I am Artist

While it seems that I am always in wedding mode, I do have to remind myself that I am first and foremost an artist and need to switch into art mode every once in awhile.  This past weekend I dove head first into being an artist, and not with my brush.  An old under grad friend of mine and I headed over to Navy Pier to experience Expo Chicago, Chicago's newest art fair.  After the three decade old Art Chicago went under earlier this year, Tony Karman decided to swoop in and start his own fabulous fair.  I must say that returning to Navy Pier as a host space was ideal with it's high ceilings and open air feel.  More importantly, the art that was shown wasn't too shabby either.

Photo from ArtInfo in an article by Julia Halperin

I took a few photos of some of my favorite pieces, but alas, I didn't write anyone's name down, so these pieces are lost on me for now.
Enjoy a mini exhibition:

Crazy boat that looked like it was snatched out of an Austin Powers movie.

Aww, even skeletons can love each other in the jungle.  Just in time for Halloween.

Creepy crawly in such a pretty way.

This was impressive to me just because it was all done in watercolors.  I do not do watercolors and find them incredibly challenging, so a piece like this is doubly challenging.

Loved this piece for so many reasons: the circle canvas, the textured paint, the colors and the fact that I have a hat just like this guys.

I wish I had taken more photos, but maybe that was a sign that I was just so into everything there.  I do love having a virtual collection of art that I can visit for inspiration whenever needed.  As a kid I use to collect postcards of famous artists just so I could have a smaller version of the original (I have a lovely postcard booklet of Georgia O'Keefe's work).  Technology is finally catching up with this idea of less clutter and virtual organization.  There's a new site I stumbled upon called the ArtStack that performs similarly to Pinterest.  The concept behind it is that the best way to share and discover art is through other people.  I love this idea and think it will be so fabulous for gallery dealers and interior designers looking  to have a menagerie of artists to look through that they enjoy and would reference to others, both new and old.  The site is still in beta testing, but I'm sure if enough people start to show interest, it could become the Pinterest of art.  I might just have to go on a hunt for the artists above now so I have them ready for my boards once I'm excepted!

Who is your favorite artist?