Mattise | Image: http://www.pebblebeachartheist.com

It’s gotta sting just a little bit to find out that the local sheriff is closing your case when $27 million worth of art from your art collection is still missing. That just happened recently in the exclusive California coastal enclave of Pebble Beach. As is often the case, the theft proved to be a dramatic one, full of intrigue, twists and turns – what is it with drama and stolen art?

Pollock | Image: www.pebblebeachartheist.com

The very valuable collection in this case belonged to a retired Harvard Medical School physician and his associate, and included “substantial works” by Jackson Pollock, Vermeer, van Gogh, Rembrandt, Renoir, and Miro, among other artists. At one point, the owners themselves were considered suspects, which complicated their somewhat significant insurance claim.

Miro | Image: www.pebblebeachartheist.com

Now, in the wake of an election of a new sheriff in Monterey County, the investigation has been closed due to a lack of physical evidence. Apparently, the owners are still hoping their art comes home. They have set up a website dedicated to the crime, where you can browse through the missing works and bone up on the details of the case. A $5 million reward is up for grabs if you’re inclined to do a little art sleuthing on your own.

Renoir | Image: www.pebblebeachartheist.com

Related articles

• Sheriff suspends investigation into CA art thefts (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Art Heist: The Top 7 Stolen Paintings (abcnews.go.com)
• $500M Heist: Home Yields Guns, No Art (abcnews.go.com)

image: thisiscolassal.com

After constructing a very buttoned up, pristine, white, shining beacon of IKEA-ness, the artist turned thousands of young museum visitors loose on her work with thousands upon thousands of colored stickers. No strings attached.

image: thisiscolassal.com

Can you imagine the fun? The result is nothing short of amazing – like an outward projection of the inner workings of a child’s mind itself.

image: thisiscolassal.com

The installation, aptly-named “Obliteration Room”, proved to be very popular with visitors both young and old before talking on a life of its own on the Internet.

image: thisiscolassal.com

 &

image: thisiscolassal.com

The rest of the exhibit was similarly whimsical and brilliant, which really isn’t much of a surprise given the fact that its creator dresses like this:

© Yayoi Kusama / Image courtesy: Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo

Read more about the artist and her work on the QAG website, where you can play Kusama’s World of Dots Kids Interative game and also view the online show catalog, which is pretty cool on its own.

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leaf art by Lorenzo Duran

People are making art out of everything these days, and I always appreciate the use of unusual materials. Take Lorenzo Duran from Guadalajara, Spain. He takes his process to the utmost, using a scalpel to cut designs into leaves of all shapes and sizes.

leaf art by Lorenzo Duran

leaf art by Lorenzo Duran

Inspired by ancient Chinese and Japanese paper cutting techniques, Lorenzo has updated his own approach with modern technology. First, he dries the leaves, then he gets to work with surgical tools and some seriously powerful magnifying glasses.

leaf art by Lorenzo Duran

The results speak for themselves. Details, designs, trees within leaves – Lorenzo has it down to a science.

leaf art by Lorenzo Duran

Even more amazing is what Lorenzo says on his website: “I have decided not to put a price on my work, but to leave it to your will to do what you should – only take into account what my work inspires you to pay for it.”

leaf art by Lorenzo Duran

Very inspiring art – he’s clearly invested not just in his work, but in his practice. Poke around his website, and any other fabulous original art websites you may come across (wink, wink!). We’ll go out on a limb and bet you’ll be glad you did!

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• Cutaway Leaf Campaigns – The Sa Acao Solidarity Movement Ads Feature the Art of Lorenzo Duran (TrendHunter.com) (trendhunter.com)
• Su Blackwell’s Book Sculptures (walltowatch.com)
• Coffin in the Library (zatista.com)

image of William Second Gallery seen in USA Today: Richard Drew / AP

Before you hire just any artist to paint a portrait of your beloved schnauzers, you might want to consider the artwork’s potential impact on your future estate. That’s right, dog art is fetching (hey-yo!) big bucks these days, so think about hiring an artist who’s really going to capture Scrappy or Muffin’s essence – for your kid’s and grandkid’s sake.

Image: William Second Gallery dogpainting.com

Two such pieces by William Henry Hamilton Trood (1860-1899), “Dejeuner” and “Hounds in a Kennel”, sold for $194,500 and $212,500, respectively at a recent auction. Granted, the auction was the only one of its kind, specifically limited to the dog art market. The event is held each year after the Westminster Dog Show, so they’ve certainly pegged their demographic.

