Artist Week 13-

1. Shirow Miwa

One of my favorite Japanese comic artists.  His art style is raw and has deep sharp contrasts that just off pages of his comics.

2. Ollie Johnson
3. Frank Thomas

They developed the 12 principles of animation and were pioneers in animation.

4. Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster

5. Bruce Nauman

A light sculptor known for his neon work.

Artist Week 12- Stars

1. Vincent Van Gogh

In honor of my last Surface project, I would like to give another shout out to the most misunderstood Post-Impressionist/ Impressionist ever.  His "Starry Night" inspired me when I was little, and it sill always be one of my favorite paintings.

2. Edgar Degas

Another impressionist known for painting ballerinas, like "The Star."

3. Mordecai Ardon

4. Tim Hildebrandt

Best known for his Star Wars illustrations.

5. Raymond Saunders

Artist Week 11- 21st century artists

1. Fred Tomaselli

2. David Schnell

3.  Inka Essenhigh

4. Julie Heffernan

5. Ceal Foyer

Artist Week 10- Fiber Art

1. Annelise Albers

 Textile Artist and Printmaker of the 20th century who works traditionally and industrially to create wall hangings and other works.

 

2. Sue Reno

A member of SAQA, Professional Artist Member of Studio Art Quilt Associates, she is best known for her quilts.

3. Claire Zeisler

She is a knotted and braided thread master.

4. Diane Itter

She experiments with fine threads, small knots, and colors to create her array of work.

5. Ed Rossbach

He mixed ceramics and weaving into his own style of basket weaving.

Artist Week 9- Comic Artist!

1. Tim Sale

 I'm a sucker for a man who can uses dark contrasts to illustrate my favorite dark knight and Heroes.

2. Michael Turner

Turner takes more of a digital approach with brighter compositions. 

3. Jim Lee

Lee is in the middle combing both dark blacks with bright digital colors to draw my favorite heroic duo.

4. Mike Mignola

 

He is the creator of the Hellboy comics and worked on one of my favorite animated films, Atlantis: the Lost Empire.

5. Jhonen Vasquez

 

He created Invader Zim, a show that showed me how nonsensical and free animation can be.  I've been meaning to read  his comic, Johnny the Homicidal maniac.

Artist Week 8- Photographer shout out

1. Cindy Sherman

"If I knew what the picture was going to be like I wouldn’t make it. It was almost like it was made already...the challenge is more about trying to make what you can’t think of."

An American photographer that is known for her portrayal of feminine stereotypes.  Yay for feminism.

2. David La Chapelle

http://www.lachapellestudio.com/exhibitions/

The irony and the outrageous images he captures the hilarity of pop culture.

3.  Suntek Chung

The mix of being Korean and being raised in Richmond make his photos both funny and unique.

4. Arnold Newman

To contrast the last two artists, I picked the classic black and white photographer Newman for his timeless, simplicity.

5. Paul Strand

A modernist photographer that helped photography as an art form.

Artist Week 7

1. Edward Robert Hughes

An English painter who specialized in watercolor and gouache to create flowing, dreamy fairytale scenes of mostly women.  He also utilized lighting to create that atmosphere.

2. Edward Hopper

Most known for his oil paintings, Hopper painted like he was capturing a moment in time.  In his "Nighthawks," he realistically captures an intimate moment between late-nighters. As a night owl myself, it relates to me personally.

3. John Wonnacot

Wonnacot uses his distinct style of painting to add a twist of perspective and lighting to make a sight Wonderland effect.

4. Antoine Bourdelle

I gotta say that the French know how to produce sculptors.  His mythological sculptures could rival that of Rodin.

  5. Sandro Botticelli

I remember looking at his "The Birth of Venus" in first grade, the teacher asked us to be mature. lol.  I've never liked the composition because it seemed unbalance, but I guess it had to be to get the effect of wind blowing her to shore.  I've always loved the flow of movement and texture in each of the figures in the painting.

6- Donna Karan

On long and lean forms, Karan likes to play with splashed of simple colors on different silhouettes. 

6- Giorgio Armani

Armani's designs are chic and simple forms that can make a woman's figure more feminine or masculine.  I might never wear one but if I had the skill, I would make Armani dresses.

6- Hubert de Givenchy

Designing dresses for Audrey Hepburn that she wore in some of her movies, Givenchy had more ladylike designs that flowed and hung simply on the female figure.  His brand has been taken into a more gothic and sharper way, but tries to keep the simplicity the brand began with.

6- Alexander McQueen

It doesn't hurt that he did outfits for Lady Gaga, but I find the exotic bursts of color, patterns and forms to be inspiring.  I'm also a sucker for flow of movement of any kind. RIP McQueen.

 

I would never wear the shoes though. Ow.

6- Vera Wang

If I knew how to sew properly, I would go crazy and design clothes. Alas, I don't.  I just have to admire fashion designers from the sidelines.  I love Vera Wang wedding dresses for the dreamy fabrics and forms she uses in her designs. The colors do not stick to a white palette either.  They range in light dreamy colors.

5- Robb Woods

Woods uses color and warm colors to capture the vastness of the Arizona desert.  Looking in on his pictures is light looking from atop one of the stones structures.  The way the light and shadows fall helps the illusion.  The colors also give it a fantastical appeal.

5- Melinda Jennings

Though i said that sometimes realism is boring, I know it takes real skill.  Jennings captures picturesque buildings with intricate details and tries to capture the natural lighting of the scene.

5- Martha Saduek

 

Unlike most of the artists at this gallery, when Saduek paints her landscapes, she uses colors that takes away from the realism of the pictures but does not take away from the actually picture.  It gives her works a dreamy feel.  Often the colors she uses emphasize aspects of the picture more then a more realistic landscape would.  I think its boring when you copy everything exactly.  That's what photos are for.