artist of interest: Carly Waito

Smokey Quartz, 2011

Carly Waito is a Toronto-based artist who is obviously in love with gemstones. Her oil on masonite paintings of crystals and minerals are gorgeous and so realistic. They are also quite small, some only 7 x 6".

Sphalerite, 2011

Check out her blog, where she writes about her work and her nature travels.

 (images via Narwhal Art Projects) 

artist of interest: Gustave Moreau

Hesiod and the Muse, 1891

During my recent trip to Paris, I visited the Musée d'Orsay for the first time. The museum itself is beautiful and used to be the Beaux-Arts railway station Gare d'Orsay. The building really lends itself to art viewing. It was probably the most enjoyable museum experience I've ever had.

Since I've been drawing quite a bit more than I used to, I've really come to appreciate painting again. I did see a lot of the big names (Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Gaughin). But one artist that I had never noticed before is Symbolist painter Gustave Moreau. 

Galatea, 1898

His paintings are delightfully colorful and shiny. I was immediately drawn closer by the crystallized effect his layers of paint and oils have on the canvas. The works were literally sparkling (an effect you can only see when face to face with the painting). And the mystical scenes are wonderfully bizarre.

Prometheus, 1868

Orpheus, 1865

I love the way the distant backgrounds are addressed, the amount of fine detail in some areas, and the scratchiness and heaviness of paint in others.

Jupiter and Semele, 1894-95

(all images via Wikipedia, except Galatea via Musee d'Orsay)

artist of interest: MARS-1

Transcendental Disaster, 2010 (detail)

I recently stumbled upon the abstract paintings of artist Mario Martinez, also known as MARS-1, and couldn't stop posting images of his work on my tumblr. His paintings of extraterrestrial dreamscapes combine elements of science, fantasy, and spirituality. The harmonious combination of form and color, with the perfect dose of elements like rainbows and crystals, inspire peacefulness and introspection while still exciting a deep magical wonder within me.

Mental and Material Realms, 2008

Further, 2010 (detail)

I really am almost speechless looking at this work. It's beautiful and interesting and fun. I'm completely in love with it!

Nuclear Mystics, 2009

Chromadepth 3, 2010

Doze Green and MARS-1 Collaboration, 2011

MARS1 & DOZE GREEN from Colin M Day on Vimeo.

artist of interest: Kirsten Hassenfeld

Dans La Lune (detail), 2007 (via Rice Gallery)

During my junior year of college, I attended a visiting artist lecture given by Kirsten Hassenfeld. At the time, I believe she was working primarily in paper. Her cut paper installations were like delicate, feminine fantasies. I was not only impressed by the intricacy and patience in her work, but how she was able to take a material as simple as paper and create luxurious and beautiful objects.

Blue Horn (detail), 2010 (via kirstenhassenfeld.com)

I'm really drawn to the transparency and the ethereal quality of her work. And of course, the crystalline forms!

Dans La Lune (detail), 2007 (via Rice Gallery)

So several years after her lecture, the images of her work still stuck with me. I had recently been thinking about it after seeing a book on 3D paper art, so I searched for her website to see what she's been up to.

Hassenfeld has moved away from paper; her recent work is made of heavier materials like glass, metal, and ceramic. Though weightier and physically more substantial, these new mixed media pieces do not lose that sparkling magical feeling.

Treen (detail), 2010 (via kirstenhassenfeld.com)

Treen, 2010 (via kirstenhassenfeld.com)

artist of interest: Debra Baxter

You have to believe we are all magic, 2010

ceramic, mirror, lab grown bismuth (Germany)

Sculpture created from ceramic, stone, and crystals! What could be more wonderful? Debra Baxter's work is a harmonious marriage of organic forms, sparkling surfaces, and elegant materials. I first came across her work online as I was browsing my tumblr feed. The piece Crystal Brass Knuckles (I am going to realign your chakras motherf*****) (pictured below) seemed to be everywhere in my mineralogical internet world. A powerful and humorous image, it's no wonder it generated attention from the fashionably sarcastic.

Crystal Brass Knuckles (I am going to realign your chakras motherf*****), 2009

quartz crystals, sterling silver

But humor and fashion aside, there is something more that draws me to this object. It looks like a magical weapon from another world, glowing against a blue moon and shooting lightning rays into a starry sky. The science fantasy aspect of Baxter's work is what I find so compelling. Any time a piece lends itself to the viewer's imagination and opens up a window into an original, individual fiction, I consider it successful.

Join (it will stop screaming if you let go of it), 2010
cypress knee, epoxy, laminate, mirror

Baxter's work is so aesthetically pleasing. The juxtaposition of smooth, fleshy alabaster and wood, brilliant crystals, and shining mirrors is so rich and satisfying. The use of these elements in her compositions provides plenty to draw the eye around each piece over and over again.

Not only does the artist create beautiful sculptures, she produces a collection of very wearable jewelry, which you can purchase here. Also check out her tumblr page, which has some great images of her work and inspirational images of crystals in nature, fashion, and art.

Quartz Bomb II

 (all images via http://www.debrabaxter.com/)

artist of interest: Kyle Field

Last weekend before seeing Whispering Pines 10, I checked out Thirty Days NY. It was very cool. Shana Moulton is actually performing there in May, and I will do my best to make it there to see her. Anyway, Kyle Field had this work on display there. I really like his stuff! I think I'm drawn to the messy weirdness of the characters, the colors, and the humor. I don't know if all the text is readable here, but I actually laughed out loud in the gallery while reading this illustration.