Founder of the Art-Pie site. I design and code websites and apps Monday to Friday from 9 to 5 and enjoy drawing, painting and visits to museums and galleries at night and weekends.
This is no the first time we write about Erik Johansson and his extraordinary ability to photo manipulate daily life scenes. Erik is a full time photographer and retoucher from Sweden.
Erik doesn’t capture moments, he capture ideas in the form of little pieces which he later turn into an imaginative photo manipulation.
We included 10 inspiring works from this digital artist as well as video from Erik who explains how he goes about to create such images. It is definitely worth a watch!
With the release of yet another episode of the Star Wars saga – Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, later on this year we looked at how much artists get inspired by it and selected 10 pieces we felt were worth sharing.
May the (art) force be with you. Enjoy these 5 awesome Star Wars themed prints by RYCA & Trafford Parsons
I always wondered if I could appreciate ‘digital painting’ as much as more traditional painting, what I mean by that is art which is made with brushes or pencils on some panels or canvases as opposed to via a computer.
Call me old fashion but I like thinking about artists spending hours in their studio, stroking or splashing paint on canvases but I must admit, I now also get exciting with this computer assisted method of painting that we call ‘Digital painting’
Simon’s paintings and stories take place in an alternate version of Sweden in the 80s and 90s. The central location is the countryside of Mälaröarna, a string of islands and half islands just west of Stockholm. The background is this:
In the 1950s, the Swedish government orders the construction of a large particle accelerator. The state agency RIKSENERGI is tasked with developing this massive project. In 1969 the The Facility For Research In High Energy Physics is ready, located deep below the pastoral Mälaröarna-countryside. The local population soon calls it THE LOOP.
From it’s inception to it’s closure in 1994, The Loop was the largest accelerator in the world. The thousands of staff: scientists, engineers and maintenance workers, all serve Riksenergi during these years – and makes possible tremendous scientific advances. But the power of the Gravitron, the heart of the accelerator, proves difficult to control. The side effects of the project are dramatic. Strange sightings and bizarre rumours taints the scientific image of The Loop.
In the shadow of the weird machines filling the countryside, life continues as normal. The kids of Mälaröarna grew up living above the technological marvel of The Loop, but for them it was just a part of their very ordinary lives. Until strange beasts from another time showed up, that is.
About Simon Stålenhag
Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag burst onto the art scene in 2013 when his first series of paintings were shared on the Internet. His original blend of naturalistic landscape paintings with science fiction elements and a very low key recollection of growing up in the eighties struck a chord. Not just in Sweden, but all over the world.
Based in Stockholm, Sweden, Simon uploaded his first digital paintings onto the Internet in 2013, since then he has become something of a phenomena in the art and sci-fi communities. Simon shares his time between a small cabin at Mälaröarna (the setting that inspires his work) and an apartment in Stockholm.
Detail of “Space” | This piece will be in our next show
We had wanted for a while to have Kerry Beall in one of our edition of The Creative Bubble, a multi-discipline pop up event atRoxy Bar and Screen, London.
Art-Pie – Can you tell your readers about yourself in a few words?
Kerry Beall – Hello! my names Kerry, I’m a Graphic Designer by trade and been working in the industry for about 8 years, in the last few years I’ve really got into fine art, I wanted another creative outlet away from the computer screen so I went and bought loads of inks and brushes, it wasn’t something I was overly confident in until I drew a face that actually looked like the real deal! that was pretty exciting, and now painting and drawing is definitely a big part of my life 🙂
Art-Pie – Can you tell us about your creative process and where does your inspiration come from?
Kerry Beall – I tend to draw lots of portrait pieces as that’s what excites me, drawing eyes and watching a face come alive from a blank piece of paper is magical to me!
I work with ink and charcoal, I love the unpredictable nature of ink when it hits the page, coupled with the accuracy and precision you can get with charcoal. So I tend to use them both together.
I’m inspired by interesting fashion photography and nature, I gather inspiration from pinterest and instagram, and then visual ideas start forming from there…usually at four in the morning, so I often leap out of bed and draw it before I forget!
Art-Pie – Give us the name of three artists you admire or like?
Kerry Beall – I really love collage, and masking imagery, I came across Joe Webb’s stuff, and fell in love with it a bit.
I also really like Françoise Nielly’s work, with the bold, striking colour portraits.
