*paper*crane*heart* hearts Jennifer Davis

Jennifer Davis is a painter based in Minneapolis, MN. She generally uses a combination of acrylic, graphite, and charcoal to create what I like to call “creepy-cute” images. These images include animals with human qualities such as female limbs, high heels, and lipstick…colorful patterns balanced out by muted or ‘ghost-like’ skin tones and backgrounds…animal heads and other objects floating in the air, often placed in odd positions which only enhance the surreal quality of her paintings.

Here are some of the cute:

Some of the creepy cute:

I *love* her paintings. In addition to that surreal feeling, there is a bit of a retro feel to them as well, in the simplicity of her line strokes. This is what I love about art – the possibility of being taken to another world, an imaginary world where anything is possible.

Jennifer in her own words:

“My mode of working is very spontaneous and intuitive. I build up layers of paint, sand them down, then build them up some more. I like to create “ghost images” by allowing under-layers of line and paint to peek through to the image of the surface. The narrative quality of each painting becomes apparent through drawing, painting, and adding bits of found-image collage. Every day my invented language of symbols grows, repeats, and changes.”

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*paper*crane*heart* hearts Catherine Campbell

During my time in Australia, I got hooked on an arts & crafts/fashion magazine called “Frankie” (http://www.frankie.com.au/). Through Frankie, I discovered an Australian artist named Catherine Campbell. (http://www.catherinecampbell.net/) Of her black and white drawings, I love her combination of soft, round lines which are balanced out by sharp geometric patterns and angles.

Of her works in color, I love the mixed-media aspect. She uses colored paper and origami to give the clothing on her girls an extra pop, a 3D feel.

Hooray for Australian artists!

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*paper*crane*heart* hearts Anahata Katkin

A little late, but time to acknowledge the artist of my blog background!

I first came across the lovely collage/mixed-media work of Anahata Katkin at the University of Washington bookstore. Her company, PaPaYa! makes greeting cards, journals, notebooks, giclees on canvas, bags, wallets, and water bottles, among other items.

Anahata’s art website: http://www.anahataart.com/

Anahata’s blog: http://anahata.typepad.com/

PaPaYa!’s website: https://www.papayaart.com/

PaPaYa!’s blog: http://www.papayablog.com/anahata-katkin/

I knew that her art was stunning and unique, but I had no idea just how widespread it was until I found myself in some random little town hours outside of Melbourne in Australia (so random that I don’t even remember the name), and stumbled across a store with a huge display of all things PaPaYa!

In an issue of Somerset Studio magazine, my favorite arts & crafts magazine, they ran a story of Anahata Katkin and her path to success. Seven years ago, Anahata decided that along with her mother, she would start a business based on the collages and illustrations from her art journals. Her business savvy mother would take care of the business part of the company, which meant that Anahata could concentrate solely on the creative aspect of it. They started by working from their kitchen table, and printed 1000 cards to take around their favorite stores in LA. Today, PaPaYa sells their products in over 3000 stores, in seven countries. And all of this was achieved as Anahata was raising her young son!

I love her quote: “It’s easy to look at successful people and think their circumstances were different than yours. but they’re not. Anyone who is doing what they love will tell you the same thing: Believe in what you are doing no matter and follow only your own formula. Our success has been built on the fact that we march to the beat of our own drum and have never wavered from our original vision.”

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