Michael Paul Smith

As you all should know by now, I'm fascinated by art that's a little out of the ordinary. I love when an artist uses a new technique or medium to bring something completely new into the world. When it comes to Michael Paul Smith's imagery, it's all about technique. What looks like a simple photograph found in an old photo album or attic, suddenly becomes so much more.
Here are a couple of examples of Smith's photography. I love the nostalgic feel of the photos. They are exactly like images my parents had of their houses growing up. The 1950s cars and the old fashioned storefronts that we simply don't see anymore.
Each images is like a little piece of history. But it's a history that didn't exist. What you are looking at are models. Elaborate and beautiful little models. Smith has created little scenes that he then takes out into the real world to photograph.

The trees and the power lines behind the house above are real, everything else is just a model, as is shown below.

Below is a great example of how those models are built. Smith offers insight into how he creates his images on his Flickr page. He mixes the model world with the real one very effectively to create something of a distortion. There are a number of images on his Flickr page that somehow include live actors (usually himself) inside his model. It is a fantastic trick of the eye that makes me wish I spent more time taking pictures. Smith creates his own little worlds and I'm awfully glad he does. Interesting work.

As is typical lately I found this artist through Lines and Colors which has rapidly become my favorite site for art. I am constantly inspired by the artists that the blogger (Charley Parker) writes about. There was also a nice collection of Smith's work on Beautiful Life, a website that I'm going to have to check out further.

The artist with his models.

Brian Despain

I don't remember when I learned about Brian Despain's fun and poignant artwork but I have loved his paintings for quite a while. I've been meaning to share them but things kept getting in the way. But during this past month, both Drawn.ca and Lines and Colors have done profiles on Brian so I figured it was about time I did my own.

Brian's artwork is filled with fish and robots and gears and robots and birds and robots. And did I mention robots. Best known for his series of images portraying robots interacting with both the natural and the man-made world, his artwork has a wonderful mix of technology and emotion. These are not just mechanical creatures that respond to commands. Many of his robots are contemplating, reacting, and exploring. They are emotional and curious. And they are all incredibly rendered.

Using a muted palette of greys and browns, Brian creates a world that is recognizable but a bit surreal. Fish flow from robots' chests. Robots talk with pears and hummingbirds. One odd imaged offered a robot striding through town with a giant octopus for a hat. Each creature in Brian's paintings are detailed, down to the bolts on the robots and the scales on the fish. The images are sharp even if the backgrounds are a bit muted. But the real power of Brian's work for me is the emotion. His robots are surprised or amused or curious. It seems clear though both facial expressions and body language. Or perhaps that is me anthropomorphizing.

Each robot or creature is unique. His creations are each numbered to show their place in the series. These are not sequential though. One of the first images chronologically is robot number 29, seen below, in an image called Mr. Bubble's Birthday. This is a perfect example of the detail and emotion I was talking about. This has to be one of my favorites.


Brian's work has become incredibly popular recently and there are even cell phone skins with his images on them. I'm seriously thinking about picking up one of his laptop covers for my old laptop. And of course I need to pick up a print of his work one of these days. The hardest part will be choosing which incredible image to purchase. There are just too many I want. Fun, sad, poignant, and beautiful robots. What more could any girl want?

Peter de Seve

It's interesting to read several art blogs because eventually they will all be talking about the same thing. Last week I had never heard the name Peter de Seve. Then over the weekend I went through the entire archive for the blog lines and colors. This has to be my new favorite blog and I wrote down a ton of artists names to look at more closely. Peter de Seve was one of those names.

Then I happened to arrive at Drawn this week to find that they mentioned how Peter now had a blog. Drawn referenced that they found the information from Irene Gallo's blog, The Art Department, which I also read. Then out of nowhere Tony Diterlizzi, who's blog I read, mentioned Peter's work. From not knowing the man's name to 4 mentions in four separate blogs in one week. I just had to go looking for him. And holy cow, I'm so glad I did. I am in love with this man's work!!

And of course what I didn't realize is that I have seen his work all over the place, but just didn't know it. I remember a couple years ago I found a painting with a T. Rex in a Paris street scene. De Seve. I bought the book The Bear Went Over the Mountain (below) and loved the cover art. De Seve again. Peter has done character design for work films like Finding Nemo, A Bugs Life, Ice Age....the list goes on and on.

I've seen his artwork on magazine covers and never recognized the name. I've seen his New Yorker illustrations and never made the connection. He's everywhere. And even more exciting for me, he's coming out with a retrospective book, A Sketchy Past. This image has to be one of my favorites from it. Not only does it suit my vegetarianism, it's just hilarious. I love the look on the faces of the lobsters. Check out his blog for a clearer image.

Peter's style is cartoony but very detailed. He's fantastic at creating action and emotion in the same image. Characters come alive in his work. Each image is like a still frame from an animated film. I think it is interesting that Tony Diterlizzi mentioned Peter because I feel like their styles are very similar. And like Tony, I've been in love with their work for a long time and didn't realize it. I'm not sure why it took me so long to recognize his name but from now on I'll remember it. I'll also be adding his blog to my list of art blogs to read and looking for a copy of A Sketchy Past. I love finding new artists, and particularly ones as talented as de Seve is.