livefunky

Etsy shop: livefunky
listing: Mid Air
artist: Jessica Torrant

Jessica currently offers a huge body of work in her Etsy shop. There's a great deal of variety among the 200+ items. I selected "Mid Air" for this feature because it reminds me of Paul Klee, one of my favorite artists. Many of her paintings display a strong Cubist foundation. Others are abstract studies in color. Whatever the influence, all of Jessica's work has a creative sense of curiosity about it which makes viewing her work fun and enlifting.

Nthegroove

Etsy shop: Nthegroove
listing: Creation

From the Item Description:

Hand drawn and printed stone lithograph. Image size is 11" x 15" on quality mould made printmaking paper. This is one impression of an edition of 7. This image was done with liquid tusche on the stone. The detail of the tusche process is incredible.

Nthegroove is correct, original hand-pulled litho prints are incredibly detailed.

Jetsah

Etsy shop: Jetsah
listing: The Black Keys DC silkscreen poster
artist: Dan Grzeca

JessicaDoyle

Etsy shop: JessicaDoyle
listing: Intoxicating Blush
artist: Jessica Doyle

artatelier

Etsy shop: artatelier
listing: The Moon nr2
artist: Paulina Archambault

Paulina's paintings are reminiscent of some of Paul Klee's paintings. Klee is in my list of top 5 fav painters of all time.

cwysart

Etsy shop: cwysart
listing: original landscape painting
artist: Chad Wys

I'm an artist. I make my fair share of art. However, I have only purchased two pieces of art. This is one of those two.

It's a brillant landscape painting by Chad Wys. This painting has a great balance between abstract and realism. First let's look at its abstract qualities. The painting is divided into thirds which is a basic design principal for adding visual interest. The top two-thirds is a mix of blue, white and some green. The bottom third has a splash of blue cutting into a field of yellow-ish ocre. In between the two sections is a small, yet strikingly dominant slice of black.

So, I enjoy looking at this painting on a purley abstract level, then switching my brain and looking at it as a landscape complete with a lake, fields of gold, mountains in the distance in a partly cloudy sky with a very mysterious green substance floating about. All this for just $5 ($6.20 including shipping). AND IT'S THE ORIGINAL PAINTING. I get tired of seeing inkjet reproductions. It's nice to see a fellow artist selling original work for dirt cheap prices. Mega super kudos to Chad.

I even feel inspired now to paint similar abstract landscapes. The duality between realism and abstract is really intriguing.

davidvmoore

Etsy shop: davidvmoore
listing: Persuasion Print
artist: David V. Moore

EtsyArt.com took last week off. We're back up and running.

bobojunket

Etsy shop: bobojunket
listing: Abstract-Two
artist: Diana Grappasonno

clairejauregui

Etsy shop: clairejauregui
listing: Study 1.1 -- Graphite Drawing
artist: Claire Jauregui

zukzuk

Etsy shop: zukzuk
listing: Zukzuk Day in day out

From Zukzuk's Etsy Profile:

when i was reading a book to my son the other day, one of the characters, a wombat, said that he liked to think and he liked to dig. i guess that's a bit like me. i too like to think and to dig, especially come summer, but then digging snow in the winter is good too...

most of the time i'm pretty mesmerized by the world and by the people in it. the state we're all in today is a pretty stunning thing to contemplate if you have five minutes! when i'm not digging i love to spend as much time as possible near trees and to travel (my family is still wondering when i will find my way back home to new zealand). i like being involved in community activism, spending time on my own (rarely happens) and reading. i spend too much time in front of the computer and eat an inordinate amount of dark chocolate each day.

Justinkauff

Etsy shop: Justinkauff
listing: Upchuck
artist: Justin Kauff

colorpoetry

Etsy shop: colorpoetry
listing: Veils
artist: Martha Marshall

gypsyandtwink

Etsy shop: gypsyandtwink
listing: the owl and the pussy cat

From gypsyandtwink's Item Description:

the owl and the pussy cat went to sea
in a beautiful pea green boat.....

a lttle wooden owl and a little wooden cat sit in their little boat, off to dance by the light of the moon.

dougboehm

Etsy shop: dougboehm
listing: R and L New gods
artist: Doug Boehm

DesertCanyon

Etsy shop: DesertCanyon
listing: Anus Hummer

rburnettjr

Etsy shop: rburnettjr
listing: Spruce

rburnettjr's photos are clean, sharp, minimalist studies. Simple and pure.

dkim

Etsy shop: dkim
listing: I Kept Missing Your Train
artist: DKim

From DKim's blog:

