The above picture was taken at the opening for Glorious Excess (Born).  Pictured with me and my husband Mike is artist Corey Sandelius and his lovely fiancée.  So... what better time than now to tell you about one of my favorite painters! 

Mike and I have two original paintings by Corey as well as a few limited edition prints.  Personally I love his unique combination of prints, patterns and colors.  You can see his influence by pre-1900 Japanese Prints but what really stands out to me is how his art reflects his literary influences which include Ernest Hemingway and William Shakespeare.  More on the surface of things, these influences are shown by the direct quotes of writers that make up some of the titles of his paintings.  But what stands out to me is I can feel the literary influences - the melancholy of a strained relationship or the vast loneliness as felt in many of Hemingway’s works, the exploration of human emotion and the pitfalls, humor and triumphs that we’ve read in Shakespeare’s works.  Reaction to art is an individual emotion, and I find that in figure drawing it is difficult for an artist to capture human emotion and really make that feeling come alive to me as the viewer.  I believe this is where Corey crosses over to be an exceptional artist.  I always look forward to seeing his new work, and watch it continue to develop.

To see some of his work, you can check out his website.