Photographer's Girlfriend Leads Him Around the World

Photographer Murad Osmann creatively documents his travels around the world with his girlfriend leading the way in his ongoing series known as Follow Me To. Chronicling his adventures on Instagram, the Russian photographer composes each shot in a similar fashion. We see each landscape from the photographer's point of view with his extended hand holding onto his girlfriend's in front of him.

With her back turned, never revealing her face to the camera, Osmann's girlfriend guides us all on a journey across the globe to some of the most beautiful, exotic, and radiant environments. There are also comforting and familiar settings mixed in for good measure. Whether the couple is spending a romantic night in Moscow, having an exotic adventure in Asia, or simply going bowling, Osmann keeps a visual record of their escapades as he trails behind his beloved. 

03. Ravello, Italy

04.Austria

05. Hong Kong Disneyland

06. Venice, Italy

07. Bali, Indonesia

08.

09. Moscow, Russia

10. Indonesia

11. Hong Kong

12. London, England

13. Ikea

14. Singapore

15.

16.

17.

18. Holocaust memorial Berlin

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Dafen Oil Painting Village: Where Fake Art is Business

China is well known for fakery of all kinds, be it consumer electronics, clothing, pharmaceuticals, DVDs, food and everything in between. And there is particularly one type of fakery that is actually thriving in business with a market that spreads from New York to Tokyo – Art.

Dafen is a small village in the suburb of Buji, in Longgang District of Shenzhen whose sole purpose is to mass produce replicas of western art to be sold to shops, restaurants, hotels, galleries, and tasteless consumers across the world. The village boasts over 5,000 artists working in 600+ galleries who churn out over 5 million paintings each year.

It started in the early 1990s when a group of about twenty artists under the leadership of the painter and businessman Huang Jiang took up residence in this town. They specialized in the making of large numbers of replicas of oil paintings by masters such as Van Gogh and Leonardo da Vinci. These replicas were sold in many countries for relatively low prices. The endeavor was quite successful and soon the demand for replicas increased. In order to fulfill the demand more and more artists took up residence and started to make a living. According to China Daily, some 60% of all global fake paintings are produced at Dafen.

Many of the artists involved in the job are actually trained at art academies and churn out dozens of replicas each day. A combination picture (below) shows the half-hour process of painter Zhao Xiaoyong working on a Van Gogh self-portrait in his gallery at Dafen Oil Painting Village. Zhao said he has sold more than 70,000 pieces of Van Gogh's paintings, with the price ranging from 200 to 1,500 yuan ($30-$230) a piece.

Source: Wikipedia, RandomWire
Photo courtesy: Jason Lee / Reuters, Cory Doctorow

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Bright And Positive Paintings

Today I want to show you amazing paintings of Russian artist Leonid Afremov. Leonid Afremov tried different techniques during his career, but he especially fells in love with painting with oil and pallette-knife. Every artwork is the result of long painting process and brings different mood, colors and emotions. So colorful, lovely and professional at the same time these breath taking paintings will surely bring you a lot of positive and peace of mind.

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The classical beauty

The classical beauty

The classical beauty

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