Italian Inventions by Emily Isles

I am always intrigued by the places people find their inspiration.  I saw these lovely posters of Italian Inventions by Scottish artist and illustrator Emily Isles and couldn't help but wonder how she came to draw them.  Apparently she practiced graphic design in both Australia and Italy, and has a passion for all things Italian.  Go figure!  They are available for purchase here, and I think they would look nice framed simply in a study, family room, or even in a playroom.  I so envy people who are able to design and illustrate - instead of searching for that perfect image, you just create it!

A Book by Its Cover

My mom picked up this book by Iris Murdoch to read the other day and I just loved the cover illustration on this Vintage Classics edition.  The colour on my Instagram shot doesn't really do it justice.  Wouldn't it make a cool poster?  They sadly don't mention the artist, but it would seem that Vintage Classics is known for their modern and contemporary covers for classic English novels.  Here are a few I particularly liked from their site:

I like that they keep to a very specific look for each author.  The Medea one gives me the shivers, knowing the story, and the Kafka ones are perfectly, well, Kafka-esque.  Have you read any of these?  Do you ever judge a book by its cover?

Wicked New Blog: Pen & Ink

I love the idea of tattoos - not the butterfly on the ankle kind, but the meaningful artwork on your body forever kind.  Being a commitment-phobe, I am pretty certain that a tattoo is not a good idea for me, but I obsess over which one I should get just the same.  (Don't worry Mom, I am also afraid of pain... and needles... and "forever"... you're good.)

It's the story behind them that makes all the difference - even the ubiquitous chinese characters can be beautiful with the right story.  Did you guys watch Miami Ink?  I was addicted.  Oh and you may have noticed that I love sketches, and handwritten typography, and fascinating, funny people.  And I ADORE Wendy MacNaughton.  So I am pretty sure my next blog obsession is going to be Pen & Ink, written and illustrated by Wendy and Isaac Fitzgerald.  Thank you, thank you DesignWorkLife for bringing it to my attention!  Take a look at the awesomeness:

AMAZING.  I want more, I could look these forever.  And Kate, I think you should submit.

A Sketchy Marathon

Many of you may know that I have taken up running and am now officially addicted.  I can now average between 8 and 11 km per run (the other night I did 12K for the first time!) and am thinking of maybe, possibly, potentially signing up for a race.  Don't tell anyone...

I would imagine prepping for and running a race would be all-consuming - especially the New York Marathon!  But no, illustrator Christoph Neiman not only ran the damn thing - he LIVE ILLUSTRATED it.  WHAT???  His race was chronicled for the New York Times Magazine, and is wonderful.  The drawings aren't complete without the accompanying captions, so you should go check out the whole thing.  However, here are some of my favourite sketches.

Paper Magic by Mandy Smith

Check out this incredible short animation illustrated entirely of paper by Mandy Smith - it's amazing!  My 3-year-old has already made us watch it 4 times... and counting... :)  It seems kind of Tim Burton-esque, could be the Tom Waits-inspired music...

Yulia Brodskaya

I know Yulia made the rounds on blogs everywhere ages ago but I just stumbled across her portfolio and am SO inspired.  Her paper creations are exquisite, not only in their fine detail, but their incredible use of colour.  That being said, her white on white illustrations have incredible texture and depth.  Originally from Russia, Yulia now lives in the UK where she went to get her Masters in Graphic Communication.  She combines her love of typography and graphic design with her insane quilling skills (quilling being the art of paper curling she employs so brilliantly).  Her style is so unique and so powerful, she has quickly built up a list of high-profile clients, including Google, for whom she designed the bird above.  (She mentions on her site that she has had many requests for that image for tattoos - wouldn't that be stunning?)  Below are some of the works from her portfolio, including her many corporate commissions.  A.Maze.Ing.

Tushtush

I have had tushtush's etsy shop bookmarked for a while - I saw her tiny canvases on Apartment Therapy a while ago and thought they would be so beautiful as part of a gallery wall, or for those tiny spaces where you would never expect to see a piece of art.  The artist, Tali, is a graduate of the Bezalel Academy of Art & Design, and I really like her renderings of her friends especially - the poses and the light are so lovely and relaxed.

Aren't they sweet?  She is an illustrator for children's books as well, and has another etsy shop with these mini canvases featuring her more playful characters.  They would be cute in a little kids reading corner or nook.

 All of her Esty shops have regular sized artwork as well, in case the small stuff isn't your thing... :)

Ingela P Arrhenius

Looking at the art made by Swedish illustrator Ingela P Arrhenuis, I can't help but think she must be a super fun person.  Her characters look so optimistic and gosh-darn sweet.  She works in a whole variety of media, from posters and cards to fabric patterns and amazing packaging.

While I love all of the above and more, I think my favourite are her adorable wood block creations.  According to her blog,  she has done hundreds!  I could see how they would get addictive.

I will have to start saving wood scraps too!