DKim was born in Seoul, Korea. While pursuing a tiger cub through the forest she accidentally found herself pursuing it to Mexico at the age of two. While there she was trained in pitfighting and archery with only meagre hunks of carne asada her pithy reward. From there she was squired under cover of darkness to the U.S. of A. Hidden in a place far from prying eyes who would discover her destiny, her training began in earnest in the suburbs. Unbeknownst to DKim, her mentors cunning contrivance birthed within her a sense of forlorn wanderlust and burning desire to escape these environs. From there she journeyed to New York – her cover story being attendance at Pratt. She continues to reside in Brooklyn, preparing for the day when her magisterial techniques and martial disciplines are unleashed.

chantaldefelice

Etsy shop: chantaldefelice
listing: Chinatown, San Francisco
artist: Chantal deFelice

murphymae

Etsy shop: murphymae
listing: MISSING MARSHMALLOWS
artist: Murphy Adams

Murphy's paintings are abound with life and personality. Each painting tells a story and "Missing Marshmallows" is a great example of that. Here's Murphy's Item Description:

The last time I went camping the raccoons had alot of nerve. The minute the sun would start to set they'd invade our campsite and start tearing into whatever they could get their little paws on. Marshmallows were a favorite. If you caught them occasionally they'd give you a guilty look, but more often than not they'd just saunter off with your s'mores makings in hand.

I also selected "Missing Marshmallows" for the quizzical look on the raccoon. He either looks a bit guilty or a very mischievous. The circles around the person's eyes match the circles around the raccoon's eyes. That's intriguing. What's more intriguing is the pink bus.

From Murphy's bio:

My small narrative paintings are mostly about my observations of daily life. I keep a sketchbook with me to quickly capture things around me that I find funny, awkward or beautiful. Sometimes friends, sometimes strangers, sometimes stuff right out of my head, my favorite paintings are often about the most mundane things. I then translate my drawings into small naive paintings in acrylic and ink on heavy watercolor paper. I use both hands to draw and paint with; drawing with my left gives me the loose feeling I’m looking for. Because color and texture are integral to my work, I create by using multiple layers of jewel tone color combined with matte medium and ink.

parkerart

Etsy shop: parkerart
listing: Shaman Rising on a Storm
artist: Harvey Parker

DearDodo

Etsy shop: DearDodo
listing: Drawings from the Dream Book - Nr. 3

amberalexander

Etsy shop: amberalexander
listing: Mall Hair

HomeStudio

Etsy shop: HomeStudio
listing: No. 0833 Seascape
artist: Mark Mc Cune

artgirlrachel

Etsy shop: artgirlrachel
listing: Urban Landscape

In today's age of digital art, I like to fully support intaglio printmaking artists such as artgirlrachel.

moonswallow

Etsy shop: moonswallow
listing: Find Your Own Way Original
artist: Brianna Lamar

janevermeer

Etsy shop: janevermeer
listing: Woodz Series - 6
artist: Dawn Walsh

bridgetfarmerprints

Etsy shop: bridgetfarmerprints
listing: Man and Dog Sepia Drypoint Etching
artist: Bridget Farmer

ambrosiaarts

Etsy shop: ambrosiaarts
listing: I WANT YOU
artist: Bonnie G. Morrow

LinArt

Etsy shop: LinArt
listing: Rip Current
artist: Lin Jian

Mattson

Etsy shop: Mattson
listing: Smartee and Lolly
artist: Mark Mattson

Mark's painting style has certain characteristics that plays well with the personalities given to these inanimate objects through the simple, subdued means of two black dots for eyes. Its those simple black dots for eyes that give this painting a great persona. The objects don't scream, "look at me! I'm a cartoon character." It's more unassuming and mysterious which gives this duo greater depth.

reconstruct

Etsy shop: reconstruct
listing: Egalitarianism

From reconstruct's Etsy Description:

e·gal·i·tar·i·an [i-gal-i-tair-ee-uhn]
–adjective
1. asserting, resulting from, or characterized by belief in the equality of all people, esp. in political, economic, or social life.

rigels

Etsy shop: rigels
listing: Sailing 3
artist: Rigel Sauri

nydampress

Etsy shop: nydampress
listing: Bench
artist: Kate Nydam

asleeponatrain

Etsy shop: asleeponatrain
listing: descending
artist: caleb

I really like this series. "asleep on a train" is a journalistic study of urban life. The raw drawing style is raw and honest, as is the medium of ball point pen and roughed up notebook paper. And of course there's the subject matter of every day folks catching a much-needed snooze on the train or bus. The stories behind the those people are mysterious and unending. Kudos to caleb for catching these moments.

So far this blog has featured 47 artists. I'm surprised that New York has not been represented until this post. I think caleb's "asleep on a train" is a great way to introduce New York to etsyart.com.

