Picture books, paper goods & pretty things.
I really love art that is made with words and light such as Tracey Emin's neons. Robert Montgomery is new to me and came to my attention as he was featured on this weekend's BBC 6 Music Art Weekender. He turns his poetry into light, using solar power to illuminate his creations by night. I found this short video that explains a bit more about his work. I also love the use of billboards for art instead of ads. Lovely.
Since I've found myself falling in love with illustration I have discovered a whole world that I didn't know existed. Before I started drawing and squirrelling around on social media in search of inspiration I rather naively thought that illustration was confined to picture books and editorial pieces in magazines. It was a real treat to discover that it's so SO much more than that.
My most recent discovery is zines (mini magazines / comics) made by illustrators that I love. I bought two from Frannerd and Marloes De Vries from their own online shops. Frannerd's zine 'Perfect Tree Shapes' is a travel journal of a trip that Fran and her friend took to Paris and London when she lived in Berlin. What I love about it is that it is an honest account rather than a glossy 'Photoshop' version of her trip. The illustrations are expressive and full of little details. Marloes' zine, 'Fairly Funny - Breakfast In Bed' is full of cute black and white comic book style scenes of Marloes' life. It's a little snapshot of her experiences and an amusing view on everyday situations.
Reading these made me think about making my own zine one day. I love drawing cartoons that capture a silly moment or filling a page of my sketchbook with details from my day. I've also got one or two stories that I think could fit this mould and it feels like a possible cute alternative to a more grown up picture book.
Why not have a little browse for zines yourself online and have a peek into the minds of some of these lovely creatives.
I met Katie from Oh Squirrel at the Renegade Craft Fair this weekend and bought one of her fabulous glittery prints which you can see below. I love being inspired by individual creatives who have followed their dream and discovered this lovely video on her website. It tells her story and definitely qualifies as a #littlebitofpretty!
Taryn Knight is well-known on Twitter for being a huge Harry Potter fan and her many drawings of Harry and his friends are wonderful. She has such a whimsical style and I love the texture she achieves in her drawings using Kyle T Webster brushes. This video of Lucy from The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe is a really lovely example.
Perfect advice from J.K. Rowling. Exactly what I do when my writing goes awry.
I had the absolute pleasure of visiting Emily Quinton's Makelight studio earlier this year to attend a watercolour course. It's such a beautiful place, absolutely full of light and inspiration. Meeting Emily and seeing her studio really made me think about how you can create your own creative life. Emily runs courses, teaches photography and blogs / writes about her experience and life. I find her really inspiring and love her newsletters arriving in my inbox. Have a little nose around her website and blog, I hope she inspires you too. After all, who wouldn't want to make light?
I first discovered Frannerd via a Comic Book Day hashtag on Twitter. It was early in my illustration journey and I feel like her style really opened my eyes to a way of drawing I hadn't realised existed before. Telling stories with pictures but in a more grown up way. Fran is from Chile but has been living in Berlin, London and Hastings for the last few years. She creates absolutely beautiful YouTube videos following her journey, talking about what it's like to be freelance and giving an insight into her illustration and processes.
Make yourself a cuppa and enjoy her latest video. It may send you on a journey of your own.
My lovely friend reminded me today of a wonderful photograph we saw at the National Portrait Gallery two years ago and I had to share it with you. It's part of Karan Kumar's Sachdev's project Yellow Chair Portraits. It's so completely joyful.
