In a May post I took a look at the work of Luc Grateau, an artist who paints portraits of Paris subway riders on actual tickets using a tiny portable paintbox and easel. But the practice of rendering portraits of fellow passengers is a global one, according to a recent piece in the Los Angeles Times covering the work of Ed Velandria.

Just when you thought there was nothing left to say about the landscape genre, along comes a young Netherlands-based artist who turns things on their head—or rather, on his head. Levi van Veluw's recent Landscape series is the latest in which he uses himself as the canvas for a series of explorations that have resulted in a remarkable run of exhibitions and awards.

Most of us at one time or another, while idly watching an insect make its way in the world, have been struck by the mechanical nature of both its movements and its structure. It's as if this small creature was somehow a clockwork construction, in a class apart from other living things. The discovery of a dead beetle triggered a similar thought in Mike Libby, with the difference that he dissected it and outfitted it with old watch parts and gears. He soon made more with other found insects and has continued to explore this theme in a series of striking sculptures.