Inspired by personal experiences, a mix of cultures, rituals, and travelling the world, artist Jim Skull creates elaborate woven skull sculptures. He likes to be referred to as Jim Skull as a reflection of his interest in skulls; a symbol that he has been working with since the 1980s. He is currently living in France where he creates beautifully crafted sculptures out of rope, Papier-mâché, and other natural materials. He was born in New Caledonia and there’s no doubt that the influences of the tribal arts from Oceania, Africa, and North America are evident within his technique.

“Very small forest-dwelling wallabies are known as pademelons (genus Thylogale) and dorcopsises (genera Dorcopsis and Dorcopsulus). The name wallaby comes from the Eora Aboriginal tribe who were the original inhabitants of the Sydney area. Wallabies are herbivores whose diet consists of a wide range of grasses, vegetables, leaves, and other types of foliage”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A baby wallaby sits in a zoo attendant's lap at Edogawa Natural Zoo on August 4, 2009 in Tokyo, Japan. The staff of the zoo have raised the young wallaby after her mother neglected her. (Photo by Junko Kimura/Getty Images)

“Fernando Botero Angulo (born April 19, 1932) is a Colombian figurative artist. His works feature a figurative style, called by some “Boterismo”, which gives them an unmistakable identity. Botero depicts women, men, daily life, historical events and characters, milestones of art, still-life, animals and the natural world in general, with exaggerated and disproportionate volumetry, accompanied by fine details of scathing criticism, irony, humor, and ingenuity”. – Wikipedia

Photo: The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire view “Dancers” by artist Fernando Botero in the gardens of their home Chatsworth House on September 10, 2009, Chatsworth, England. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and these striking images of 2017 are no exception. The photo highlights include incredible snapshots of the natural world as well as some awesome animal and human encounters. The vibrant gallery also shows thrill-seekers pushing themselves to the limit with breathtaking stunts captured in perfect clarity. The pictures have been taken by a host of photographers from around the world. Here: The two lion cubs singing their hearts out at Antelope park in Zimbabwe. (Photo by David Jenkins/Caters News Agency)

A cenote is a natural phenomenon, a sinkhole in the Earth’s surface. The Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico has an estimated 7,000 cenotes because it is primarily made up of porous limestone. For millions of years, rainfall slowly ate away at the limestone and a huge system of underground caves and caverns was formed. Many filled with water from rain or from the underground water table. When the roof of a water filled cave collapses, a cenote is born. The water found in a cenote may be fresh water, salt water, or both. Structurally it may be completely open, like a lake, almost completely closed with just a small opening at the top, or somewhere in between.

Grand Rapids (Michigan) based illustrator and artist Scott Gundersen creates his portraits from thousands of used and recycled corks. Starting with a large photograph that’s transferred to a drawing, Gundersen pins each cork to the canvas, creating a correlation between the hues of the wine-stained corks and the value of light or shadow in the portrait. Scott Gundersen has made these incredible portraits, one using 3,621, 3,842 and the other using 9,217 natural wine corks.

Andy Kehoe recently returned to New York for his third solo show with Jonathan LeVine Gallery. Entitled Luminous Reverie, this show explores the idea of experiencing a lucid moment while drifting along in a daydream. We enjoyed the works, which continued the new direction that he premiered during a show in Los Angeles last year (covered). Again, Kehoe explores the technique of painting layers upon layers of resin and creating a natural 3-D visual element for the viewers to enjoy. This show will be up until June 15th, so stop by and check it out if you’re in NYC.

“Award-winning photographer Camille Seaman, best known for her earlier work depicting massive polar icebergs, recently turned her lens on another incredible natural phenomenon - storm clouds above the American Midwest. She partnered with experienced storm chasers and began to stalk a particular type of storm cloud – the supercell. On June 22, 2012, in western Nebraska, she encountered an enormous supercell and captured its many faces”. (Photo by Camille Seaman via TheAtlantic)