Image: William Secord Gallery dogpainting.com

In all seriousness, if you missed the show and want to take in some lovely dog art you’ve got a few options I can think of right away. The first is right at your finger tips – Zatista artist Leah McCloskey offers pet portraits by commission:

Pet Portraits by Commission, Leah McCloskey on Zatista.com

Next, Zatista artist and animal lover Georganna Lenssen also has some stellar canine portraits available:

Spotted Dog by Georganna Lenssen on Zatista.com

Finally, the next time you’re in New York, make your way to the William Secord Gallery in Manhattan. It’s the only gallery in U.S. devoted entirely to the subject, so you’re guaranteed to get a lot of bang for your bark. Er, buck.

Related articles

• Dog paintings fetch big bucks (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Crazy For Cats (zatista.com)
• For the Birds (zatista.com)

image: guylaramee.com

It’s not what you think. This has got to be one of the most amazing uses for books that anyone has ever come up with (besides reading them, of course). Canadian artist Guy Laramee painstakingly carves intricate landscapes into old books, an act that is steeped in commentary.

image: inspirationfeed.com

Specifically, Laramee is concerned with notions of progress and the erosion of culture that is an inherent part of it. Hence the amazing, but also destructive feat at hand.

image: inspirationfeed.com

image: guylaramee.com

It takes real vision to recognize the potential of an unconventional medium such as this. The pages, all in an immense variety of muted pulp tones, some yellowed with age or grayed with years of dust, lend themselves to transformation. The result is topographical, substantial, and I would guess, quite profound in person.

image: inspirationfeed.com

When you have a free moment or two, I strongly recommend browsing around on art websites (hint, hint). You never know what you’ll find, and you’re bound (no pun intended) to find work that will blow you away!

Related articles

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Houston, TX by Theron Murphy

It’s the newest craze that’s sweeping the Internet. It’s Maddie On Things!

17 March 2012 by Theron Murphy

Billed as a “super serious project about dogs and physics” (do I detect a note of sarcasm here?), this blog is a traveling show of sorts. Maddie’s owner, photographer Theron Humphrey, will be hitting all 50 states over the next 365 days with his noble hound in tow.

Austin, TX by Theron Murphy

How he gets Maddie to balance the way she does, is what I want to know. I mean, the photos are gorgeous and she is certainly adorable, but come on man, out with the secret. I have a giant coonhound of my own, and he won’t balance on our kitchen floor for long. In the blink of an eye he’s on his side, jowels flapping everywhere, howling in his sleep. I even tried to show him this website, but he just passed out next to me on the couch.

Cedar Creek, TX by Theron Murphy

Austin, TX by Theron Murphy

I digress, but you can follow Maddie’s incredible adventures at maddieonthings.com.

Tulsa, OK by Theron Murphy

Okesa, OK by Theron Murphy

What type of photography captures your attention these days? We may not have Maddie, but we have lots of great images here on Zatista!

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• Planking Dog Projects – ‘Maddie The Coonhound’ Makes Normal Balancing Acts Look Like a Breeze (TrendHunter.com) (trendhunter.com)

Image: Collider.com

Via SF Gate

Ralph McQuarrie, the artist and illustrator who brought George Lucas‘ Star Wars script to life, passed away on Wednesday, March 7, 2012. He will be remembered as a pioneering collaborator, one of the first illustrators to work widely with filmmakers, giving shape to their words and vision.

Image: movieline.com

Lucas credits McQuarrie’s images for landing him a production deal for the Star Wars series with 20th Century Fox. After first being turned down by United Artists and Universal, Lucas hired him to draw the martian landscapes, super villains and hyper-futuristic spacecraft that made the films famous. Everything from Darth Vader‘s mask to Boba Fett’s helmet and C-3PO’s golden skin began with a stroke of McQuarrie’s hand.

Image: thesuperficial.com

The artist went on to work extensively in the movies, eventually contributing to the production of other classics including Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and E.T. He and a cast of collaborators also won an Academy Award for their work on the 1985 film Cocoon.

Image: wharferj.wordpress.com

As a member of the generation that grew up with his drawings all over everything from our bed sheets to our underwear, I can attest to McQuarrie’s powerful ability to capture the imagination. I’m sure the global creative community is mourning the loss and light of his artistic talent.

