Julia Randall

Lick Line is a series of drawings by Julia Randall that depict many familiar shapes made by the mouth and tongue. It's hard to believe that these juicy illustrations were captured with colored pencil alone.

Irina Troitskaya

I've been working on a lot of different projects lately, which I hope to share with you very soon. While researching and scouring the internet for inspiration, I came across Irina Troitskaya's matreshkas. I love her style of illustration and how it translates to the three dimensional wooden figures.

Ukrainian Cards

After yesterday's post I've been finding amazing playing cards everywhere. This Ukrainian deck of cards posted on English Russian is AMAZING! The King of Clubs is my absolute favorite.

Jean David {Kings & Queens}

Last week I was working on an illustration of a playing card for a photo announcement. While I was searching for inspiration I came across these Israeli playing cards created by Jean David for El Al Isreal Airlines. I love the facial expressions and patterns on each figure. I also enjoy the varying line widths that make up these illustrations.

There is not much information on the web about Jean David, at least that I could find. The only other illustrations that I came across were of these two travel posters produced in 1954 for the State of Israel Tourist Centre and a few other vintage posters for sale via the Farkash Gallery.


You can find more information about Jean David's cards at Grain Edit and Ministry of Type.

Zenvironments

If any of you happen to be in L.A. Friday, September 12th, you have got to check out Zach Johnsen's work at Thinkspace Gallery. He is showing a new installation entitled The Sunnyside Yard. You can read more about it here.

Zach and I went to school together back in Boston at Mass Art. Some how, we both found our way out to the great Pacific Northwest. Below are some shots from his send off party. Since most of us Portlanders won't be making it down to L.A. for the show, he was nice enough to share his work before heading out of town.

To Market, To Market

In the spirit of summer's end and fresh produce, I thought I would share this illustration of focal point and emphasis. This is my interpretation of a holy Mona Lisa at the fruit stand; an ode to the marketplace. The fruit itself was photographed in Montreal at Atwater Market. Peter's mother and father took us there a few years ago. Taking in all of the beautiful displays of meats, breads, cheeses, wines, and produce was like being on foodie sensory overload. All I wanted to do was take all of it home and chef-up a grand feast. Instead, we ate a delicious lunch and went to the Chinese Lantern Festival, which I highly recommend.

Photo credit bottom image: matt.hintsa (flickr)

A discussion about markets would be no discussion at all, without mention of the Grand Market Hall in Budapest. It is an enormous indoor market of food, clothing, knickknacks, home goods, tobacco, souvenirs and the list goes on. The building itself is a sight to see, resembling an old railroad station.

When Peter and I were there, in 2006, it took us over an hour just to walk through and scope everything out. It is overwhelming the amount of... well everything, that you can buy there. If you happen to find yourself in Budapest, you must stop by the market. Photo credit: naromeel (flickr)

Shapes In Nature

The natural world provides a constant supply of inspiration for art. All shapes and lines that we create on paper can be traced back to something in nature. This is why I chose to use branches and bridges for my illustration for Chapter 3 of Foundations of Art and Design. The parallels between these two seemingly different shapes are more apparent upon further study. The Zakim Bridge is made up of a sturdy "trunk" with many branch-like cables that enable this structure to maintain it's integrity but also allow it to be flexible. Like branches enabling a tree to sway in the wind, these cables provide the structural give needed to protect against natural disaster.