Laurie Hastings
Posted by Amy on Wednesday September 1, 2010
Laurie Hastings is an Edinburgh-based illustrator, and I’m really fascinated by her use of cool colors for her work. There’s lots of blues in there, but they work beautifully for each of her commissions.
She’s collaborated with with poet David Troupes, has done book covers for Random House, magazine illustrations and also runs a small online shop, which you can find silk screen prints and other little bits and pieces such as cards, matchboxes, cotton shoppers and purses!
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Dasrotesrabbit
Posted by Amy on Tuesday August 31, 2010
Loving the strong visuals behind Sarah of Dasroterabbit’s work. She’s a freelance designer since 2003 (with a Masters in Visual Communications from Danmarks Design School) who resides in Sweden. Dasroterabbit is a brand
she created that pulls together her love for graphics and arts and embraces graphic design, illustration, art direction and handmade plywood (wall hanging) artworks.
Right now in her Etsy shop there’s lots of colorful posters available that’s guaranteed to add some zing to your walls!
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My Favourite Weather
Posted by Amy on Monday August 30, 2010
I think that the weather is getting better over here. For the past few weeks it’s been nothing but hot scorching sun that birds won’t even come out for lest they burn (I’m pretty sure that birds don’t really burn though…)
But I do hope that birds are chirping wherever you are!
{Bird Chirping Weather by Katie Daisy}
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These I steal for you
Posted by Amy on Thursday August 26, 2010
“Chase your dreams until you catch them…and then dream, catch, and dream again!”
~ Dee Marie (Sons of Avalon: Merlin’s Prophecy)
I forgot about that quote for the longest time, but remembered it again after looking at Brooklyn-based artist Dan-ah Kim’s print called These I steal for you. I am absolutely in love with this print – it’s really romantic in an uplifting yet poignant way.
What dreams are you trying to catch?
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Artist interview: Laura McKellar
Posted by Melanie Maddison on Wednesday August 25, 2010
This week’s interview is with Laura McKellar, an artist living in Melbourne who has an amazing series of work – digital prints on fabric, which she then hand-embroiders. There’s more to this crafty lady than meets the eye, so read more about her in this interview with Melanie Maddison, our chief interviewer on Pikaland!
Website: lauramckellar.com
Blog: lauramckellar.blogspot.com/
Online Shop: www.lauramckellar.bigcartel.com/
Zine: iloveokay.com/
Zine blog: www.iloveokay.blogspot.com/
Etsy: etsy.com/shop/sirseven
Hi Laura, could you tell us a little about yourself, and what are you currently working on?
I am a freelance graphic designer living in Melbourne, Australia. I’m currently working on artwork for exhibitions, album artwork, illustrated ceramic brooches, some logos and thinking about my next issue of my zine Okay.
How long have you been creating art, embracing your creativity, and working towards developing your current style and output?
As a little girl I was encouraged to be creative. My sisters and I would spend a lot of time drawing and painting and using mum’s Derwents.
My uncle and grandfather were both photographers and I was influenced at an early age by them. I collect film cameras and use my photographs with illustrations. I am drawn to images I find in old 50s & 60s pattern books and have collected many which have had a significant effect on my work.
I studied graphic design for 5 years at college but I’ve been making things for as long as I can remember. Learning to use design programs on the computer has definitely influenced how I design my artwork.
How did you first learn to access your creative and artistic talents, and gain the confidence to make art your career?
I grew up in a very creative environment. My aunt is a professional illustrator so from a very early age I learned with a lot of hard work and dedication that it is possible to make art your career. I also learned at school that I could make a living from being creative and have since pursued it!
CLICK HERE to read the entire interview!
The Apples Of Youth and The Living Water
Posted by Amy on Tuesday August 24, 2010
If you haven’t heard already, Arrow to Arrow is a new online gallery and shop that sells beautiful, exclusive and limited edition prints by various artists. Jess sent me a link to a print called The Apples Of Youth and The Living Water by Sophie Alda that’s based on a Russian folklore of the same name, and now I’m in love.
Isn’t her work fabulous? Her style is wonderfully unique and very memorable as well. Her color choices, the way she renders people (critters too!) and the interplay of patterns in each illustration is top notch. See more at Sophie’s website!
