Michael Lombardi

Michael Lombardi is a Perth born artist with a fondness for retro. Be it via swing dance or just old pants.

Space Dance, unframed print, $55.

Off overseas late October, Michael's 2 years in Mt Lawley has resulted in making many illustrations for posters, murals or for his own amusement. Mostly of delectable damsels, femme fatales and frivolous flappers.

Charlston, framed print, $70.

Swing Dance, unframed print, $55.

Occasionally he will draw men too.

Unframed print, $70.

For Mini Art Mart he has compiled a collection of digital prints on card and canvas. There are also mini prints, (teensy and adorable) stickers and badges available, and prices start from $3.

Exhibition runs 13 October to 30 November.

Mr Lombardi himself.

Go Go Gocco Go!

Geometric Spell, Beci Orpin.

An exhibition of works created with a super nifty, lo-fi, Japanese printing process, Gocco! Gocco uses flash bulbs to imprint a design onto a screen template, inks are poured in and prints are created.

This is a spin-off of a group show being held at Outré Gallery. Between 23 September and 12 October we will be showcasing the Gocco prints of Beci Orpin, Creepy, Sean Morris, Gemma Jones, Miso, Cat Rabbit and Mel Stringer.

The Sweat Descends, Sean Morris.

Head to Outré for even more Gocco fun!

We have also produced a limited edition tee shirt for the occasion, featuring the artwork that local artist Kyle Hughes-Odgers, aka Creepy, did for the show. This is printed in black, water-based ink, onto grey marle, American Apparel, tri-blend tees. They are $59 and are available at Ruck Rover General Store and Outré's Perth gallery, 260 William Street, Northbridge. The tees are available in both men's and women's fits and are a limited edition run of 200 tees total.

Ali J

Ali J is an artist/illustrator whose work is whimsical, dreamy and invokes the imagination. Her characters are modern, fashionable and often feature red rosy cheeks. Each character has a unique personality and style that often reminds others of someone they know.

I close my eyes and can still hear the music, $160

Ali J believes that everyone should be able to own her artwork and access it outside of a gallery. This leads her artworks to be presented in a variety of formats and reproduced onto various products including prints, greeting cards, pocket mirrors and jewellery.

Tea for Two, $120

Her art has been exhibited worldwide and she has created work for clients such as Peppermint Magazine, Sony/BMG, Oxford University Press and the Australian Copyright Council. She is currently illustrating her first book, a recipe book, slated for release in May 2012.

I'm ready can't you see, $160

Wilderness is a series of artworks revolving around the idea of the modern world co-existing with the woodlands that exist in the artist's dreams. Inspired by The Wishing Chair series by Enid Blyton, the artworks consist of a series of portraits of characters that live within a world equally inhabited by human and animals.

Lisa Max

Lisa Max returns to Mini Art Mart in August 2011 with an exhibition entitled 5 Seasons.

$40

Lisa Max is a recent import from Germany, shipped to Perth via Vienna, Austria, where a Fine Arts degree was added to the finished product. She is now feeling very much at home among the local arts and crafts.

Her “5 Seasons” series is an experiment in saving several weeks worth of doodles made during downtime at work and transferring some of them onto MDF boards rather than into the bin! She has decided she will do this more often.

$50

Samantha Hughes

Sing.

Samantha is a writer and illustrator who likes the deep, dark quiet of the night. She loves the velvet time around midnight when the best and strangest ideas creep out and become just a little bit real. That is the time when her sketchbook fills up with the weirdest and most magical stories and sketches.

Her favourite materials to work with are her trusty 2b pencils and little tubes of luscious, intensely colourful gouache. Sam still pokes her tongue out when she is concentrating really hard on a drawing. She most likes to paint monsters and zombies and strange fanciful creatures – the types you’d like to share a cupcake with.

Her work has appeared on posters, in exhibitions and even on shoes.

