American artist Dana Ellyn paints current issues with absolute irony: the defense of the heresy of being a childless woman, the hypocrisy of religion, the bold fantasy caused by drunkenness and most recently the culture of food. Many of her animal-themed paintings strike a chord, creatively posing the question: why do we love some animals and eat others?
Ellyn has most recently had a solo exhibit in Barcelona Spain and has an upcoming solo exhibit in Gold Coast Australia. Her work is gaining international notoriety in the vegan community.

http://www.danaellyn.com

Matt Sesow began creating art in 1993 as a reaction to being hit by an airplane that amputated his dominant hand when he was a child. For the past 20 years, Sesow has used a variety of little icons in his paintings to help tell the story of his trauma and lifetime successes. Icons such as bunnies, birds, teacups, and teeth surrounded by bright red lips all help to tell the ongoing stories from the mind and experiences of Matt Sesow. Sesow has exhibited in galleries around the world and is part of the inventory of several outsider and naive art collectors.

THE EMOTION  © by Matt Sesow

When people try to describe my paintings, they oftentimes use words like ‘raw’, ‘angry’, ‘energetic’, or ‘expressive’. OK, but here’s what they really are: ‘A failure’. I don’t feel that any painting I’ve done has ever been successful. I’ve just started, and I’m not good enough to tackle what I want to express yet. I have a secret list of paintings that I will attempt when I feel I’m ready. For now, I take the bus down to the National Gallery of Art, or the Hishhorn museum here in Washington, DC to see my heroes like DeKooning, Bacon, VanGogh, the very old Dutch and German religious work, Pollock, or occasionally Basquiat is in town… that’s who I want to hang with. I will be as good as or better than they are someday…. but it’s too early for that. Give me a few more years please.

My work starts with a desire, and ability, to paint. It comes from an attempt to be part of history, and achieve immortality. It comes from stubbornness and refusing to give up. My work must be personal and private to succeed, so it’s about exposing myself. There are risks and resistance on my part.

Technically, the challenge is to create light, volume, and texture.  Art is a reflection of our time and today, in the midst of the digital revolution, our perception is changing as well. The development of CGI, and it’s ability to synthesise “life” has  forced me to look deeper into how I use paint to represent “life” .

Much of my painting process involves exploring and experimenting. Finding the right color, searching for the correct perspective or vanishing point. The right pattern or gesture of the hand.  I also have a background in illustration,  but I am only now embracing my experience and the technical skills I have learned and incorporating them into my art.

Using a language that is easily understood,  I tell stories. I weave figures, symbols, and  elements  together to create a narrative to share with an audience. © scott g. brooks

www.scottgbrooks.com