Awesome Optical Illusion

Would you believe that the blue and the green in this image are actually the same color? It's true! I verified it myself by opening the image in Photoshop and sampling the blue and green... they both have an RGB value of 0, 255, 150 (Or in other words, mostly green and some blue). According to this site "The reason they look [like] different colors is because our brain judges the color of an object by comparing it to surrounding colors. In this case, the stripes are not continuous as they appear at first glance. The orange stripes don't go through the 'blue' spiral, and the magenta ones don’t go through the 'green' one."

The original seems to be by Akiyoshi Kitaoka.  It blows my mind!

The Amazing World of Brian Despain

I'm really blown away by the great artwork by Brian Despain. They are so clever, humorous and they all tell a great story! When you look at his paintings, you're drawn into his world and you want to know more. In his robot paintings, each one has a distinct character and he numbers them all uniquely. Can you find the hidden symbolism? Check out more of his work at despainart.com

Scott Thigpen Illustration Giveaway

Illustrator Scott Thigpen is giving away 3 limited edition prints. This one is a cropped screen-grab of one of the prints that will be awarded. It is titled "The Red Hood". All you have to do is drop him a line. Check out the contest rules on his blog at sthing.com. The winner will be announced on July 6th.

Father's Day Gifts

Father's Day is just around the corner. If you're like me, it's difficult to think of what to give Dear Old Dad. He's a man that has been around long enough to acquire the necessities and even some of the niceties of life, which makes it challenging for the rest of us to give him something nice. I came across these cool hats made in Brazil.

I will take the description directly from their site since they did such a fabulous job at it:

"The Real Deal is made in Brazil of recycled canvas tarpaulins from cargo trucks used for transporting goods. Even the shapeable wire brim braved the Brazilian jungle, yet on a much more intimate scale having come from old worn truck tires. Each hat and bag is truly one of a kind as no two are the same. Each has its own unique character. Made from various colors of tarp, they may have patches, seams, holes, or even Portuguese writing. They are hand sewn by Brazilian villagers and reflect the true craftsmanship of the locals."

I'm taking the liberty of posting this on an Art Blog because each hat is hand made and completely unique... making them a work of art. Besides, it also relates to Fashion which is an art as well, right?

You can purchase these hats for the special Father in your life at readldealbrazil.com. Be patient... the site is a bit image-heavy.

Artwork to frame your Artwork!

Often, if not always, the frame is just as much part of the artwork as the artwork itself. This unique frame was hand made by Chalecco using reclaimed wood. What can be better than a fun, creative, unique, hand-made frame that is environmentally friendly because it was recycled (actually re-used which is even better) from existing materials?

A frame like this makes a great gift. Take a snapshot of yourself (or your kids) and package it up with a clever frame like this and send it to that someone special (like Grandma). They will love it!

More creative frames can be found here.

Orange Dinghy

In an effort to do something rather than nothing I have lately been painting small 4" x 4" watercolors. They're small enough that I can complete them fairly quickly... usually when the kids are in bed. I'm not sure what it is that I like so much about painting small boats... maybe it's the water and how it reflects colors yet has depth and color of its own. Or maybe I like the peaceful, relaxing feelings of serenity that it invokes when you look at a small boat on calm water. I hope it encourages a sense of nostalgia- helping you remember those moments in your life when you had little to worry about. I like the vibrant orange color in this painting. I used ink to give it more of a sketchy, textured and spontaneous feel to it.

I've been talking with a friend about how to make prints of my work. I think this will be one that I print. Then I'll sell it on etsy :)

Negative Space Watercolor

Negative space is a very cool technique in art. The concept is simple: one simply paints or draws the area around and between the main subject. It's often taught as a drawing exercise to get the artist to focus on what they're really seeing instead of what they remember or what their mind is interpreting. But it can be a way to emphasize the subject without ever painting it.

I found this really cool negative space watercolor by Kat Martin (a.k.a. "weighanchor"). She recently started selling some of her art on weighanchor.etsy.com. And she's from Seattle! What a coincidence! Seattle is such a cool town if I do say so myself :)

I'm going to have to do some negative space watercolors soon and post them here!