Many of us have a love/hate relationship with Instagram.  Maybe we love that voyeuristic glimpse into other people’s lives.  Perhaps we hate that their lives might seem more glamorous than our own.  What I personally love is the way it allows us to communicate the beauty in simple moments.  The work of Cincinnati artist Emil Robinson carries with it the same celebration of the magic to be found in every day.

Catherine in Orange, oil on panel, 18×24

As I type this, I’m sitting at my desk and am struck by the loveliness of the orange candle sitting quietly on the deep white windowsill.  Robinson’s work reminds us of that we don’t always have to seek out what is interesting and delightful.  It is all around us, just waiting to be noticed.

Ikea Lamp, oil on panel, 30×36

Storage, oil on panel, 12×15

Pink Book, oil on panel, 24×24

It might seem strange to want to document such routine aspects of our lives, but it is these common moments that truly make up our lives– that fill the space between the extraordinary.

Man With Storage 2, oil on panel, 24×24

What ordinary moments did you see the beauty in today?  To see more of Emil Robinson’s work, please visit his website.

Artist found via Erin McIntosh.  All images are via the artist’s website.

We all struggle against that ideal we have in our head of the person we feel we are supposed to be.  Whether it be the strong head of household, the June Cleaverish mom or the anti-establishment free thinker.  Artist Haley Hasler conveys the inner archetypes caught in the complexity of the exterior world in her self portrait series.

Portrait as Sunday Brunch, oil on canvas, 46×56

Portrait as Lady Bearing Snacks, oil on canvas

I am continually in awe of any working mom’s as when I glimpse into the insanity of their daily lives, I wonder how in the world they do it.  My friend V and I talked about it once, that inert striving that seems to always be present to live up to some sort of ideal.

Portrait as St. Caslide, oil on canvas, 32×46

Portrait of Allegory of Fidelity, oil on canvas

But when we let go of that ideal, as my very wise friend told me, that’s when we can really dwell in each moment.  The dishes may be dirty, the laundry may be piled up, but our loved ones will remember the time we gave them.  There will always be the inner struggle for the “perfect” life– whatever that may look like.  But even if the life we cultivate isn’t perfect, it can still be filled with moments of magic.

Portrait as Tooth Fairy, oil on canvas, 38×56

To see more of Haley Hasler’s work, please visit her website.

A perfect blend of the beauty of nature and portraiture!  I’m featuring the gorgeous photography of Sara K. Byrne in my Artist Watch on Escape Into Life today.  Head on over to check it out!

Sara K. Byrne on Escape Into Life

Artist found via The Artful Desperado.  Image via the artist’s blog.

There has been a poignant video being posted all over social media this week.  By now, you’ve probably seen the Dove Real Beauty Sketches on YouTube.  In it, we are confronted with the disparity between the way others see us and how we perceive ourselves.  As I was watching it this week, it brought to mind these portraits by German artist Olaf Hajek.

In these portraits, we see women of African descent adorned in the extravagant style of Marie Antoinette, the standard of beauty and opulence in her day.  These women look every bit as refined and elegant as Antoinette ever did, yet there is a discomfort and sadness about them.

To put on the trappings of another person’s beauty is to not embrace what is truly beautiful about ourselves.  We all buy into the lies being told that we need to look a certain way to be considered attractive.  Do the birds in all their glory worry about the way their feathers are arranged?

We are constantly in search of the next fashion trend, face cream or make-up that will transform us into the beauty we hope to be.  But instead, why don’t we embrace our beauty for what it is?  We are each uniquely lovely in a way that no other person in the world could be.

To see more of Olaf Hajek’s work, please visit his website.  For a laugh, check out this parody of the Dove Real Beauty Sketches.  ;-)

Images via the artist’s website.

What does an artist do when he is gifted with classical skills yet wants his work to be modern and exciting and relevant?  For painter Russ Noto, it means creating figures who strike traditional poses, but adding elements of the absurd.

Figure with Painted Horse, oil on canvas, 33×43

Push/Pull, oil on panel

Classically posed figures in contemporary clothing are placed in incongruous situations.  Kind of leaving us to wonder.. where does  traditional work and style fit in?  Is it still pertinent to the conversation?

New Quixote, oil on canvas, 33×43

Venus in Exile, oil on canvas, 33×43

There is an inherent sadness to Noto’s work.  It’s as if his archetypal characters have been set down in unfamiliar territory and now find themselves isolated and despondent.

Beauty and Violence No.2, oil on canvas, 33×43

But is the future of classical work and traditional themes so bleak?  Is there truly room for all in contemporary art?  Deep thoughts for a Monday.  If you’d like to see more of Russ Noto’s work, and I highly recommend you do, please visit his website.

One of my favorite things is to discover new views just by changing my angle of perspective.  How much more interesting some things become when we look at them with different eyes!  The work of San Francisco artist Travis Collinson challenges us to see consider simple scenes from a new aspect.

