Well we’ve finally got new featured shops in the sidebar and a new Shop of the Week, yay! I was (cough cough) just a tad late getting things going this week, but I’ve been making lots of new work and sending out some cards and that’s always a good thing! This (and next) week’s Shop of the Week is Black Rose and her feature will be up on Monday, but until then enjoy the awesome artwork of 2ndcoming!

2ndcoming, who was my first “Shop of the Week,” is a talented illustrator based in NYC.

Her work combines clean lines with bright swatches of color for a bold graphic effect. Like her pop predecessor Andy Warhol, she often utilizes large blocks of unmodulated color which is reminiscent of his screen printed work.

In many instances she combines this effect with areas of painterly mark making. The two dissimilar techniques work together to enhance the succinct line work without distracting from it.

She has a beautiful shop full of really interesting work so check it out and be sure to check out her equally stimulating (read that as for mature audiences only) blog!

2nd coming on etsy
2ndcomingillo

It’s Monday and that means a new Shop of the Week! I didn’t do a feature on last week’s shop, so look for a feature on 2ndcoming a bit later this week…
Today I’m featuring velvetwoods art photography whose work emphasizes dreamy images and bright colors. The photos have a cheerful, yet somewhat ethereal quality.

Though the images all have traditional landscape photography as their basis, the photographs have been manipulated to include shimmering lights, heightened colors, or in some cases collage elements. Viewing them as a group I’m reminded of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Like Alice through the looking glass we find ourselves observing a world that is seemingly fantastic, but at the same time very real. The effect is surreal and fanciful, but still familiar.

“Realism … falls short of reality … Truth is in our dreams, in the imagination.” – Eugene Ionesco