Cry Me A River

Dudes, it has been ugly, cold and raining, for the past week in Austin, and I'm pretty well sick of it. Austin is about sunshine and boiling heat, not this stupid apocalyptic rainfall. I think one of Ugo Rondinone's rainbow signs mounted atop my roof might help rectify the situation. At the very least it would act as a glowing beacon for all the hapless folks swimming around out there. My 'bow would proudly proclaim: Party At Erin's Arc! (Everyone Is Welcome). Or it could say one of these other things... I'm open.

ugo rondinone

via Internetwork

ugo rondinone

via mirumir's Flickr stream

ugo rondinone

via Aquabotic

ugo rondinone

via You Have Been Here Sometime

ugo rondinone

via lisabella's Flickr stream

ugo rondinone

via Internetwork

ugo rondinone

Portrait of John Giorno

ugo rondinone

via Wooster Collective (hilarious image!)

If you had a giant neon rainbow perched atop your house, what would it say?

Smart Art

Poor K-Dawg is holed up with strep throat (2010, you need to shape up, you whippersnapper) so I'm writing a wee post to tide y'all over until her return. Yesterday I showed you some of my favorite abstract art/interiors combinations, and I thought I might add a few more mouth watering images. Also, one our our readers brought up some great points regarding art, sourcing and blogging, in general. Shilo of Yikes Machine (a beautifully curated blog) wrote: "I vote let’s credit not only the blogs where we nabbed the photos, and the photographers who took the shot, but also the designer of the chair, the stylist who put the room together and the artist who made the sculpture. This, of course means a lot more work for us bloggers, but I think ultimately the result will be a community-led education in Art and Design..."

Hey, I like that idea! Problem is, I'm kind of a dummy when it comes to painting, because I'm just a photographer by training and trade (wish I could have written that part very small and tiny like). But I'm a good sport, so let me hit you with my best shot:

ellsworth kelly

Ellsworth Kelly in Aerin Lauder's kitchen, via Elle Decor

josef albers

Josef Albers (a print, I'm guessing) via The Brick House

ellsworth kelly

Another gorgeous Ellsworth Kelly in a horribly photographed home via NYSD (thanks for the tip, Raina!)

kenneth noland

Awesomely shaped Kenneth Noland painting in an otherwise sleepy room, via Apartment Therapy

gemma smith

The other half of that amazing Vogue Living Australia spread, featuring the rad work of Gemma Smith

Ok, pals, hopefully this was educational (but not in a high school chemistry class kind of a way). Now I'm going to get to work identifying the art I showed yesterday... oh, this is going to be good times!

Back to Basics

I've never thought of myself as an abstract kind of girl. I have always preferred my art to be concrete, dark and sooty, brooding and enmeshed in philosophical complexities. It's very tiring, actually. In fact, I'm worn to the nub, which is why abstract art is suddenly feeling so fresh and so clean to me. Even liberating. Like a pair of crisp white Chuck Taylors. Perhaps visual simplicity is the perfect antidote to these turbulent times, not that there's anything simple about the art itself. There is a discipline inherent in abstraction's formal nature that speaks honestly about the medium. Its beauty lies in its rightness; a good painting feels like it grew that way, like that's its only possible state of being. Like -- as many people have joked (myself included) -- a child could have made it. Right.

If you read the NY Times story about 94 year old painter Carmen Herrera, you know that it took a lifetime for Herrera to get recognized for her paintings. She worked in anonymity with no expectation of fame or fortune for decades. I'm in awe of this. My personal vanity would never allow for such a thing, and my self confidence could never survive working in a vacuum.

Anyway, Carmen Herrera, this post is for you.

abstract art elle decor

Elle Decor

abstract art

Met Home

abstract art interiors

Cote Maison

abstract art interiors

Desire to Inspire

abstract art interiors

If the Lampshade Fits

abstract art interiors

Marie Claire Italia

abstract art interiors

New York Social Diary

miles redd

Miles Redd

abstract art interiors

If the Lampshade Fits

abstract art interiors

Cote Maison

abstract art interiors

Met Home

abstract art interiors

Fawn Galli

abstract art interiors

Karl Anderson

carmen herrera

Carmen Herrera in front of her paintings. I want to be this cool when I grow up.