Street Art, it’s literally everywhere and it’s all over the world. I guess it really has been around for a while but when I was in Naples, I saw more street art than I ever could imagine. This may be because they don’t ever paint over it, but I saw more art walking down the street than you do when you’re driving on the 10 freeway. A few nights ago, I looked through Graffiti World and found out/realized that I saw art by Blek Le Rat, Cope, Fisher, Kub, and Jaber without realizing it. Plus, I saw many more no name artists that have been strongly influenced by Banksy’s stencil art. Now, I think people are being more influenced by street art than they realize.

Shepard Fairey took it upon himself to make posters for Obama, reading “HOPE” without any intention for it to become an iconic portrait for the president. It ended up on the cover of Time Magazine for “2008 Person of the Year’ and in 2009, the image was acquired by the US National Portait Gallery. Fairey became known with his “Andre the Giant has a Posse” sticker campaign on the street and now he is one of today’s best known and most influential street artists. His “HOPE” poster is now one of many inaugural posters.

When I see an artist’s work get national recognition like this, just from having a strong politcal view, it kind of makes you think. Graffiti used to be associated with gangs and a negative connotation as it is illegal to deface property. Now, artists like Banksy and Shepard Fairey, are turning things around for street art, giving it a positive view as well as influencing other artists art work. It is taking creativity to a whole different level. From Graffiti ABC Blocks , to furniture to energy drinks, street art has had an insane influence on your most basic everyday products and I found an awesome list by laurasweet to prove it.

How about a more complex way of expressing your individuality through art. Everybody’s DNA is different unless its identical twins. DNA prints are works of art that display your DNA or finger prints in form of an artistic representation, making them the most personal, unique and timeless artworks you can own. The Company behind this DNA art pieces is DNA 11, founded by Adrian Salamunovic and Nazim Ahmed, both who have a passion and appreciation for the arts, as well as the vision and determination to transform DNA into unique art and share its beauty with the world. “Using a simple collection method, as easy as wiping the inside of your mouth with a swab, the company harvests a sample of your DNA, also fingerprints and transforms them into an artistic representation of a person’s life code.” 

gadgetcandy

Be it pen, paint or plush velvet, the stars of the stage and screen have been subjects of artistic endeavors for ages.

Check out the discoveries of ThisNexters who have noted renditions of their favorite icons…from Baryshnikov to Tupac and everyone in between. Are the stars better left to fade into the night, or do we keep them alive through creative mediums?

It’s really the blue-print of your life, the stuff that makes you you.  That said, don’t ‘cha think DNA deserves a little more…publicity? street cred? adoration?

The folks at DNA11 think so.  You send them a sample of your DNA, or your fingerprint and they’ll send you back a gorgeous art print.  I had the pleasure of seeing the DNA11 booth at this year’s NY International Gift Fair, and I have to say, DNA is quite beautiful, and the prints are top-quality, rich artistic presentations.

And ThisNexters seem to agree, loft3 says “Its as personal as art can get. What I love about this service is that the printing quality is great and you pick your color so you know it will coordinate with your decor.” And artizen (who is in fact an art historian, collector and critic) muses DNA11’s Fingerprint Art is a “neat idea for a unique, personal piece of art that looks amazing.”

Of course, giving your DNA some serious props, is like the ultimate pat on your own back. As Gordon says, “I suppose in some ways, the DNA11 prints are for the ultimate narcissist, but I rather think they show a healthy interest in and engagement w/the rest of the world.”

Here’s to you, Double Helix. 

Before monogram purses, mongo SUVs and flashy tech gadgets, there were coffee table books. Large, hard backed, gloriously expensive books filled with mouth-watering photography or illustrations of a small niche in the world…an artist, a food, a type of architecture, an era, a person…which, when combined with (we hope) minimal text and voyeuristic coverage, the book has the power to make it’s beholder drool in a paper-induced day dream.

It’s no wonder that coffee table books, art books, and the like are such treasured gifts and coveted possessions worthy of holding their own place of prominent display even above expensive vases or décor.

...continued: Book Bling: Shopcasting Coffee Table Books

Do you buy art for your kid? A Pollack for your pre-schooler? A Wyeth for your one year old?

