It’s May 2nd, and as promised last month, it’s time to spotlight another talented artist.

     Seattle-based Phil Hansen fits the bill.  He’s quite different from the last couple of artists I’ve blogged about.  While the others are speed painters with incredible skills, that’s only a small portion of what Hansen does.
     Hansen uses a myriad of techniques, tools and materials from construction equipment to Starbucks cups.  When you think “Modern Artist,” and perhaps even “Avant-garde,” this is the type you end up with.

     He’s earned himself quite the controversial reputation by making a number of political statements with his artwork.  From Rosa Parks to the KKK, from a homeless man to George Bush, he’s come up with some damned fine work and managed to get more than a few people thinking.
     My personal favorite is entitled, “48 Women.”  It’s a portrait of convicted serial killer Gary Ridgway, aka The Green River Killer.  Up close, you’ll see that the portrait is made up of pixelated photos of a few of his forty-eight victims, including some which merely read, “Jane Doe.”

     Hansen defended the painting on a 2004 news clip from KIRO:

Some people don’t want me to give more glory to him, more fame, more exposure.  But at the same time, if we’d never do that, if we never see his face again, we’d forget those forty-eight women.

     On to the timelapse…

     In one of his more tame moods, he karate chops Bruce Lee onto the canvas:

     Next up, in a work entitled “The Value of Blood,” Hansen paints North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il … yes, in blood.  Kids, do not try this at home…

     Be sure and check out Phil’s other videos on YouTube.  And, of course, you’ll definitely want to check out his website at philinthecircle.com.

     And, hey… if ya like it… Check out his store. 😉

     On March 2nd, I did the article showing off the talent of Nico / Channel Nexx as he speed-painted John Locke in Photoshop, and a Lord of the Rings cover on canvas.  Now that it’s April 2nd, I thinking maybe this should become a regular feature…

     But this one Jason / Eclectic Asylum blew me away even more.  He doesn’t use fancy gimmicks like Photoshop — no way!  He does this in MS Paint, which is unarguably the crappiest piece of Graphics software (well, it’s supposed to be that) ever written!
     I present you with:  The Mona Lisa, in MS Paint.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk2sPl_Z7ZU

     Way cool!

     He’s also been running a contest:  “Strike a pose, and get a portrait!”  Now watch him paint the last winner (Daxflame) in Chocolate Syrup:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qywqNXbHpLE

     Of course, he couldn’t ship a chocolate portrait without nasty melting issues… 

     Be sure sure and check out Eclectic Asylum’s profile on youtube for more examples of him painting with “other” things besides chocolate…

     Quite by accident, I ran across a time-lapse video of a Photoshop paing by an “arte fusion” artist named Nico.  Some of you have probably seen this guy before…

     If you can see it fast enough, you might actually learn something about Photoshop.  Some people, of course, will discount Nico’s talent as a computerized trick, so here’s another one of his…

     He’s a talented artist, no doubt, but doing the time-lapse video is particularly brilliant in that it turns the relatively mundane act of painting into an enjoyable act of performance art.  It’s difficult to say what’s better: the artistic creations themselves, or the time-lapse videos of their production?

     For even more, check out his Profile page on YouTube.