Francoise Neilly massive portraits in Paris

Click on image to enlarge

Francoise Neilly's massive, colourful portraits are delicious to look at. Even more wonderful – and particularly infuriating to those who have timidly dabbled in painting – is to watch her create them. In a beautiful video posted on her site, she, in her confident, strong hand, wields her painting knife shaped like a miniature garden trowel, and makes painting look easy like cake frosting.

Click on image to enlarge

Click on image to enlarge

Click on image to enlarge

She paints her vivid, passionate canvases - some as large as 195 x 62 centimeters - from black-and-white photos, further proof of her unfailing ability to interpret light, shadow, hue and tone by applying brilliant colours and daring strokes.

Born in Marseille and brought up near Saint-Tropez, and now living in Paris, Nielly is at home among bold contrast and dazzling light. Check out her work on the site:

https://www.artsy.net/artist/francoise-nielly
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Troy Lovegate from Canada

Other - Hobo in a bottle detail (click image to enlarge)

Other - Hobo in a bottle detail (click image to enlarge)

Other - Hobo in a bottle (click image to enlarge)

I've been following a very talented (and somewhat humorous) Canadian artist for a while now. His name is Troy Lovegate, and he creates under the name 'Other'. This is from a series he did a little while ago called "Hobo in a bottle". He works in a number of medium, from lino print over photos to painting with wooden spoons (yep - weird I know), and he used to live in an abandoned train yard apparently. Some of his street art is awesome, predominantly B&W portraiture.

He has recently returned from a 4 month sponsored art scholarship in Melbourne. I look forward with eager anticipation to seeing how this trip will effect his style.

Check out more of Troy's work here...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/other/sets

(Welly's own) Dave Le Fleming exhibibition

Well our good mate Dave Le Fleming from Wellington just exhibited in a group show in Central London. Mixed Blessings at Signal Gallery in Curtain Road, Shoreditch.

I was lucky enough to make it along, and loved what I saw.

‘Mixed Blessings’ showcased five artists who come from very different backgrounds (art college, street art and illustration/design) but who all equally have a strong desire to tell a story.
SPQR, Alke Scmidt, Replete, Jonathan Darby and David Le Fleming's work could not have been further apart in style, substance, medium and wit. Heres what the gallery said about our man Dave:

"New Zealand born David Le Flemming has been showing his artworks for about ten years. For the past five years he has lived and worked in London. Coming from a graphic design background his works have a strong, decisive line and a very particular humour. He has made a feature of painting on acquired metal objects, most noteworthy, car bonnets. His subjects often have an unnerving domesticity about them. Davids’ work has proved to be very popular and a number of celebrities are collecting his pieces."

Nice one brother, more of the same please