NEW Edwin Ushiro Print at Paper Tiger

So much great stuff going on in the art world, so little time to blog. But we don't want to pass this up...

Another ethereal, mystical painting by Super-Talent Edwin Ushiro has been turned into a print by the very wise folks at Paper Tiger. If you follow PopDrawer you know Mr. Ushiro is one of our favorites, and we spoke to him a few months ago a possible interview in the near future. Hopefully our schedule and his will mesh sometime soon. Meanwhile we must satisfy ourselves with this lovely new work.



The print, titled "Birth of Unreckoning" is described thus by Mr. Ushiro: "In Hawaiian mythology, Madame Pele is the Hawaiian Goddess of fire, lightning, dance, volcanoes, and violence. Throughout my childhood in Hawaii, I have heard numerous reports from residents who have had an encounter with Pele. Many sightings forewarn an eruption of Kilauea (one of the world's most active volcano)." Feast your eyes on this gorgeous Close Encounter with Pele.

The 12x12" print is a tiny edition of just 25, printed on archival textured fine art paper. It's a very reasonable $100, and it's a stunner. We can't wait to bring you an interview with this amazing artist, but meanwhile don't miss out on this print!

"The Birth of Unreckoning" by Edwin Ushiro at Paper Tiger

Natalia Fabia at Corey Helford

On the eve of the 81st Annual Academy Awards, Natalia Fabia wins this year's award for most intriguing show title. "Hooker DreamEscape" (see?!) opens this Saturday, February 21st at the Corey Helford Gallery. The eye-popping candy-coated works are part of Ms. Fabia's second solo show at the Culver City gallery. As described by the release, Ms. Fabia "continues her tales of seduction by revealing the forbidden desires and secret fantasies of her modern-day belle de jours. Providing tongue-in-cheek “dream-escapes” with jewel-toned forests and candy-colored landscapes, the artist creates the ideal environment for her bold seductresses to indulge themselves in life’s little pleasures."

Sounds fun! (I mean the show, of course).








Natalia Fabia's Hooker DreamEscape at Corey Helford Gallery

Bob Dob at Billy Shire Fine Arts

Bob Dob comes to Billy Shire Fine Arts tonight, Valentine's Day, with his new show "Blue Skies." Take your honey to a nice dinner in Culver City and buy him/her a Bob Dob painting. What better way to say "I love you?"



Bob Dob's Blue Skies at Billy Shire Fine Arts

Amy Crehore's Preview and Show

Amy Crehore's latest show, Dreamgirls & Ukes opens Friday night the 13th of February at Thinkspace Gallery in Hollywood, and you should go if you're in the hood because Amy's band the Hokum Scorchers will be tearin' the house down surrounded by a bevy of new paintings and hand-painted lovingly restored ukuleles and banjoes.

But in case you can't make it in person, here is a special preview of the show. And you can snap up these works early if you act fast.

I'll be showing around 9. Hope to see you there!



Amy Crehore's Dreamgirls & Ukes at Thinkspace

New Alex Gross Limited Edition Prints

Three gorgeous new giclees are now available from Alex Gross, each in a small edition of 50. The prints range in size from 18"x24" to 21"x21" to a mondo 33"x40", and range in price from $149 to $299. The images are typical of Mr. Gross' rich work, blending nearly photorealistic details with surreal backgrounds, swirling in vintage Japanese and American imagery. Gorgeous stuff, as always.



Alex Gross Prints

Aaron Smith at Sloan Fine Art

Aaron Smith

Sloan Fine Art kicks some art world ass in 2009! And the ass-kicking begins this Wednesday with the amazing Aaron Smith, and soon-to-be-star Sarah Bedford in the project room. Aaron Smith adds a new twist to his neo-neo-classical repertoire (that's right, he's invented a neo art category) in his show "Mandrakes, Martyrs & Muck Snipes." According the press release, "Smith paints baroque and gothic sculptures as well as decorative objects preserved in museums around the world," and the results ba-rock. (Our apologies for that.)

In the project room, Sarah Bedford's paintings bring together cold rocky grays and vibrant yellows and blues to portray a wild, yet geometric view of the natural world that is eye-popping and energizing.

And this is just the beginning of a jaw-dropping season at Sloan Fine Art. Read this lineup and weep: Seonna Hong, Caroline Hwang & Saelee Oh, Liz McGrath, Marion Peck! And one of my favorite up-and-coming artists Tasha Kusama, of whose work I have a particular affection since the piece on Sloan's website happens to hang on my wall.


Aaron Smith


Sarah Bedford

Aaron Smith and Sarah Bedford at Sloan Fine Art

Whitecanvas

Do you really need another social networking site?

You do if you're an artist looking to showcase your work, and looking to connect with and be inspired by artists in your medium and others. Whitecanvas.com, a new social networking site for artists is, well... just read the previous sentence. And the site is already home to an array of fascinating artists such as Gary Baseman, Ed Moses, fashion and costume designer Christian Joy, director/puppeteer Toben Seymour, and photographer Melanie Pullen, among others. Whitecanvas has produced some great videos about each of them and their work and inspiration. Whether you're an artists or just a fan, you can't miss these videos. Here's Gary Baseman's...



Whitecanvas.com

Interview with Amy Crehore

Amy's Crehore's new show Dreamgirls & Ukes is going up in just over one week at Los Angeles' Thinkspace Gallery, and to mark the occasion the gallery's Andrew Hosner has conducted a question and answer session with the artist-of-honor.

Stop by the Sour Harvest blog for a fascinating discussion and a sneak preview of the show that will feature new canvases and hand-painted restored ukuleles.



Interview with Amy Crehore

Mark Ryden's "The Snow Yak Show"

Two great things that taste great together -- the art of Mark Ryden, and Tokyo. There's enough visual stimulation there to burn your retinas. Hopefully the Tokyo art crowd will Corey-Hart it and wear their sunglasses at night to shield their eyes from the power of the eye-popping art combined with the "white fur" dress code.

The opening of Mark Ryden's "The Snow Yak Show" is coming Saturday, Feb. 7th at Tomio Koyama Gallery, with a book signing attended by Mark Ryden the same day.

Can't make it to Tokyo this weekend? Here's a tiny preview...





Mark Ryden's The Snow Yak Show at Tomio Koyama Gallery

MicroBlogging

As evidenced by our lack of posts in January, we are up to our megabytes in other pursuits, both professional and personal. But we have no intention of abandoning PopDrawer now or anytime soon. So in an effort to continue blogging but also put forth the necessary time and energy towards the rest of life, we will be adding micro-posts to our repertoire. Starting this week, we will try to post more often, but in shorter lengths.

That's not to say we won't spend considerable space on some special events -- we will! But for now they will be fewer and further between.

But here is a little preview of the things we plan to cover. Lots of great art-related news percolating in this fresh new country (at least it seems that way -- fresh and new, that is). And here's a sneak peak...