BestArtStudios

Etsy shop: BestArtStudios
listing: Reaching out to a brighter day
artist: Jaime

It's back-to-back etsyart.com posts featuring trees with personality.

paintingwell

Etsy shop: paintingwell
listing: Gray Atmosphere

From paintingwell's Etsy item Description:

This is one of a series of "two trees". The theme of the paintings runs a wide gamut exploring the relationship of simple subjects within a given space. You are invited to imagine, or to identify some significance within the painting. Or, just enjoy the visceral quality of color and oil paint. It's luscious.

These two trees' physically close placement is further emphasized by the open, vacant space that surrounds them. I'm curious why these trees are so close. By comparing their size, it can be suggested that they were planted at the same time. However, the right tree is slightly higher than its neighbor. And the "body language" of the trees suggest that the right-side tree is stretching itself proudly as to say, "I'm the superior tree". The tree on the left is worn and tired from such competitive behavior and is relaxing its trunk a bit. The left-side tree knows some day that it will be taller because it has a bigger trunk at its base. Then the right-side tree will be put in its place. Beware, right-side tree. Your day of reckoning is coming.

sugarbowlartco

Etsy shop: sugarbowlartcompany
listing: january 23
artist: Abby Wagner

BraidedLight

Etsy shop: BraidedLight
listing: Light Around the Corner

primpedpaperie

Etsy shop: primpedpaperie
listing: Orange Squid

Julzevi

Etsy shop: Julzevi
listing: Acrobat
artist: Julie Abrams

obsoleteworld

Etsy shop: obsoleteworld
listing: Forgetting The Sky
artist: Jeannie Lynn Paske

obsoleteworld's Etsy bio is the most elegant I have seen:

There is a world tucked away behind this one.
An old world made up of endless fields,
distant hills and timeworn cliffs.
A place where the sun is always setting.
A land in which extinct
slow-moving monsters and
elegant gentle-faced creatures
of all shapes and sizes reside.
Delicately balancing their hope with despair.
Reminiscent of long departed dreams
and uncollected thoughts.
Time stands still here
so as to let the residents gaze
in solitude
upon the vast
richly textured skies.
Forever in search of a place
to better sit and watch
their world pass them by.

Jeannie's watercolors are introspective, soulful visions into a sublime, melancholy world. Just read the titles of the pieces in her Etsy shop which are full of enchantment and wonder: "Magnificent Stories Grow Out of the Shadows", "Beyond The Faint Glow Of A Tired Sky", "Ships Glide Over Newly Created Seas", "Life Through Bombardment" are just a small taste.

"Forgetting The Sky" was chosen for this feature because of its curious story. On a crookedly aged naked branch of a billowing, full, welcoming green tree sits a singular bird. The bird's attention is fixed on a collection of flying creatures fading into the far distance. There's many ways the perched bird's expression can be interpreted: curiousness, resentment, anticipation. Has this bird been fixed on the other birds' departure for an expanded time? Or has the bird just noticed the scene? Why is the bird alone? Was it abandoned? Or did it abandon the other birds? Or perhaps it simply was just time for this bird's companions to leave. So many interesting questions arise from such a strikingly simple, yet visually rich scene.

art is 3 letters

etsy shop: artis3letters
listing: West Virginia on a Stick No. 2
artist: Erik Maldre

I hadn't planned on profiling one of my paintings, but I have been fortunate enough to have my "West Virginia on a Stick" painting featured in the Etsy Storque Spotlight! Many thanks to mermaidclaire for writing the Spotlight article.

Here's my artist statment on the Maps on a Stick series:

There's a duality of represented realities in this series. The first such representational interpretation is that of maps. A single line deviates from the area of land illustrated by the respective form. Such a line implies a border line, road or any number of symbolic attributes associated with maps.

This series is painted in a manner suggesting antique surfaces. Such embellishments lends a sense of history to the series evoking notions of time's past assumptive sense of reality defined by inaccurate measuring resulting in fallacious definitions thus giving the oddly singular, yet curiously charming, line a further sense of invalidity.

The second reality is clearly defined by the title of each piece. "'Region' on a Stick No. 'X'" perpetuates beyond the representational notions of a map by suggesting that the represented region is a physical object unto itself. Ironically enough, the duality of representation comes full circle for the suggested physical object is still a representation of such due to its physically painted nature.

RansomStone

etsy shop: RansomStone
listing: the fish and the trousers

RansomStone's ink and digital illustrations are curious surreal juxtapositions. All are clever and playful. The subtle body language in each piece gives this series depth. The awkward stance of the trousers in "the fish and the trousers" adds a true human element. "the fish and the trousers" is an especially mature work given the sense of depth implied by the steaming car in the distance. And how about that steam? It ties in nicely with the sweeping scales of the fish. What does it all mean? That's up to you to decide.

