Tenane Faotu Blog

'Masterful' is the word one uses to describes the way Ukrainian artist Tanya Musatenko handles her pencils on paper. Tanya's sketches could be easily mistaken for the work of some brilliant photographer playing only with black and white. She describes herself as a self taught artist, which makes you marvel. So many awesome creators these days are actually self taught. The stuff Tanya creates is really hyperrealistic with that brave touch of finesse and the air of true art. What do you think? Photo Credit: Instagram @tanya_musatenko

We humans are very powerful creatures. Except, to draw from the pool of our human power, we have to be able to gather all our energies and set them as one entity to serve a given goal. This is what some people mean when they say 'focus' or 'concentration'. This is a truth: those who achieve great things are the ones who at a given point in time were able to set their minds and energies in pursuit of one objective, not allowing circumstances or people to take them off course. However, to remain true to any one objective is not quite so easy, especially today because our world has got just too many distractions. Today's adult owes commitments to family, friends, the society, to self. Then there are the distractions of popular media. But none of these pull people off course as unfavourable situations, like poor results or failure and the things people say or would be saying. Oftentimes, we give up on our pursuits because we have been on it longer than we had expecte...

What Japanese sculptor Yoshitoshi Kanemaki gives with these new pieces is the mindbending caress of the surreal. They mostly feature figures of young women carved from tree trunks and with faces multiplied to represent expressions noting a range of various emotional states. One of the greatest favours we can do for consciousness is to seek awareness. Understanding that we are made of a multiplicity of emotional vibrations, most of which are at surface, inexplicable and ambivalent could serve to create a balance by virtue of having come to terms with the emotions that slither in the recess of our minds, ready to throw themselves up at any given moment. These Marvelous wood sculptures may be the projection of your own emotional configuration. See more of Yoshitoshi's work here and on Behance and Instagram.

New Zealand based artist and designer, Gina Kiel is pushing the boundaries of contemporary with her vibrant large-scale murals. These works adorning spots in New Zealand, Mexico and Hawaii usually feature black or gray figures with layers of colours swirling and dripping about them, producing that psychedelic effect. The artist's intent here is to reeducate us on the environment- corals specifically and how we need to be more careful with those delicate and very vital creatures of the sea. So the faces in her murals are actually corals personified as the face of mother nature. What I love about these images is their serenity which attests to the power, the delicacy and fertility of the the feminine, of earth. They draw you into a pool of thought, some kind of dialogue with the subconscious. What do you think?

The 'c' in chic stands for confidence. It's alright, you can quote me. Only, I am quite sure that I'm not the first to make a statement like that. Speaking of statements, how do you make any with your look when you are somewhere on the plus side? You got it: confidence. Okay, being confident may not be all you need to claim that elegant look no matter how you are built. It is only a very vital ingredient. You know, it's sad that people are still made to feel bad about the way their bodies are. If you are a plus for instance, you may know or come across a few persons who really appreciate how you are. But there are many more people who would try to pull you down with the words and the looks they throw at you. That is a solid fact. But then, real power over yourself belongs with you. It is your choice then to let people bully you or not to. Knowing that you are the best you at the moment is probably the most effective way to stay above the water...

Stars, love them or not, they are here. They remain part of our journey on earth. It's the same with Coca Cola, soup cans and Jack Daniels. It is really no good denying our lusts, we deal with it. Is that what Pop Art is about? Take a look at how French London based artist Louis-Nicholas Darbon registers popular culture with his art. Below are his Portraits of celebrities Brigitte Bardot, Karrueche Tran, Kate Moss, Douten Kroes, Grace Kelly and the Chanel perfume bottle. Fine works, don't you think? Photo Credit:Instagram @artbylouis

Life is the longest thing we do. Beautiful or hideous, it's long. Oh and I'm not quite sure there's such a thing as a life that is ugly. Everything depends on perception. Now the thing with photograghs is how they seize a few moments from the billions we make or come into, and freeze them. This is why photograhs are important. You get to see one moment which ordinarily would have been blurred in memory or vanished; one moment, sometimes important, sometimes not quite so, alive in a form we can touch and visualize. That, my friends is a great thing. These shots by Nirvana Nungaray strike me as seriously invigorating. You know how we often take that shimmering little lake in our backyard for a puddle? Only in our most lucid moments do we note the beauty in small, ordinary things. I love the way Nirvana mirrors grace and joy with these images. There seems to be laughter in each of her photograghs, and it could be the way a feet is placed or how a hand is thrown forward. H...