Graffiti, Trafford Centre and Beautiful Thing .
It’s a bit of a hotch potch today as there’s a few pieces I’ve been meaning to show you that don’t quite make a blogpost on their own. The first is some more wonderful Graffiti captured in Manchester’s Northern Quarter the other week.
There’s a fab metallic tree sculpture that I’ve not seen before in Piccadilly gardens (above) and the fountains caught my eye in the sunlight too. Meanwhile Christmas is definitely looming in the Trafford Centre, just outside of Manchester.
Great window displays from the likes of Ted Baker and some fun gifts for the man who has everything.
I also was lucky enough to catch the present production of Jonathan Harvey’s Beautiful Thing which is currently on at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. It is on until December 3rd but you’d better book quickly as tickets are disappearing fast. More info here.
I must compliment all of the cast for an outstanding production but in particular Claire-Louise Cordwell who plays Sandra gave a strong and touching performance as the mother of one of the boys. Here’s a couple of images I took of the stage and floating world above the audience.
Shirley Vauvelle . Quirky Sculptures
Shirley works in Scarborough and uses white earthenware and under-glazes to make components
and small sculptures concentrating on layering colour and texture.
These are then assembled together with driftwood, wire, reclaimed maps, vintage magazines and other
interesting finds from local beaches.
One-off contemporary pieces are made which are either hung or freestanding sculptures.
Her inspiration comes from her garden, her love of the coast and the fun of creating objects that are
very individual and quirky, with a tale to tell.
Lovely work, I’d like to hear more about the stories behind the pieces.
Credits to, amongst others, The Arts Market for their photos.
Aaron Leighton . Canadian Illustrator
Aaron Leighton grew up in a small town on the Canadian prairies but was drawn to the chaos and
colour of urban life in the big city. He graduated in 1995 from the Alberta College of Art & Design
in Calgary, Alberta and has been working as an illustrator ever since.
Combining a love of line and color with a fondness for tribal artwork, cartoons, anthropomorphic
objects and bugs, Aaron Leighton’s work is both weird and wonderful.
He has a varied use of style and I can see diverse influences such as Miro, Picasso, Kurt Schwitters,
Klee, Keith Haring, Japanese Manga to name but a few creeping into his work.
I like this concept of creating a book of imagined creatures hanging around urban landscapes.
‘ Spirit City Toronto ‘, combines illustration and photography to depict a variety of homeless nature
spirits who, having lost their forests and streams, are forced to live in the forgotten corners of the city.
Many more examples of Aarons’ work on his site and more interview info here.
He currently lives in Toronto. And loves it!
Beatrice Braun-Fock, Kate Bush and Fishink . Wintery Illustrations
As December draws ever closer, and you can’t fail to miss the first ten aisles of Christmas gubbins
at the supermarkets. Even Kate Bush has been joining in the pre winter activities with the release of
her latest album ‘ 50 Words For Snow ‘ more news here and a video clip here
and don’t worry the fur is fake !
I also thought it was about time the right time of year to introduce a spot of good old fifties winter time.
Beatrice Braun-Fock (1898–1973) illustrated over fifty children’s picture books between 1919 and 1960.
I discovered these on the wonderful 50 Watts website, where there are many weird and wonderful finds.
These are illustrations for a book called ‘ Old Man Winter Comes to Town ‘ by Hilde Hoffmann (1959).
Great style and texture in her work and a sense of excitement in the children too.
I love this frosty old guy floating above the houses in his nightshirt, covering the town with snow.
There’s another of her books illustrated here in a slightly different style, you can sense her love of
nature and appreciation for the way that children play and loose themselves in their adventures.
Thanks to Illuopa for posting these images.
Here’s one of my own hand drawn wintery companions off on his journey.
Here’s a few more to get you in the mood.
Although for a touch of the real christmas feeling I return to Kate Bush and her 1979 classic
December Will Be Magic Again Enjoy.
Lisa Stubbs . Yorkshire Freelance Illustrator
Lisa Stubbs describes herself as ‘ an artistic Yorkshire lass whose original creative passions
were fueled by felt tip pens, Arctic roll and Take Hart ( a kids TV programme)….. much like myself.
Since then she has progressed to having a proper job as a freelance illustrator….nothing changed much
there then, still playing with pens and pencils, eating Jaffa cakes and watching kids TV! ‘ lol
Lisa’s characters are chirpy and bright and there’s quite a broad range of design styles.
