Alice's Blog – January 2012 Archive (96)

Maggi Hambling bring forth the energy and power of waves through her beautiful oil paintings. The sea has become an obsession for Hambling who starts each day with a ritual. "Early each morning I go down to the sea and try to capture its mood by drawing, and each day is different. Back in the studio, these drawings become paintings. Whether they are tiny or cover the studio wall, I try to…

The Simpsons - Moe's Tavern

If you've ever wanted to see an artist's interpretation of famous TV locations, look no further than Tim Doyle's new works for Spoke Art Gallery. Called "Unreal Estate," it's places that we all know and love, even though they only exist in our pop culture memory. As Doyle says, "'Some of us have been going to these places for decades -…

It covers over 70% of our Earth's surface and it's the most essential element to life. Water is so important…

Using trash bags, unused grocery bags and plastic sheets, Pakistani artist Khalil Chishtee creates life-sized figures wracked with emotion. He uses these materials as a metaphor for "recycling our identities" or braving the problems of life.

“For the first time I have used trash or recycled bags as my medium because no matter how many times I recycle plastic, it will…

French street artist C215 (aka Christian Guémy) made this beautifully moving mother and child piece at Vitry-sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris, France. Called Peace, it's juxtaposed against on old, decaying backdrop. Love how parts of the image are made up of the word "peace," in different…

We dare to try not to laugh as you look through these illustrations by Matthieu Barrère. Called "Aweful Drawings," they're a fun way to start off your week.

I really enjoyed reading Matthieu's thoughts on finding inspiration, via Nonsense Society.

"Everything I see, hear,…

Loving this beautiful typographic poster of the words "Sweat the Small Stuff" by Brooklyn-based graphic designer, letterer and illustrator Alonzo Feliz. "A stylish reminder that details matter, this one goes out to anyone in any line of work that cares about attention to details, craft, and putting in the time to make things just right," he says on his website. "It's a great addition to…

George Clooney



Photographer Gavin Bond recently shot these gorgeous black and white photos for Newsweek magazine's Oscar Roundtable. Taken in Smashbox Studios in West Hollywood, these minimalist portraits really bring out the different personalities of each actor. Love how he even captured the scene-stealing 9-year-old Jack Russell from The…

Filmmaker Danny Cooke has just released a beautifully shot documentary about the art of letterpress. Called Upside Down, Left To Right: A Letterpress Film, it gives us an inside look at one of the few remaining movable-type printing workshops in the UK, at Plymouth University.

When we asked Cooke why he created it, he told us this. "I sat outside the letterpress workshop on…

Wow, what an illusion! Photographer Adrianafranco Franco submitted this shot, taken of rivers that look, eerily, like trees in a desert in Baja California, Mexico. It was submitted to National Geographic's online community My Shot in December and was chosen as one of their best of that month. From Nat Geo's staff…

While turning popular liquor bottles into baby bottles is nothing short of shocking, when it's done like this one can't help but silently laugh. Yes, it's all kinds of wrong and we definitely do not suggest that you run out and buy a pacifier to replace your bottle cap but we do ask that you sit back and enjoy this creative series by Italy-based…

Isn't this black and white image taken by French photographer Robert Doisneau just so incredibly timeless? Welcome to another edition of Creative Links of the Week! We hope you'll enjoy our roundup of our favorite links around the web and check out some of the most popular posts on My Modern Met.

Around the Web:

Teenagers take…

This week, photographers in several countries including Scotland, England, Finland, Norway, and Canada saw their skies light up as the largest solar radiation storm in seven years created gorgeous auroras. A coronal mass ejection hit Earth's magnetic field, sparking a geomagnetic storm around the Arctic Circle. (Read more about it on…

Who hasn't been swept away into the magical world of Roald Dahl? Who wasn't overjoyed for Charlie when he found that last golden ticket and whose imagination wasn't forever changed when they read the story about a young English orphan boy who encountered six strange insects inside a gigantic peach? You can now buy a special set of six Royal Mail stamps, which show the work of…

Being that we're in 2012, the year of the Dragon, I've been looking forward to seeing some our favorite artists' unique interpretations of the grand beast. Amy Sol does not disappoint. She will be releasing a new, limited edition print tomorrow called Water Dragon that's in her trademark, dream-like style. "This is an illustrated piece I created last year for My Plastic Heart Gallery‘s…

Norman Rockwell's The Runaway has been fantastically remade in Halloween-style by artist Luke Radl. It features Spiderman as the cop, a pirate as the waiter, and a Green Goblin dressed boy as the runaway. Love this modern update. For a quick art history lesson, you can read more about the original Norman Rockwell painting on the…

London-based photographer Emma Hartvig wrote to us to share her beautifully cinematic photos. We were absolutely delighted to see her stunning work that feels somewhere between a lovely dream and a romantic movie. The way this 22-year-old photographer brings out her models' raw emotions, in a natural and unforced way, makes her work feel wonderfully…

Utah-based photographer Royce Bair takes some truly breathtaking nighttime sky photos, especially of the Milky Way. He purposely captures stars with landscapes in the foreground, calling his beautiful set Nightscapes. Though he's been photographing these enhanced…

After posting on Gabor Fulop's Lady Bug sculpture, we knew we had to find out more. We contacted the Hungarian artist to ask him a few questions and were delighted to hear back from him. Fulop not only gave us insight into the creation and meaning of the sculpture, he also…

Whether you have a valentine or not, it's never too soon to start planning for that next special occasion when you'll need to pick out the perfect gift. If you have a friend who has a passion for art and design, what exactly do you get him or her? Today, we've picked out ten items that are almost guaranteed to be a sure fire hit. From incredible coffee table books to the…