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The Summer Inside: Susan Wickstrand

2012-08-06T05:19:00.002-07:00

She Hangs Brightly (oil on canvas) San Diego's beaches are world-famous- that's why it's fitting that today's fabulous artist exhibits a deep connection to the beach. Susan Wickstrand's paintings and collages are incredibly sensitive to the pulse of life and to the wind's influence on matter, namely water. Often using encaustic wax, the slight blur in her paintings steers us from

July Update: 8 Artists

2012-07-19T08:53:00.000-07:00

Comic-Con is over, but summer still has a ways to go. Let's check in with some of our favorite artists to see what they're cooking as the San Diego heat stokes up. As always, click each of the artist headings to see their first feature with us, and search their name in the Search Box to the left to find follow-up articles. 4 by Sergio "Surge" Hernandez Little Red Riding Hood

The Pulse of the Wind: Mariana Sain-Morar

2012-06-29T13:07:00.000-07:00

Primary Dance(oil on linen, 1982) "The majority of my work done in Romania does not easily reveal itself to the hurried viewer. These paintings have hidden connotations, although always a message based on general human values, which could not be freely-expressed in a totalitarian regime." Those are the words of Mariana Sain-Morar, an artist who has developed her art amidst

Wake-Up Call: Christopher Konecki

2012-06-17T04:49:00.000-07:00

Meanwhile, Down in the Coal Mine (acrylic, aerosol on Panel-April 2012) Our first article on Christopher Konecki happens to be the all-time most-read article on YowzerYowzer to date, and it's not hard to understand why. Konecki balances a sentiment for things vintage with a vibrant overlay of the present-day street. His mixed media, his brushstrokes, and drip technique are boldly

June Update: 7 Artists

2012-06-11T03:39:00.000-07:00

San Diego never fails to impress and inspire. Here's our update report for this month, with news on seven of the thirty-one artists whose work we've featured so far. Click on the artist heading to view their introductory article. Search their names in the search box to the left for later mentions of them and their work. We hope it helps you bring in the summer season with a great frame of

Understanding Home: Joe Yorty

2012-06-05T04:05:00.001-07:00

Neighbor #61 After growing up in southwestern Utah, and later Escondido, California, Joe Yorty served almost 11 years in the U.S. Navy. Now, he has turned his full-time attention to art and has developed a body of work that consists of at least twelve different projects, as well as his thesis exhibition for his Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree. We focus on four of those projects

Following the Way: Brandon Roth

2012-05-30T13:07:00.001-07:00

Anger & Fear (Acrylic on Canvas, 2011) Up to this point we've only focused on our favorite artists, artists who have created some mind-blowingly good work on which it seems impossible to put a price-tag because of how incomparably fulfilling it is. The artist we are honored to focus on today is no different in that regard. What sets Brandon Roth apart is his wide range of subjects and

4 More Before Norway: Ariel Mitchell

2012-05-24T01:25:00.000-07:00

When we interviewed Ariel Mitchell this last December, she let us know that she was thinking about moving abroad, and now those plans have been confirmed. "In July, my husband and I will be moving to Norway," the artist stated. Luckily for us San Diegans, though, we've at least had the opportunity to get to know Mitchell and her novel contributions to art. Also, in the last couple

Coloring by the Creek: Monty Montgomery

2012-05-18T03:27:00.002-07:00

Follow Me (2011) It's hard not to bump into Monty Montgomery; his distinctive style, helped by his strong work ethic, has led to his producing canvases for shows all around town, as well as many spots in the rest of the state and the country. So, it is surprising to find that he moved here relatively recently (2008) from Virginia. Montgomery's layout frequently combines recurring

Back from Down Under: Adam Jahnke

2012-05-12T01:03:00.001-07:00

Jahnke in front of Sydney Opera House (aus_22; December 11, 2011) "I stayed in Australia a bit longer than initially expected," Adam Jahnke told us last week. "But it was time well-spent, and I am finally home." Jahnke has made a name for himself by documenting some of the world's social and environmental ills through his photography. He has previously travelled through parts of

May Update: 8 Artists

2012-05-06T04:39:00.001-07:00

[This is our third update report, with news on eight of the twenty-eight artists whose work we've featured so far. Click on the artist heading to view their introductory article.] Christopher Canole Enzo Ferrari (2012) Enzo Ferrari (detail) Waneek Horn-Miller (2012) Junior Seau and Canole (1995) Christopher Canole's latest two drawings exemplify

The Human Effect: Eleanor Antin

2012-04-30T15:19:00.002-07:00

Portrait of the King (1972) After spending some time with Eleanor Antin's body of work, a triangle begins to appear in the mind. One angle represents the positive effect people can have, another angle represents the negative effect people can have, and the third represents our inability to have any effect at all. Whether we're talking about affecting world history, local politics, art,

Catching Up With 8 Artists

2012-04-24T03:11:00.000-07:00

[This is our second update report, with news on eight of the twenty-seven artists whose work we've featured so far. Click on the artist heading to view their introductory feature.] Joshua Krause A Step Ahead of What Haunts Them (mixed media and resin on wood, 2008) You remember Joshua Krause. He's the cat who makes the far-out mixed-media collages, like the piece above. Well,

