my love for you is a stampede of horses.

Alex Mcleod.

Look, I'm not gonna lie to you. I am the type of Aunt that rents my nieces movies I want to see. I get way too into playing house and building legos. And I take my nieces bike riding because I want to ride a bike. (I spent an hour last Christmas setting up Tivo to record all of the Christmas specials for the ENTIRE month of December, for my nieces of course.) Luckily, I am savvy enough to not alienate myself as an adult, but the point is I miss being a kid. I don't want to work. I want to play til the street lights come on, go home, play some more, go to sleep, wake up and do it all over again. Looking at Alex McLeod's work makes me want to chase that stay golden ray. His work is a perfect combo of fun with little sparks of sinister. So sweet. How killer would it be to hang out in his studio for a while?

stephanie dowell. part one.

once stephanie dowell moved to austin, tx she was forced to experiment w/ all sorts of different mediums after leaving her oils and canvases behind in a storage unit in portland. having worked mainly w/ oils since she was only a wee five year old, stephanie began to experiment w/ all sorts of mediums. stephanie employs everything from glitter pens, metallic pencils, pearlescent inks to colored pencils and water colors. she's been having a grand time sorting out her process w/ her latest work. she draws, scans, tweaks in photoshop, then draws some more, scans them again, photoshops a bit more and then repeats the process til she's happy w/ her images. what has emerged are adorably forlorn electro kitties, flourescent mazes and acid trip landsacapes. a little bit reminiscent of the black velvet paintings i so badly wanted by bff's older brother douglas to win for me when i was 12, i can't help but want one of these images for my bedroom. oh but wait! stephanie is also a super talented photographer...just check out the post below.

ana laura perez.

it's always so exciting to be contacted by people just as creative as what i am writing about. it tends to make my research a lot easier too! recently ana laura perez contacted me, i was immediately taken w/ her drawings. often of lovelies w/ lots and lots of beautiful locks (sometimes only their locks are apparent.) surrounded by nature, oversized jewels and beautiful birds. working in illustration as well as digital collage, ana's work has a magical quality that whisks one away into the dreams she creates. one of my favorite websites, book by it's cover recently featured her sketchbooks. to see more of ana's work and read her blog, check out her site. oh! don't forget to check out her etsy shop where she sells original art!

will bryant.

will bryant rules. let's just get that out in the open. but too late! it's already out in the open, because anyone who knows will's stuff, knows this to be true. his work is vibrant, bright and full of life. a florescent, magnificent wonder-ocity. (new word, pls give credit when you wiki that. k. thanks.) the boy is a walking burst of typography, design and color. his hand lettering is awesome. his hand drawn t-shirts are like nothing else. here are just some of the spots you can get will's stuff: needles & pens, rare device, good records, w00t and his etsy store. if his visual work isn't enough for you, and you need more as you do in these days and times, check out his music: the hooded deer.

hernán paganini.

ok, the best thing about blogging is you meet so many amazing peeps that you probably never would have had the opportunity to otherwise. i recently have been emailing w/ hernán paganini, a graphic designer from buenos aires. his emails are kind, sweet and cheerful...always signed w/ "mountains of color, hernán ._.". ummm, how frickin cute is that? hernán told me a little bit about himself:

"i am inspired by everything that surrounds me, i am amazed easily as a child, playing with this environment, the actors, situations that happen within and that  somehow affect me, i try to transform my daily reality, as a result emerge moments of life through materializing the sensations that i have inside.

since i was a child, i collected and sorted things i found in the street. with the passing of time this material became my raw material to develop much of my work.

impassioned, the heart awaits the passage of time to become a child again."

i think you can see why i would be taken w/ hernán and his work. i am always drawn to people that have an enthusiasm that should be bottled and sold as an elixir. recently, hernán made an amazing planter w/ found material. i'm in love w/ it. what i wouldn't do to have one in our yard and on our porch, or in fact in my bedroom. see more of hernán's work on his flickr page.