Secret Still

I’ve said it before, but Matt Haber (mentioned previously) is hands down one of my favorite artists, alive or dead, human, animal or mineral. The stories that he tells have a feeling of Boy’s Own adventures; exotic lands filled with daring, ready to be explored. Combine that narrative quality with brush work so clean you could eat off of it, and a soft range of colors that brings to mind a Winter carnival, and you can almost feel yourself standing knee deep in the images of your childhood. That’s really what Haber’s work brings to mind, is that quality of mind that we all possessed as kids, where we knew the things we imagined were real, that unshakable conviction that the world was magical and held unknown wonders that were waiting for us just around the corner. Matt Haber’s paintings have turned that corner and found the amazing worlds we all sought, and now he gives us some insight into his place in those worlds. Read the interview after the jump.
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Once again Beautiful Decay leads me to glory, or at least a better Friday. They’re the ones who pointed me to Sophie Blackall’s work, especially her illustrations of posts from the Craigslist Missed Connections section, which are so amazing. Clearly I’m not the only one who reads Missed Connections for the bittersweet weirdos that populate it with their longings. Why didn’t I ever think to put pictures to those words?

Sophie Blackall

Pure, cut-paper madness and tongue-in-cheek titles, like Mission school run through a paper shredder.

Devin Troy Strother

At this rate you’ll never have to read again.

Kahn’s Exeter

Ian Pfaff’s Demo Reel

COMBO

Robbert Bobbert and the Bubble Machine - We R Super Heroes

Allan Gray Legend

Bomb It

Damn you, Cooper, for making everything look so effortless. Can’t you at least look like it was difficult for you to make such great work? Your smooth style is somewhere between James Jean, Miyazaki, and pure badassery, and it’s just not fair to the rest of us. I’m so completely angry with you for being talented and impressing the hell out of me.

Jessica Cooper and blog

Getting interrupted by a higher caliber of celebrity.

True Love

Synesthesia and The Full Film

Venice Is Sinking - Okay

Protect Insurance Companies

Sangria Nights

Water and its many forms, reflections, and patterns are probably the hardest subject for most painters to conquer. Hell, it’s damn difficult just to photograph it, let alone try to recreate such an intricate and dynamic substance on a canvas. Alyssa Monks manages, not only to master water as a subject, but also to produce effective portraits with it. Think about that for a second. Water is damn near impossible to capture, and so is the subtle character of the human face; yet Monks captures both together beautifully and glass to boot. I mean, damn, what else can it take to impress you people? I, for one, will never take a shower the same way again, my perception has changed entirely. I think that’s as much as any artist can ask for from their work.

Alyssa Monks

Thank you, Lilli Carré, your illustrations were exactly what I needed today. Made everything better.

Lilli Carré

A little pain and suffering never hurt anyone.

Big Bang Breifly

Heroine

Hey Asshole

Et si je…

folding futures + a visit

An Awesome Book

Air - Sing Sang Song

Much love to Grain Edit for tipping me to the design work of Ed Nacional. In the few hours that I’ve been looking, I haven’t found a single thing about his work that I don’t like. It’s clean, clever, simple, and innovative, and it has just a touch of that classic style I know and love. I was all sold on how awesome a designer he was, and then I saw his Quantum Airlines project (sort of pictured above), which is just fan-fucking-tastic. He thought of everything in that branding package, and it all looks perfect. It takes a lot to impress me with branding, because it’s such a comprehensive project, but Ed manages greatness without a single misstep. No wonder he got to intern with the New York Times.

Ed Nacional