Boyan - When I look back, Crimson Kaie has actually been around a lot less than it feels like it has! I take that to be a good thing because it has been a pleasure featuring the over 175 artists we have featured thus far. Now Crimson Kaie draws a regular audience from around the world and it's great to see a place where emerging and unknown artists in all media can have a chance to show off their talents.

I've wanted to dedicate more time to the project but my life is hectic to say the least and so for some time I had been toying with the idea to find some outside talent to take on an editorial position on the site.

Of course, it's one thing to have an idea and a totally different thing to realise it.

So a few weeks ago I thought I would try an alternative approach and posted a note of the Facebook Marketplace announcing we were looking for an editor. There were actually five contacts as a result which was a surprise in itself. But skeptical of the quality of those responses I was more surprised to see that John seemed to fit the bill for what I was looking for dead on.

Now, with two great posts under his belt I wanted to just use this note as an opportunity to confirm his position as the editor of Crimson Kaie. I really hope we can work together to develop the site and what it continues to do best: show great new art by some fantastic people in often weird and wonderful places.

BOYAN

Teri - "My love of experimenting with different types of media has led me to the wonderful world of collage. Through this uniquely versatile medium, I have been able to explore a more personal and intuitive process in which I can express myself more freely, openly and honestly. I start by painting a canvas black, then layer pieces of assorted textured paper in various neutral shades. Driven by instinct and the thrill of discovery, I pick and pull, rip and tear--sometimes whole sections, sometimes mere slivers--exploring, exposing, revealing, and creating a topography upon which I begin to build. Recently I have become interested in the idea of orienteering (finding one's way with navigating tools) as a metaphor for discovering my own emotional and psychological path. I allow my memories, experience and knowledge to arrange paper and paint into a map of where I've been, where I am, and where I might go. My inner compass guides me toward self-awareness, with frequent detours into fascinating unknown territories on the journey Dante calls 'our life's way'."

John - Instantly, I found Teri's usage of the word "topography" very interesting, due to the fact that, upon initial inspection, her work reminded me immediately of maps. This is a concept which is, arguably, quite passé, considering the fact that a number of artists working in the late 80s until the mid 90s (Kathy Prendergast's 'City Drawings' being a prime example) seemed to simultaneously develop a fixation with the external mapping of the internal operations of the mind (possibly resultant from a revitalised interest in Freudian psychoanalysis). However, I found Teri's work unlike examples of collage I'd been familiar with in the past. She maintains an allegiance to a palette which evokes the most arid of landscapes, as if seen from great heights, and the effect of viewing the work (for me, at least) is akin to being privy to a sort of vast despair. Not an overwhelmingly uplifting assessment, but a powerful and thought provoking one, the affects of which will, I hazard, outlast those elicited by the work of a lot of contemporary artists who are concerned more with sensationalism in the short term than with the production of meaningful work which has the capacity to transcend.

Teri can be contacted at:

818-640-3084 or tbomb1957@yahoo.com

All images copyright of Teri Dryden.

Fridge, Huckleberry Pie & Deer

After growing up on the Rocky Mountain Front in Colorado, Brett Svetlik relocated to Missoula to pursue his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at The University of Montana. Four years of academics and studio practice led him towards his BFA Degree, which he received in the spring of 2007. Svetlik is currently pursuing his Masters in Arts Administration at Boston University. Brett works in various mediums that incorporate both conceptual and representational imagery. His current works deliver satire and pick at everyday social concerns on a personal level.

Boyan - Even in the Deer there is a deep eerie darkness in Brett's work - I like it! His drawings are detailed, full-bodied and heavy with innervation. I'm typically not a great fan of drawings but Brett has managed to deliver a texture and depth in these images which is hard to ignore.

See more of his work: Brett Svetlik

Peter's work looks at the contradictions and complex pressures of using aggressive consumption as the engine for our society, concerning mainly arts place within this market driven society, where a market disconnected from ethical priorities wilfully exploits a naive but generally shared belief in visual truth. He is interested in exploring various paradigms of democracy based on the renegotiation of power during our transactions, the place where our art meets the art market, challenging existing models and expanding the options for new social relationships.

John, Acting Editor - The element in Peter's work which most interests me is the visual commentary on the de-skilling of specialised trade and labour. He implements his own experiences as a butcher, and thus a very different sort of craftsman, in order to construct visceral imagery which conveys, via his choice of colour and the archaic connotations of the medium of painting, a timelessness and an ethereality, in addition to creating a poignant tribute, or preemptive commemoration, to skill-sets which will, if commerce and mass consumerism triumph, gradually disappear.

See more of Peter's work: http://addressingthecarcass.blogspot.com/

Vinyl, Icecapada & Afro

Vince is a freelance digital illustrator / designer based in London who has worked for various clients including British Airways, PC World, BBC and T-mobile.

Boyan - I'm attracted to the complexity and detail of this work. If you see his portfolio on the site, Vince has a great range and wide imagination. While the style has a great popular appeal it also holds some deeper emotive imagery. Great stuff.

See more of his work: Vince Fraser

Snacks, Mercurial Flip Flops & Cheap and Cheerful

Brendan O’Connell is an artist who divides his time between writing and painting, between figuration and abstraction. He uses color to portray the struggle of opposing forces, for instance, of gravity and transcendence. He often uses bold contrasts in an effort to create an expression of balance.

For the past five years he has been executing paintings about Wal-Mart, the quintessential American shopping experience. Presently he works out of a Connecticut barn.

Boyan - When I first saw the title 'Wal-mart Paintings' of Brendan's submission I was a little skeptical but was quickly turned after looking at the work. It has a good depth to it and to me, at least, the glitz of his bright colours is nicely subdued by the soft, slightly dark under layers. In a way it shows the reality under the shiny wrappers. See the rest of his work below

See more of his work: Brendan O'Connell

Orange Silence, The Cocoons, Intergalaxy Traffic Light

Viktor was June 1979 in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria. He works in the area of colour painting, drawing and illustration. Since 1995 he has taken part in various regional and national exhibitions. He has realised 6 personal exhibitions - 1999, 2000, 2007, 2009 in Bulgaria and 2001 in Germany. The paintings of the artist have been acquired for private collections in Bulgaria, Germany, USA and Japan.

Boyan - Viktor has a beautiful, happy and intricate style with each piece taking an average of a month to complete. The large pieces are intriguing from 1ft away just as they are from 50ft. I love the crazy imagination transfered so well onto canvas - great work from a great guy!

See more of his work: Viktor Mazhlekov