Daily Art Fixx

visual arts blog, painting, drawing, sculpture, illustration and more!

David Whitlam: Painting

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Born in 1977, UK artist David Whitlam showed an interest and talent for drawing at a young age. While studying graphic art at Leeds Metropolitan University, he developed a curiosity for surrealism and the workings of the unconscious.

Whitlam works in three mediums – pencil, oil paint, and Adobe Photoshop.  His goal is to “tap into the desires and anxieties within the subconscious.”  Whitlam does this by using a technique called automatic drawing working only from his imagination. With no planning, he allows his images to evolve into their own identities rather than attempting to capture reality.  “By re-arranging these universal symbols, by dressing them in carnival masks and making them pose amidst absurdities , I create my own visions, whose meanings are often highly personal and esoteric, yet which somehow echo the aesthetic style of past cultures, and relate to more general themes within the collective subconscious”.

Whitlam is a member of the Vernon Mill Artists in Stockport – one of the largest studio-based art groups in the UK. His paintings have been exhibited in venues around Stockport and Manchester and have sold to collectors around the world. To see more of David Whitlam’s strangely fascinating work, visit DavidWhitlam.com or see his profile on Deviant Art.

Sources: The Extra Finger, DavidWhitlam.com

Lee Jeffries: Photography

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Based in Manchester, UK, photographer Lee Jeffries began his career in sports photography.   A chance meeting with a young homeless girl in the streets of London changed his artistic approach forever. Jeffries recalls that, initially, he had stolen a photo from a young girl huddled in a sleeping bag. The photographer knew that the girl had noticed him and his first reaction was to leave. He says that something made him stay and talk with the girl. His perception about the homeless completely changed and they became the subject of his art. The models in his photographs are people that he has met in Europe and in the United States.  Jeffries’ makes an effort to get to know each of the subjects before asking permission to take their portrait. (bio from Yellow Corner)

To see more, check out Jeffries photostream on Flickr.

T.S. Abe: Drawing

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Born in 1989 in Brixton, London, England and a graduate of Central Saint Martins University of the Arts, T.S. Abe has successfully progressed from early aged doodles, to firmly realized pencil works. Her drawings have graced a multitude of mediums: from album covers, to exhibition walls, and a London bus.

At the young age of 21, Abe has already exhibited at  Electric Blue Gallery, commissioned by Leo Burnett Agency, and featured in Dazed & Confused Magazine.

To see more, visit Krop.com/TSAbe, her Blogspot, or her profile on Behance.

Matt Small: Recognition – Merry Karnowsky Gallery

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UK artist Matt Small is exhibiting for the first time in the US at Merry Karnowsky Gallery in Los Angeles.  Recognition is a collection of paintings, drawings, and mixed media, depicting vibrant portraiture of what the artist views as “the marginalized and voiceless in society, those who are socially excluded.” Small portrays those on the fringes of society, drawing attention to those who may be overlooked, challenging prejudices and bringing forward a shared sense of humanity. Merry Karnowsky relates, “not only is he bringing dignity and recognition to individuals who might otherwise go unnoticed in society, but he also makes a societal commentary as an individual by choosing to paint on recycled materials that are often discarded and disregarded in the same manner.”

“His work reflects a remarkable control of fluidity, employing impressionistic techniques with brilliant rainbows of color applied in thick impasto, while maintaining a profound naturalistic clarity. His portraits are on found pieces of wood, metal, and concrete, often combining these materials to construct his own surfaces on which to paint. His current work is largely influenced by his 2010 visit to the Robert Shitima School in Kabwe Village, Zambia, where he worked with SWOON to create art workshops for orphaned children and raise money for the school.”

Recognition runs through May 14, 2011. For more info,  visit Merry Karnowsky Gallery.  For Matt Small’s previous work, visit Matt-Small.com.


Found on: Arrested Motion, Images by Carlos Gonzales

PHLEGM: Urban Art/Comics

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Phlegm is a a urban/comic artist based in Sheffield, UK. “The name phlegm came from one of the four bodily humours in ancient Greek medicine, blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm. Phlegm was believed to be responsible for an apathetic and unemotional temperament.”

His comic, also titled “Phlegm”, contains his pen and ink illustrations, cartoons, and spraypaint work found in the streets. “The work is intricate, often surreal, but most of the time it looks like a mad person has been locked in a room for years with no company but a bottle of Indian ink and a scratchy nib….because that’s precisely what it is.”

Phlegm produces an issue of “Phlegm” every four months or so depending on what other projects he’s working on. The comic started in June 2005 and sells all all over the UK as well as in Germany, California, Australia, Japan, and online.

To see more of Phlegm’s work, PhlegmComics.com.