Is your RSS reader overcrowded? Do you skim over several sites looking for inspiration or browse endlessly for ideas? I do. Here’s a list of sites that I often frequent for examples on contemporary work. Not all are hugely professional on the artists featured, but I like them nonetheless. They range from street art to illustration to fine art. If interested, I also have this list on a Google doc here. Please do share some of your favourites in the comments section below. It gets lonely here all by myself.

MAGAZINES (with good websites to boot)

• Art in America (Fine Art)
• ArtNews (Fine Art)
• Juxtapoz (Grafitti, Street Art and Illustration)
• Hi-Fructose (Grafitti, Street Art and Illustration)
• ArtIT (A bilingual Japanese-English quarterly print publication, that links contemporary art events happening in Japan to those taking place elsewhere in the region and around the world. )

WEBSITES

• Art.sy is a new way to discover art you’ll love, featuring work from leading galleries, museums and private collections around the world. Browse by subject matter, art movement, medium & region. NOTE: In private beta. Request invite needed. Excellent resource!
• Drawn A collaborative weblog for illustrators, artists, cartoonists, and anyone who likes to draw.
• Pikaland (illustration) A blog about art & illustration.
• Grain Edit is focused on classic design work from the 1950s-1970s and contemporary designers that draw inspiration from that time period.
• Koikoikoi Dedicated to featuring the world’s most amazing art, graphic design, advertising,photography, web, tattoo art and videos.
• Booooooom (a little bit of everything here)
• This is Colossal A blog that explores the intersection of art, design, and physical craft.
• Print & Pattern A website that celebrates the world of surface pattern design.
• Nowness is the digital leader in luxury storytelling. Each day, NOWNESS showcases an exclusive premiere of the most inspiring stories influencing contemporary culture and global lifestyle, previewing the latest in fashion, gastronomy, art, film, music, design, travel and sport. Also has short videos of artists working.
• Blue Canvas An international, multi-genre, online community of artists and art lovers. Bluecanvas magazine is a quarterly publication that features artists from its online community. We hope everyone will be able to find inspiration that reaches across genres, and hope that Bluecanvas can provide the right tools for our users to inspire everyone, artists and non-artists alike.
• Explore A discovery engine for meaningful knowledge, fueled by cross-disciplinary curiosity.
• Sparked Culture, design, illustration etc
• It’s Nice That exists to champion creativity across a whole host of disciplines. We publish exciting, original and engaging work from both established names and talented newcomers.
• Teach Art TeachArt.org exists to help teachers stay in touch with emerging trends in contemporary art, and bring new curriculum strategies into the classroom.
• Art Orbit

VIDEO SERIES

• Art:21 PBS series that demonstrate the breadth of artistic practice in the United States today. Each one-hour program is loosely organized around a theme helps audiences analyze, compare and juxtapose the artists profiled. Each episode revolves around a theme such as, compassion, time & transformation.
• Off Book A web-based series that explores cutting edge art and the people that make it. The 13 episode series focuses on the process, motivation and meaning of a new generation of artists.
• Time and Space: Artist Series (Grafitti, Street Art and Illustration) There’s a time and place for everything. The Vans Off The Wall TV crew makes sure they’re always there to cover the finer details of the creative genius at work. Get an inside look at Vans supported artists doing what they do best. When the creative juices are flowing, all an artist needs is “Time and Space.” NOTE: some videos contain expletives
• New York Close Up An Art:21 documentary web series on art and life in New York City.
• CraneTV The premium online video-magazine for contemporary culture (art, design, fashion, lifestyle & travel).
• The Painting & Drawing Channel on YouTube (Take a guess what this one is about!)
• PBS Idea Channel Here’s an idea: a PBS show that examines the connections between pop culture, technology and art.

Three cheers for you! You’ve either read or skimmed all the way down to the bottom. Omedetou! (Don’t forget to leave a suggestion in the comments.)

UPDATE: A few more sites have been added to the google doc.