Signature Illustration Blog

The exhibition brings together books, figurative paintings, comic books and narrative series by 19 students graduating from the MFA Illustration as Visual Essay Department.

I recommend anyone who is either an artist or is an art lover to make a trip to the exhibition as I’m sure it will be very inspiring . It starts at the end of the month, April 30, and will run till May 15. For more details click here. I truly wish I could attend but unfortunately I wont be able to make it to New York.

If you have not already heard of SVA then you should know that it is arguable one of the worlds most prolific schools when it comes to the visual arts. To mention a few of the well know illustrators who attended the school: James Jean, Sam Weber and Yuko Shimizu. The other faculties such as film, photography and design have equally impressive credentials.

Below is a selection of beautiful illustrations from the Thesis Projects all of which will be on show:

Hope you enjoyed the illustrations and are able to make it to the event.

Sascha

It wasnt easy finding images, even on his illustration blog, of Scott’s work but above is a decent collection of his wonderfull work.

Based in New York Tomer Hanuka is an illustrator and a cartoonist. He works on a range of projects for magazines, book publishers, ad agencies and film studios. In 2008 he won the British Desgin Museum award as part of the Penguin Classics Deluxe Editions. Currently he teaches at the School of Visual Arts and is working on a graphic novel with his twin brother Asaf.

On his blog he shows his illustration process from sketch to final artwork: www.tropicaltoxic.blogspot.com. Find below a selection of his work:

Milton Glaser is one of the most prolific designers of our time. He designed I Love NY, DC Comics Logo and he also founded New York Magazine with Clay Felker to mention a few of his  legacies. The below video he talks about drawing and how it makes us look at things in more detail as well as other related thoughts.

Enjoy the video!

Working from Florida Dan May creates timeless worlds of silence occupied by haunting yet whimsical creatures. Although deeply sad and  eerie, May’s creatures draw the viewer towards them with their friendly disposition.

This last weekend I had the pleasure of visiting Norway – it was a short but sweet trip. We spent our time in the small town of Tofte in a comfortable wooden cabin. Our cabin was neatly placed right next to the Oslo Fijord with an awesome view over the water. Just on sunday I was running through a quite forest which was followed by a lengthily swim in the sea. I could have easily spent couple months there just relaxing and taking my time about my daily sustenance!

I had the time to look through some illustrations and stumbled upon Theodor Ketlesen (April 27, 1857 – January 21, 1914) who is one of the most famous artist in Norway. He was famous for his nature paintings but also for his illustrations of fairy tales, legends and trolls.

Below are some of Theodor Ketlesen illustrations:

S

The author of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter S. Thompson, gave birth to Gonzo journalism which is a type of ‘fictional’ journalism. It often includes the reporter in the story and is in the first person. By blending fiction and fact the journalist is able to engage the reader whiles expressing certain facts about a situation. Gonzo journalism tends to favor style over accuracy and often uses personal experiences and emotions to provide context for the topic.

Hunter S. Thomas was good friends with a british artist called Ralph Steadman who provided visual representaiton for Gonzo journalism.  Ralph Steadman has won multiple awards and is renowned for his political illustrations, social caricatures, cartoons and also for illustrating a number of picture books.

Below is a collection of Ralph Steadman illustrations:

Hunter S. Thompson with Ralph Steadman Illustrations: A good collection of Hunter’s life

Blogging in a sense is more about exploration then it is about purveying what you already know. It ebbs me on to find new things and what I find I share and then in turn people share their ideas and knowledge about that topic. A similar thing is happening with our Facebook Group, which has been growing steadily. People are actively discussing/sharing their favourite illustrators and artists.

Ok so yes this is how I found Utagawa Kuniyoshi. He was one of the last great masters of the Japanese ukiyo-e style of woodblock prints. I am aware of Katsushika Hokusai and I have posted about him. What is interesting about Utagawa Kuniyoshi is that I think that there is a correlation to the well known contemporary illustrator James Jean - (note the previous post). 

Here are some of Utagawa Kuniyoshi’s art works:

I thoroughly enjoy the way James Jean takes different organic, physiological, social and emotional elements and with his brilliant imagination mashes them into this wonderful art work. Death defeating life and life defeating death. Social messages illustrated with savvy depth. Ignorant evil. Depicting our struggle through clever metaphors.

You have probably seen some of James Jean’s illustrations if so it’s always worth another look as there are many layers to his art. If you haven’t heard of James Jean you are in for a treat!

I have had a stupendous 2 weeks at work and tonight I lull myself into browsing for illustrations and art – a simpe joy, little effort and a good cup of green tea. This evening I felt Ruud van Empel was a best pick. He is offbeat without any cheap shock, macabre, bazaar or horror themes attached to his work. They are outlandish and curios. Perhaps you could describe the feeling the work emanates as ‘a recollection of an imagined memory’.

Ruud van Empel works and lives in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

PS:  Donnie I picked ‘Souvenir 2 baby‘ especially for you

Tip: ‘world 17‘ makes for a great desktop BG!