Mario Wagner

I always pay attention to the shows that Spoke Art and their sister gallery, Hashimoto Contemporary in San Francisco, put on. And one recent show at the latter gallery was "A Glow That Transfers Creativity", a solo show by artist and illustrator, Mario Wagner. The exhibition contained technicolour paintings and installations including collage work and TVs.

German born and based in Berkeley, California, Wagner's work effortlessly combines minimalism, sci-fi, hope, despair and nostalgia.

Charles Bukowski - "The Laughing Heart"

This is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful, soulful, life-affirming poems ever written...

The Laughing Heart can be found in Betting on the Muse: Poems and Stories by Charles Bukowski.

Liz Brizzi

Born in France to Italian parents, Liz Brizzi grew up in Los Angeles. Working from her downtown graphic design studio, she captures the desolate beauty of the urban outskirts of the city in her mixed media paintings.

Manipulated photographs are collaged onto wood panel, with layers of acrylic washes on top. The back streets of LA are presented with a raw edge which shows the rapidly disappearing history of a city in constant change.

Kim Cogan

Kim Cogan paints San Francisco in a way that is rarely seen but always recognisable. He captures the city with it's distinctive characteristics without having to show the Golden Gate bridge, trolley cars or Alcatraz in the background. All the icons have been removed.

His paintings have soul. The sunlight reflects off buildings in a cool haze and the night scenes glow and hum with neon light. There are no people and no cars; just silence and atmosphere.

  

Matt Taylor

Intense, rich colours dominate Matt Taylor’s incredible illustrations. His bold aesthetics coupled with the influence of Americana, fifties and sixties comic books and the contrast of primary colours, result in a damn fine body of work. Below is a selection of his film posters and private commissions...

Matt lives and works in Brighton, UK.

Robert Mars: The golden age of America

Cars, motels, logos, and other hulking monuments of the 1950’s and 60's saturate Robert Mars’ often desolate landscapes. These instantly recognisable symbols of American history still resonate in today’s mass-advertising world with the independent aesthetic of the highway having been replaced by a standardised corporate culture.

At this time in history, information was not instantly available to millions and there were no instant Internet celebrities. Nowadays, we are left with the enduring myth of the unique and unforgettable personalities of this golden age like Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. And it’s with his latest work that Mars searches for today’s equivalent celebrity, if they even exist.

Tim Doyle

Illustrator and print-maker Tim Doyle hails from Austin, Texas and runs Nakatomi Inc, a site geared for the self-proclaimed nerd folk. I know him more as the guy who draws "real life" locations from The Simpsons and other TV shows. All of which make for extremely pleasant viewing.

His visual style reminds me of the legendary comic artist and Ghost World creator, Dan Clowes with its minimal colour palette and shading technique. Tim also has one of the best artist's bios I've ever read. He has lots of cats.