Posts in Fine Art

New York City based artist Samantha Keely Smith is back with all new work. Samantha’s work has been on my radar for a few years now and I did a post on her gorgeous work about two years ago. I reached out to Samantha and asked her a few questions about her influences and what her creative process involves.

In 2012 your work progressed into painting abstract, oceanic waves and creating a sense of heavy movement. What inspired this?

All of my images come from dreams, but my dreams are influenced by the emotions I experience and the things I learn/hear about in my day to day life. I’ve been concerned with the effects of global warming and the melting ice caps for some time, and that showed up in my dreams as the images I produced in 2012/2013. I’m still influenced by these concerns, only now my images have expanded beyond “oceanic.”

Without revealing too much, what is a typical process from start to finish for one of your paintings and how long does that take?

It’s a case of narrowing down the images from the dreams and trying to focus on one in particular. The images in the paintings are what I call “inner worlds” because really they are the result of attempting to translate an internal existence driven by emotion/instinct into something that makes some sense of the reality we live in. Because these dream images are fleeting I spend a long time chasing them during the process of the painting. Unfortunately this also means there is no real way to plan them out. So they can often take a couple of months to complete, with many changes (sometimes drastic) taking places over the course of that time. I work in thin layers, often somewhat translucent. I find that accidents/mistakes are an important part of my process too. I’m also in love with color and oil paint in general so my interest in the process of painting is part of the end result.

What musician/band has been the most influential for your visual cues?

There isn’t one musician, but many. Music in general is an important part of my daily studio practice. The kind of music I listen to while painting is dictated by the painting itself. I can’t say that music influences my visual choices, but it does feed the intensity of the work.

Are there any other practices/mediums in the broad world of art that you would like to try?

I can’t imagine having the time to do anything else since I paint every day, but in another life I’d like to experiment with film/video and installation art.

If you could pack up and move to work on your craft anywhere, where would you move to?

I’m not sure because I love the energy of NYC. My only problem with living here is financial. Being an artist in New York is very hard, mainly because of the high cost of living and how expensive artist’s work spaces are. I think I’d like to live somewhere near the ocean if I could. But only part time. I feed off the creative energy of the city and I’d miss that.

For more of Samantha’s breathtaking work, visit her website:

Samantha Keely Smith

Can we file this under fine art? I think we will. I might be too young to say i’m a true fan, if anyone ask Beamer he turned me onto them and probably has the whole catalog on vinyl and cassette.

I am into this art, reminds be of my mom’s airbrush homework but with detail and a story. You might write them off one by one but as a collection i’m sort of feeling it.

Focusing mostly on oil and acrylics on canvas, Keith Vaughn paints out plain tropical windows that are framed in this early 90s design revival look.

via Keith Vaughn tumblr

Andy Gilmore seems to have always been up there an ISO50 readers favorite, just found out that Ghostly International put up 6 new posters of his this morning.

A game designer and programmer, James D. Sachs created his art using his Amiga, usually at lowest resolution (320×200). Amazing stuff. Makes me feel like I’m playing EcoQuest again.

If you have about 2 hours to kill i’d suggest going thoroughly through the 150 year history of the stamps and imagery from the Dutch Postal Service.

Soo many beautiful announcements happened for Jacob and Thomas from Beacon, first off they just announced the preorder of their debut LP along with a sugar based sculpted record holder limited to only 20 pieces. Before that they shared a new mix and some spring tour dates, all of it is here in one place along with the process video of the making of the art edition record frame.

About the artist:

Fernando Mastrangelo has exhibited nationally and internationally for the last decade. Mastrangelo uses materials such as sugar, coffee, corn, gunpowder, human cremated ash, and other more controversial substances. He often addresses social, cultural, and political issues with unconventional timely works. His works are included in numerous private collections around the world, as well as the Brooklyn Museum of Art, where you can currently see his 2008 sculpture “Avarice,” a rendition of the Aztec calendar cast entirely from White Mexican Corn.

Order Art edition (ltd to 20)
Pre-release Vinyl/CD

Deluxe Art Edition Details:
Edition of 20 + 3 APs
Includes signed and numbered certificate
Dimensions: 13″ x 13″ x 2″
Weight: 10 lbs
Materials: Sugar, Epoxy
Limited dusty rose vinyl + download card included

Lukid – Snow Theme
Tornado Wallace – Always Twirling
Bambounou – Challenger
Tiger & Woods – T&W Lab File #07
Unknown Artist – What You Need (Coat of Arms Remix)
Marcus Mixx – Special Creme (Rub It Mixx)
S.K.A.M. – Outside The Box (Homework Perspective)
Shams – Wasted

Greenland Mountains, c1930

Davis Strait Iceberg, c1930

Isolation Peak, c1930

Mt. Lefroy, c1930

Bylot Island, c1930

Bylot Island, South Shore, c1930

Baffin Island, c1930

From The North Shore, Lake Superior, c1927

Lake Superior, c1926

North Shore, Lake Superior, c1926

Lake Superior, Hill XV, c1925

Pic Island, Lake Superior, c1924

Equations in Space, c1936

White Triangle, c1939

Abstract #20, c1942

It would be difficult to understate the influence of Lawren Harris’ abstract landscapes on Canadian identity. As a founding member of The Group of Seven, Harris pioneered a distinctly Canadian school of art that departed from European contemporaries of the same era. Minimal in texture and detail, his grandiose landscapes use sweeping curves and simplified abstract forms to capture a wider, almost spiritual representation of a landscape.

Fairly covering Harris’ entire career in a single blog post is tricky, but what I’ve presented here are the some of his best known works from Northern Ontario (Lake Superior) in the 1920’s and the Rocky Mountains and Arctic during the 1930’s. I’ve also provided a look at some of the more abstract, but less celebrated work he painted during the late 1930’s and 40’s. Overall, I find most of what he painted during these years to imbue a remarkable sense of modernism, and something I’m hoping readers of ISO50 can appreciate.

I know some of you are most likely familiar with the Group of Seven and Lawren Harris, but if not I would love to know what you think and if you find the work inspiring.

Posted By: Owen Perry
Instagram: @circa_1983

If you’re interested watching a black and white interview with Harris, here’s something from the CBC Archives (c1961). Please excuse the commercials.

Kahn & Selesnick’s amazing martian-inspired photo series, gluing actual photos of the martian landscape taken by NASA’s Spirit & Opportunity rovers, with WWII bunkers, concrete sculptures, vintage russian space helmets, and landscapes in Nevada and Utah. Mmmm.

Paintings such as Samantha Keely Smith’s make me want to throw my camera away and pick up a paint brush again. I miss the quiet, tranquil nights or afternoons where it felt like it was just me and my canvas and the world around me dissolved entirely. I love inspiration like Samantha’s paintings.

According to her website, she uses oil on canvas along with shellac, varnish and enamel. I’d imagine, given the size of these paintings, that they command every ounce of your attention. They are simply powerful. Her new work is jaw dropping and I can’t imagine what they look like and how they would make me feel viewing them in person. If any one feels like buying me the first one, I would forever be your friend.

I could sit here and explain how I feel about Samantha’s work but I would rather let her paintings speak to you. Take a look at her website to see the rest of her work and her artist statement. I would be first in line to purchase a print if she offered them.

Samantha Keely Smith.