Amazing Feather Paintings

Feathers can be colorful and spectacular in their own right, but how much more stunning might they be when used as canvases for artists, eager to demonstrate their talent for the unusual?

Alaskan-born and -bred artist Julie Thompson is an astounding exponent of this incredible art form. Julie, a self-taught wildlife artist for nearly 20 years, strives to make every feather painting as unique as the feathers themselves are, and believes that every feather has a kind of personality relating to the painting it bears.

Source
via Presurfer

Photography by Tim Flach

Photo credit: Tim Flach . . . the best dog photos I've seen in a long time.

orange cat, left shoulder: lilla cabot perry

thanks a mill Wikimedia Commons

Oh, I remember well how this feels - a chunky little orange beauty draped over the left shoulder (never the right; never figured out what was up with that). This is Lilla Cabot Perry's (1848-1933) Woman with Cat (date not found so far), oil on canvas.

Perry was an Impressionist painter with a good twist to her story: daughter of the prominent Boston Cabot family, she was 36 before she got formal art training, and became a close friend of Manet's. She traveled widely with her husband and family, learned a great deal about the newest and most dynamic art movements of her time, and turned all this knowledge into intimate personal glimpses of people and situations she loved best.

Look again at the painting above: if the young woman were turned round, it is she you'd reckon with, and the kitty would be only an accessory. Instead the green-eyed, alert face of the cat is featured, along with the cuddling arm that nestles it close. And look at that fine fur next to the glossy brunette hair. This is an understated portrait of tenderness.

The Wikipedia article on Perry is a very good one, so here you go.

artist: nicole zeug - and a beloved dog

Image copyright Nicole Zeug, Arts and Dogs

This is one of my finds on DeviantArt: Nicole Zeug's 2008 aquarelle/watercolor portrait of her own Golden. I was pleasantly struck by the unusual angle in conjunction with her careful naturalism, making not only a rendering of a dog, but The (Beloved) Dog. Who hasn't thought of a much loved pet in these mighty terms now and again?

Her palette also adds to the sense of immediacy, reflecting the pale pure colors of observations made on a fine clear day. Appreciate, too, the fine rendering. Look at the fur rippling with the ear's bend, the soft leathery dog-lips, and the liquid eye (I do love that eye).

momoyo torimitsu: cute as discomfort

Big bright vinyl bunnies, too big for their space, crushed down over you. They ought to be cute and funny. Are they? There's so many of them. They aren't fitting comfortably. Something isn't right here.

Exactly, according to Japanese artist Momoyo Torimitsu. The bunny installation was called Somehow I don't feel comfortable, and it was designed specially to not fit its Parisian gallery space. Torimitsu was illustrating the effect of cuteness used in excess in order to buffer or gloss over issues such as individuality or empowerment.


The gallery show page here. And for an adventure, Momoyo Torimitsu's website here (click on the first page and then try clicking "Projects."

more medieval cats on pages

As you probably have figured out by now I do love a sprightly manuscript detail. Turns out the Getty Museum has one I've missed. From England, about mid 13th century, a couple of white cats go after brown mice, with mixed results - or perhaps it's a comic book-style telling of a cat's failed bid to hang on to mousie, as it shows up immediately underneath in its own vignette looking perky and even triumphant. I'm particularly impressed with the skilled elegance with which the cats are drawn, not a line wasted.

Of course copyright forbids my posting the image, but I'll send you right to it here.

Fat cat ad

From this:


To this:



From the New York Public Library (NYPL) Digital Gallery

Image ID: 1261066 & 1259072

Nestle's Swiss Milk posters by John Hassall (1893-1924)

Waldorf Baby Bunnies

These tiny little bunnies (2.5" and 2.25") are knit from hand spun grey angora yarn so they have real bunny fur but won't hop away!

They are stuffed with clean wool and have embroidered wool felt ears. Completely handmade,this sweet set is so soft and fluffy. They would make a wonderful gift for the child, spinner or bunny lover on your list. These are traditional Waldorf style bunnies made completely of natural fibers, great for a nature table or doll play.

At Etsy by fairiesnest.

Little Gray Rabbit

entirely handmade from vintage angora sweaters filled with lambswool love (and a lucky penny in the belly for even MORE luck)

approx 7 inches in height

bendy legs
snaps on paws so he can sit in this thinking pose

each comes with signed tag by the artist

at etsy by Makeitawesome

Sold!

Taken by an anonymous American photographer in the 1850's, and titled "Poodle With Bow, On Table," this daguerreotype was sold at a Sotheby's auction for $8,125.

This might possibly be one of the first "Pet Photos" ever taken.

Sick stuffed animals

More at
UNSTUFFED | PLAYLAND
by Jack Griffin

Photography by David Stewart

See many more at the photographer's web collection.

blown up lights

Glass blown, floor standing lights combining the skills of the glassworker and the playfulness of clowns and children’s entertainers. If only glass were as pliable as balloons!

Supplied on a silver finished steel stand in frosted and clear glass.

Available at Thelermont Hupton

(via Cool Hunting)

Winged kittens

Available at Custom Creature Taxidermy Arts ($750 and up)

Photo credit: Custom Creatures

Art by Agapov Vladimir

Whimsical, and joyful - I'd love to have any one of this artist's works, or ALL of them!







See many more of Agapov Vladimir's paintings at Art Russia

Art by Jon Bertelli

2 great posters by Jon Bertelli

Curiosity

Patience

Both available at All Posters

A stolen rat?

Late French designer Yves Saint Laurent's two bronze sculptures went up for auction at Christie's last week. The highest bidder has been revealed: Cai Mingchao.

But Cai, who bid nearly $40 million by phone last week, has no intention of paying.

Cai is a member of China's Lost Cultural Relics Foundation, a group trying to stop the auction and reclaim the two relics, which were once housed in Beijing's Old Summer Palace.

The Chinese say the bronze rat and rabbit heads were stolen during the second Opium War in 1860 when British and French troops looted and then burned down the imperial palace.

Source

Great bear sleeping bag

Designed by artist Eiko Ishizawa

I don't think it's for sale, you'll have to make your own.

(via Blame it on the voices)

You learn something new every day

The photo above is a Jenny Haniver.

That's not the name of a person, it's the carcass of a ray or a skate which has been modified and subsequently dried, resulting in a grotesque preserved specimen. [wiki]

One suggestion for the origin of the term was "jeune d'Anvers" (French for Antwerp is Anvers), that is "young girl of Antwerp." British sailors "cockneyed" this description into the personal name "Jenny Hanvers."

For centuries, sailors sat on the Antwerp docks and carved these "mermaids" out of dried cuttlefish. They then preserved them further with a coat of varnish. They supported themselves by selling their artistic creations to working sailors as well as to tourists visiting the docks.

Jenny Hanivers have been created to look like devils, angels and dragons.

It is possible that Jenny Hanivers were the source of some tales of dragons during the Middle Ages, and they affirmed people's belief in dragons. Jenny Hanivers may also have started the legends of Mermaids.

(via Cynical-C)

At Susology, the story of an artist currently creating Jenny Hanivers.

Photo credit: Awkward Conversations post on "Rogue Taxidermy: The Jenny Haniver".

Art by Roberto Kusterle

duetto per archi, 2006
(duo for stringed instruments, 2006)

More at website