Related articles

• Star Wars conceptual artist Ralph McQuarrie dies (news.blogs.cnn.com)
• Ralph McQuarrie, Star Wars concept artist, RIP (boingboing.net)
• Star Wars Artist Ralph McQuarrie RIP (battlegrip.com)

NIMBUS II: Artist Berndnaut Smilde creates indoor clouds. Photo: Berndnaut Smilde

Dutch artist Berndnaut Smilde really has his head in the clouds. Specifically, he’s deep in thought, wondering how to create clouds indoors. As these pictures show, he’s gotten pretty good at it.

Photo: Berndnaudt Smilde

So, how does he manage to trap one of nature’s most magical amalgamations? Well, he doesn’t – not really – although he does come close. Smilde uses a smoke machine to create the fluffy white stuff, but that’s where the challenge begins.

Photo: Berndnaut Smilde

From there, he has to very carefully manipulate the temperature and humidity in the room where his work is displayed. When done correctly, the clouds hang in place, part performance, part ethereal sculpture. With a little back light for effect, they transform any space, although the artist is careful to choose venues that emphasize the dramatic associations that go along with bringing weather indoors.

Low Lying Clouds by Scott Spencer on Zatista

While Zatista is indeed awesome, we can’t send you clouds. We can, however, send you awesome paintings of clouds. If owning a painting is more up your alley than owning a cloud, then check out our clouds today. They’re heavenly!

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cafepress.com

We all know that artists create fads – they’re notorious trendsetters. But these days trends come from all over and spread at an alarming rate, thanks to the Internet. A simple thing can turn into a national or even a global obsession, seemingly overnight.

Take the mustache for example. An interesting thing happened last year; one second they were an unpopular (at least in the current era) form of facial hair. Then, relatively quickly, they turned into some sort of icon. Now they’re everywhere! Especially the swoopy, robber baron kind.

Image: etsy.com/thetangledweb

I don’t remember the point it went from “funny ha-ha” to “whoa.” Forget about t-shirts and coffee cups, Etsy exploded with knit mustaches of all kinds – lip fur prostheses, if you will.

Image: Carstache.com

It got even crazier when someone started making mustaches for cars.

flickr.com CandyManGreg

Then there was a brief wave of mustache finger tattoos – get it?!

My question: In this brave new mustachioed world, does a craze like this help artists sell art? The question occurred to me as I was paging through illustrator Elizabeth Graeber’s work, whom I’ve written about before on Zatista. Does the fact that this piece includes a mustache make it marketable to a wider audience?

It’s kind of like trend chaos theory – Is a guy who gets a finger tattoo in Denver the same as the butterfly that flaps its wings in Kenya, unknowingly causing a hurricane in Florida? OK, that’s a little far-fetched, but  if silly fads help talented artists get more exposure, I’m all for them.

"Chester Arthur" by Elizabeth Graeber on Zatista.com

Long live the furry lip.

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New Year's Eve Ball, 1978. Photo credit: The New York Times.

What did you do to celebrate the New Year? If you haven’t ever been to Times Square on New Year’s Eve, odds are you’ve at least watched the ball drop on TV from a party or two. That moment when we collectively count backwards and sing “Auld Lang Syne” is one of those times when art fuses seamlessly into our existence, a cherished tradition.

Over the years, the ball itself – a fanciful amalgam of sculpture, craft and technology – has changed from time to time. The materials used in its construction relate directly to the era, so the ball is a beautiful physical manifestation of the passage of time and our status as a nation.

Millennial Ball | Image: TimesSquareNYC.com

Here’s a little time line, courtesy of Wikipedia:

