The June issue’s Making a Splash column (“Art Rocks”) focuses on the convergence of visual and sonic art, noting some musicians who also dabble in the visual art realm: Tony Bennett, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Bryan Ferry, Marilyn Manson, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Natalie Merchant, David Byrne, Miles Davis, k.d. lang, John Mellencamp, Stevie Nicks, Jerry Garcia, Carlos Santana, Graham Nash, John Entwistle, Kim Gordon, Bono, Grace Slick, Patti Smith, Janis Joplin.

Readers were asked to submit other names, and while we’ve received a few—Donna Summer, Cat Stevens, Herb Alpert, Paul Stanley (keep them coming)—we were especially pleasantly surprised to see that tabloid target Amy Winehouse is discovering watercolor. Rock on.

If you, like me, received your introduction to the art world from your mother (Mine went so far as to dress as famous artists, by the way. Her van Gogh was complete with bandanged ear.) you'll appreciate the excitement I experienced when my mother expressed an interest in buying work by one of the artists I'd recently interviewed. She was simply floored by Jeanette Pasin Sloan's remarkable still lifes. And I have to admit, I was thrilled by the prospect of seeing Sloan's work hanging in the family home.

If you (too) would like to see Sloan's work on your walls, you'll be pleased to hear that Landfall Press has collaborated with the artist to produce a brand new print: Dots II is one of Sloan's most ambitious prints to date, both for its impressive size (38x36.5) and the number of successive color overlays (nine). The painting represents the new direction Sloan's work is heading, a territory where the lines between representation and abstraction are blurred.

Incidentally, Landfall publishes work from a wide range of artists and has done so for more than 30 years. If you have an hour to get lost in the archives, you could wind up spending two.

Watch a video that takes you inside Sloan's studio here. And read the feature I wrote on on Sloan's work here.

Having just returned from New York, where I caught Color Chart at MOMA, I’ve got color on the brain. Aside from the few waves of Stendhal Syndrome set on by the museum’s stellar collection, I found the exhibition as thought provoking as it was easy on the eyes. “Color Chart: Reinventing Color 1950 to Today” looks at contemporary artists’ color decisions for chance, readymade source or arbitrary systems and the beauty that follows.

Particularly interesting was viewing Robert Rauschenberg’s 8-by-almost-11-foot mixed media collage Rebus (shown here). The artist, influenced by Marcel Duchamp’s Tu m’ (also part of the show), wanted to depict paint as a commercial product and, as our docent explained, he bought unlabeled quarts of surplus paint because they were cheap and made a rule for himself that he had to use each can at least once, no matter the color. Talk about a limited palette! Check the website to view the rest of the exhibition online.

Speaking of color, that’s how social networking site for selling music Guitarati is organizing its music. Click here for details from Wired.

We love to hear from our featured artists that they're doing well (which, according to most artists' internal barometers, means that they're painting like crazy and loving it) and so it's with particular satisfaction that we get to share this kind of news with you:

If you've read the February 2007 issue of the magazine (one of my favorite covers, by the way) you've seen Robert Highsmith's fine southwest- and South Carolina-inspired watercolor landscapes. Now Highsmith is exploring two new dual interests: trains and bison. Marigold Arts has announced a solo show, Robert Highsmith: Into the West (June 6th through July 9th), featuring paintings done at Chama, one of New Mexico’s most scenic venues, and at Ted Turner's ranch near Santa Fe. Sounds tantalizing, eh? From the press release:

Highsmith’s paintings make strong, simple statements that capture the light and landscapes of the Southwest, evincing equal parts technical virtuosity and heart. He paints primarily landscapes, occasionally focusing on a cow or architectural structure. Highsmith’s paintings reveal a softness of light, shadow, and brush that can only be accomplished with the immediacy of watercolor, complimented by the stark contrasts that lend the work its photorealism.  

If this doesn't satisfy your craving for Highsmith's work, pick up the June issue of the magazine (on newsstands April 22, 2008). Highsmith is one of several artists who share their experiences in a Special Report on the fine art of selling your own fine art.

Train at Antonio (watercolor on paper, 22x30) by Robert Highsmith

I was admiring some lovely watercolor illustrations in the last issue of Harper's magazine and thinking about watercolor illustration today when I came upon this nice little site (A Petal from the Rose) devoted to Elizabeth Shippen Green, one of yesterday's most brilliant talents in the field. On the site, you'll find an extensive biography of the artist, ruminations on themes such as gardens, darkness and youth in her work, and (most importantly) a treasure trove of bright images from the Library of Congress. There's even a link to the Library's site, where you can order prints from the originals. Green is pictured here in her studio at the Red Rose Inn, where she lived with fellow artists and lifelong friends Jessie Willcox Smith and Violet Oakley.