Leannegraeff

etsy shop: Leannegraeff
listing: The Barn Out Back - Original Linoleum Print
artist: Leanne Graeff

From Leanne's Etsy Bio:

I have always loved – pattern and color. I really found my medium in graduate school at RISD- where I began to create images through hand screen-printing.
I enjoy the process of developing a pattern. My inspiration comes from found objects - usually worn by time - and nature. I do sketch – but usually find that painting the story down is more fun.

And now that I have had a couple of months to try to work out my creative muscles - I have re-discovered linoleum block printing. The House Series, that I stared in December has been very satisfying. I have been enjoying the process of hand printing - and capturing the personalities of the homes around me. I am happy to say that I have also started to take commissions for custom "house portraits".

It's evident in Leanne's house portraits that she enjoys her work. The lino prints have warm, welcoming personalities presented in a crisp, beautifully graphical technique.

hanswilson

etsy shop: hanswilson
listing: ACEO Original Hand-painted Abstract Symbol

artquirk

etsy shop: artquirk
listing: Three Brothers (original)
artist: Nina Clough

Nina Clough's gouache and ink paintings captures a wonderful spirit found in Europe. There's a lively whimsical charm that echoes throughout the historical urban settings. It's fun to explore all the different European settings she paints. However, I have a personal bias towards her Latvian paintings due to my Estonian heritage. The listing chosen for this post is from Riga, the capital of Latvia.

MultiPolar

etsy shop: MultiPolar
listing: ITS OK
artist: Sighn

The Etsy shop, MultiPolar, is run by MultiPolar Projects, a loosely collaborative collective who represents various artists in Chicago.

"ITS OK" is a hand-cut sculpture which is a "limited" edition series of 1 million. The phrase "it's ok" has a universal appeal that can refer to countless things which ties in perfectly to the massive scale of this edition. The artist, Sighn, provides some great insight in this video.

Here's a transcript of the video:

I wanted to make sure that whatever phrase I picked I would want to cut out and repeat a million times. So I was careful of what phrase I picked out and really felt that "it's ok" was the perfect mantra to repeat over and over again.

One of the reasons for working on this project was to use up all the scrap pieces from larger projects and all the found materials that have been building up in my studio. The first 500 are really out of an interesting array of all sorts of different types of wood that have come through my life in the last 5 to 10 years. There's quite a bit of prep work before cutting the piece as far as pulling together all the materials and cutting them all to the same general size.

So as a completely entire edition, I've begun to standardize the process. I took the original and had it photocopied to create a template for the project. All the copies are placed on a piece of paper stuck to the wood. Even though there is a template, each piece is hand-cut creating a unique piece in and of itself. The actual cutting of the piece itself is quite therapeutic doing the same thing over and over again.

The most exciting part in the entire process is when you're able to remove the positive from the negative. And then it actually finally exists. All that hard work is worth it.

I keep all the reverse pieces for authenticity as well as keeping a record for myself to prove to me that I actually did it. So it's my physical record for myself. And when the entire edition is complete, I'd like to show them all together. A million times. It's OK.

Even though I'm cutting out so many of these, I'm very careful to make sure that they'll still refined. Each piece comes with a hand-numbered card explaining a little bit more about the project. I really enjoy the close to impossible challenge that this project creates. This project will definitely grow old with me because it will probably take my entire life to create.

hisss

etsy shop: hisss
listing: Charles

From the Etsy Description:

This is Charles. He is stern, reclusive, and enjoys a good cigar. His favorite subjects are geology and biology. His favorite animals are mockingbirds and turtles. Is anybody catching on?

Hi, Charles.

MSArt

etsy shop: MSArt
listing: Dirt Road
artist: Melanie Plummer

Melanie Plummer is a digital painter whose works possess a surreal sense of fluidity. It's surreal because of the duality between digital and reality. The paintings have a strong sense of highly glossed polish that suggests a digital realm. At the same time, the way that she shapes her paintings strongly suggests a human painterly movement and weight.

"Dirt Road" is a great example of her mastered techniques in Fluid Surrealism. It's abstract in its pure visual forms with oozing and dripping shapes streaking across a velvet-like surface. Yet it's also a depiction of a landscape which offers another level of Surrealism. It's a co-existence of representing reality and simplified abstract decadence.

gogokittenart

etsy shop: gogokittenart
listing: ORIGINAL INK DRAWING Circle 5

gogokittenart offers original drawings unique to Etsy. They are highly detailed original drawings featuring repetitive black and white forms. She used a rapidograph for these drawings. Ah, the good ol' Rapidograph. In today's digital age, it's great to see artists committed to the Rapidograph.