A theme of chalk street art seemed to pop up in my posts this week which, while totally unplanned, does reflect a style of art I really love. Chalk is probably the cheapest and most accessible art material which is likely why it’s the medium of choice for many kids and artists. I love the powdery and richly pigmented colour chalk creates and how its non-permanent nature allows for chalk to spring up on every surface imaginable (legal or not). There are artists who use the medium in fairly serious styles of art but I find myself enjoying the more casual and random pieces of chalk art that often pop up on streets and embrace its youthful and joyful spirit. This week’s colour me happy celebrates the quirky side of chalk and of course, the vibrance of its colours. There is nothing better than the palette created by a box or pile of brilliant pieces of chalk. This summer, buy some sidewalk chalk – you will find it impossible to not be coloured happy!

(images via goro watari, essimar, steven de sousa, jill allyn stafford, padraic, daddyw, jamin hoyle, john cachero, robert stribley, mark watson, michel, alice)

These photos are part of a project called ‘Sound Sculptures’ created by photographer Linden Gledhill. Using tiny drops of paint, a stereo speaker and high-speed macro photography, Linden captures absolutely stunning photos of the paint reacting to music being played. Several of the final photographs anchored Canon’s Pixma Printer ad campaign. While the images have been around for a bit, I find myself returning to stare at them often. The shapes are mesmerizing as the paint dances to music and the colour combinations are dazzling. I hope to see more of this beautiful technique.

(check out a behind the scenes video of how the innovative images came to life)

Rows of pennies arranged by amount of oxidation. Love the gradient created by art director Bob Dinetz. It is incredible how many colours metal can transform into!

(via colossal)

This installation by artist and urban planner Candy Chang is so creative and impossible not to love. Candy turned the side of an abandoned house in her New Orleans neighbourhood into a giant strip of chalkboard where residents could take a piece of coloured chalk and asked themselves, “before I die I want to…” What a positive way to turn a rundown, eyesore of a building into something beautiful and uplifting. The responses range from poignant to sad to silly to hopeful. I love the way the coloured responses look against the distressed black chalkboard paint. The answers are meant to be rubbed off and rewritten by new visitors – allowing the installation to constantly evolve. I just love this and hope it inspires others to find creative and optimistic solutions to the eyesores in their neighbourhoods.

How can you not love a pop-up book? This series by graphic designer Daisy Lew is a unique type of pop-up book as it takes advantage of every angle. Each spread features New York’s famous cityscape from the sideview and a famous New York icon such as the Big Apple, the Chrysler Building and taxi cab from the top view. Such a fantastic piece of paper art.

Over the last couple of years I have come across quite a few photos of chalk and graffiti colour wheels in various parts of Paris. I love the idea of such a bright, design-focused wheel popping up among the streets of the City of Light. The manhole covers are fantastic! I have tried researching their origin and/or if they are still being created but there appears to be almost no information anywhere The only specific spot I know one of these happy features was placed is Parc de la Villette. Maybe some Paris dwellers/experts are reading and can shed some light? In any case, the colour wheels bring joy and life to plain grey concrete so perhaps that is all the information needed?

(images via claire evans, rob meertens, molly steenson, clotilde dusoulier, maggie kaisser)

I really love the work of artist Francisca Prieto and her folded, intricate paper installations. Photos of her amazing pieces are prominent among my boxes and folders of inspiration. Francisca uses many types of paper for her art from written versions of Shakespeare to newspapers and maps. I love them all but my absolute favourite is what she creates with envelopes. I have always been fascinated by the ornate security patterns printed inside envelopes. Francisca folded hundreds of interlocking forms with these intriguing blue designs to create her ‘Between Folds – Envelopes’ series. The colour palette, mix of patterns and 3D nature of these envelope origami installations is stunning. I can’t wait to see what Francisca comes up with next!

