Saturday, May 16, 2009

Paintings Even a Gallerina Can Afford: Harry Stooshinoff aka "paintbox"

What's small, fast, cheap, and beautiful? If you guessed a Thai prostitute, you're right, but that wasn't really the answer I was looking for.  I was speaking of the paintings of Etsy artist extraordinaire, Harry Stooshinoff, also known by his Etsy sellername, "paintbox."  A painter for over 25 years, Mr. Stooshinoff, makes art at an astounding pace--he currently has 274 pieces for sale on Etsy!  Maybe it was my time working with outsider art, but for me, there's something unbelievably seductive about an artist who makes and makes and makes work with some serious urgency and passion.  (Yeah, I know, it perpetuates that whole masculine 'myth of the artist' thing, but come on!  How can you not love a guy who feels compelled to make art 24/7?)

He paints quickly, using the natural and human altered landscape around him as inspiration. The paintings are fast and furious, combining just the right amount of letting paint naturally be paint and thoughtful paint manipulation.  His bold big-sky based paintings are sometimes reminiscent of Richard Diebenkorn, sometimes painting-collages, sometimes painted over old emails, and always affordable.

Check Harry Stooshinoff's blog: http://harrystooshinoff.blogspot.com/
And his Etsy store for great original art under $50 (and get your boyfriend to buy you one for your birthday like I did, shown above.)   http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=63720

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