I absolutely love collage art; it was one of the first art genres I remember really getting into as a kid. I just loved the way collage artists could take divergent images and make them work together in the service of a message or a story. Hence, I was understandably excited to recently discover the amazing collages of French artist Julien Pacaud.

According to his website, “Julien Pacaud is an artist and illustrator, currently living in Le Mans, France. Before becoming an illustrator, he was, by turns : an astrophysician, an international snooker player, a hypnotist and an esperanto teacher. He hopes he can someday have enough free time to devote himself to his real passion : time travel.”

Now don’t know how much of that is true, and I’m sure deeper research may be required (as it turns out, none of it is). But real or imagined, his eccentric background might help to explain his surreal digital collages, which are somehow both retro and futuristic. He creates mesmerizing fictional spaces that welcome the viewer with a stirring clash of the strange and the familiar.

Trained in cinematography, Pacaud is heavily influenced by the enormous back catalogue of images from film and television, which he routinely raids for his own collage-style compositions. He concentrates particularly on retro visuals from the 1970s to the 1990s. His Magritte influences are obvious and a strong taste for the linear produces environments that playfully evoke the mythology of a not-too-distant future.

Ladies and gentlemen, let’s set the Way-Back Machine for straight into the future with the amazing collage art of Julien Pacaud!

Filed under: Art, Weekly Art Tagged: Art, Artist, Collage, French, Futurism, Julien Pacaud, Retro ]]> https://stephenkellycreative.wordpress.com/2013/06/17/technicolor-landscapes-the-collage-art-of-julien-pacaud/feed/ 4 37.774929 -122.419416 37.774929 -122.419416 stephenkellycreative XXI Anonymous Calls From the Future 1Q84 The End of the World Fanclub Maison Magazine L'Excelsior 2011 World Construction Kit Festival Teriaki 2011 Best Life NT3724383 Tutorials August In September Cluedo Lake of Tears Daily Routine Washington Post- Inglorious Basterds Folded Time Future Islands Festival Teriaki 2013 Gods Guilty Hushpuppies- The Bipolar Drift Lady Asteroid L'Excelsior 2010 Ministry of Disasters Not Anymore When You Sleep The Basic Rules of Life Rover One Million Years Trip Ornithology Bisous Tordus 1 Over The Bridge Quintuplets Novelists At Work The After Hours The Perfect Alignment Of Our Feelings The Spectre of Alexander Wolf The Speed of Memory You Are Here Anonymous Calls From the Future XXI https://stephenkellycreative.wordpress.com/2013/06/14/weekly-photo-challenge-curves/ https://stephenkellycreative.wordpress.com/2013/06/14/weekly-photo-challenge-curves/#comments Sat, 15 Jun 2013 01:35:55 +0000 Stephen Kelly Creative http://stephenkellycreative.wordpress.com/?p=7615 ]]>

Got curves, if you want ‘em.

Filed under: Australia, Photography, San Francisco, Stephen Kelly Photography, Sydney, Weekly Photo Challenge Tagged: Australia, California, Curves, Photography, San Francisco, Stephen Kelly Photography, Sydney, Weekly Photo Challenge ]]> https://stephenkellycreative.wordpress.com/2013/06/14/weekly-photo-challenge-curves/feed/ 33 37.750169 -122.446222 37.750169 -122.446222 stephenkellycreative cityhall Powerhouse Museum, Sydney Fritz Koenig's "Bronze Sphere", Embarcadero Center, San Francisco Sydney Opera House Castro Street Pizza Shop, San Francisco Jean Paul Gaultier Exhibit, San Francisco Sydney Harbour Bridge Dome, San Francisco Shopping Center https://stephenkellycreative.wordpress.com/2013/06/10/the-art-of-wilson-hsu/ https://stephenkellycreative.wordpress.com/2013/06/10/the-art-of-wilson-hsu/#comments Mon, 10 Jun 2013 08:01:43 +0000 Stephen Kelly Creative http://stephenkellycreative.wordpress.com/?p=7478 Continue reading →]]>

Hi everybody! After much discussion, debate, hand-wringing and hair pulling amongst my committee of one (that would be me and my multiple personalities), I’ve decided to move my Weekly Art Galleries from it’s traditional Thursday spot to Monday, a bold and daring approach that will allow me to devote the time to these posts that they deserve. As it is, I’ve been scrambling to be consistent and get them posted on time, especially as life and work intrude.