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Mayuko Fujino
Posted by Amy on Friday August 20, 2010
Beautiful collage work by Mayuko Fujino, a paper cutout artist currently residing in Tokyo. All of her works are created with an X-Acto knife, paper of Washi (Japanese handmade paper), and magazine papers. Through years of experimentation, she has arrived at her current style that marries collage and paper cutouts. Her portfolio is amazing, and is a must see for papercraft artists and lovers.
Her solo exhibition entitled Arikui Abduction (images above are from the series) have just ended but original pieces can be purchased from Megumi Ogita Gallery. And she also has an Etsy shop!
Artist interview: Katy Horan
Posted by Melanie Maddison on Wednesday August 18, 2010
Katy Horan is a painter, drawer, crafter, and maker-of-things. She loves all things folky, spooky and crafty. Originally from Texas, she now lives in Austin.
Some of Katy’s work features in The Dazzle, a group show at Narwhal Art Projects in Toronto, Canada, which opens Sept 9th and runs until Oct 17, 2010.
{Interviewed by Melanie Maddison}
Website: www.katyart.com/
Blog: katyhoran.tumblr.com/
Etsy: etsy.com/shop/Katyart
Hi Katy, how are you? What are you working on at the moment?
I am great, thanks! I’m experimenting quite a bit these days. I am trying to balance the tiny details with more texture and looseness. I am hoping to make some large scale figures that incorporate ghost and widow imagery…should be pretty spooky.
How would you describe your art?
I would say I make bizarro lady monsters out of tiny lace patterns that make my hands hurt. That’s the casual version.
Here’s the formal version: I intuitively combine fragmented visual references with imagery from my own memory to create something that is both ambiguous and familiar. I do this to filter images from my own subconscious while raising questions of what we visually identify as feminine.
What are your daily inspirations?
I get a lot of inspiration from things I read, listen to and watch. I like to use my work as a filter for all the tiny pieces of inspiration I absorb in my everyday life and that remain from my childhood. Folk and ghost stories are a source that I return to regularly.
I am also really into history, so I like to incorporate visual details from the eras that interest me. Right now, I am really into Victorian mourning customs, so there is a lot of widow imagery floating around my head and studio.
How did you first get started in art, is it something that you’ve always been interested in and excelled at?
How long have you been creating art, embracing your creativity, and working towards developing your current style and output?
I always drew. As a kid, I did all kinds of other activities….dance, theater, piano….but art was the only thing that I never got bored with. It always felt more natural to me than anything else.
I always wanted to do something visual. I went to college initially to study costume design, but became more interested in children’s books than theater. I then transferred to RISD to study Illustration. After I graduated, my work gradually began shifting towards fine arts, so when galleries began showing interest and publishers weren’t, I decided to pursue a more fine art sort of path. Since then (around 2006) I have been pushing my work and process, trying to find deeper concepts and create more dynamic imagery.
How did you personally learn to access your creative and artistic talents, and gain the confidence to make art and creative expression your career?
My work is at it’s best when I work completely intuitively. I have always sought that place where the conscious mind shuts up and the work becomes meditative. I listen to audio books to distract the nagging, judgmental part of my brain, so that I can work without thought. It’s been a lot of trial and error to find the best way to get around my neurosis and ADD, so that I can just work and not worry about it!
As far as confidence goes…I am not sure how I kept that up. I am just so self conscious about everything else that it was a natural choice to pursue the art instead of another career.
CLICK HERE to read the entire interview!
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Denise Gallagher
Posted by Amy on Wednesday August 18, 2010
Loving the fun illustrations of Denise Gallagher. Her work has a predominantly muted palette of green, browns and grey; with a lot of textures and fine line work. What I love most is her ability to express the many facets of her characters through the rendering of their facial expression — now that’s a skill I’d kill for! Also worth a read: her About page with one of the loveliest bios I’ve ever read.
See her BigCartel shop for prints you can purchase!
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Lizz Lunney
Posted by Amy on Tuesday August 10, 2010
We need more funny artists! Sure, we’ve already profiled a few – there’s Kate Beaton, Claire Murray, Mischief Champion, but here’s a new one to add to the list: Lizz Lunney, an illustrator from Birmingham who draws fun little comics about the most random things. Check out her daily drawings in a section of her website called The Daily Sushi filled with quirky characters acting out all sorts of antics — it’s a hoot!
And if you want to take them away, you can buy some of her comics over in her shop (international customers need to write to her first before purchasing for added postage!)
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