Kayla Mahaffrey’s Stirring, Surreal Portraits

Chicago-born artist Kayla Mahaffrey crafts portraits of subjects enveloped by pop totems and surreal elements. Her works are rendered in watercolors and acrylics, each oozing with vibrancy and candy colors. Her practice moves between illustration and fine art.

“Living in our society can be tough and most of the time we have to make the best of it,” she says. “A wild imagination can take you so far, but at the end of the day we need to realize and observe the world around us. And the world around us is where I find my inspiration to paint. Colorful paintings that contain hints of whimsy and realism that tell a story of inner thoughts and personal issues that sometimes go unheard.”

See more of her work below.

Topics

Kayla Mahaffrey, Mixed Media, painting

gromyko semper, painting

April 27, 2015

Filipino artist Gromyko Semper paints elaborate scenes with many magical realism elements. His detailed works are flat and often resemble illustrations, evoking a mixture of pre-Raphaelite paintings and Japanese anime. The artist just completed a series of paintings inspired by the philosophical concept of mythopoesis, a term that JRR Tolkein and scholar Joseph Campbell proliferated in the early 20th century. Mythopoesis refers to a work of art that creates its own mythology. With Semper's paintings, that certainly seems to be the case, as he has developed an elaborate visual language that taps into themes like pleasure, mysticism, and death. Currently, Semper has a two-person show with Gilbert Semillano at Artspace @ Net Quad in Manila.

Light Explored in Arthouse1’s ‘The Sky’s Gone Out’

Arthouse1 London, light in painting, painting

March 28, 2018

John Greenwood

In a new show at Arthouse1 London, the artistic element of light is explored through a collection of artists who utilize the source in different ways. "The Sky's Gone Out" features the work of Vasilis Avramidis, Gordon Cheung, Sean Dawson, Bella Easton, John Greenwood, Chris Hawtin, Rui Matsunaga, John Stark and Mimei Thompson. (The show was curated by Easton and Hawtin.)

Baatarzorig Batjargal’s Contemporary Mongol Zurag Paintings

Baatarzorig Batjargal, Mongol Zurag, painting

August 8, 2018

Using the Mongol zurag style of painting, Baatarzorig Batjargal brings a contemporary and globe-spanning mentality into the century-old approach. A native of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, the artist’s distinctive observance of tradition puts a fascinating spotlight on how his home has changed.

Carl Beazley’s Surreal Portraits Have Fun with Facial Expressions

Carl Beazley, painting

December 18, 2014

The people in Carl Beazley's portraits seem to be fighting internal battles to hold back their grimaces and make straight faces. His oil paintings feature young people wearing multiple expressions at once. Several small faces inhabit their full-sized heads, each one sending a conflicting signal. Some of Beazley's portraits look like a time lapse of a single gesture, while others are meant to confuse and amuse viewers with their incongruities.

Kayla Mahaffrey’s Stirring, Surreal Portraits

Gromyko Semper’s Paintings Cultivate Their Own Mythology

Light Explored in Arthouse1’s ‘The Sky’s Gone Out’

Baatarzorig Batjargal’s Contemporary Mongol Zurag Paintings

Carl Beazley’s Surreal Portraits Have Fun with Facial Expressions

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