Her collection for Mini Art Mart is entitled Sing. All of the characters in this collection have a secret that can only be told through the lyrics from their favourite song.

We wanted to share the Mini Art Mart love far and wide, so we've offered a selection of pieces for sale in our online store. A few artworks from each exhibition will now be available to purchase here.

If artwork is purchased that is currently on display, it will ship at the end of the exhibition, which is the end of the current calendar month. Some art will be ready to go immediately and will be labelled as such.

Check it out!

Kate-Anna St. Valentine

The actual size of everything.

Kate-Anna St. Valentine is a small and sunny artist from small and sunny Perth. She really likes things and writes things like kittens, flight, light crystal explosions, tiny little feelings, and total heartbreak.

Kate-Anna has spent the last few years showing in and curating shows nationwide, and a little bit beyond.

When Kate-Anna isn't making pictures, she is usually making a sandwich, or hanging out with her awesome pets.

Pretty, huh?

Brendan Brown

Drawing inspiration from religious art and tattoos, as well as anatomical, botanical and wildlife illustration, Brendan has been wandering the world drawing pictures for the best part of ten years.

Framed drawings, $50.

This is the first time his work has been displayed, and this exhibition was primarily motivated by the fear of an impending 30th birthday.

Large owl, offers accepted for original.
Large prints, $50.

For the collection, Brendan has sketched in pencil on hand pressed paper, then mounted the sketches in custom made frames, also made by him.

Prints are available of his large owl picture on acid free, textured card stock.

Tristan Fidler

Tristan Fidler blabs about movies; this can be relied upon. A UWA graduate, he completed a PhD on music video directors, so people describe him as a 'Doctor of Music Videos' but this is not medically accurate.

When not reciting lines from Big Trouble in Little China or Ghostbusters to anyone who'll listen, he spends time editing a zine, I Am Still in Yesterday's Clothes, and contributing to a podcast, Heavy Movie Parking Lot. Generally, an affable sap who likes to write stuff and draw things.

24 unique prints, $25 each.

For Mini Art Mart, Tristan has compiled a series of portraits of film directors. Prints are A4 and are on 300gsm card. Do you like the modern, comic styling of Judd Apatow? Are you into the Scorsese classics? Or perhaps you like it when conventions meet the unconventional, in the work of Jon Waters? Whatever your taste in cinema, there's someone just for you.

Rachael Kuan

Rachael is a librarian by day, and spends the rest of her waking hours finding distractions from sleep. She plays guitar in the instrumental rock band smRts, and makes zines, runs zine workshops and a letter writing club as part of the Perth Zine Collective. Rachael is particularly interested in typewriters, half-frame cameras and toy instruments.

Rachel and her works.

For this exhibition at Mini Art Mart, Rachael has put together a series of original collages. They consist of vintage pictures and Victorian line drawings on A4 card, plus one shadowbox type collage in a frame.

First Class Mail, $60.

Miss Under H2O

Miss Under H2O is an underwater photographer and visual artist. She originally studied art 20 years ago but then let it fall by the wayside for 18 years.

After learning scuba diving in December 2006 she was a very nervous diver, so her husband (Mr Under H2O) gave her a small camera to take underwater. From that very moment, not only did her anxiousness subside, but it opened up a new realm of creativity and inspiration.

Miss Under H2O has now progressed up from her original 'point and shoot' camera to a full digital SLR and underwater housing. All the art displayed at Mini Art Mart is from underwater visions and an array of countries including Australia, Vanuatu, Timor Leste, Indonesia and Malaysia. As well as canvases, pictured below, Miss Under H2O is selling small prints.

Large and small canvases, $119.95 & $59.95

Recently, Miss Under H2O placed in an underwater photo competition in Christmas Island and has had work published in The West Australian newspaper.

Her latest ventures are in underwater portrait images, mainly for children and babies but also for individuals, families and creative modeling. She is available for commercial or personal work.