Tenane Faotu Blog

Daniel Ibanez creates paintings that are so like mirrors. His work clearly reflects hope, beauty, and the presence of the divine in all forms of existence in the world. No matter the haste you're in, you'll definitely not fail to miss one of these creations if it's hanging from a wall along your path. They are like a soft light that somehow sinks into your being, making you feel as if you'll never know darkness again. The skill of our artist is so boldly apparent, you can see, can't you? Daniel Ibañez is a contemporary realism artist, illustrator, and instructor of Traditional and Digital Arts from the state of Colorado, USA. The man has been painting since he was a baby and he's revealed that he's of a family of artists. His grandmother was an oil painter. Ibanez sold his first oil painting at fifteen and by the time he was nineteen, he had won awards, had had solo shows and had been privileged to have his work displayed in galleries like Abe...

This is where I want to ask: what do these kids see and what do they make of the obvious in their sociocultural and political environment? I want to slip into my childhood. Maybe I'll find the stuff I have missed all these years while I try to figure out my own thought process and visual culture as a kid. I am only affected this way by the large-scale, childhood themed murals of French artist, Seth Globepainter. Julien Malland (that's his real name) travels the word, infusing life and colour into rather unremarkable surroundings and structures with his paint brushes and spray paints, making strong political statements subtly while at it, and learning traditional styles from collaborations with local artists. It's interesting how one can make out expressions from his faceless figures, as if their small bodies tell it all. You are also touched by the gentleness and innocence these murals bear, and this is amazing as these same creations raise awareness on ...

Imagine the sea and all the treasures that must live in its depth- corals and shells and remnants of civilizations swallowed by its watery vastness. Then thrust your eyes a little forward, to the future. I mean, make your own sci-fi and maybe you'll find something akin to Mitch Pilkington's ceramic vessels. Just look at those curves, the symmetry! They're like some marvel of engineering, representing the remarkable ingenuity of the best of nature. Sublime, I'd say. Mitch Pilkington studied Ceramics at Falmouth School of Art & Design. She is based in North Devon and has been a potter for a number of years. See more of her work on Instagram and on her website. Photo Credit: Instagram @mitchceramics

Let's talk about Lebanese French artist Roula Bechara's sublime female figures. Once again we are reminded that the power of the nude painting is nothing sexual. Oh well, there might be some sexual energy oozing of it, but what hits you more with Bechara's work for instance is a bunch of surprisingly liberating emotions sparked by the delicacy, serenity, confidence and the beauty her figures exude. It's almost like everytime she paints, the artist goes out of her way to capture Eve from Eden and unto her canvas with all all the the things about her that screams of womanhood. See more of what she does on Instagram and on her website. Photo Credit: Instagram @roulabecharaartist

Oh yes! Everyday can be this bright. You can carry the complete rainbow everywhere and make it swirl about you like a hand fan. It's alright, even if you step into a room and get everyone uncomfortable because you're pouring colour and light into it when no one asked you to. Here's a fashion company that celebrates Afican prints with its bold, eye catching designs. Grass Fields is an indigenous African clothing company based in Cameroon and founded by twin sisters Christelle and Michelle Ngahou in 2013. Their aim was simply to make people give more respect to African print, and one couldn't say that they are struggling on that one, because when you see a Grass Fields dress or pants, or any of their products, you'll just want to bend the knee. What I love about these designs is the kind of ingenuity you see going into one clothe. This must be how high-end Italian designer suits or shoes are made, with total awareness of the high worth of...

They scale and cling to buildings, walls, trees, and other living spaces like some strange yet truly relatable natural forms. Laura Ellen Bacon's sculptural installations are like enlarged replicas of those structures designed by smaller biological life forms like birds and insects. What makes her sculptures even more fascinating is the way they curl and weave across surfaces and appear like organisms that are alive, breathing. You'd think they are capable of shifting position on their own at anytime. A neat, exquisite emulation of nature! One would wonder how these sculptures are made. Well, first you have to know that Bacon's primary building material here are willow branches. And it's more than basketry really, even though the construction involves twisting, tying and knotting by hand and also with the aid of a few craft tools. What you have is actually a complicated system of weaves and knots coming together to present a solid, powerful, sinuous fa...

Come and get thrown, get hugged and caressed by water and it's pulsing, life sustaining, mysterious power. Breathe in the fresh beauty and glory of the empowered feminine. You start when you meet Lindsay Rapp, this young California based artist, and her paint brushes. Few things are as magnificent as Rapp's rendering of the nautical and marine life. Her pieces are all sea foam and lustrous ocean blues, and then the charming female form often represented as beings that are totally at home with the ocean environment. That is, sea goddesses and mermaids! The artist describes her style as 'Magical Impressionism'. Apt in my opinion. To experience Rapp's artworks is to be dipped into the vibrant, dynamic life of oceans and seas, to experience like you'll never do in real life, the magic in water's interaction with light, it is to appreciate the fertility and sensuality of the ocean. Truly magical. Lindsay Rapp studied at the Pennsylvania Academy ...