There are her delicate portraits.
Some limited edition prints….
and even some greeting cards and funky monkey embroidery !
More to discover on Lisa’s Blog. Such great work and a lovely style too and an interesting interview
on Artonomy here.
Karoly Reich . Hungarian Illustrator
Karoly Reich, (8 August 1922 – 7 September 1988) the Hungarian born children’s book illustrator
was a great innovator. The main features of his work were light, clean lines, a uniquely individual style
and colour, and depending on the theme .. a delicious sense of humor.
There is a playful naivety and Karoly (or Charles) worked hard, and illustrated more than 500 books.
Using mostly ink, pencil or crayon drawings, watercolour paintings, pastel or tempera, he shaped
the images to tell their stories with both imagination and taste.
Karoly had a style not unlike that of Richard Scarry but with more freedom in his colour and lines.
Heinz Maier and Brian Valentine . A drop of beauty.
There are some amazing photographers who currently show their work on Flickr. I find it such a rich
and free source of visual inspiration. Here are two guys who’s work I came across recently.
Initially Heinz Maier who is based in Leinzell, Germany. Heinz started macro photography in 2010.
Working with insects and more interestingly (to me anyway) is his work with water droplets.
It’s hard to believe that these aren’t made of Venetian Glass or digitally created.
They make me think of delicate jellyfish and fragile seahorses like these from JLV and Kenyee.
In a different way, the work of Brian Valentine (who goes under the name of Lord V on Flickr) has an
equal sense of beauty and detail.
There’s a wealth of shots of Brian’s work online here, including plants and insect close ups.
Fishink Christmas cards and repeat textile designs
I’m doing a small run of hand printed Robin Cards this year with a watercolour painted chest.
The design is taken from a lino cut and I’m selling a pack of 10 for £15 plus p&p (£2.50 worldwide).
If you are interested you can buy them on my site here by pressing the blue ‘ make a payment ‘ button,
enter the amount in the box at the top of the page i.e. £17.50 per pack and then press ‘ update totals ‘
then simply enter your details below. I’ll be making a large batch and then when they’re gone,
they’re gone so order today to avoid missing out.
It’s been a while since I’ve put together any designs in repeat, so I thought I’d offer a taster of some
that I’m presently working on. A couple based on wintery trees.
And of course, a couple based on birds, namely pigeons.
Quite fun to do and I like intermixing the CAD and hand drawn effects.
Any thoughts or favourites ? All designs are copyright of © Fishink.
David Body . Landscape Artist.
David Body was born in Twickenham, England. He studied illustration at Twickenham College
and worked in various London advertising agencies and design studios for ten years before
his move to Caithness, in the Highlands, with his wife Sally to set up Scarfskerry Pottery in 1977.
In 1987 the pottery was moved to John O’ Groats and subsequently renamed John O’ Groats Pottery
and Gallery where he now has his studio. Although still a potter David is now devoting most of his time
to painting which has always run concurrent with his ceramics. He also paints animal portraits.
David trained as an illustrator but working as a graphic designer has probably had the biggest influence
on his work as a painter. He paints naturalistically and in more colourist abstract styles.
His images have evolved over the years and can now be more graphic in appearance. The Highland
landscape is his main source of inspiration. In Caithness the landscape and weather are all pervasive
and feature strongly in many of his paintings although David has recently been looking to the Puglia
region of Italy, where he visits regularly, for subject matter. A little warmer and who would blame him !
You can see some of David’s ceramics and archive work here.
If you like this style of work, please check out some older posts here, and here.
Jon Klassen . An absurdly talented guy !
Jon Klassen is an amazing illustrator. He creates beautifully moving and yet quietly mesmerising work
that is quite different to anything I’ve seen before.
I love how his work is both simplistic yet highly textural.
Originally from Niagara Falls, Ontario, Jon now lives in Los Angeles, California.
Having worked with director David OReilly for U2’s latest music video, the pair combined again to
present an animated piece that confronts abstract space in 3D environments.
Amongst so many other great things, Jon is also creating book covers and illustrated books as well.
Did I mention he also worked on Coraline too. What a truly talented guy !
There’s also two interesting interviews with Jon on Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast blog
here, and on Illustration Mundo. Also a fab interview on Cartoon Brew about Jon’s animation here.
Watch this full screen and swim somewhere different today !
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