Amy Kollar Anderson's New Mural, Progress Shots

Amy just completed this uplifting and fun mural and sent a link to her step-by-step blog. Nice to see all the layers and progress during the process. I love the little olive bulb flowers...

Visit it here.

And below is a killer new work from her site, titled Intoxicating...
and it certainly is!

It's Coming! Those Nightmares Before Xmas...

"Famine" by Dan Harding

You had to know Eclectix couldn't let Halloween get by without partaking  in the witch's brew of all the wonderful dark and bloody art out there. We decided to start the screams right when all the muzak carols begin to invade, putting out pumpkins instead of Santa. So to get you thru the looming holidaze, Volume 5 will bring lots of scary monsters and super freaks to lighten the Hallmark load. And this issue packs a double whammy with some killer Day of the Dead art as well... 
Right up until 2011 takes over, 'cause 

"it's the most wonderful time of the year".

New Works by the Pumpkin King - Sean Chappell

Just got in some new art here at Eclectix from the esteemed master of more than crazed pumpkins, Sean Chappell. 

Great stuff! For info on his pieces go here.

Don't these just rock?

And you may remember this one from the Dementions exhibit.

BookNook: "Rat Girl", A Darn Good Read

Rat Girl by Kristin Hersh, Penguin

If you were or are a Throwing Muses fan, (like me), Kristin is it’s prolific founder. Her name jumped out at me from the bookstore shelf; didn’t even know she had written a book!  

Foto: Dina Douglass, via Boston.com

I am a little more than halfway thru Rat Girl and loving every invented word in it! Very well written, almost in prose, it details Kristin’s 18th year, based on her old diary. From squatting in abandoned buildings to mental health issues; the colors of her song writing fever, to the alienation familiar to all who live on the fringe; this book has laughs, sarcasm, emotion and wit. Intelligent and insightful, quirky observations of a true artist about life in all it’s darks and light. Funny, vivid and interesting takes on performing in the small club scene, without the unnecessary rock star name dropping. Pick it up, you won’t be able to put it down. 

The book cover by, Gilbert Hernandez, ain't too shabby either!

The Throwing Muses, via LastFM

TED Award Goes To Well Deserved Street Artist JR

Public artist JR (anon for obvious reasons) has been awarded the highly prestigious TED prize for 2011. The $100,000 prize money is matched by the winner being asked to make one wish to change the world. 

About the artist JR and his wonderful works-
In 2006, he launched “Portrait of a Generation,” huge-format portraits of suburban “thugs” from Paris’ notorious banlieues, posted on the walls of the bourgeois districts of Paris. This illegal project became official when Paris City Hall wrapped its own building in JR’s photos.

In 2007, with business partner Marco, he did “Face 2 Face,” which some consider the biggest illegal photo exhibition ever. JR and a grassroots team of community members posted huge portraits of Israelis and Palestinians face to face in eight Palestinian and Israeli cities, and on the both sides of the security fence/separation barrier. He embarked on a long international trip in 2008 for his exhibition “Women Are Heroes,” a project underlining the dignity of women who are the target of conflict. In 2010, the film Women Are Heroes was presented at the Cannes Film Festival and received a long-standing ovation.  - Via TED

For one project, JR created portraits of ghetto inhabitants of the suburbs of Paris – the scene of riots in recent years – and installed them on the walls in the city centre. In doing so, he aims to provoke and question the social and media-led representations of such events. JR's work often challenges widely held preconceptions and the reductive images propagated by advertising and the media. - Via Tate Modern

His work with Palestinian and Israeli citizens explored the similarities of their daily lives, rather than focusing on the ever present divide, highlighting fundamental human emotions. Israelis and Palestinians doing the same job – such as taxi drivers, teachers and cooks – agreed to be photographed crying, laughing, shouting and making faces. Their portraits were posted face-to-face, in huge formats in an unauthorised project, on both sides of the separation wall [security fence] and in several cities, demonstrating that art and laughter can challenge stereotypes. For his new project about women in post-conflict situations and the Third World, JR has already travelled to Sudan, Kenya, Sierra Leone and Liberia, and is planning to visit India, Asia and South America. - Via Tate Modern

