Miquel Wert

Miquel Wert's paintings are mostly nostalgic, ephemeral things that bridge the gap between the seeming reality captured in a family photo and the wavering, unsteady, but more potent reality of actual memory. Most of the details are missing, lost in a blur of half suggested gesture or shape.
Much of his work seems to point toward an idyll of family life that may be more longed for than real. But my favorite pieces are those in which the source material is more subtle; when the rough gestural quality of his approach allows for a variety of response, as if we were experiencing someone else's memory as our own but are unsure what emotions they evoke.
There are a lot more to look at on his website (www.miquelwert.com) including paintings on walls, quick exquisite figure study drawings and a cool animated flipbook of some boxers.
















"Discourse" 81x116cm charcoal and acrylic on canvas 2009






















"Lecture" 35x35cm charcoal and acrylic on wood 2009

















untitled 89x116cm oil and charcoal on canvas 2006















untitled 89x130cm oil on canvas 2004

A rare bit of color and an altogether darker effect.














"High Society" 89x130cm oil on canvas 2004

Evan B. Harris

Evan B. Harris comes by his folk style approach to drawing honestly. Growing up in rural Oregon he taught himself to draw and, left to his own devices, developed a distinct style of his own. It does not exist in a vacuum of course. His work is reminiscent of artists like Kathleen Lolley, Andy Kehoe (with whom he is apparently friends) and others. But what ties these artists together more than style is their subject matter. Each has created and populated a personal mythic world. In Mr. Harris' case this revolves around the tall tales told in small town taverns and sailor's bars a century ago. He even artificially ages his art as if to suggest they are not contemporary at all but actually artifacts from this world.
You can go to website at evanbharris.com but his Flickr page has a lot more work on it.















"Salt Sea Piano" 24x48"


















"White Whale and Shells"























"Owl and the Archer"























"Hand Fed"

Phil Delisle

While most of the work on his website (www.thetq.com/phil) appears to be from 2007 or earlier with only a couple of exceptions, it's new to me, so...
He dabbles occasionally and successfully in abstraction but it is his more graphic work referencing the painting process, himself and art in general (sometimes in one fell swoop) that dominate his work. It's great loopy stuff and wandering through it is not unlike visiting an art version of a funhouse mirror maze.
I'm hoping he's okay and we'll be seeing new work twisting old themes inside out and back around again soon.






















"In The Studio Painting" 64x48" Acrylic in Canvas 2009

















"A Painting of an Exhibition" 45x59" 2007
















"The Studio Process" 48x64.5" 2007


Here he riffs on the graphic style of an instruction manual (on the website you can view the individual painting or panels)

















"How to Make a Painting in 9 Simple Steps" 13.5x15.5 each panel 2004

And here he riffs on his on his own riff.














"How to Make a 'How To' Painting Series" 13.5x15.5" each panel 2005

Pamela Michelle Johnson

Thanksgiving is past but I didn't post anything since, so here's some more food for you. Only this food isn't quite the celebration of bounty and good health. It has a lot more to do with modified corn starch, hydrogenated oils, various chemical additives and of course, America's obsession with image and consumption.
Don't feel bad if these paintings make you hungry. The underlying message is equally clear and that conflict is, in a sense, the point.
pamelamichellejohnson.com





















"Cool Ranch" 20x20" 2009























"PB&J II" 44x58" 2009























"Waffles" 42x72" 2007


And for scale... what could be yummier than a six foot tall stack of pancakes drowning in syrup?