art that makes me drool

today, a friend and i biked to paoli, a little town about 15 miles out or so that is a popular biking destination. last year was the first i had ever gone to paoli and even in the last year, it’s gotten cuter. there are now 3 different art gallery-type things, something called the “schoolhouse shops” and (drool) an art paper store. luckily, single sheets of wrapping paper do not travel particularly well on bikes, so i was able to overcome that temptation (my poor friend had to suffer through the store while i explored the nooks and crannies). there is also a lovely cheese shop (love wisconsin) and an ice cream shop (see previous parentheses). we checked out all of the art galleries and bought some cheese (the ice cream shop wasn’t open yet) and were just about to head back to the city when some artwork caught my eye in the fanciest and largest of the galleries. “hey,” i said, “that’s the same artist that’s up in your crazy neighbor’s house! the same one who did her painting of rabbits and devils and stuff!” now granted, that description doesn’t sound all that attractive, and this link doesn’t really do her work justice, but it will give you an idea. i love this woman’s artwork. it is rich, rich with color. it is shiny and smooth. it is surrealism, but it is my favorite kind of surrealism–very realistic looking paintings of things that don’t exist naturally, or at all or at least realism with a twist. everything she paints looks beautiful to me, no matter what the subject matter is. it calls to me from across the room and i could stare at her pieces for hours. on the two times that i’ve visited my friend’s crazy neighbor i have, indeed stared at her painting for as long as i could without seeming rude and my eyes still weren’t sated. sadly, the painting that caught my eye in the paoli artisan gallery was $2500. a little more pocket change than i’ve got. there were some smaller pieces for $500, but i’m not even sure i can really justify that and they don’t have quite the awe-inducing, jaw dropping power of her larger pieces, they’re more like a postcard to tease you with reminders of her larger works. i wish she had her own website so i could drool over them more. i wish she made smaller pieces (like maybe necklace pendants!) that i could afford and not worry that they were but pale reminders of her larger pieces. i would wish that she would agree to have some of her works made into posters, but i don’t think they would have quite the same effect. instead, i’ll just find her work wherever i can and drool at it in the gallery for free. sigh.

update, 4/08:  she now has a website where prints are available for purchase and you can see more of her works.  sadly, neither the alice in wonderland one and the devil/rabbit one that i’ve seen in the past and loved are on her slideshow.