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Artists:
Michelle Anderst (http://anderstart.neoimages.net)
Greg Boudreau (www.project1042.com)
Cristin Ford (www.cristinford.com)
Sean Goddard (www.theloungecollection.com)
Kristen Imig (www.imigphoto.com)
Stephanie Lindsey (www.stephanielindsey.com)
Brad Strain (www.scaredofgenre.com)

Go to the Roq La Rue. NOW! Their current body of art might not be all that colorful, but it is technically amazing and has incredible framing.

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Femke Hiemstra of the Netherlands can pretty much make anything look good. Shown above is a graphite drawing. Reflections aside, it’s incredibly detailed and remarkably smudge-free.

More work by Hiemstra.

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Travis Louie can paint detailed portraits for non-existent creatures, and he can also craft hilarious stories for them. Here are some from his recent showcase at the Roq. The descriptions are typed word for word.

“Minty was a rather affable Victorian Ogre.
Instead of stealing sheep and terrorizing the English countryside (as other Ogres were
known to exhibit such behavior), he was well known for being a storyteller of sorts.
Unfortunately, his stories were remarkable long and the concept of “beginning”,
“middle”, and mostly “end” alluded him. There was no logical conclusion to any of his
yarns, but many a passersby would learn about the day to day lives of the most
unimportant people in English history.”

“Albert was a happy monkey boy.
Her worked for an organ grinder , dancing in a trance like state with a
tin cup in his hand.
Quite often, he would climb up a lamp post and do a back somersault off
of it.
When someone tried to put buttons in his cup instead of coins,… he chased them down
and made them eat them. He was not to be trifled with.”

“Maurice was one with the sheep.
Wherever he went, the sheep would follow him.
It became a problem when all the sheep of his native
Scotland migrated to his farm. They couldn’t help themselves.
Eventually Maurice was forced to leave his farm and settle in lands
that had no sheep.”

On display at the BLVD Gallery now through May 3rd is work by Ghost.

The Happily Ever After? 2 show is a group show exploring what seems somewhat like fairy tale themes.

Sohaila Adela, formerly known as Soso, is a Seattle artist whose new works explore heartache. Neon colors and an unconventional color palette make these pieces the standouts of the show. Gouache on paper, which is then mounted on wood board.

Susie Ghahremani‘s four “Happily Ever After” pieces are bright, cutesy, and very small works of gouache on wood. She is also a musician, with one of the best website domains, boygirlparty.com!

Leanne Biank‘s artwork features kooky little characters, and this series, painted in wood boxes, have a helluva lotta personality. And check out Adam and Eve, with their little tiny genitalia!

GARDE RAIL – FOLK POP! EXHIBIT
Garde Rail really crafted an amazing exhibit this time around, featuring a good group of artists with varying styles. The gallery did find them to be quite harmonious, however, and fit them all into a new subgenre known as “Folk Pop.” It was deliciously tasty, and will run from now until Saturday, April 26th. It’s highly recommended that you check it out IMMEDIATELY!

Robots on crunchy little textures surfaces, courtesy of the mind of Tim Hooper, an outsider artist from Tennessee. He blends humor and illustrative skill to create one of a kind cutesy pieces for everyone who likes to smile.

The work of Gregory L. Blackstock may be rather confusing upon first sight, but it’s the story that makes it deeply more interesting. Blackstock is autistic but possesses extraordinary abilities to create art and music and speak multiple languages. The above drawings depict different “Buzz Bombs,” or firework helicopters. His drawings come from his need to document everything he sees, and his other pieces are much more intricate than the ones shown above.

Ab The Flagman‘s depiction of the American flag, using wood pieces and bedposts that were subsequently painted red, white, and blue.

The amazing three-dimensional work of Kevin Titzer, who uses driftwood from the Ohio River to craft his unique characters.

Paul Cordes Wilm is from Birmington, Alabama, and his showcased work is a blend of collage and paint. The above picture is collaged from newspaper coupon pages. Yay!

Robert Hardgrave is a Seattle artist who is in the latest issue of Redefine. I stopped by his studio in Ballard one day to check out some of his new work and to drop off a copy of the magazine to him. Click here to see where you can pick up a copy of the magazine near you!

While I was there, I fell in love with these little creatures he made a long time ago. There are five different varieties of these little dudes carved out of wood. But that’s not even the best part; if you pull on that metal string between his legs, his arm and legs go up. How cool is that?!!!