M Crowe Arts

Archive for the ‘Inspirations’ Category

August 11th, 2012 by Monica

Introducing Janet Hill Studio

I’m obsessed with Janet Hill Studio paintings. Scroll a bit, and if you’re a kindred spirit you’ll see why.

All images in this post are Janet Hill’s. You can find her work for sale in her Etsy shop and read her blog here.

Each of Hill’s paintings draw me in with their slight narrative quality. The titles of her works are just as charming as the images. It’s like each one has its own personality and “life story.”

Hill’s work is romantic and nostalgic, and since I’m a bit of a romantic — and nostalgia comes on strong for me at this time of year — I plan to buy a couple of her paintings soon.

Janet Hill collage 3

They’re all so charming that I can’t decide which one to get.

What do you think? Which is your favorite?

Janet Hill collage 1

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March 24th, 2012 by Monica

One of my favorite art galleries in Austin, The Wally Workman Gallery, represents an artist whose work I’ve recently discovered. Jennifer Balkan, part sociologist and part artist, 100 percent exudes the “it” factor. Her oil paintings are imbued with energetic strokes of colors that I’m naturally drawn to. Her subject matter happens to be people, and as I’ve often included circles in my own artwork of the non-portraiture variety, Balkan includes the enigmatic circle in what seems to be all of her paintings.

After a bit of research on the interwebs, I learned that Balkan lives in Austin and has been a full-time painter since 2002. What I found most interesting about her background is the fact that she studied behavioral neuroscience and has a Ph.D in Sociology from the University of Texas. This little tidbit helped me to connect the dots — pun intended — as to why when I view Balkan’s work I tend to wonder what’s going through her subjects’ minds.