As I continue my journey of creating art to exorcise the creative ghosts inside me, I am constantly looking for art and artists that inspire me through new techniques, styles, and mediums that push the boundaries of my imagination. This quest has led me to a diverse array of artistic expressions, where each encounter opens a new door to possibilities I had not previously considered. I’ve decided to highlight here a few artists I’ve come across in the last year who have made me want to explore and experiment with my projects; their unique perspectives and innovative approaches have not only revitalized my passion but also challenged me to step outside my comfort zone and embrace bold choices in my own work.

Fabian Lavater

As a California boy, I have an affinity for the ocean and surf culture (not as a participant, just an admirer). The simple graphic style, subject matters, interesting camera angles, and limited color palettes demonstrate how you can convey so much with very little.

Idan Barzilay

The scale! Those color palettes! The expressive nature of Idan’s line work to create figures who tread the line between a renaissance sculpture painted by Picasso make his work stand out whenever one pops into my feed. I am particularly drawn to how at first glance, his art has a monochromatic feel, but on closer inspection you can see complementary colors make slight appearances.

Tyler Shelton

What I love about Tylers work is not only how he demonstrates his process on Instagram of beginning with color blocking then bringing the subject to life with very expressionist marker lines on top. It’s changed my perspective on the order of things as I tend to paint all the lines (or don’t even have lines) and fill in the shapes. I also love idea of scraping away solid blocks of color to exploit the texture of the canvas, and the way he paints shoes.

Adriana Bermúdez

As I am experimenting with new mediums to create my projects and researching collage artists, Adriana’s surrealist work has become a source of inspiration. In addition to her art, she’s written 3 books to inspire other collage artists and published numerous collections of images for them to use. One of her techniques that inspires me is her use of circle cutters to start the basis of a collage, then cutting that image down and building on top of it. Those hard, crisp form resonates with my tendency to lean into structure.