Artist of the Day: Basquiat

Jean-Michel Basqiat was an American artist that was heavily influenced by graffiti and mixed abstract with figures to create collaged paintings. Basquiat was inspired by social issues and liked to paint contrasting themes like wealth vs. poverty. He came to fame in the early 80's and was big on the New York art scene until he died. When I was in high school, Basquiat was a huge inspiration of mine and I even did my whole senior year art portfolio using graffiti/mixed media a la Basquiat.  He died in 1986 of an overdose but his legacy lives on in his paintings.I'm sort of obsessed with his color choices and combos and his use of layering is pretty incredible. Below are some of my favorite pieces of his. I adore the fifth one down but how can you really pick a favorite??

*All art created by Jean-Michel Basquiat

Art of the Day: Cozamia

One thing that I really miss about high school is art class. Throughout high school I was able to have the best materials and guidance at my fingertips and adored creating a portfolio that was a mix of photography and painting/mixed media/digital. I'm always searching the internet for cool and inexpensive pieces for my gallery wall and for my friends. Enter my Cozamia obsession. I literally want every piece starting with the darling flamingo print. I don't see how I will possibly fit all of these pieces in my less than 800 square foot apartment but I'm going to damn well try!

*Images from Cozamia.com