Blurred Lines

We always find it interesting when artists figuratively blur the lines of media, and in this case literally. The work of South African artist Philip Barlow appears to be one thing but is actually another, and we are utterly intrigued. What looks like beautifully composed out-of-focus photographs are actually masterfully created oil paintings. Barlow focuses (no pun intended) on the interaction of light with his subjects, and the results are quite stunning. In his own words, “The figures in the landscape serve as carriers and reflectors of the light that falls upon them. Bathed in the luminosity, it is my hope that they would become more beautiful. To me, light is the ultimate subject because it embodies the pinnacle of all reality.” In works where the details are not at all sharp, we are taken with Barlow’s astounding attention to detail. The soft edges and bokeh effect are quite beautiful, and Barlow’s deep understanding of color is an artistic revelation. We are in awe.

Via philipbarlow.com and Instagram

Santa’s Ordinary Nights

As Christmas approaches, natural questions arise about Santa Claus’s whereabouts the other 364 days of the year. Lucky for us, Italian photographer Leonardo Papi has explored this very topic with his photo series, aptly titled “Santa’s Ordinary Nights”. Injecting humor, curiosity, and fantastic lighting skills, self-taught photographer Papi brings a smile to our faces with this fun project. Papi explains: “It is well known that Santa Claus delivers gifts on the night between 24th and 25th December. This is the visual diary of his other lonely nights. An ordinary man in the darkness, with his ordinary solitude…”

Via leonardopapi.net

“Painting” with Packing Tape

We’ve seen art created from a wide variety of media, but nothing quite like this. As a matter of fact, if you had to guess how these were created just by looking at them, you’d probably have a hard time figuring it out. Relying on little more than brown packing tape, an Xacto and the filtering of light behind a translucent surface, Amsterdam-based artist Max Zorn’s work is awe-inspiring. The nuance in shading he achieves by layering tape is astounding all on its own. Never mind Zorn’s ability to manipulate the tape so intricately. It’s interesting how these works, composed of such an unexpected and artless material, are so beautiful. Zorn clearly has a penchant for the past, as indicated by his choice of subjects for the majority of his work. Interestingly, Zorn’s fondness for packing tape began as street art, as he describes in his own words: “There’s a lot of great street art by day, but it disappears after dark. I wanted to come up with urban art that uses nighttime as a setting, and there was nothing more inviting than the street lamps in Amsterdam. In the beginning I used packing tape to fill in larger sections of my marker drawings. Once I hung them on street lamps, the light’s effect opened up new ideas with ditching markers and just using tape.”

Via maxzorn.com and YouTube