• 1907 – Walter F. Palmer, chief electrician for The New York Times, creates the first New Year’s Eve Ball with iron and wood materials with 100 25-watt bulbs weighing 700 pounds (320 kg) and measuring 5 feet (1.5 m) in diameter.
• 1920 – The Ball was replaced with an iron material Ball and weighing less than the original, only 400 pounds (180 kg).
• 1942 – 1943 – During World War II, the descending of the Ball was stopped due to wartime lighting restrictions in case of enemy attack.
• 1955-1980 – The Ball gets replaced with a lighter version made from aluminum weighing 150 pounds (68 kg).
• 1981-1988 – Due to the I Love New York campaign, there are red light bulbs and green stem in a design of an apple.
• 1989-1994 – The traditional white bulbs again get put on the Ball, except for 1991 and 1992, as a symbol to salute the troops in Operation Desert Shield, the ball is covered with red, white and blue light bulbs.
• 1995-1998– The Ball gets computerized, aluminum coated, rhinestone, and has a strobe light system.
• 1999 – The aluminum Ball gets replaced.
• 2000-2007 – The Ball gets an overhaul for the new millennium celebrations with a design from Waterford Crystal and new technology. It weighed 1,070 pounds (490 kg) measured 6 feet (1.8 m) in diameter and installed with 504 crystal triangles, illuminated externally with 168 halogen light bulbs and internally with 432 light bulbs of clear, red, blue, green and yellow colors.
• 2008 – For New Year’s Eve 2008, the ball gets a makeover in honor of its 100th Anniversary. Brand new state of the art LED lighting provided by Philips is featured instead of the less efficient halogen bulbs. The new LED fixtures produce over 16.7 million colors and can be programmed to create special effects.
• 2009 – The 2008 design is maintained, but its diameter is doubled, and it is 20% more energy efficient than the previous one.
• 2011 – Energy-efficient LEDs are again used to light the ball. 32,256 little Luxeon LED bulbs, to be exact. According to Philips who manufactures an ever expanding line of LED bulbs, they are commercially available and they consume 80 percent less energy when compared to traditional incandescent lightbulbs.

The Kaleidescopic 2009 Design: Image: ArtDiamondBlog.com

Sadly, photos of the actual balls are hard to find online. Perhaps they became scarce when MTV announced last year that it would be putting Snooki from the cast of Jersey Shore inside a ball. Notice they said “a ball”, not “the ball” – very tricky none the less!

Zatista wishes all of our WallSpin readers a very Happy New Year!

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• Gallery: a sneak peek of Times Square’s 2012 New Year’s Eve Ball (dvice.com)
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• 2012: Year Of The LED Light Bulb? (earthtechling.com)

Hero from Miguel Endara on Vimeo.

What?! Another crazy-great video about an unusual art making process? This one also seems like an advertisement for a pen company, but it’s not.

I find these types of videos to be fascinating – especially when they’re this well made. They can give you a great window into an artist’s method in a very short period of time. Of course, with our rapidly diminishing attention spans, we now demand to be shown every bit of information that a video like this has to give in less than three minutes, which can be problematic.

An example of stippling via Wikipedia.

Simplicity and succinctness are cool and everything, but in some cases, pared down filmmaking leads to heavy editing. What I’m getting at here is that I think I learned more about the video and what was happening once I read the “FAQs” added by the artist/filmmaker Miguel Endara on Vimeo.

Hero by Miguel Endara miguelendara.com

For example, the ongoing tally of dots on the screen is pretty amazing, but I was floored when I learned that the piece took Endara 210 hours to complete. I also learned the term for his process: stippling. Similar to pointillism, in which dots of different colors come together to create the appearance of a single color, stippling limits artists to just black.

An example of stippling via Wikipedia

Artists who focus on stippling alone aren’t tremendously prolific because the style is so time-intensive, but it’s hard to argue with the outcome. If you’d like to learn more about how Miguel does what he does, visit his Vimeo page. There are all sorts of goodies there, including how he estimated the final dot count (3.2 million). It’s also a nice reminder that even in this age of ever-increasing digitalization, it’s good to read up on what you’re seeing online from time-to-time.

You can also check out Miguel’s website here.

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James Alex after Christina's World by Andrew Wyeth

Odds are you’ve heard of a meme, defined by dictionary.com as, “an idea or element of social behavior passed on through generations in a culture, especially by imitation.” Wikipedia defines an Internet meme as, “a concept that spreads via the Internet.” Pretty ambiguous, I know. But, these days most Internet phenomena, from Barking Cats, to Double Dream Hands, Honey Badger (and its parody), to stuffwhitepeoplelike.com, fit into the meme category. If you are still confused, reference this guide.

James Alex after The Gross Clinic by Thomas Eakins

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James Alex after Arcadia by Thomas Eakins

Last week when UC Davis police pepper sprayed student protesters on campus, one result was the near-instantaneous creation of a new Internet meme. In this case it happens to be art related, which we love here on Zatista.

