Chuck Close

http://www.chuckclose.com/

This is where I want to be.

Just incredible.  This work captures a room.  It was so inspiring and exciting to see the real works large-scale.  I will never stop being unbelievably impressed by this man.

"Habitualization devours work, clothes, furniture, one's wife, and the fear of war. 'If the whole complex lives of many people go on unconsciously, then such lives are as if they had never been.' And art exists that one may recover the sensation of life; it exists to make on feel things, to make the stone stony. The purpose of art is to impart the sensation of things as they are perceived and not as they are known. The technique of art is to make objects 'unfamiliar,' to make forms difficult, to increase the difficulty and length of perception because the process of perception is an aesthetic end in itself and must be prolonged. Art is a way of experiencing the artfulness of an object: the object is not important..." 

-Viktor Shklovsky, Russian Formalist

Caitlin Hackett

http://caitlinhackett.carbonmade.com/

I just think Caitlin Hackett is amazing.  I love the style or her works, gorgeous pen drawings with deliberate bright watercolor added.  I think its the hair that draws me in and the strange scene that keeps me there.  I want to know the story behind each piece, and I want to see them in person to get a real grasp of how big they are.

SupaKitch & Koralie “Euphorie” Paris

An incredible wall installation by a unique duo.  I am amazed every time I watch this video, and it has become a constant reminder for me to remember to let go and to step back.  Watching them as they make imperfect marks, crooked lines, letting paint drip; it makes me cringe, but then it zooms out and I am in absolute awe.  I realize each time that I watch this that I don't need to be in absolute control. 

http://www.formatmag.com/art/supakitch-and-koralie/

hi-def version   http://vimeo.com/31044044#

http://honestlywtf.com/art/supakitch-koralie/