Painting

December 25, 2022

Exquisite Landscape Paintings Contained Within Portraits of Wild Animals

Animals become one with their environment in Sujay Sanan‘s watercolor paintings. The South Africa-based artist uses the silhouettes of foxes, birds, and other creatures as the frames for realistic depictions of natural landscapes, reversing the way animals blend into their habitats. Sanan finds inspiration for this ongoing project in South Africa's flora and fauna, particularly the wilderness of the Western Cape.

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December 12, 2022

Stunning Drip Paintings of Enigmatic Faces Emerging From Behind Colorful Veils

Artist Steven Castillo puts his own spin on traditional portraiture. His series of acrylic paintings depict enigmatic female figures with cloth covering their faces and bodies, reminiscent of classical sculptures. Instead of a transparent veil, however, this material is filled with mesmerizing marble patterns in an array of psychedelic colors. To create these unusual fluid patterns, Castillo employs an acrylic pouring technique, which involves adding puddles of colors to the canvas in multiple layers.

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October 21, 2022

Purposely Blurry Oil Paintings Show How People With Impaired Vision See the World

South Africa-based artist Philip Barlow uses his paintings to showcase a unique view of the world. By translating figures and places into simplified shapes, he explores the relationship between color and form, as well as between people and their environment. The striking results of this approach have been compared to the bokeh effect in photography—a phenomenon in which subjects are condensed into blurs of light—and even to how people with impaired vision view the world.

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My Modern Met

Celebrating creativity and promoting a positive culture by spotlighting the best sides of humanity—from the lighthearted and fun to the thought-provoking and enlightening.