So let’s kick things off with the interesting surrealism of California-based Wilson Hsu, where sci-fi futurism meets strangely organic shapes meets bright, intoxicating colors with a yeti or two thrown in for good measure.

Much like the work of Jason Jägel, who I featured back in January, Hsu’s art is dense and multi-layered; he packs a lot into a single illustration. As such, and again like the work of Jagel, the viewer is rewarded by repeat and deeper viewing. Incorporating the things that he loves and hates in this world, his work shows a strong grasp of scale, balance, rhythm, repetition, unity, proportion, shape, color and texture, and he employs lines in interesting and unexpected ways.

Featured in this group, however, are pieces from his latest collection, entitled “Superheroes,” whose simplicity mark a bold departure from most of the other work found here. It’s the color, bold lines and shapes, and sci-fi sensibility that give him away. Interestingly enough, Hsu creates his work digitally, working primarily with Photoshop, Illustrator and Flash, which he then prints out and paints over, giving his work a tactile yet somewhat unsettling effect.

Speaking of unsettling, welcome to the working week, and what better way to kick that off than with the art of Wilson Hsu?

For a fleeting moment it looked like the Rapture had come to San Francisco. Alas, it was only the sun’s rays reflecting off a downtown building, and it was gone as quickly as it appeared. Disappointing, but I guess the glaring lack of fire and brimstone should have tipped me off that it wasn’t the real deal. For some reason, though, that got me to thinking, what does one wear to a Rapture?

I’m guessing the answer to the sign’s question would be yes?!?

Here in crazy ol’ San Francisco, people wear costumes all the time,
and it doesn’t even have to be Halloween!!!

Hi everybody! Work, travel and transitioning to a brand spanking new computer have all conspired to keep me from my blog for nearly three weeks, and that’s just unacceptable! It’s also prevented me from posting my Weekly Art Galleries, and that’s something I miss a lot. So without any further ado, let’s check out the work of San Francisco-based artist Kevin E. Taylor.

Having grown up within the cultural climate surrounding skateboarding and punk rock in the mid eighties, Kevin E. Taylor developed a dynamic interest in art, music, and the creative process in general. Following receipt of a B.F.A. in Illustration from The Savannah College of Art and Design in 1995, he continued to explore the possibilities of artistic creation through thoughtful observation, experimentation, and improvisational technique.

His work deals largely with humankind’s relationship with the environment and its positioning as animal within a visual landscape. Throughout his work, Taylor cleverly contrasts serene pastoral topography with subjects in truly precarious situations. This contradiction creates an emotional conflict that hovers between hope and hopelessness. His complex weaving of narratives makes his on-going theme of isolation all the more stirring. His work has been described as “adventurous and darkly comic.”

While primarily a painter, Kevin has also installed/exhibited film, sound, and sculpture to accompany and animate the stillness of the two-dimensional form. His work has been shown recently to American audiences in Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco; as well as internationally in Japan, Italy and Sweden. Although mostly working in the visual field, Kevin also writes and performs music in various forms. He currently resides in San Francisco.

I absolutely love being near the ocean — as a water sign, it’s where I feel most complete and in tune with myself, which is always a good thing! So I’ve been to many beaches in my time, from the Jersey shore to California to Australia. But this beach at Sydney’s Gordon’s Bay along the coastal walk between Bondi and Coogee is by far my favorite! As you can see, it’s just a little strip of sand, but it’s such a quiet, beautiful, peaceful place that I have a feeling this is what heaven looks like!

The view from above reveals people out and enjoying a bit of a nosh, whether waiting to order at a cafe in Sydney’s The Strand shopping gallery (above), or enjoying take-away oysters in San Francisco’s Ferry Building (below). Either way, the view is yummy!