Spruce Up Your Instagram Feed With These Cincinnati Artists
By CityBeat Staff
We're always on the prowl for new artists — and Instagram is a great tool to find them. If you need help exploring, here’s a handful of local accounts to liven up your feed.
| Story by Mackenzie Manley
Scroll down to view images
Join the CityBeat Press Club
At a time when local-based reporting is critical, support from our readers is essential to our future. Support our coverage with a one-time or monthly donation.
Name: Cedric Michael Cox Vibrant swirls and slants of surreal abstraction mark painter Cedric Michael Cox’s work. As the bio on his website states, his work often delves into themes of mythical literature and the relationships between the physical body, musical allegories and natural and man-made landscapes. His work has been showcased in a handful of local galleries and museums, including the Contemporary Arts Center, The Carnegie and the Weston Art Gallery.
Photo via Instagram/cedric_michael_cox
Name: Linnea Campbell If you’re into critters, Campbell’s work is covered in them. She illustrates animals — like foxes, mice, bears and bees — onto various ceramic pieces, such as bowls, coasters and plates. Flowers and plants also often act as subjects. All of her work is painted in soothing, laid-back colors that are oh-so aesthetically pleasing.
Photo via Instagram/linneacampbellceramics
Name: Nicholas Moegly Nicholas Moegly has designed concert tour posters for the likes of Midwestern Emo heroes American Football, folksy legends Avett Brothers and beyond. His dreamy and distinctive illustrations often depict nature scenes. Personally, I’m geeked over how good his hand-lettering work is.
Photo via Instagram/nicholasmoegly
Name: Casey Riordan Millard Shark Girl is Cincinnati’s unsung mascot. Perhaps Casey Riordan Millard’s most well-known sculpture is situated in the Contemporary Arts Center’s UnMuseum. Wearing a blue dress with a pink bow around the waist, a gray storm cloud perpetually floats over a girl’s shark-shaped head. Millard’s Instagram isn’t only brimming with sketches of her iconic character, however — surreal artwork steeped in childhood whimsy can also be found.
Photo via Instagram/sharkgirlart
Name: Emily Howard Emily Howard’s work is like the pages of a fantastical novel come to life. Scroll through her feed and you’ll find Ron Weasley giving a dour side-eye, Matilda with a book clutched to her chest, a snake slithering in a garden, many inquisitive cats and empowering femme figures. Based in Erlanger, she’s a block printmaker and illustrator with over 54,000 followers on Insta. She carves into surfaces of wood and linoleum and fills those spaces with ink to create thick, graphic lines, which are a signature of her illustrations.
Photo via Instagram/thediggingestgirl
Name: Peta Niehaus Dew Peta Niehaus Dew began her quest to post a doodle for every day nearly a decade ago in 2010. Her work is bright, simple and cozy. Some illustrations depict dogs smiling idly or sleeping soundly; others feature grinning tapioca balls floating lazily in pastel-colored boba tea that looks good enough to slurp. She also posts the occasional animated cartoon or #relatable comic.
Photo via Instagram/doodlesonthedaily
Name:Blythe Russo Recently, artist Russo has been in the process of illustrating work for One More Wheel, a children’s book written by Colleen AF Venable, which will be released in August of this year. Her often narrative-driven is drawn with delicate lines and soft colors. If you need to chill, her feed feels like snuggling up on the couch with a cup of tea.
Photo via Instagram/blythe_russo
Name: Christie Goodfellow Another ceramic artist, Christie Goodfellow’s work is starkly minimalistic with smooth, modern lines and earthy colors. CGCERAMICS first started in 2009 out of a small backyard studio; she recently moved production to another a space in Bellevue.
Photo via Instagram/cgceramics
Name: Joshua Stout Josh Stout has been an artist for 15 years; he even worked as a producer of 2017’s BLINK art and light festival. If you’re into pop culture, he draws everything from cartoon dinosaurs dressed as Batman to Tina Belcher from Bob’s Burgers. You may have also seen his work while walking downtown. Located on Eighth and Main streets on the side of Algin Retro Furniture, one of his murals depicts a ballerina Fiona the hippo dancing her heart out.
Photo via Instagram/joshuastoutart
