artists who inspire.

Caelum 18 Quidam 11, Time Reveals Truth Caelum 52 Quidam 43, To Wander Through Caelum 2 Jylian Gustlin, native to California, simply blows me away with her figure art. Everything about her style I love! The bright colors, the carefully chosen palettes, the loose lines, the expressive figures, the beautiful textures in the paint. I would love to practice some figure art in her style to help me find my own way of using color/texture/line effectively. I only included a few from two of her series called "Quidam" and "Caelum" in this post, but she has many others that are just as stunning. Please, please check them out at her website !

2015 2012  2012  2013  2015 Kara Walker is known for her dynamic silhouettes, dramatic sketches, and more. Some of her work is kind of violent, but incredibly thought provoking. Specifically in her silhouette pieces, I love that she is able to create emotion and movement and narrative without showing facial expression. That's definitely a skill. To see more of her work, visit her website .

From Fancy Shoes From Fancy Shoes From Fancy Shoes From Fancy Shoes From Fancy Shoes Something about Ida Applebroog's figure paintings just intrigue me--maybe it's the fact that they're stick figures, or that they are made out of all sorts of different shapes, or that different body parts are exaggerated in each one, or maybe it's the textures, or the finger-painted nature. Whatever it is, I love it. To represent her work, I picked pieces from her series called "Fancy Shoes" because they were my favorite! They just made me smile. The concept is so simple, but for some reason it really touches me. Check out more of Ida's work on her website .

Mona Lisa , 1977 Dos Hermanas , 2018  Cardenal (Niño-de Guevara) , 1964 La Visita , 1968 Pope Leo X (After Raphael) , 1964 Not going to lie... I was drawn to Columbian painter Fernando Botero because of his meme fame; however, after delving deeper into his work I am even more in love. His style is so stylized and strange and I can't help but smile. Choosing to paint all bodies in such a round, "chubby" way is intriguing, and I'm curious about the themes behind it. Check out more of his work at this website .

From Body , 2009-2011 From Chicory Coffee , 1995-1996 From Proprioception , 2002 From Red Earth , 1987-1998 From Earth Body , 2017-2018 Antony Gormley's figures are stunning to me. I love the abstracted nature, I love the colors, I love the titles, and I love  the textures. The watery marks and lines are just beautiful to me, and they make me want to experiment more with liquid mediums like gouache and ink in my figure drawings. Please check out more of his series and pieces on his website, he is amazing!