James Alex after The Spirit of '76 by Archibald Willard

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James Alex after The Luncheon on the Grass by Édouard Manet

After watching lengthy videos of the UC Davis event on YouTube, an American artist living in Scotland named James Alex, Photoshopped some quick alterations of several masterpiece paintings. The idea caught on quickly and within a few hours, Lt. John Pike – by that time notorious around the world – appeared to be pepper-spraying his way through canvas after famous canvas.

James Alex after A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat

Alex “mashed” up The Gross Clinic and Arcadia by Thomas Eakins, The Spirit of 76’ by Archibald Willard, Christina’s World by Andrew Wyeth, and The Luncheon on the Grass by Édouard Manet. Then, other Internet denizens took up the torch altering Georges Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, and John Trumbull’s Declaration of Independence.

James Alex after Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull

Where does it go from there? Well, Abbey Road, for starters:

image: The Dissenter

Next stop, Star Wars:

image: The Dissenter

Where it ends is another question all together. What are your favorite memes? Share with us here on WallSpin.

Related articles

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• Pepper-spray incident takes on own life on the Web (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• The joy of viral art inspired by UCD pepper-spray video (news.cnet.com)
• Pepper Spray Cop Becomes an Internet Meme (mediabistro.com)

Image: TwentyTwoWords.com

It’s hard to say much more than “Wow!” while watching the video below from Faber Castell:

It’s also a pretty good example of the power viral video advertising, but given that it was created by an art supply company, it’s a whole lot less lamentable than some of the hair brained stuff on the internet these days.

Personally, I’m just enjoying being in awe of the talent involved. I’ve always heard artists say things like, “I just find the art within the medium” – especially sculptors – but in this case, it seems pretty literal. Vermeer’s Girl With a Pearl Earring slowly appears here, almost as if she had been there all along, but came out to take a peek at the artist, Chan Hwee Chong.

The stills above indicate that Chong was also able to replicate the Mona Lisa in the same single line spiral fashion. How one arrives at the conclusion that such things are possible, I don’t know. The detail and accuracy are uncanny. Of course, they could have made it a bit more unforgettable by setting the clip to Ratt‘s epic 1984 hair band jam “Round and Round” – but that might also have been terrible.

Nice work to Faber Castell for creating a fun ad with an artistic engine. If this doesn’t make you want to buy their pens, I’m not sure what will!

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Artist Tom Otterness Photo: Gawker.com

Animal Lover Advisory: Explicit Content Herein

Gawker dropped a bomb on legions of animal lovers in San Francisco earlier this month: New York based artist Tom Otterness, who was contracted by the city to create a series of statues for a local subway station, is known to have shot a dog ‘in the name of art’ back in 1977.

Otterness publicly apologized for his gross act of animal cruelty (documented on film, no less) in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle in 2008 saying, “Thirty years ago when I was 25 years old, I made a film in which I shot a dog. It was an indefensible act that I am deeply sorry for. Many of us have experienced profound emotional turmoil and despair. Few have made the mistake I made. I hope people can find it in their hearts to forgive me.” The question is, can San Franciscans forgive this man? Then give him public funds for a large commission?

"The Herring Eater" by Tom Otterness at Dutch museum Beelden aan Zee Photo: Wikipedia

The artist’s deceptively whimsical bronze sculptures depicting politically-spiked characters have found homes in New York, Los Angeles, Portland, Sacramento and Minneapolis. Hardly the most judgmental cities in the US, but still – supporting a dog killer?

For now, the San Francisco project is on hold pending an investigation of the artist. It’s a tough call: everybody deserves a little forgiveness, and Otterness’ work is both culturally relevant and distinctive. Still, we’re more-or-less a nation of dog lovers here in the US, and we don’t take kindly to anyone – artist or otherwise – mistreating our toothy, tail wagging, four-legged friends.

Art by Tom Otterness Photo: zine.Artcat.com

The good news is that it shouldn’t be too hard for the City of San Francisco to find another talented and worthy artist in need of $750,000.

What’s your opinion? Voice it below in our comments section.

"Meditation 5" by Marion Henrion on Zatista.com

I grew up watching my mom make quilt after quilt for everyone in my huge family. It’s always been her art form of choice – an appropriate one to embrace in my small home town in New England. I know for a fact that piecing a quilt together is no small feat: divining a design, cutting out each intricate piece, and sewing it all together calls for a serious commitment and heaps of intention.