Well maybe Jackson Pollack and Andrew Wyeth are a bit much for the under 5 set, but art for the nursery is becoming quite a trend. My new favorite parenting blog DaddyTypes.com points us to a really interesting article in the New York Times about new parents who buy art for their children. For Greg of DaddyTypes- himself a collector – the realization of this merger was interesting,

“When I moved from a loft downtown to a small townhouse apartment on the Upper East Side , it took me several months to realize all the art I was buying was really small. So I ended up overcompensating by buying stuff that exists only on certificate and needs to be fabricated—or that takes up an entire room. There was a stretch where almost everything I bought was black: Richard Serra, Joseph Kosuth, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, etc.

So when I’ve asked dealers about certain pieces over the last couple of years, they almost immediately reply, ‘Are you looking for something for the nursery?’ As if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.”

If paintings aren’t in your budget or interest in these formative years, a myriad of artistic eye popping nursery décor and kid’s toys is available in just about every baby store.

...continued: Collecting Art For Kids

Phil Ressler is one great ThisNext lister.  “If it moves, I’m interested,” he says. “If it moves me, even more. If I’m not in motion, something around me, on me, or in me should be.”

And in the process of discovering great items, his shopcasting reviews are top-drawer. Check out his Cadillac XLR-V luxury GT retracting hardtop convertible: “The XLR-v interior is lean, tasteful, clean and uncluttered. I like its straightforwardness. Cadillac’s technology integration is best-in-class, with everything accessible with little or no fuss. Nothing esoteric to learn. Very exclusive — Cadillac will make fewer than 1000 Vs per year.The engine is thoroughly re-engineered from the base Northstar V8, and comprised of comprehensively upgraded componentry. These engines are hand-assembled racing-engine-style, each by a single builder. Made, of course, in the USA..”

And wait until you read his equally smart stuff on contemporary art, audio equipment, and even timepieces.

Okay, this just cracks me up.  Courtney B. of Stylecourt.com has put together a rather wonderful list here called A Bit Jaded, and here I thought it was another set of green picks – ‘green’ as in all-natural products, organic, sustainable, simple, etc.  No.  Not Courtney.  Courtney means green, as in the color.  Like a (great-looking) green tufted chair from Anthropologie.  Green pillows.  Green paperweights.  And some wonderful jewelry all made of jade. And a chartreuse urn, a malachite mirror, wrapping paper and wine glasses.  Here’s ThisNext at its finest: great products, carefully chosen, wonderfully described … and entirely unexpected. 

So what’s your favorite color?  I working on my list right now: my blue Honda, My Blue Heaven, The Blue Beetle comic, “Am I blue?” sung by Better Midler …

Now here is a blog with focus - and fabulous to boot: fototiller is “a website covering all things photographic, with a particular focus on the intersection of photography and design.”

If you’ve been in an
“oh-my-gosh-I-have-so-many-digital-pics-and-I-don’t-know-what-to-do-with-them”
slump, then by all means let this blog inspire, guide, and recommend you into photographic bliss.  The site covers everything from camera-inspired artwork and kitshcy clothing to wall presentation to funky frames.  Because there are just too many great posts to mention, here is a list of some real stand outs: (and let’s keep our fingers crossed from some serious fototiller shopcasts on ThisNext - the camera and photography tags are growing every day!)

>> woodgrain magnet frames 

>> cool camera designs (a bag, a tee, a kick a## ring)

>> how to make DIY photo magnets

>> beautiful monogrammed albums

>> sean tubridy art 

I’m off to organize my photo files now… 

“Fanatical Apathy Dispensed Daily”, says Robin Morgan of 30 Days of Do. In fact, it’s a whole bunch of surprising video links, personal images, and musings on family, animals and art, from the unusual to the outright amazing. Where else could you learn about Poop Freeze, after all – the first freeze-spray aerosol made for animal waste pick-up.

We might have cracked a serious code here people.  The days of gallery hopping could be all but numbered…why pound the pavement when you can surf ThisNext?

One of the most exciting developments at ThisNext has been the emergence of list after list and pick after pick of beautiful, eclectic artwork; all of which is shopcast by individuals who are simply passionate about the artist.

The web brings exciting opportunities for art collecting in all ranges of medium, theme, and price.  Add to that personalized reflections about artwork and artists by the collectors/aficionados themselves, and you have a virtual social gallery of infinite possibility.

Let’s take a look and see what’s been picked.

...continued: Shopcasting Art: ThisNext Gets Its Gallery On

Leading a simpler, more centered, and more sustainable life doesn’t mean the things you buy, use, and make become blunt or plain. Quite the contrary: they become handmade, and that alone makes them special. Doilies, for instance, may seem terribly old-fashioned and even a little quaint, but they are in fact a unique marriage of the utilitarian and the beautiful…like The Venerable Shrone’s examples in her Home Burrough. She actually makes these by hand – this particular one from a pattern supplied by Delectable Doilies. These are more than handicrafts; these are works of art.

