Hi all! I've been double-blogging it: that is, I've kept up this address, but my real site, with better design and links, is here. So for all future Blue Locket posts, that's where you should go. Hope you'll keep reading and check out my full website as well as the Blue Locket blog. Thanks so much!
Sonnenzimmer is the Chicago-based art studio of a couple who make fine art prints as well as commissioned posters and other design work. These pieces are all available (at a reasonable price); they've got a sketchy, washy aesthetic—a little messier than my usual style—and they're definitely appealing.
Sarah Martinez made these little watercolor paintings for Furbish, the Raleigh, NC home shop (which has an excellent online presence). They're sweet and pretty and simple—and a great opportunity to buy original art for less than $150.
More than a month? I never meant to take such a break from this blog. And while I was out, we all had a really nice trip someplace warm and beautiful and relaxing—right after losing our much loved and extremely old dog. So it's been a journey, to say the least: the good with the bad. I've been slow getting back in the groove, but I'm excited to work with a new client, think about getting a new puppy, and share some great art in this space again. Belated happy new year, and here's to all things new and fresh and beautiful and hopeful. New York artist Ryan Sarah Murphy makes these beautiful collages with cardboard and discarded book pages. There's something so serene and peaceful about the colors and textures—they're simple but interesting. I guess that's what good composition means: nothing extraneous, an idea pared down to its most basic, yet with enough detail to hold your eye. Note that the actual pieces are small-scale (one foot and under), so they draw you in; they're tiny and precious.
I just discovered Daylight Dreams Editions, a Los Angeles-based studio that releases fine art prints, some attributed to individual artists, some to the studio. (It's an interesting approach to authorship and creatorship; thoughts?) I really like the overall simple/organic aesthetic and could see these pieces in any setting, on their own, in a group of similar Daylight Dreams pieces, or mixed in with other parts of a collection.
Today I'm liking Heather Day's collage-liked mixed-media drawings. The Bay Area artist has a muted way with color and a relaxed hand with composition. (She also coauthors Taupe & Birch, a beautiful blog about creative people and their endeavors.)
I couldn't resist including this photo of her studio. I love the grid on the right:
No big deal, nothing complicated: just some very pretty block prints and textiles by Maine-based Erin Flett. I love her preppy-meets-midcentury aesthetic (especially that stack of striped wool blankets).