That’s why I was so taken with Marion Henrion‘s work here on Zatista. I particularly like her geometric “Meditation” series. Drawing on all those nights of monitoring my mom’s progress as I slogged through homework in our living room, I’d say these pieces are very appropriately named.

"Meditation 6" by Marion Henrion on Zatista.com

Utilizing fabric – especially silk, as Marion does – calls for an extra level of consideration. It’s a bit more of a process than using paper in the same application, and hand quilting is obviously a undertaking unto itself.

It’s hard to say if the same pieces rendered in paint would move me similarly. Part of the equation is color choice and composition, but there’s just something else about the art and the effort in these works that really speaks to me.

"Meditation 7" by Marion Henrion on Zatista.com

Considering the fact that Marion’s works are included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Arts & Design in New York, the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and represented in the Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Art in Washington, DC, I guess I’m not alone.

"Under the Bridge" by Klaus Rossler on Zatista.com

Photography, as an art form and a science, was first invented with the intention of capturing moments. A snap, a whir, and maybe a flash, and there you had it – one second of one minute of one hour of one day of one month of one year in time.

"Heading Home" by Kim Weimer on Zatista.com

It can be easy to think of photography as only that – a means of capturing static instants, a finite increment of time in the perpetual cascade of millennia.

"Tourist Port, Study 1" by Tugrul Yasarcan on Zatista.com

However, the thing I really love about photography is that it’s actually possible to play with the very notion of a moment. Many photographers experiment with adjusting their settings, drawing what could be seen as a dot into an extended line. Water transforms into milky ether and motion draws itself out in the air.

"Tail Branch River" by Carlos Roedan on Zatista.com

Pulled like taffy by a masterful technician of the photographic arts, time becomes a ribbon that you could almost wrap around your fingers. In the midst of the fog, that same, singular moment still lurks, but for once, we also get to see all the in-betweens.

Image: 148apps.com

If you haven’t been hibernating for the past two plus years, odds are you know who Banksy is. Well, actually – not who he is specifically, because somehow the elusive street artist has remained anonymous, but rather what he does.

Banksy LA billboard photo: Mario Anzuoni / Reuters

All of the controversy he generates with his often politically oriented graffiti was actually eclipsed for a moment during this year’s Oscars, where his film Exit Through the Gift Shop was nominated for Best Documentary. All motivations aside, part of the allure of street art is the way in which we do – or sometimes don’t – find it. Stumbling upon a “piece” is part of the game; there’s just a certain thrill that goes along with finding a piece of art completely at random.

Image: 148apps.com

It happened to me about three years ago in a tiny town in Florida. I was on my way to the airport with a friend when we stopped at a Cuban restaurant for a quick meal. Then, on the way back to his car, we spied it: a bona fide Banksy mural in the middle of nowhere.

Bansky street art photo: http://weblog.evasee.com/

The release of a Banksy iPhone app this week throws a wrench into that happy mechanism. Now you can pinpoint locations of works by the British artist in almost any city around the world. Want to check out what he has on tap in Barcelona? Look no further. Spending a long weekend in Cleveland? He’s probably hit there, too.

Image: 148apps.com

Part of graffiti is definitely the artist’s desire to have his or her work found and appreciated (and maybe even hated). But doesn’t this kind of take the fun out of it? A case could be made for “cities as galleries” but I think I’ll stick to finding art in the streets the old fashioned way – with my own two feet. What do you think?

"Against the Grain" by Kaley Rhodes on Zatista.com

Choosing the right frame for a piece of art can be a hard (and expensive) decision. A great frame won’t make a piece something it’s not, but it can help make some great work look incredible in your home.

Fortunately, some Zatista artists take it upon themselves to handle their own framing. That’s something special because when it comes down to it, the artist’s original vision for the piece carries through all the way to the final presentation. Take the piece above, for instance. The minimal one inch black frame complements the composition and doesn’t steal any attention away from the work itself.

"Evaporated Salt Water" by Erynn Rademacher on Zatista.com

Here, in Erynn Rademacher‘s photo of salt crystals (taken through a microscope – how cool is that?) the frame and inlaid double matting mimics the image itself.

