Artists that I am loving lately

Upon reflecting on an entire year's worth of offbeat anecdotes, I have noticed that that my gaze has thus far been lost to my own lake's reflection-- that is to say that in all of the anecdotes I have written, each has been centered on myself and my artwork without a word on to the artists that have inspired me. Shame on me. In an effort to right this wrong I have decided to dedicate today's anecdote to the artists that I find myself whole-heartedly enamored with. Let's go!

Though Instagram has become a travesty, I must be grateful for it leading me to discover two of my favorite artists of all time: Jessa Gilbert (@jessagilbert) and Mia Pensa (@miapensa). Two artists of completely different styles and subject matter but each have such a unique and fun quality about them that makes me love stalking their Instagram pages to see their latest and greatest.

Jessa Gilbert's art answers the call of my ski-town heart. She specializes in continuous line art creating insane and colorful single-line mountainscapes that celebrate not only playing in the mountains but the glory and oneness of nature itself. Funnily enough, I was once lucky enough to be on the same plane as Jessa when I was coming home to Colorado but couldn't pluck up the courage to go up to her and gush about how much I love her artwork. Instead, I settled for a mental fangirling.

Though I have never (to my knowledge) found myself sharing a plane with Mia Pensa, her art still answers to my color's wild roar. I honestly don't even know the right words to describe her large-scale masterpieces that center around contemporary colorful tigers and cheetahs. With a tropical, feel-good aesthetic I have found myself trying to experiment with more rugged patterns and pastel mediums in my artwork. She has such an incredible vision, and her pieces always look unique and fresh, and I cannot impress enough, COLORFUL. Her artwork is an immediate mood booster, and I find it refreshing to take a look at subject matter that isn't centered around my typical snowy mountain scene.

A few other artists I would like to highlight that I admire, and love are @loindaflow, for her groovy, laid back "no fucks given" surfer-life pieces that often feature rad monochromatic schemes of blues or greens. Kelsey Van Raay (@kvanraayart) who is the master at creating colorful and creative mountain pieces that effortlessly capture the serenity of a snow-capped scene in a way that has alluded me all these years. Hana Felix (@hanafelixart), who is an artist that I have actually had the privilege to be friends with and do art nights together many years ago. She creates incredibly clean, colorful landscapes that I love. It's been amazing watching her continue to grow and absolutely kill it year after year. Sarah Ortiz (@sweet_roots_designs) is another artist (and awesome friend) that made her debut this last year. She creates these incredibly detailed and time intensive mandalas that sooth the soul. I honestly cannot imagine the process and perfection that she puts into each of her pieces, its mind-blowing! Like we are talking details for days people. You have to check her out to see for yourself... The last amazing person I will highlight today is another lovely friend, artist and Hannah, this time known as Hannah Circenis (@hannahcircenis). Hannah's rad personality really shines through in her art, which depicts various groovy desert scenes, often revolving around the activities she loves like climbing, biking and van life. Hannah mostly creates originals, I proudly boast to owning one of them myself!

These kick-ass ladies keep my creativity whirring, inspiring me to try new techniques and styles or just allowing me to admire their own hard work. I highly recommend checking out their Instagram's and websites to see for yourself the cool corners of their creations.

Thanks for following along as I fangirled this Sunday afternoon. I hope that maybe you can find some new favorite inspirations too!

As always,

Keep it offbeat!