Conspicuous Consumption

That's the name of Shag's fantabulous exhibit of new works -- unfortunately, far, far away from me in Los Angeles. Blogged about here, here, and here. A few examples:

My Favorite Shag

I haven't updated the "Shag of the Week" feature in a couple of weeks in part because I've been too busy, but also because this one is my favorite. The Thinking Has Been Done (acrylic and vinyl on panel, 2006) is a marvelous example of Shag's playful mood and perfectly balanced forms and colors. It is truly Shagalicious!

Shag: On the Shoulders of Giants

One of my favorite collections of Shag's work is a lengthy series of compositions playfully imitating great works of art from previous centuries. Here are some examples along with their counterparts:

The Potato Eaters (oil on canvas, 1885, Vincent Van Gogh Museum) by Vincent Van Gogh.

Sleeping Gypsy (oil on canvas, 1857, MoMA) by Henri Rousseau.


Old Guitarist (oil on panel, 1903, Art Institute of Chicago) by Pablo Picasso.


Absinthe Drinker (oil on canvas, 1876, Musee D'Orsay) by Edgar Degas.

Art Blogging: Heather Watts

Heather Watts is a self-taught artist who lives in Vancouver. She is a leading voice in the emerging Tiki Style of art -- a movement which pays homage to an idealized view of Polynesian life and culture.








Insert Coin (acrylic on panel, 2006).







Green Eggs & Ham (acrylic on board, 2006).





Offerings (acrylic on panel, 2006).

Art Blogging: Kirsten Ulve

Kirsten Ulve is an American graphic designer. She studied at the University of Iowa and works in editorial, fashion, and children's illustration, as well as animation. Her works are composites of hand-drawings which are then scanned digitally and refined with graphic software. Ulve lives in New York City.

Christmas Skater.

Children Are the Future.

Herons.

Art Blogging: Jim Flora

Jim Flora (1914-1998) was an American commercial illustrator. He studied at the Art Academy of Cincinnati and surged to fame in the 1950s when his LP album covers appeared across the country. He worked extensively in this field, as well as a children's book illustrator, throughout the 1970s, and labored at a daily, frenetic pace up until his death. He is best known for his frantic, loud imagery of jazz, urbanity, and technology. He was a major influence on the later work of Shag.

Jiving Teens, 1954.

Cover, Park East Magazine, January 1943.

Sweets and JJ Johnson.