Colossal x Josh Keyes Print Release: I’ll Melt With You

We are honored to have worked with Portland-based painter Josh Keyes on an exclusive release of the print edition of his 2016 painting, “I’ll Melt With You,” available now in The Colossal Shop.

Keyes’ ability to paint realistic renderings of our world becomes uncanny when he wields his brush in the name of environmental issues. Animals, rocket ships, and icebergs fall prey to graffiti, leaving the viewer uncomfortably wondering whether this is a painting of the future or a photograph of the present.

“I’ll Melt With You,” originally painted in acrylic on a 12 x 16 inch panel is translated to print form in its full dimensions, with an additional white border for convenient framing, for a final size of 16 x 20 inches. Printed by our friends at ioLabs in Rhode Island on Epson Hot Press Bright 300 gsm archival paper and available exclusively in The Colossal Shop.

Hazey Black Watercolor Paintings of Children with Animals by Elicia Edijanto

Indonesia-based watercolor artist Elicia Edijanto (previously here and here) paintings loving relationships between wildlife and children set against atmospheric backdrops painted in black watercolor. “My subject are often children and animal because they are honest, sincere, unprejudiced and unpretentious,” shares Edijanto. “They give me so much inspiration for [a] particular mood or atmosphere, such as tranquility, solemnity, and also wilderness and freedom, which I put on my paintings.” Seen here are a number of recent paintings from the last year or so, some of which are available as prints and originals via her website. You can follow her works in progress on Instagram.

Giant Chocolate-Covered Rock Candy Geodes by Alex Yeatts & Abby Lee Wilcox

Fun Black and White Murals of Friends and Family by Alex Senna

It’s not often that you walk down the street and encounter an artwork that warms your heart or brings a smile to your face, but for Brazilian street artist and muralist Alex Senna, positive emotion seems to be his visual currency. His lanky black and white characters are often found in a variety of hopeful, loving, and positive scenes from a pair of lovers embracing to a family riding a bicycle. To intensify their emotional depth Senna often gives the flat characters broad shadows that stretch out larger-than-life across urban walls. You can check out more of Senna’s work on Instagram.

Smashed Can Sculptures That Mimic Traditional Ming Dynasty Porcelain by Lei Xue

Adopting traditional decorative motifs found on Ming Dynasty ceramics, Chinese artist Lei Xue sculpted these humorous smashed aluminum cans that bridge the gap of some 600 years of art history. The pieces are part of an ongoing series titled Drinking Tea, and unlike the mechanical process of producing cans, each object is sculpted and painted by hand. You can see more of Xue’s work at Martina Detterer Gallery. (via This Isn’t Happiness)

New Embroidered Clothes and Portraits by Lisa Smirnova

Moscow-based embroidery artist Lisa Smirnova (previously here and here) continues to stitch beautifully rich illustrations of people, capturing the subtle details of eyes, hair, and shadows, thread by thread. Smirnova brings an almost painterly quality to her embroideries that are each infused with bright splashes of color and occasional patchworks of materials. Collected here are a number of pieces from the last year or so, but you can find additional recent projects on Behance.

Water Women: Swimming Figures Dip in and out of Water by Sonia Alins

In this collection of illustrations titled Dones d’aigua (water women), Spanish artist and illustrator Sonia Alins depicts several women immersed almost completely underwater, just a head or foot poking out from the uncertain depths of cloudy liquid. A haunting tension emerges not only from the clever split view created by utilizing translucent paper to mimic water, but also from the slightly ambiguous situation of the figures. It’s not always immediately clear if the women are swimming or drowning. You can follow more of Alins’ work on Instagram or Behance, and a few of her pieces are available as prints. (via Supersonic)

New Sportswear Logos Embroidered With Flowers and Vegetables by James Merry

Iceland-based artist James Merry (previously) uses sportswear logos as the basis to his embroidered designs, planting thread-based mushrooms, strawberries, and various flowers on top of Nike swooshes and the ADIDAS logo’s three bars. Although you might not guess it from the simplicity of his sportswear alterations, Merry is a key collaborator with Björk, and has designed many of her costumes for tour and film. You can see more of his blossoming sports logos and elaborate costume designs on his website and Instagram.