Scatter, oil on canvas, 48×48

Collinson’s figures, often caught in moments of what seems to be a trance-like state, are seen by the viewer in a sometimes voyeuristic perspective.  We may feel as if we are walking in upon a moment of private reflection, or intruding on the subject’s privacy.

Marcy, acrylic on linen, 14×12

The Pornography of Nature, acrylic on canvas, 18×20

Upside Down, acrylic on canvas, 66×90

In each composition, there is always the tiniest detail that almost goes without notice.  Yet once it has been seen, we can’t un-see it.  And it captures our attention with each glance, changing how we consider everything else we’re taking in.

Rutso, acrylic on canvas, 56×32

To see more of Travis Collinson’s work, please visit the websites of his representing galleries, Eli Ridgway Gallery and Maloney Fine Art.

Artist found via New American Paintings.  Scatter via Maloney Fine Art, all other images via Eli Ridgway Gallery.

Having lived the first ahem, three decades, of my life in the South, I completely understand why people are drawn to it.  There is a co-mingling of worlds in the South, some owing to its sordid history, others a product of the atmosphere and the people who find themselves there.  New Mexico artist Gigi Mills, having grown up with her family in the circus on the West Coast of Florida, far from the “traditional South”, finds herself repeatedly drawn to its charms.  In her latest series, The Deep South and Other Stories, which debuted at Gallery Orange in New Orleans two weeks ago, the artist explores her attachment to a life that could have been hers.

Some Days, oil on panel, 20×16

A childhood in the circus, while filled with color, charm and adventure, doesn’t offer much in the way of stability.  For Gigi, it is that sense of permanence of place, of generations of history that leads her again and again to southern places.

Somewhere on Esplanade Interior, oil on paper, 21×24

Laundry in a Dark Landscape, oil on panel, 24×20

Interior with Baker and Cake, oil on paper, 22×25

In her work, as in many areas of the South itself, there is an enchanting sense of elegance and charisma that completely bewitches us.  But it is the complexities of this world that we find most intriguing– the secrets kept, the stories told and untold.

Lagniappe of Pearls, Conversation with Carlos, oil, 12×16

If you’d like to see more from the Deep South and Other Stories series, please visit the Gallery Orange website.  Gallery Orange also has beautiful Gigi Mills books available for purchase through their website– a lovely way to learn more about the artist and enjoy her work, even if a painting is out of reach.

All images via Gallery Orange.

As I mentioned on Monday, I am battling a doozy of a cold.  I’m on my third day of confinement and first day of being out of bed before 10am ( although I’m writing this at 10:37am and I’m ready to crawl back in ).  I’ve been consoling myself with Pinterest and guilty pleasure tv marathons on Hulu.  But the bright colors and quirky compositions of the work of San Francisco photographer Kelly Nicolaisen remind me that there is fun and life to be had on the other side of this temporary yuckiness.

Nicolaisen is an art photographer with an incredible eye for color and composition.  Each image is carefully balanced yet they still feel like the capturing of a fleeting, ordinary moment.

Just in case we’d forgotten, Nicolaisen’s imagery reminds us of the color, joy and humor to be found in this life.  We aren’t meant to live in worlds of taupes and greys.  We need and crave the bright spots.  Living in the desert has taught me that.  For it is in those moments that we remember there is still delight to be found.

To see more of Kelly Nicolaisen’s work, please visit her website.

All images via Saatchi Online.

Nothing says spring like girls with flowery tattooes!  When I spotted this piece by Seattle artist Stasia Burrington on Artsyo, I was smitten with her work, her use of cut paper florals and girls is at once sweet and strong.  Love it!  I’m featuring Stasia’s work in my Artist Watch on Escape Into Life today, see it here!

Clementine, charcoal, ink and fabric collage on Stonehenge paper, 11×14

Stasia Burrington on Escape Into Life

Artist found via Artsyo, image also via Artsyo.

I will never forget how intimidated I was during my first figure drawing class. And how incredibly awful I was. My professor was very encouraging, telling me to push through until it clicked. And then one day it did and I loved it. All that time spent agonizing over drawing the perfect figure gave me the freedom to let loose once I got it. Charleston artist Kate Long Stevenson seems to get it, too. Her elegantly sketched figures are perfectly imperfect.

Femme Nue, oil, latex, charcoal and chalk pastel on canvas, 22×28

Pastoral, oil and charcoal on canvas, 30×40

With a minimum amount of line, Stevenson shows us the essence of each figure, a hint of a toe reveals a foot, shapes and angles slightly exaggerated so that our eye finishes the sentence they’ve begun.

Reclining, 28×20

Bold patches and slashes of paint cause the eye to follow the colors around the canvas, landing and concentrating on just the right spots.

AKT, oil, acrylic, gouache, and charcoal on canvas, 18×24

Woman, oil, gouache, charcoal and chalk pastel on canvas, 42×48

To see more of Kate Long Stevenson’s work, please visit her Kate Long Stevenson website.

All images but Reclining are via the artist’s Kate Long Stevenson website. Reclining is via the Chicago Artsource Chicago Artsource website.