"Artichoke" by Kimberley Koonce on Zatista.com

I often find myself looking through stacks of incredibly ornate frames in antique stores. At this point in my collecting experience, I don’t think I have any art that is befitting of a frame that’s a piece of art in and of itself. Good thing Kimberley Koonce is here to show us how it’s supposed to be done.

"Lao Buddha" by Martin Wachter on Zatista.com

Martin Wachter’s “Lao Buddha” won my award for Most Compelling Frame Description. In the words of the artist himself, “Framed with handmade (by artist) weathered steel frame. Set behind Conservation Glass,” sounds divine! Alas, this artwork has sold.

"Transition" by Rich Moyers on Zatista.com

Last but not least, Rich Moyers shows us how it’s really done. His beautiful piece “Transition” – nicely framed and offset within the matting – won 1st Prize, Blue Ribbon at the prestigious WVAC Southwestern Regional Mixed Media Exhibition held in Glendale, AZ. Nice work, Rich – on all levels!

Search for more fabulous framed original artwork on Zatista.com, today. Have fun shopping!

"Brooklyn Bridge" by Sharon Sieben on Zatista.com

A bridge is one of those subjects which captures an artist’s imagination. Just search for “bridge” here on Zatista and you’ll find many great images. It’s no wonder, really, because bridges are incredible creations.

"Fisherman on Bridge" by Norman Lerner on Zatista.com

Architects and engineers do some pretty crazy things, but spanning massive chasms has got to be up there with the craziest. Just think about all that heavy material hanging in the air.

"Bridges II" by Leandro Sanchez on Zatista.com

The fact that people manage to build bridges so beautifully is also remarkable. So many curving lines – swooping in such different ways – accented with the square edges of industrial practicality. I’m sure that there were people who lamented the addition of the Golden Gate Bridge to the epic local landscape at first, but how can you not warm up to such a structure?

"Fog Eats the Golden Gate" by David Page on Zatista.com

Then there’s the bridge as a metaphor. They bring us together, crossing great geographic divides which would otherwise be quite pesky. Look at old maps – natural features defined boundaries. They still do for the most part, holding over from antiquity, but just think about it: San Francisco and Oakland could have been separate countries if things had panned out differently.

"Harbor View 01" by Dominique James on Zatista.com

Yep, bridges make powerful images. If I was a mediator, I’d have images of them all over my office. Who knows? All that union and continuity might rub off on my clients.

Mural by David Choe at Hotel des Arts | Image: HoteldesArts.com

This summer, be sure to cash in on a growing trend – the artist-designed hotel room. Boutique hotels are popping up everywhere right now and more and more of them are paying artists to deck their walls with original creations. I’m not going to enter into the contentious debate on who started the trend, and where – that’s a bear trap if I’ve ever seen one – but I will gladly point out a few of the more compelling cases in the U.S.

Mural by Chris Rubino at Ace Hotel NYC | Image: PaperMag.com

Ace Hotel: Now in Portland, Seattle, Palm Springs and New York, the Ace might just take the cake for the most stylish boho haunt around. Artists are integrally involved in all of their design choices, but for the sake of brevity I’ll just focus on the New York location. The owners brought in emerging NYC artists to outfit the rooms with murals and some individual flare. The result – a relatively affordable, infinitely hip place to lay your head in the city.

Kate Neckel at the Ace NY | Image: Diana212m.blogspot.com

Hotel des Arts: San Francisco’s art hotel also focuses on emerging artists, but with more of a street art/graffiti bent (and an AOL era website). The roster is pretty impressive, with rooms done by Shepard Fairey, David Choe, Maya Hayuk and Jeremy Fish. An onsite gallery also hosts shows, and the location is close to many downtown galleries and artist studio buildings.

Mural by Maya Hayuk | Image: HoteldesArts.com

21c Museum Hotel: The name of this southern home-away-from-home for art buffs is not a turn of phrase: it’s both a museum and a hotel. Located on Louisville, Kentucky’s Museum Row, it’s in the thick of it when it comes to cultural offerings. The 9000 square feet of gallery space is free and open to the public 24/7, but for the more intimate experience, book one of its adjoining 90 rooms.

Image: http://www.21cmuseumhotel.com

That’s hardly the end of the options for art loving travelers. Soon, you’ll be able to catch your z’s under a masterpiece in almost every major city in the country. For now, finding a destination boutique hotel within your destination can still be a bit of a challenge, but one that’s well worth the effort.