5 Artists On Instagram I Discovered This Week

Here are 5 artists on Instagram I fell in love with this week.

Are you finding Instagram to be extraordinarily inspiring? My feed has been taking me all around the world, leading me to incredible discoveries in art and design. I have been re-gramming my favorites (are you following me @decorartsnow?), but some discoveries deserve closer inspection than one repost.

Nami Ito

When I spotted a detail from this painting by Nami Ito on the Instagram feed of Shapiro Joyal Studio (@shapirojoyalstudio), all I knew was that it was beautiful. I had no idea that some of her works had such a large scale (as seen in the first photo) or anything about the fascinating process.

Nami practices the art of Japanese painting. She reconstitutes colored powdered pigments in various textures to create her medium. It is a slow and laborious process, described in detail on her website, but she loves it.

She has a stunning gallery on her website too. I like everything.

Pay a visit to her lovely site, and spend some time. You won't regret it.

2. Rafael Costardi

On the other hand, I know far less about Rafael Costardi. He is one of those artists who seems to be using Instagram as his sole means of "getting out there." On his Instagram feed (@rcostardy), he describes himself as a street artist and photographer, and he has expressed the dream of finding an exhibition space for his work. He sure deserves one. The image below is the one that first caught my eye. Rafael's work reminds me of the digitally manipulated photography of child prodigy Kaia Miller.

Of course, I googled him in an effort to find out more. I didn't learn much but Rafael has listed a few of his works on the website Behance. This portrait was my favorite.

Follow Rafael on Insta for more. He is one to watch.

3. Lena Petersen

Artist, designer and illustrator Lena Petersen (@lenapetersen.de) hails from Berlin and Hannover. Lena's first painting completed in 2016 grabbed my attention.

On Instagram, she announced that her work was taking a new direction. Recent posts show the addition of gold, to what were previously black and white drawings. I also love this op-art geometric piece.

Lena works in a wide variety of scale. Some of her illustrations have been reproduced on pillows, and even as an iPhone case!

Check out her feed to enjoy her art, plus get the links to her products.

4. Amanda Petro

The color and texture of Amanda Petro's paintings are so appealing. Amanda lives in Alabama, where she was born. She works in oil on canvas or wood panel and typically paints in the Abstract Expressionist style. Amanda says she likes "paint to be paint" and prefers to "let what exists on a canvas dictate what's to come," thereby allowing her work to evolve. You can explore her work on her website and on Instagram @amandapetroart. She has a shop on her website too (her work is quite accessible). As a bonus, Amanda posts the most intriguing images of her studio. You know how I love imagery relating to the creative process.

5. Lesley Meyer

Lesley Meyer, unlike all my other discoveries this week, is practically in my backyard, especially when I am upstate. She is a photographer based in Litchfield County, Connecticut and her images of country life and nature have vibrant color and evocative themes. Lesley has her own book and you can find a review of it here. She says of her work, “There’s so much beauty that a lot of people don’t even notice...” Well, time to pay attention. Follow Lesley on Insta @lesleyhk88

I am hoping to share my discoveries on Instagram here on a regular basis (#bloggoals). What are you finding on Instagram these days? Do tell.

All images from the artists' websites or instagram feeds.