 ...the artist wrapped, very appropriately, the French Embassy in Phnom Penh with 20 sets of women’s eyes culled from his recent photography portfolio that portrays ordinary women around the world—many of whom work as prostitutes in war-torn countries. JR shot this series using a wide-angle 28mm lens that forces an extreme close-up between photographer and subject, resulting in portraits marked by their uncanny intimacy and extreme detail. A truly egalitarian artist whose career focus has been bringing art out of the gallery and onto the streets for the average person to appreciate, often in impoverished areas where local interaction with formal art is nonexistent, JR remains guarded when pressed about the true meaning of his work: “I put [my work] on the street, and sometimes people try to find the exact meaning, but there isn’t one. They have to think about it. Most of the time, [my subjects] have to explain the project much more than I do. After all, they are the ones posted up in the street. They are the real heroes of the project.”  - Via SuperTouch

Sources: Tate Modern, SuperTouch Art, BoingBoing

Jammin' Johns: Do Your Dirty Deed in Style

From the Incredible Things blog comes a great link to some musical toilet seats. Beautifully done accents for that musician who thought they had everything... The artist and maker is Marvin Maxwell, a Kentucky music store owner. They're music to your rears.... 

Link to Jammin' Johns

Fun For Friday: The Simpsons and Banksy

What better way to end the day and start the night than with The Simpsons? This intro was storyboarded and directed by famed British street artist Banksy. 

YouTube LINK

Via: Boing,Boing

Eclectix Artist Interview: Michelle Waters

A new interview with fantastic local artist, Michelle Waters...

Can you tell us where you were born and a little history about your childhood? 

Born and raised into an artistic family in the San Fernando Valley. I was always restless there and knew that I’d leave when I got old enough because we’d go on vacations to beautiful places where there was more nature. My grandparents where social justice activists, also my grandfather was a painter... to read more go here.

Just In Time For The Day of the Dead, John De Jesus

Artist and sculptor John De Jesus just sent us his gorgeous hand painted skelly carvings. They are great gurl skeletons, from many different walks of life, one for everygurl! Deeply carved reliefs, out of wood, hand painted, recessed into the niche altar style of classic El Dia de la Muerte retablos. A great, hip gift for that special someone in your life.

(My personal fave is the rocker chick Wanda, above...) 

Who doesn't need some fantastic sculpture to liven up

that Day of the Dead decor?

For all the relief images and info on prices, go to the Available Art section of the Eclectix site, here.

Ben Heine: Puttin' Pencil To Photo and Back Again...

Artist Ben Heine came up with a very fun and creative way to marry art and photography, superimposing a pencil sketch of an area in front of it and then snapping the foto. His series is titled "Pencil Vs. Camera" and he has a lot more entertaining images here. 

New Ryden Art: "Awakening The Moon"

A new Mark Ryden painting to start your evening off right. 

“Awakening the Moon” will be at the Frieze Art Fair in London, Oct 14th through Oct 17th, in the Paul Kasmin Gallery booth. Glad to see Mark back into his luscious iconography, a beautifully composed and peaceful piece.

Great Art, Great Cause, Great Buys!

Buy some art. Save some boobs, er... breasts.

And maybe a life or two.

Link for the art auction here.

26 Johns for John's 70th, A Birthday Portrait Gallery

John by Patricia Mitchell

Today, would have been, could have been and should have been Lennon's 70th birthday. Everyone's been talking it up and doing special bits here and there. I thought it might be nice to find all the groovy artworks out there and stash them all on one page. Once started, I was floored to see how many really 

fantastic "Johns" there were out there. 

John would have liked them all. 

Hope you do too.

Lennon by Don Coker

Lennon, roach paper collage by Cliff Maynard

John Lennon by Leonid Afremov

Lennon by Kludoman

Lennon by Andy V. Parry

Lennon by Jeff Clark

Lennon by Bob Harper

Lennon by Debra Hurd

Lennon by Joachim Rick

Lennon by Joe Hendry

Lennon by Paul Leli

John Lennon by Sandy Schimmel

Lennon by Todd Back

Lennon by Vijay

John Lennon by Braldt Braids

Lennon by Andy Warhol

Lennon by Richard Avedon

Instant Karma by Alice McMahon White

John Lennon, paper mache by Carlos Lorenzo

Lennon by Lennon? (not sure, unknown)

Lennon, tape cassette art by Erika Iris Simmons

Lennon by Jeremy Johnson

John by Dan Martin

Lennon by Aaron Johnson

John, sculpted phone book by Alex Queral

A Study of John at 70 by Patricia Mitchell

Happy Birthday, John!