched,” “Gilligan’s Island,” “I Dream of Jeannie,” “The Munsters” and “The Six Million Dollar Man.” These characters (and more) are re-cast with pop culture icons and classic works of fine art for a contemporary spin. Beyond television and the master paintings, Isabel pulls influences from horror movies, Las Vegas lifestyles, and Mexican calendar art into her projects.

Going Native and Song of the Raven, Oil on canvas / wood. 2007

A San Francisco resident for the last 10 years, she continues to work as an illustrator, in addition to creating fine art. You can view more of her works after the jump. more…

“The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider’s web.”

“Some painters transform the sun into a yellow spot, others transform a yellow spot into the sun.”

Pablo Picasso was a Spanish painter, sculptor and creator in many creative fields. As one of the most recognized figures in twentieth-century art, he is (perhaps) best known for co-founding the Cubist movement and for the wide variety of styles embodied in his work. Aside from having a hand in every art movement of the 20th C, he also had some interesting things to say about creativity and life. Here are 7 enlightening tips (via the positivity blog) that are sure to inspire creativity from different levels. more…

No Neutral Thoughts, oil on canvas, 2008. 24 x 24 inches

Eric’s painting skills are truly unbelievable to say the least. His work transcends time, reality, science and logic. It is rich in content and is visually mind blowing. He finds inspiration in metaphysics, with trace hints of iconic pop culture of years past. - Manuel Bello

Brooklyn-based painter Eric White creates “traditional based” imagery from an unusual approach to figuration. White references found imagery (particularly from 40s era Hollywood) in works that are thought-provoking, beautifully rendered and also disturbing on many different levels. This approach enables the artist to tap into realities and dimensions that exist beyond the edge of our perception; in a world in which movie stars, political figures, and ordinary people are transformed: stretched and distorted and placed in bizarre landscapes. In all his creations White employs a meticulous mix of hyper-realism and surrealism to make his dark dreams.

Our Beloved Ganesa, oil on canvas

Eric White has shown extensively in galleries and museums such as The American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Gracie Mansion in New York, Robert Berman and Track 16 in Los Angeles, and Moda Politica in Tokyo. His work is sought after by a wide range of collectors including Leonardo DiCaprio, Al Pacino, David Arquette and Courteney Cox.

View more of Eric White’s exceedingly inviting imagery after the jump. more…