Over the years, we’ve seen art come in many forms using varied mediums—from diamonds to fecal matter and everything in between.  And though we occasionally wonder what ever happened to just drawing well, our thoughts quickly became refocused on one thing (i.e. LEGO) after seeing the genius of Nathan Sawaya.  This New York-based artist has more than 1.5 million LEGO bricks in his art studio and after looking through his extensive collection of work, it would be an understatement to say that Sawaya knows his way around a LEGO brick.  Whether it’s his portraits or sculptures, Sawaya takes one of the iconic toys of our youth, and ever so meticulously pieces them together to actualize his artistic vision of well, just about anything you can imagine (from a life size Stephen Colbert to a sorority paddle).  Though his medium may be steeped in the fond memories of our childhood, there’s no question his imagination and skills transcend the puerile into the sublime.

We were recently making our way through the Gagosian Gallery on Madison Avenue and looking at a few prints from Ed Ruscha and Damien Hirst.  Keeping in mind the price tags on these were anywhere from the high four to high five digits, we admired, reflected, and then kept on walking (right out of the gallery).  While we appreciate art and endeavor to own a few pieces, the price tag can often be intimidating.  That said, what we love about the original paintings and prints from San Francisco-based 3 Fish Studios, is that while so many of them resonated with us aesthetically, nothing we saw was above $120.  The result of a collaborative effort between Annie Galvin and Eric Rewitzer (both painters and printmakers, as well as husband and wife), 3 Fish Studios has a wide array of original art options, including limited edition linocut prints and paintings.  Our favorites are easily from the Bears in Thoughtful Repose series—wearing lucha libre-like masks, these contemplative bears exhibit great character and were absolutely meant to hang on our walls (and with prices starting at just $15, we can actually afford to make it happen).