A historic art supplies company since 1761, I love the True Colors campaign by Faber-Castell. The ads are an eye-catching way to show how close their pencil crayon colours come to the real item (while also serving as a feat of Photoshop.) The dachshund ad is just plain crazy looking, non?

(images via ads of the world)

I am a huge fan of Vancouver artist Bratsa Bonifacho. His 50-plus year career has covered many topics and styles but it is these abstract paintings that I particularly love. Bratsa uses symbols and typography to depict computer viruses and the scrambling effect they create. His use of colour and the intense palettes created are just stunning. Fingers crossed that one day, I can hang a Bratsa Bonifacho painting on my wall. Or, to be realistic, let’s hope prints of these works of art will be available at some point!

(images via bratsa bonifacho & bau-xi gallery)

I love art in unexpected places – especially when it adds colour to an everyday object or location. In 2008, Kelly Goeller created ‘Pixel Pour‘, a 3D interpretation of water pouring from a faucet in an almost video game, pixelated way. Recently, Goeller created ‘Pixel Pour 2.0′ on Mercer Street in New York City. The brilliant blue is so striking against the industrial surroundings and the layers of blocks really give the sense of a piece of video game magic emerging onto the street. Hoping to see more of these clever street art installations!

(images via unurth)

I love this wood block typeface created by province studio. Using blocks of all different widths and heights creates a texture and dimension that would not have been achieved if all the blocks were equal sizes. I especially love the bright colour palette of aqua, azure, bright blue, yellow, purple, magenta and brown!

(images via behance)

Ever stare at the paint chip wall at the hardware store and think that it looks like a piece of art? Canadian artist Peter Combe took that idea a step further by shredding designer size paint swatches and hole punching paint chips to create large art installations. I love the fringe-like texture of the shredded swatches and the reptile skin look of the layers of hole punches. It is really impressive how Peter finds the perfect colour swatches to create such detailed portraits. I think paint chips should be used as an artistic medium more often!

(images via peter combe)

Italian designer Alberto Seveso took high-speed photographs of colourful ink mixing with water and the results are beautiful, billowing fabric-like shapes. I would love to see this project continue across the whole spectrum of ink colours!

(images via behance)

Diem Chau carves crayons (and sometimes pencils) with mind-boggling artistry and attention to detail. She turns everyday crayons into tiny, exquisite sculptures. Diem creates custom pieces for anyone seeking a crayon version of their family, friends or animals. I love her commissioned word currency and chinese zodiac sets and their corresponding colour choices. Diem also created one-of-a-kind metallic crayon cravings of iconic World Cup athletes for Nike. I love the way they were packaged and displayed in an engraved wood stand. I just love Diem’s work and would love to go to an artist or designer’s wedding and see her crayons as the cake topper!

(images via diem chau)

An anonymous street artist in Albuquerque, New Mexico spills paint over the edge of neglected buildings and ends up mixing graffiti and art into a beautiful illegal rainbow. The appearance of these rainbows has generated a lot of controversy with people either loving or hating them (there has even been a police investigation and arrest.) Personally, I love them and their specific application to urban eyesores. I am not sure how someone can compare these joyful, dripping rainbows to standard fare graffiti lazily scrawled on the side of a convenience store. Alibi did an interview with the anonymous artist pre-arrest and I found that one of the most intriguing thoughts was what the rainbow made you see beyond vibrant paint: “part of the reason I do the rainbows instead of typical lettering is because every sign we see is left to right, and this is up and down. Automatically, your eye wants to follow the line, so you look from the ground up to the sky… when they see that, maybe they’re having a rough day or a rough year or life and they can just look at it and find peace for a second and remember what rainbows meant when they were a kid, or when they could look up at the sky and see one.”

(spotted on aesthetics of joy, images via mike kuniavsky, jiggs, nuart)

This is such a genius idea by artist Helmut Smit. Who knew acrylic paint blobs and a windshield wiper could create magic? You may have seen this spontaneous rainbow before but it begs repeating and might be the perfect solution to Monday morning!

(photo via helmut smit)