Lastly I have to say Dali, as he’s a childhood favourite and triggered my first interest in art.
Art-Pie – Street art is something we like at Art-Pie, what is your take on that form of art?
Kerry Beall – I’m a fan of street art, especially having lived in Bristol for a long time, the appreciation for street art is really apparent there, as it’s Banksy’s home town…I like the way whenever I visit there’s something new to look at 🙂
Art-Pie – Are there any other projects or shows that you will be involved with for the rest of 2015 that you want share with us?
Kerry Beal – I’m working on new stuff all the time, my main focus for this year is a project I started called Beyond Words – Gaza https://www.facebook.com/beyondwordsgaza?fref=photo
I am currently painting the lives that have been lost in Gaza with the intent of raising enough money to have all the portraits framed and exhibited, hopefully in a few places, with the final destination being Palestine, where the family members of the victims can keep the portraits that are of their family.
I know what’s happened can’t be undone, but I just felt a strong urge to do something, by trying to somehow immortalise these people in some form so they don’t fade away forever.
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WHAT – The Creative Bubble, POP UP Art Gallery, Spoken Word, Poetry, Short Films, Music & Networking WHERE – Roxy Bar and Screen, 128-132 Borough High Street, London SE1 1LB WHEN – Wed 29/4/2015 (POP UP art gallery opening night) / Thursd 30 (Spoken word)
Detail of “Hofbauergasse” | This piece will be in our next show
We were thrilled to receive James’ submission for our upcoming edition of The Creative Bubble, a multi-discipline pop up event atRoxy Bar and Screen, London. James has been following us for a while and we are delighted to give him the opportunity to showcase his work.
We asked a few questions to the man about himself and his art –
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Art-Pie – Can you tell our readers about yourself in a few words?
James Kinsella – I am Visual Artist, practicing and living in Vienna, Austria. I received my M.A. in Visual Arts Practices from IADT Dun Laoghaire, Dublin.
I have an ongoing work The Socialmaterialbank project, it is an art platform that identifies and maps critical issues that are of immediate concern to our global community. We present the public with questions on these issues and invite the participants to share their responses on the Socialmaterialbank. We collect and document the participant’s responses and collective instructions, on our platform – the Socialmaterialbank. Website at www.jamespkinsella.org
Through painting and screen-printing I explore how we build and perceive our concept of home by ‘investigating’ my subconscious and unconscious records and views of Vienna!
Art-Pie – Can you tell us about your creative process and where does your inspiration come from?
James Kinsella – I believe that through art we can engage with local communities and through participation, commoning and consensus arrive at and create a better and more sustainable world. I paint, draw, photograph and create instillations and I have a social practice (Participatory) where I use my varied art skills to engage with local people at festivals, events and galleries here in Vienna.
Art-Pie – Give us the name of three artists you admire or like?
James Kinsella – I really like all artists as they dedicate so much of their energy to the arts. But as I presently live in Vienna, here I admire Egon Scheele, Gustav Klimt and Viennese Actionism – Brus, Mühl, Nitsch and Schwarzkogler.UK artists, Tracey Emin, David Hockney and Lucian Freud
Art-Pie – Street art is something we like at Art-Pie, what is your take on that form of art?
James Kinsella – Street art has always engaged and impressed me, it occupies public space and is an ancient effective, low cost, un-censored way of communication with the public. To me it’s sort of a democratic way of claiming public space and questioning the statuesque. My wife is a Roman Archaeologist and I had the privilege to attend a lecture by an American Lecturer, that included text on Roman graffiti and street art – it was amazing, shocking, surprising and beautiful lots of sex and erotica. I really admire Art- Pie for their consistent exposure, support and promotion of Graffiti artists, please keep it going as support is needed.
Art-Pie – Are there any other projects or shows that you will be involved with for the rest of 2015 that you want share with us?
James Kinsella – I post my up and coming shows on my website: www.jamespkinsella.org I am organising a number of shows presently but no fixed dates at the moment.
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WHAT – The Creative Bubble, POP UP Art Gallery, Spoken Word, Poetry, Short Films, Music & Networking WHERE – Roxy Bar and Screen, 128-132 Borough High Street, London SE1 1LB WHEN – Wed 29/4/2015 (POP UP art gallery opening night) / Thursd 30 (Spoken word)
