If It's Hip, It's Here (Archives)

Artists Take The Plunge: Part II, People Swimming

Last week I posted "Artists Take The Plunge: Swimming Pools" and introduced you to paintings of swimming pools; empty, full, still, even at night.

As promised, this week is part II (well, it's so long, I'm actually only showing half the post today, so be sure to visit again tomorrow so you don't miss out on the second half, Part III.) of "Artists Take The Plunge: People swimming in and lounging around Pools."

There are so many wonderful artists who paint swimmers as their subjects, but in this particular post, it's limited to people in swimming pools...so you won't see beach scenes here, but you will get your fill of wonderful underwater and above water work.

I'm going to start with some contemporary photo-realistic works by some artists who have captured the essence of light, buoyancy and reflection beautifully.

Lorraine Shemesh and her amazingly lifelike swimming paintings:

Suzanne Vincent's equally talented works:

Or RJ Clark:

and Ernest Ward:

Alan Brown:

Luigi Boriotti:

And the inspiring works of Eric Zener:

And now to share with you some looser interpretations and slightly impressionistic work, I'd like to introduce you to some of David Shevlino's fabulous paintings:

And Stanley Goldstein's wonderful work:

Robin Cheers' Joie de Vivre:

Mark Pearson's Lucy Swimming:

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Don't forget to come back tomorrow to see the second half of this post and see various paintings of children in pool, people lounging around poolside, abstracted pools and more!

Part I can be seen here: "Artists Take The Plunge: Swimming Pools"
Part III can be seen here: Artists Take The Plunge: Part III

Funky Find Of The Week: Your Own Custom Super Hero Action Doll

Ever wondered what it would be like to have a 12" action figure in your likeness?
Well, wonder no more! At herobuilders, you can order just that!

They describe themselves as The Largest and most respected Custom Action Figure, Personalized Action figure company in the USA, These can also be considered Custom dolls or Custom Talking dolls. There are thousands of samples of our custom action figures that you can view and we also make Custom figures, and personalized Action figures that look, talk, & dress just like you, We now have the largest selection of custom action figure clothing and custom action figure accessories in the USA.

Below is an example of Their "Conan" Doll:

and their Will Ferrell Elf doll:

The custom dolls can be made in the likeness of anyone, any age.

It's not hard, either, just a little pricey.

To get your custom 12" action figure, follow the 3 simple steps indicated on their site here.

Non-talking custom action figures are $425.00 for the first one and 39.95 for copy.

Talking custom action figures are $425.00 for the first one and 49.95 for each copy. The sound clip can only be 20 seconds long max, our new voice chips can be programmed and re-programmed by you if you choose.

You can place your order by calling their offices toll free at 1-877-HERO-TOY or they will create an e-payment on-line solution.

Visit Hero Builders to learn more.

Black Is Back (But Limited).

After years of silver, titanium and aluminum, black is back...and in several limited editions.

Here are a few of the hippest black limited editions of some fun items.