Artist of the Month- October- Veronique Meignaud

It's October, and well into the gallery opening season which means we've been busy over here at DSFA. So that is a good thing, but unfortunately, we haven't had time to touch this ongoing project of ours, the DEFINEART blog. However, today I present to you our pick for October's artist of the month.

Leito

This month I'm bringing it back to the contemporary art world and delving into an area we don't often get to explore, illustration. Darryll knows how important it is to remain inspired and since we deal with a lot of photography, he's asked me to highlight someone that I find inspiring to my illustration career. So! Ladies and Gentlemen, Veronique Meignaud!

Chor'Biose
Animation project

I stumbled across this lovely illustrator/art director recently and upon visiting her website I felt as though I was instantly transported into another dimension of shapes and figures. Her focus appears to be digital illustration, but that's not why I felt like I was peering into a whole new plane of existence. The landscapes, figures, and lighting all seem to be constantly morphing and evolving, which is quite a feat considering I was looking at 2-D work. The colors she uses are prismatic and often gem-like.

Cornaline

Her work is truly unlike anything I've ever seen. The animation in the Motion section of her website feels like a natural artistic progression, taking what she does so very well in the 2-D and then actually bringing it to life in 3-D. I felt as though I was looking through a kaleidoscope that was slowly hypnotizing me, lifting my awareness to a new level. I'm so glad there are artists out there, like Veronique, who are able to temporarily enchant their viewers in order to get them to see new places and spaces in their minds. So in my mind, she is not only defining art, but also the unseen world that surrounds us.

 If you'd like to see more, please visit her website.
 If you'd like to see Veronique's talent in action, check out this neat little video on Youtube.

 -Chelsea

Artist of the Month- August- Mike Carr a.k.a China Mike

          This month I'm turning my artist-of-the-month focus to an illustrator/fine artist from Bedford, England, Mike Carr. Lately we have been loving color and movement here at the studio so I was instantly drawn to Mike's work, which not only displays the aforementioned qualities, but also shows a bit of darkness and mystery, which is a heady combination. He pulls this off quite well in his paintings, using unpredictable brush strokes, minimal landscapes, and figures in the foreground that melt into their surroundings.

             There's something joyfully disjointed about the spaces and faces we see in Mike Carr's work that reminds us of some of Darryll's pieces. Characters interact with each other and their environment in ways that allow us to borrow Mike's perception of the world. I think that is one of the most important aspects of art. It is lovely when an artist not only shows, but invites others to see the world the way they do. In Mike Carr's case, I believe it is his use of bright, friendly colors, especially the soothing blues, that is so welcoming. So take a moment to learn a bit more about this artist that we feel is doing a great job of defining art.

"Mike Carr aka- China Mike, started out in Bristol (south west England) during the mid 90's as a freelance illustrator working for record labels, fashion brands and club promoters 

After a number of years working for news shelf publications he began to develop an interest in more traditional mediums and decided to move away from the largely digital process which he had become accustomed to. China Mike the painter and fine artist was born; 'I couldn't believe I hadn't discovered painting earlier, I felt like I'd wasted a lot of time stuck in front of a computer screen doing commercial work, painting just felt so natural to me'.

Since finding his new calling he has taken his work around the globe, exhibiting in London, Berlin, Munich, Switzerland, New York, Los Angeles, along with numerous galleries up and down his native England."

                      - - - www.chinamike.co.uk

Images courtesy of Mike Carr a.k.a. China Mike

-Chelsea