Caleb Freese

Yesterday we had Tsilli, today another Portland artist, Caleb Freese. I love the mix of paint and photography and his great color sense. I'd like to have one of these. His site is loaded with interesting work.

New work: Port2Port Press

The art and artistry of Maria at Port2Port Press is well crafted and beautiful. Her design sensibility is very fine and I like the simplicity but stark beauty of what she creates. New in her shop are these letterpress cards, a collaboration wiht Scottish artist Natalie Tweedie.


In addition, Maria has launched a Photographs & Drawings project, in collaboration with Swedish artist Elisabeth Dunker. This series, called Levitate/Sväva is made up of three entirely different pieces (sold separately) featuring Maria's photographs paired with drawings by Dunker. These drawings were made just for these photographs and then silk-screened on top creating an entirely new image. Interesting and fresh.

ALEX KATZ Screenprints

One of my favorite printmakers. The top portrait is silkscreened and the buildings piece is an aquatint called New Year’s Eve. The boy with open mouth is Katz's son, Vincent, and is a painting. Alex’s prints are still affordable, even as he becomes more ensconced as a major contributor to the movement of the 70s and 80s. I’m always drawn to portraiture of any kind and love Katz’s scale and simplicity. His prints are impressions of his subjects --a glance, a motion -- just as a silhouette captures a brief look of a person, so Katz’s work strikes me as a sketch, but I love the colors and boldness of it. Alex's website.

DEBORAH BOWNESS Hand-Printed Wallpaper

Deborah Bowness, where have I been? Deborah was the winner of the ICFF Editors Award this year for Best Wallcoverings, but I just stumbled across her name and happened to visit her site. I think her unconventional approach to wallpaper is exciting and unexpected. She uses photography heavily. To me, these are like little Warhols. Her papers are hand-printed, which usually means they are silkscreened. I’d love to see her process in person. Visit her website.

Patrick Caulfield (1936-2005)

Caulfield was an English painter and printmaker known for these bold pop art canvases. Often portraying interiors or simple objects, he used big fields of flat color usually outlined in black. Of course he appeals to me too because of the way he incorporated the ultra-realistic with a flat pop painting style: see the blue painting above called After Lunch (1975). I like the graphic style, but also the elevation of the everyday, which he promotes simply by choosing his subject matter. More at Patrick Caulfield on Artnet.com.

Silkscreening

Silkscreening has really captured my attention lately, and as a process, I'm amazed at how hands-on it remains. Even in factory enviroments where mass production is the norm, much silkscreening (especially in China, where I often travel) involves a man, a screen, a surface. There are machines of course (see top picture), but most silkscreening is taking place on long tables, with the goods spread out, with an individual moving slowly from one to the next. I love the democracy of this technique. So inexpensive and accessible.

THIRD DRAWER DOWN

You know how I am about screen prints these days. This Australian company is making interesting and arresting screen prints on tea towls (and aprons, and “Lapkins” etc). These designs are terrific-- each a little canvas. Once again, silkscreening shows its force. The idea of finding art in "the most domestic of circumstances" really appeals to me. One reason I think Swedish design is so great, for instance, is their integration of design into all objects, whether it be telephones, or blankets, or chopsticks. Third Drawer Down expresses the same idea. From their website: Third Drawer Down: Where Do You Keep Yours?

By placing art into the most domestic of circumstances, Third Drawer Down® products promote an ongoing
dialogue between art and everyday life, whilst promoting the work of International Artists and Designers.
Third Drawer Down® reproduces artwork by contemporary Australian and International Artists as Limited Edition
screen prints onto 100% finest quality materials. This ongoing project explores the multiplicity of domestic items,
and the long history of Linen as a cherished gift and souvenir.

NAMA ROCOCO

I met founder Karen Combs in New York last May and can't stop thinking about her line of wallpaper. All prints are handscreened and hand painted, all the inks are hand mixed and applied. I love her approach-- wallpaper isn't just pattern, it's rhythm, art, and movement. Her work came out of a desire to see her art spread across a large expanse of paper-- like the Japanese scrolls she'd seen at the Met. She has created a truly original line of beautiful papers. If you're short on wall space, you can buy a single sheet and frame it!
Her website is a work of art too. Check it out at namarococo.com