On a recent trip to San Francisco, I was lucky enough to meet with John Trippe, the main man behind the popular arts based site, Fecal Face. Trippe started Fecal Face in 1998 as a zine that has since developed into a hugely popular web site that not only has arts news from San Francisco but from all over the world. It’s a great hub for those interested in younger developing artists who are beginning to have shows and get their voices heard. [Shepherd Fairey photo via Fecal Face]

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When I first saw Gregory Jacobsen’s work, I wasn’t sure whether to be enthralled or disgusted. I think I was somewhere in between, and still am. His imagery is quite shocking, with grotesque, fleshy figures in all sorts of weird sexual poses and scenarios. But if you look past this and concentrate on the artwork itself, you’ll see a highly technical and extremely talented artist who has an amazing eye for colour and detail. Just don’t show the kids.

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Portraiture and realism have always been my cup-of-tea, so to speak. I love realism in artwork. Stephen Earl Rogers is a young British artist who works in realism and is becoming well known for his portraits. He has a unique way of capturing a person’s character and his works are technically stunning with just the right level of realism whilst not trying to be photographic. He has exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in London, amongst other places.

You hear the words ‘unique’ and ‘original’ thrown around quite a lot these days. I use them myself regularly. But every now and then you find an artist who truly deserves those terms to be used in relation to their work. Travis Louie is one such artist. His work is quite hard to describe. In a nutshell he makes traditional turn-of-the-century styled portraits of very strange looking ‘people’. It’s almost like looking at a family album from a ye-olde freak show.

Jeremy Fish’s work never fails to impress with its humor and intelligence. His artwork is fun, whilst also being serious — a difficult blend to maintain, but one that he seems to be capable of without too much effort.

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I’ve been a massive fan of Tiffany Bozic’s work for many years, and this has only increased since having the pleasure of meeting, and becoming friends with her, this year. Her artwork is simply beautiful and has a uniqueness that is rarely seen these days. The integrity and honesty within her art also makes her work stand out, she takes months labouring over pieces with a patience born from truly believing in her artwork and it’s message. [see more work by Tiffany Bozic]

*Nice doodle. That’s a photorealistic line drawing of a cat riding a bicycle, right? You should sign up for our free weekly newsletter*