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May 25
Studio Maarten Kolk & Guus Kusters

Studio Maarten Kolk & Guus Kusters


Studio Maarten Kolk & Guus Kusters

Studio Maarten Kolk & Guus Kusters


May 19

this can’t be real life

(via kittenskittenskittens)

this can’t be real life

(via kittenskittenskittens)

(Source: tindink)


May 16
“reading list #9”
Photo: Jamila

“reading list #9”

Photo: Jamila


May 15

Artist: Craig Kosak

Inspired by the wildlife and landscapes I encounter while traveling I return to my studio with insights about the natural world and about the human condition. Rather than faithfully documenting the flora and fauna, I strive to capture the feeling and emotions these trips provide. Each trip consists of both a journey through the outer world, and an inner journey of self discovery. These paintings are about both worlds and how they relate.

Richly textured and developed using many layers of alternately opaque and translucent paint, strong graphic composition and bold colors combine to set the stage for realistically rendered animals, objects and landscapes. The subjects are integrated with abstract elements and expressive brushwork representative of the inner emotive world. I continue working until balance between both worlds is achieved and the painting comes alive.

Stylistically, my work is grounded in realism, inspired primarily by the iconic images of painter N.C. Wyeth. I am, of course, painting about today’s world and the modern paint handling of contemporary artists John Nieto and Nathan Oliveira have had significant influence in this regard.

WS: craigkosak.com

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Craig Kosak
“Seven Ancestors”40” x 26” oil on canvas

Craig Kosak

“Seven Ancestors”
40” x 26”
oil on canvas



Craig Kosak
“Romance”36” x 36” oil on canvas

Craig Kosak

“Romance”
36” x 36”
oil on canvas



Craig Kosak
“The Fourth Agreement”30” x 50” oil on canvas

Craig Kosak

“The Fourth Agreement”
30” x 50”
oil on canvas


Craig Kosak
“The Third Agreement”30” x 50” oil on canvas

Craig Kosak

“The Third Agreement”
30” x 50”
oil on canvas


May 10
“Asclepius, the son of Apollo and Koronis, was the first physician in Greek mythology His worshipers included Hippocrates, the pioneer of Western Medicine. Asclepius’ first tutors were snakes; he watched them bring healing herbs to each other. This may explain why nonpoisonous snakes were allowed to slither around on the floors of ancient Greek hospitals (a practice since discouraged by the AMA). It may also explain how the Rod of Asclepius, entwined by a single serpent, became the symbol of medicine. And there’s a more ambiguous link between snakes and medicine. The earliest pharmaceuticals which included venom, could be lifesaving or lethal, depending on dosage (and luck). A serpent thus provided a good allegory for the medical profession, with its mixed success rate”

Jeff Greenwald, “Snakes on the Brain,” Shambhala Sun, January 2012, p. 70-71


May 9

Cake pulls

For the wedding of a dear friend, Steph, I assisted in the creation of some inspired little cards to accompany the charms of her cake pull. I had never heard of this tradition until she explained it to me. Of Southern origin: small charms attached to ribbons are baked into the cake, ribbons poking out, one for each bridesmaid. Before the cutting of the cake, the cake pull must occur, during which each bridesmaid will pull out a charm that she shall keep.

Steph is quite crafty. First of all, she found the sweetest little charms on Etsy. I think we both favored the mirror:

She also came up with the endearing idea of accompanying each charm with a card containing a love- and marriage-appropriate quote, relating to the symbolism of each charm. Quote sources ranged from Cinderella to Charles Dickens. This is where my help came in: painting an image of each charm on the envelope of its card. She managed to rustle some gold paint out of a closet. She loves gold as much as I do.

Did I mention that she found the cutest little cards?

Note: the paint was still drying, so some pencil still appears in these little guys.

“Once upon a time… in a faraway land…” —Cinderella

“Have a heart that never hardens… a temper that never tires… a touch that never hurts.” —Charles Dickens

CONGRATULATIONS STEPH & GRIFF


May 7
Ismail Shammout

Ismail Shammout

(Source: alyibnawi, via hushpoint)


Inspired landscapes

What I may love most about living in New Mexico is the gush of inspiration I feel from observing its landscape. Taking off and landing is perhaps the most intense form of this feeling.

The cracks, crevices, bumbling mountains and wide expanses of seeming nothingness never cease to amazing me.

They remind me:

…The original native people…. lived, acquired wisdom through experiences, and died. Generation after generation was buried in the Earth where bodies were transformed into elemental Earth forms once again. Dust to dust. Bones and flesh changed into smaller and smaller living organisms, microbiological and chemical life elements, the nutrients that create future bodies through the plants, soil, and stones…. Though the soul of the human being has left its material form and expanded to higher levels of life, it has left something of its wisdom in each element from which it had previously taken human form. Literally, the stones are our ancestors. The spirits of our ancestors may live elsewhere in higher vibratory bodies, possibly finished with Earth incarnations, but they have left us their life wisdoms in the substance of the earth itself.

—Carol Bridges, The Medicine Woman Inner Guidebook, p. 143-4


Apr 17
Hungry Elephants
After arranging some foliage on the dining table, I marveled at how it appeared to be an abstract tree, and these elephants look quite hungry. Their trunks, far too short.
Behind: “healing”

Hungry Elephants

After arranging some foliage on the dining table, I marveled at how it appeared to be an abstract tree, and these elephants look quite hungry. Their trunks, far too short.

Behind: “healing”


Apr 15

Artist: Kate Shaw

My practice re-interprets notions of what constitutes landscape painting, both within an art historical context and a contemporary social context. The paintings deal with the tensions and dichotomies in both the depiction of the natural world and our relationship to it.  I am concurrently exploring the sublime in nature whilst imbuing a sense of toxicity and artificiality in this depiction. The intention is to reflect upon the contradiction between our inherent connection to the natural world and continual distancing from it.

The paint pours comprise of acrylic paint, inks and mediums. I am fascinated by the way the movement of the paint mimics something from the natural world such as a lava flow, a landslide, an avalanche. Within the dried paint pour I look for something that looks like a tree branch, a cliff or a mountain and then cut and collage the pieces. I use airbrush to achieve sky and watery effects and finally resin as a finishing surface. I have been influenced by the way a painter such as Laura Owens uses various techniques in the ‘vocabulary’ of painting to make it evident to the viewer that we are ‘completing’ the painting.  My paintings aim to convey ideas of nature, alchemy and creation by operating on one level as a landscape another as abstraction.

WS: kateshaw.org

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