Roque A Deleon is a Texas-based artist that has recently been getting a good amount of attention, especially in the online world. His work - trippy and deliciously colorful – was featured in SFMOMA’s blog and in Hyper Allergic Labs.

Lately I’ve noticed several artists experimenting with color; pouring it on different surfaces and letting it flow to create unique shapes and patterns. It’s almost as if they are setting the paint free. Quite wonderful, yeah?

Thanks for submitting your work, Roque!

Room. Petra Bindel | Art. LEFT. Alyn Carlson / TOP RIGHT Walter Darby Bannard / TOP BOTTOM Agnes Martin

Thanks to the peeps that entered the giveaway (and my most sincere apologies for the delay on this post). I gathered the names, drop them in a hat and got two lucky winners. Drum roll please!

The winners are:

Satori
Traci Buxton

This week’s guest city walker is Randy Grskovic, a Vancouver-based artist that has some serious mixed media skills. In this edition of ACW , Randy will take you on a little trip around his hood. Remember, all pictures were taken with a disposable film camera, so the results are a total surprise for both, the artist and you!

Read more…

This series by Sara Cwynar make me want to plan a photo shoot of sorts. It must be quite challenging to gather so many different objects to create the mood in each photograph – I think this calls for a trip to the flea market!

all images: Sara Cwynar

 Lots and lots of flowers everywhere. It’s like the 70′s flower power came back but with a much sleeker, artsy twist. From interior design to art, this trend is going strong. It’s even mutating into other styles like hawaiian patterns and kitschy flamingo prints. Take a peek at some of the latest floral designs that caught my eye. What do you think the next trend will be?

SOURCES| florals on posters taunus agentur | florals on blogs Macon York | florals on brand identity Taylor Black / Interabang | florals on art Masha Reva | florals in fashion trendland

I am in awe with these collage series titled Secret Garden by Enrico Nagel. First of all, the whole floral theme is very trendy right now so he gets extra points for that – but – by adding a few extra timeless elements like avant garde couture and solid colors – Enrico has managed to create strong modern art pieces that will remain beautiful, regardless of any trend.

I find similarities between Enrico’s work and Ashkan Hornarvar - who happens to be one of my favorite mixed media artists. I guess the list of favorites will just keep getting bigger and bigger!

all images: Enrico Nagel

via: arpeggia

Last week I hosted the very first Artful City Walks workshop as part of Gather – an art and design pop-up in Vancouver. It was such a blast! The class sold out but we made room for extra peeps so they could join the artful party. For this workshop, part of the focus was Instagram and how you can use it to enhance your blog, business and overall online presence.

We started by getting to know each other and speaking a bit about why we use the app. Later on – following the same motto from the City Walks “discover your city with a new set of eyes” – we embarked in a journey through the streets and alleys of Gastown; one of the oldest neighborhoods in Vancouver.

We found art, we found the old and the decayed and workshop-ees got to learn tricks of the trade – from different apps that boost your mobile shots (collage, cropping, editing, etc) to ideas on how to use your content and when to post it.

I was amazed to find out that lots of people use mobile photography and they’re pretty passionate about it – like I mentioned earlier, it’s not about how cool the app is or the level of skill you have, it’s about connecting with others and looking at things with a different perspective. Some people didn’t even have an Instagram account, but they tagged along and snapped amazing photos with their beautiful DSLRs.

And of course not everything was work work work, we also got to enjoy a few snacks – fresh honey lemonade, home made bread and preserves –  courtesy of Nelson the Seagull – one of my favorite spots in Gastown! During this time I passed along a few more tips to really squeeze the juice out of this mobile community – creative ideas, collaborations, promotions, stats, the works!

Lastly, thanks to our rad sponsors CanvasPop and StickyGram -  City Walkers received a discount for a canvas print, a few sets of Stickygrams AND two lucky ducks got a FREE print from CanvasPop. Are they cool or what?

I am still super excited that the whole workshop turned out so good! And it’s not stopping there – I am now planning to create new City Walks with different twists! Also, expect a few different guest City Walkers from around the globe. If you want to share the beauty in your city with us, tag your photos on Instagram with #ACWALKS  or send me an email to hello(at)theartfuldesperado.com to get a full feature.

To all City Walkers: thank you for joining! To everyone else: don’t forget to discover your city with a new set of eyes ;)

Remember I posted about Color Me Rad 5K not long ago?  Well, I have a surprise for you!

I got 2 – yes two – FREE registrations for the Vancouver race! Which combined are worth $100 Canadian shells. You don’t have to be a professional runner (I am definitely not) or a crazy fitness guru – all you need is a burning desire to have some good ol’ summer fun, help your community (benefits from the race go to Keep a Breast Canada) and be eager to get bombed with color – lots of it!

Did that image motive you or what? Ok so here’s how you can WIN one of the free registrations.

Option 1: Leave a comment below telling me what your favorite color is. Include your email or twitter handle so I can get in touch with you.

Option 2: Subscribe to the blog by entering your email address on the banner provided at the top of the page. Easy!

Option 3: Take a rad photo on Instagram and tag me in it @artfuldesperado . Anything goes!

You can combine all 3 options to increase your luck. Winners will be chosen randomly from the list of entries and I’ll announce them here on the blog next Friday August 10th. The race takes place on August 18th at the Thunderbird Stadium in UBC. For more info about the race click here.

Participate and get ready to join the most outrageously colorful party this summer. Art and sports together yo! Good luck everyone :)

PS – just in case you were wondering, the colorful powder is a non-toxic, non-rash-inducing, Kroger branded, colored corn-starch. Say that 3 times, fast!

Simon Birch is a Hong Kong artist that has quite an impressive resume. He has pretty much covered every aspect of the art scene: curated art shows, collaborated with high profile artists, created stunning installations – the works.

For this post I selected a few favorites from his series of colorful portraits – which was kinda hard since I LOVE his technique of bold, chunky brush strokes and symmetrical facets. So many to choose from!

all images: Simon Birch

via: fire and spiders