With the year drawing to a close we naturally reflect on the past year. 2009 has been kind to this little blog and I look forward to what 2010 may bring. I aggregated a list of the 20 most visited posts from 2009 from the stats and this is what I found. Oddly enough, some were pretty recent, and some were from last year. I decided to include the ones from last year as well since I have many new readers.

With Christmas right around the corner, everyone is trying to find that perfect gift.  Here are 25 T-shirts for you or an artist in your life.  

The Heart, 2009, digital c-print, 40 x 30″

Kevin Van Aelst is a New England artist creating some extraordinary works from very ordinary objects.  I have included a few of his works here, but you should visit his website to see more of his work.

A few weeks ago I posted a quick review of Sketchbook Mobile for iphone/ipod.  Since then I have found some amazing work that has been completed on these devices.  These drawings use various iPod / iPhone apps to arrive at the final product.  I can’t even imagine the work that went into each of these.  Kudos to these and other iPhone / iPod artists out there that are pushing the boundaries. 

To Remembrance – Detail – salt
Konichi – Soy sauce factory / Ishikawa, Japan
October 2009

This little iPhone/iPod app is a must have for every artist.  SketchBook Mobile, by Autodesk, is a drawing application that allows you to draw with your fingers on your iPhone or iPod Touch.  The app is full of features and will not disappoint you.  The best part is Autodesk has a lite version, SketchBook MobileX, that will let you explore before purchasing the full version.

A section from Exquisite Corpse – which totals 60 panels. Each panel is 32 inches tall, and widths range from 6 to 15 inches.

Art elements consist of photos taken by the artists, scanned drawings, vector illustration, and digital drawings created with a drawing tablet. The final art is assembled using mostly Illustrator and Photoshop.

Thanks Brian for submitting this one!  There is so much to look at in this piece and I love the color and life of the imagery.

This ongoing collaborative project is based on a drawing technique called “Exquisite Corpse.” The technique was invented by Surrealists in 1925 and is based on an old parlour game in which players write in turn on a sheet of paper, fold it to conceal part of the writing, and then pass it to the next player for a further contribution.

artist & website: Jimmy apRoberts and Brian Christopher – http://www.jabcstudio.com/exquisite_corpse/

Paint and Ink on Wood – 48″ x 48″

I have a liking to good figurative works done with inks.  This is a really nice series and Ben just wrapped up his first Solo show in Toronto.  Sorry, I did not find this until after the show ended.

artist & website: Ben Tour – http://www.thetourshow.com/

Allow me to geek out for a moment as I highlight some cool drawing/animation tool concepts.  The video below demonstrates some possibilities on a smart board.   While the example itself is no artistic wonder, it does exhibit ways we may be able to interact with digital tools in the near future.

An open source desktop version of this, Phun, is available free to download.  Fair warning, this is an addictive little toy.