The Madcap Adventures of Mama Grouch and the Creep – yes, that’s the name of the blog, no kidding – is exactly as advertised: both adventurous and madcap.  It’s also kind of crafty, because Mama Grouch herself is a fan of knitty, and both sites have great things to say about dying your own knitting yarn using Kool-aid.  It’s fun, they say, and easy and cheap and you get many cool (or would that be ‘kool’?) colors in the process.

Now here’s a group of fellas we wouldn’t mind seeing more of over here.

Josh is obsessed with patterns and can’t stop drawing them.

Frank reveals fascinating back stories to his sketchbook drawings.

and Nathan graces us with a studio tour of all three guys.

Thus, the mighty imaginative force of The Plundering. 

illustration by Josh Cochran 

We love bloggers, because essentially, we’re doing what they’re doing.  Case in point: art/inspiration blog French Toast Girl describers her own endeavors much as we would ourselves:

The basic philosophy of the french toast girl site is this: life (like french toast) is made up of simple ingredients that combine to make up a marvelous concoction we often take for granted. It’s time to relish all the wonderful flavors in your life. And by the way, if you aren’t crazy about the way your life tastes, remember: you’re the one who controls how much sweetness goes on top, or if it’s soggy and underdone.

Welcome to the network French Toast Girl! (and ps - she’s been blogging since 2001!)

tree/bird/heart by Elena Nazzaro 

Johanna Wright is yet another up and coming artist to emerge out of Portland. Her work is whimsical, simple, mysterious and at times deceptively dark.

Like any good artist she’s full of intriguing oddities for instance: she studied puppetry and children’s books in college…she sold her art on the streets of New York for four years…she has taken a cross-country bus tour nine times…she has a cat named Grandpaw.

Check out her blog for updates on new work, (I’ve added this new “Big Cherry Tree” painting to my wishlist in case anyone is…um…wondering what I’m wishing for) plus events and fun finds; and you can visit her Etsy shop to shop away.

“Big Cherry Tree” 16” x 20” by Johanna Wright

Steve Mack is an illustrator, who, “in an effort to create fresh content” for his blog, decided to create a blog project where he’ll illustrate one letter of an in-progress alphabet book every week. 

Now he’s on week T (letter T? page T?) and we’re all hooked.  Steve Mack is yet another reason why we love blogging - not only is the visual presentation a treat, but he just might have effectively sold lots of copies of a book that hasn’t even been finished.

This post is brought to you by the letter Q. 

As if the Smithsonian isn’t fabulous enough, they go and start a blog about art which is…fabulous…and friendly, and informative, and interesting and fabulous.

Eye Level is is a blog produced by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and it’s anything but stuffy and boring:

Using the museum’s collection as a touchstone, the conversation at Eye Level will be dedicated to American art and the ways in which the nation’s art reflects its history and culture. The discussion will extend beyond the walls of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s collection to include other collections, exhibitions, and events. Eye Level will also document the extraordinary collaboration between curators, conservators, handlers, historians, enthusiasts, critics, exhibition and new media designers, and of course bloggers that has motivated the past and present of American art history.

Check out interesting topics like Museum Lighting: How We Do It and a really interesting post about artist Dana Schutz.

How much would I love to see shopcasts from the Eye Level writers??

We love art blogs here at this next - if, for nothing else - there really are no two exactly alike.  M. Patrizio is an artist whose portraits differ very much from her illustrations, and that’s why we love her.  If you want a good dose of Japanese-inspired illustrations plus “crocheted creatures + cute stuff” then check out her blog. 

We’re also happy to have spotted a serious shopcaster in the cute (but not so cute you totally wouldn’t want it) dept who posts about colorful table wares, paper goods, local boutiques and anything else bright and cheery that strikes her fancy.

All that in the name of art.  

JeanSnow.net is a pop culture junkie’s dream.  Jean Snow is an established international writer who has been covering design, trends, art - you name it - for publications like Time, Gizmodo, Frommer’s and I.D.  The blog is a collection of his discoveries via “an unhealthy addiction to magazines and frequent visits to his favorites cafes.”

The beat doesn’t just stop with Tokyo - Snow covers gallery happenings in America too, plus magazine round-ups, artist features, and, of course, ultra hip shopcasting like this Cyclone Cleaner.