Questions of the Face: Mike Maxwell

2012-04-18T04:26:00.000-07:00

Ol' Geezer (2006 or 2007, acrylic on paper) There is not just something of the rebel in Mike Maxwell, there is everything of the rebel in him. Coming from East County and born into an artistic family, Maxwell learned to paint from his grandfather, and in 1999 got his professional start working for graffiti and design legend, Shepard Fairey. It was around that time that he started

Right Through the Wall: Gerrit Greve

2012-04-12T01:35:00.001-07:00

[This is the second full article we've posted on Gerrit Greve, click here for the first.] No Words #2 (acrylic, 2012) Among movie-watchers, there is still a gaping divide between those who favor the dancing of Fred Astaire and those who favor the dancing of Gene Kelly. Using their bodies to create shapes, rhythms, meanings, and moods, completely different from each other, Astaire

The Lens Unbridled: Raymond Elstad

2012-04-06T02:35:00.000-07:00

A Dark Enchantress (2012) We didn't know it was possible to rock with a camera, but today's artist proves that it is. Yes, Raymond Elstad's photography shares with rock music that same swelling feeling that makes you want to get out of your chair and lose yourself in a dance to its hypnotic rhythms. Elstad works in almost every genre of photography, but through it all, he gets across a

The Song of Now: Rosemary KimBal

2012-03-31T02:06:00.000-07:00

Zen Wave We are a pretty bad-assed species in a lot of ways, one of those ways being: our ability to conceive of multiple time-frames, the past, present, and future. For most artists, the present is the most crucial of these domains to come to terms with. After all, it is in the present when the brush touches the canvas, when the pen touches paper, and when the finger presses the

Roots of the Roving Plant: Raul Guerrero

2012-03-25T13:42:00.001-07:00

Tea Kettle (watercolor, 1971) Today, we have the pleasure to focus on one of the most eclectic and thought-provoking artists we've come across. Working since the early 70s, Raul Guerrero has gone through several different approaches for his expressions, each one resulting in some pretty astounding fruit, rich in visual delight as well as razor-sharp social and spiritual commentary.

Story-Lines: Christopher Canole

2012-03-19T02:51:00.000-07:00

Leonardo Da Vinci (c. 1980) He's sketching as he sits on the patio of the coffee shop. All types of people, especially pretty young women, gravitate to him. He's describing his work, sharing stories of his past, discussing science, television, rock music, and an unlimited range of other topics. Christopher Canole appears like a modern-day troubador, but with a sketch-pad and pencil in

Noble Truths: Miya Hannan

2012-03-13T02:10:00.000-07:00

One or Millions? installation (2006) You enter a room to find a dozen bodies strewn about the floor. In another room, you find long rows of display boxes filled with bone ash, skeletons, and painted paper balls printed with the names of countless people transcribed from phone-books. And in still another, you find a trail of sand piles, topped with strange little objects that are

Update Report: 13 Artists

2012-03-07T02:07:00.001-08:00

Untitled (2011) This is our first update report, with news on thirteen of the twenty-one artists whose work we've featured so far. Click on the name of the artist to view their introductory feature. Alejandro Chernovetzky has completed at least five new paintings since our article on him, including Untitled (2011), the piece to the right. Sweet and vulnerable, while also deep, poignant

The Distance in Your Eyes: Aron Wiesenfeld

2012-03-01T00:07:00.000-08:00

Girl with dog (2008) Coming from a background in comic books, Aron Wiesenfeld has developed a look in his pieces that is at once misty and lucid, and a composition rich with detail, gravitas, humor, and story which all fuse together to give them astonishing life. Even as the pieces are beautifully rendered in composition, precision of brushstrokes, and lighting, they don't rest

Irresistible Windows: Katherine Brannock

2012-02-24T00:22:00.001-08:00

Ballpoint sketch (2009) What are we doing? And why are we doing it? Are we doing the right thing, the best we can do? Are there limits to what we can achieve in the present moment or in the future? And even as we begin to change and grow, what is it that tries to hold us back? Katherine Brannock is relatively new to the art game, but she has jumped in full throttle, refashioning

Call It Superlative: Gerrit Greve

2012-02-18T01:06:00.000-08:00

Dreaming #68 (2006) No canvas can be completely reproduced through a photograph nor through digital pixels. And no art-piece remains the same after its artist has been met and his or her ideas, intentions, and experiences have been verbalized. These are old truths, but they find a new and clear realization in the work of Gerrit Greve. Pooling together his backgrounds in subatomic

Valentine's Day 2012

2012-02-12T00:21:00.000-08:00

The Elephant and the Dove (2006) Today's post is dedicated to love, its joy, its mystery, its humor, and its passion. Five of the images shown here are of artwork created by San Diego artists who have already been featured on this site. Feel free to click the link of their names to reach their feature article. The remaining two artists also live in San Diego but are new to the site.