Society6 Artist interview: Aurelie Grand
Posted by Amy on Tuesday March 2, 2010
Awhile back I posted about collaborating with Society6 to pick out an artist every month (it’s more like a bi-monthly thing though!), and our third pick this time goes to Aurelie Grand. There were tons of applicants, and while it was no easy decision to make, Aurelie stood out because of her sense of style, and the various media that she uses. Here’s definitely one lady to watch!
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Name: Aurelie Grand
Location: Montreal, Canada
Website: www.aureliegrand.com
Shop: socuute.etsy.com
Blog: lilyk.canalblog.com
Illustration media: ink, digital, photography, acrylics, fabrics
Tell us a little more about yourself!
I was born in Toulouse «Pink City», France. I grew up in a small village closer to the Pyrenees. My dad has always been an illustrator (though he was also a full time dentist for a while) and I used to spend hours in his studio either watching him or doodling. As far as I remember drawing’s always been my number one occupation. I honestly never stopped. How nerdy is that?
I currently live in Canada with my boyfriend Max who’s also an artist.
Where do you live? What stands out about living where you are, and what is your daily schedule like?
I spent 3 fun years in Vancouver, Canada and I recently moved to Montreal, Quebec because I wanted to experiment the North American East Coast for a while and we have long-time friends here. Montreal is culturally rich, there’s a lot of artists, parks and bikes (and snow), that’s enough to inspire me.
I like to wake up early and start my day by sketching ideas, new projects etc… Then I have to say I’m not very productive in the afternoon so I’m networking, reading, having a nap, or just hanging around . My favorite shift at the studio is 9pm-2am. I guess I get more focus at night. I also like to take the bus home from the studio with drunk people.
How did you get your start in illustration?
I wrote and illustrate a book when I was 9 or 10. It was an elementary school project, a sort of novel inspired by a school trip. It was about 2 detectives (a dog and a hamster) who were investigating on missing horses in a farm. We sold the books to parents and friends at the school annual show. Ha!
I didn’t go to art school right after high school, even if I really wanted to (I wanted to be a graphic designer actually) mainly because my family did not seem to agree with the idea but I know now that I wasn’t ready anyways. So I went to university to study cell biology and animal behavior for 4 years which was seriously interesting but I soon realized life’s too short and I was wasting my time there.
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Fay Ryu
Posted by Amy on Friday November 20, 2009
So THIS is how snowflakes came to be.
I’m loving the wonderfully offbeat style of Fay Ryu, an artist based in Brooklyn, NY. She’s also a cat person (which also means she’s drawing them obsessively!) See more of her portfolio and hit up her blog for kitty cuties.
The Discontented Bear
Posted by Amy on Saturday August 15, 2009
Loving the visuals for The Discontented Bear; a book that’s about a bear who decides to be a bird. Yes, that’s no typo there. The bear decides to be a bird, he’s not wishing to be one!
Drawn by Stephen Daoud who is an Illustrator living in Bristol, the prints for the visuals are available at his Etsy shop. I love the repetition of strokes and the attention to detail, and of course, the fascinating storyline.
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Jack Teagle
Posted by Amy on Saturday July 18, 2009
Awesome work by Jack Teagle who lives and works in South West England. I love how he makes his characters come alive! Did I mention the humor? Seriously, dead astronaut comics? HA!
From his website:
He enjoys collecting Star Wars, Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, Spiderman, Ultraman, Ghostbusters, and Toxic Crusaders Figures. He also likes reading comics and watching classic horror films.
Aaahh. I can’t say I didn’t see that coming. :)
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I’m away for a few days since Friday, 17th July (and yes, these posts were prepared in advance!) so forgive me if I seem to respond much slower to your emails. Here’s a couple of reads over the weekend that I think would make good food for thought:
- How to get noticed by the blogosphere. I love that it also mentions what happens when you get featured — there’s a trickle effect that will lead to more exposure! (read the article here by Liz and Kegan from DesignGlut)
- And here’s a great article about stretching your boundaries and how to improve your business by doing things differently by Yoola.
Have a great weekend everyone!
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Slugs + more
Posted by Amy on Tuesday June 30, 2009
I always love if there’s a story behind each character that I come across. Take Mike over here for instance. As a resident of Marthaland he is the one that will NEVER be seen without a cheeseburger (and maybe even a beer in hand, if he can grow one!) Each special slug comes with it’s own ID tag when it comes to live with you, so you can put out an APB (?) when it decides to trail off somewhere.
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And here are some more links for you to enjoy this Monday:
+ Carson Ellis has a new website!
+ Mattias Adolfsson has an awesome sketchbook online for you to flip through over at Issuu (be prepared to spend hours over it!)
+ Have you seen Underground Art School’s latest magazine called The Sketchbook Issue??
+ And Sally also has a spanking new website!
Jean Jullien
Posted by Amy on Tuesday November 4, 2008
What I’m doing today: looking through the beautiful pages from Jean Jullien’s ongoing visual diary. He has 50 books so far, all of them about his life, anecdotes, illustrations, quotes, sketches, writing, ideas and his everyday life. His website is a treasure trove of inspiration, and he is truly one versatile artist.
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The Rabbit Mayor
Posted by Amy on Thursday September 18, 2008
One of my absolute loves in the illustration genre is story-telling for both adults and kids alike. I have a stack of very old illustrated story books that was handed down to me by my cousins which I treasure till this very day.
I stumbled on Jon Klassen’s Burst of Beaden via Gallery Nucleus, and his prints first caught my eye. But my curiosity was piqued when I saw the Rabbit Mayor — a story he illustrated for Flight magazine, which was only half shown. So on a whim, I wrote him an email to request for the entire story and to profess my love of his works; and I woke up the next day with an email from him, and a link to the whole story — which you all can enjoy here. (It’s still not available yet on his site, so consider this an exclusive for now!) ;)
That just made my day!
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Never Been
Posted by Amy on Tuesday April 29, 2008
Stuart Kolakovic recently put up his work from his first solo show, which is now available here online. His illustrated stories are a must read — and it is what he does best. (To read the story, you use your mouse to drag the image to reveal more of it — until you reach the end.)
He’s also a contributor to the PikaPackage Project — his A Gosling mini comic is part of the pool, which you can see over here, on our Flickr page.
she makes me roll on the floor
Posted by Amy on Thursday April 10, 2008
Kate Beaton does. I’m not sure if it’s just me, but everytime I see a new comic from this fantastically funny lady, I feel all giddy and happy. Better still if you’re into history, because that’s her forte.
Oh, have a gander at her about page, I guarantee it’ll crack you right up too.
Yes, I’ve posted her up at my other blog, but that doesn’t count. Especially when I think her comics about John Paul II is funny and sweet at the same time (I hope this isn’t offensive in any way!).
Find all her comics here and keep up with her journal here.
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Argyle Academy
Posted by Amy on Friday February 22, 2008
Mike Lowery is a DC area artist who teaches art and design. His Argyle Academy comics are quietly hilarious and details the antics of Alexander, Matthew, Stockholm and Lionel the vampire cat; along with a few fruits.
A page from his journal
Places of interest in a small and haunted New England Town
His work is fresh and funny — I love the dialogs between his characters and his expressive linework; and his illustrations documented in his blog.
Oh, and he sells his originals drawings and tees in his shop too!
Original drawings & tees from Argyle Academy
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