Chris Ballantyne’s work focuses on vernacular architecture and observation of the American landscape.  Banal features of suburban and industrial zones are sources for paintings that highlight the quirky and absurd.  Ballantyne states that, “Growing up in a military family and moving to different parts of the country, there was a certain familiarity to the kinds of houses and neighborhoods. They were a series of suburban developments built in separate regions of the country, always on the outskirts of larger cities, at the exit ramps of interstate highways, and all very similar in age and design.  My own notions of space developed out of this cultural landscape which was striving for an indidvidual sense of personal space,  consciously economic, and somewhere between urban and rural.” Dysfunctional structures are flawless in their strangeness, made beautiful through symmetry, simplified lines and flat, subdued colors. Ballantyne eliminates detail to emphasize the subtleties of the way we experience space and our attempts at containment. He extends these concepts further by expanding the imagery of his paintings beyond the picture plane and onto the surrounding walls. “Most of my works involve combinations of various places, drawn from memory. As well, my own interests in skateboarding and surfing altered how I saw  the use of these structures ranging from empty pools, sidewalk curbs, to ocean jetties in a way that tied in to my sense of this larger push and pull between culture and nature.” With shrewd restraint, Ballantyne accentuates the antisocial effects of our built environment with a hint of humor and plenty of ambiguity. A curious emptiness permeates the work of Chris Ballantyne. Graphically rendered buildings, pools, parking lots, and fences take on new meanings and amplified significance, isolated on flat fields of color.

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Artist based in Japan. I travel the world using Google street view and paint attractive landscapes with my own filter. I carry this project as "Street View Journey".

Hi! I'm a freelance illustrator from Lincolnshire. Growing up in the countryside gave me a lot of opportunity to explore, fantasize and most of all draw! When illustrating I think about the story I can tell to make the subject come alive. I love illustrating anything conceptual, (particularly editorial), packaging, greetings cards but overall I love drawing!! 💖🌞😻♌💞

Katie Goodwin is a fine artist who mainly works in moving image. She recently completed a Masters of Fine Art at Wimbledon College of Art and currently is exhibiting in New Contemporaries at the ICA in London. She has lived most of her adult life in London, UK and Sydney, Australia, but loves living in Newcastle, because not only is it really affordable and easy to get around by bicycle, it’s got a bit of everything - great markets, architecture, beaches, culture, and also the local Geordies are just so friendly.