Volvo recently commissioned artist, Esref Armagan to create a painting of his experience with the new Volvo S60. That doesn’t seem very amazing until you find out that Esref has been blind since birth. Finally, a car company that encapsulates the emotion and experience of the automobile – human relationship. I surely don’t get excited about watching a car drive down a windy road, but I certainly get excited when a car brand can deliver a message like this. Watch the video of Esref’s creation here.

Salvador Dali

One of this century’s most influential photographers died on October 7, 2009 at the age of 92. Irving Penn’s classical work graced the pages of Vogue magazine, other publications and advertisements for over five decades and dominated fashion photography with style and substance of remarkable talent.

Salad Still Life

He was one of my inspirations, not for only for his portraiture, but for his ability to see form while documenting the subjects before his camera. Still’s of leaves, accessories, food or everyday items took on a larger than life presence in his images. His work shooting dignitaries, artists, common folks and aborigines shares a common thread of Penn’s unique vision.

New Guinea Princess

A true master of his craft, his influence will be seen in editorial and advertising imagery for eternity. Thank you Mr. Penn.

Record Picture photography is the highly detailed, matter of fact genre that was traditionally commissioned by government and industry for technical documentation.

This application draws on the most fundamental property of photography: its ability to depict with great precision. The aim is to produce a photograph that is “faithful to the subject”, where the emphasis is placed on description rather than interpretation.

~ MICHAEL COLLINS

Gothic Quarter – Barcelona, Spain

Recently I had the privilege to visit Madrid and Barcelona, Spain. Searching for a bit of inspiration for my artistic spirit, I think I found it.

Everything is visual eye candy, from the ornate architecture blends of Roman, Spanish, French and Arabic, to the window display signage and city graffiti that creates a nice juxtaposition between the elements.

Traveling is good for the soul. If you have a chance to experience it yourself, it will be well worth the journey.

Above is one of the many photos I snapped of a closed store front. The idea is for a store owner to create their own door graffiti in hopes that street graffiti artist will pass their store by and move on to the next wall or door that is untouched. The end result is endless streets of urban artwork with bright color pops amongst many of the neutral stone colored building facades.

It was 1977 when I first laid eyes on an Ansel Adams print. From that day, I spent the next 20 years trying to produce a silver gelatin print of such grandeur. The key word here is trying. I came close, but there’s only a few folks skilled enough in darkroom magic to pull it off.

Now is your chance to be amazed, as I was. There is an exhibition of Ansel’s prints at the Saint Louis Art Museum.

Artist Willard Wig is launching a new exhibition featuring several micro-sculptures. Painted with a single hair plucked from a fly, they are small enough to fit into the eye of a needle. Have a look for yourself at Willard Wig’s micro-sculptures and let us know what you think.

As a fan of designer Marian Bantjes’ work, I often frequent her web site to see what new and inspiring things she’s working on. She recently posted about a project for PennySmash, an art initiative in Toronto. You know those machines at the zoo where you put a penny in and crank, and you receive back a flattened copper oval with an alligator or elephant on it? Well PennySmash is just like that, but instead you’re getting your own little piece of art! Marian Bantjes is currently one of several artist to have created a design for this machine. There’s something so pleasant about exchanging a couple dollars and a penny in return for a token of creativity, yours to keep or regift or do what you like. This reminds me of a similar venture I encountered in Chicago at the Chicago Cultural Center – the Art-o-Mat. Art-o-Mat outfits old cigarette vending machines to also sell small pieces of art. For the same price as a pack of cigarettes, you can take home a piece of art from a local artist. I took a look at their locations page, and as it turns out, there is an Art-o-Mat machine in St. Louis’ own COCA! I’ll definitely have to check it out.

Art by Shawn Hazen, 'Empathy' penny by Marian Bantjes

I have always been a fan of “Sailor Jerry” Collins and his famous traditional style of tattooing. With that in mind, I decided to pay my respects to one of his favorite subjects, the classic pirate ship, with a painting of my own. Like most of my work, this was done on a brilliant white painted canvas with strong contrasting color and several layers of gloss finish. I just hope the good Sailor Jerry would have liked it. Enjoy!

I’ve always been a fan of Alfred Hitchcock and the way he directs stories in his movies. Last night, I was thinking about him as I came across a DVD box set and decided to do some thumbnails for a tribute piece to Alfred. After some fine tuning, I may eventually turn this into an oversized piece of painterly pop art and stick it on a wall somewhere.

Recently, I’ve rediscovered art. It my sound odd to hear since I constantly work on an array of designed communication vehicles for clients, but this is different. What I like about it most is the process. First preparing the canvas for paint, sketching (old school I know), applying the first bit of color by hand, and then constantly stepping back 10 feet to look at the progress. I will admit that it is a relatively slow process, but I think there is something to be said for things made by hand, verses produced with a printer.

Below is my latest piece –  nearly finished at the stroke of midnight thursday after about 30 hours of painting and listening to hours of Black Sheep, A Tribe Called Quest, Hepcat, and Desmond Dekker. I’m not sure whats next on my list to paint, but I will gladly share it when its finished.