Signature Illustration Blog

Working from his design studio “Sleeping House” in Sweden, Alexander Jansson creates mysteriously beautiful worlds where intricately drawn music vans fly through the air, cute characters play music and lively cities appear from the dark heavy mist. Although the artworks seem gloomy they evoke not feelings of darkness but rather feelings of life, light and music.

“Norman Rockwell was a 20th-century American illustrator. His works enjoy a broad popular appeal in the United States, where Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life scenarios he created for The Saturday Evening Post magazine over more than four decades. Among the best-known of Rockwell’s works are the Willie Gillis series, Rosie the Riveter, Saying Grace (1951), and the Four Freedoms series.” – Wiki

Xabier Collette has a brilliant imagination especially when it comes to fantasy and creating magical worlds. I love his take on Alice in Wonderland and his other mystical creatures! Enjoy!

Every now and then there is an illustrator that blows you away and for me Sam Weber is one of those. We have posted Sam Weber before a long time ago – middle of last year. His new work is fantastic. I find them deeply physiological which make his illustrations absolutely captivating. Definatly worth adding to our Illustration Blog.

He has done a wide range of editorial as well as book illustrations. He was born in Alaska but has since moved to New York and lives there with his wife.

I hope you enjoy this selection:

I have attended some of Kat’s exhibitions in South Africa one of which ended up in a terrific party. Another which comes to mind is where the exibition was set on an entire top floor of a central Johannesburg building. Great view of the city, drinks and music – good times. This particular exhibition was for her MissYuki collection. There where massive MissYuki dools, MissYuki clothing and underwear, as well as her fantastic  illustrations. She is currently based in Barcelona and below is a collection of her work.

You will find the full range of her work here: www.katcameron.com

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:

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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

All I can say is:
true attention to detail + brilliant observation + experienced drawing skills + Korean blood + the love for teaching + odd little characters bubbling to tell a story + an impressive cliental + an imaginative mind + beautiful use of soft colours + a love for fishing = Bill Carmen. Genuinely beautiful work.

Wow wow wow, so young and so so talented. Chelsea Greene Lewyta is a student at Pratt Institute for Illustration, New York. Growing up with an adopted Korean older sister, Chelsea has been exposed to much Asian culture. This is definitely visible in her illustrations. Her soft colour pallet and beautiful line work carries heavy mythical and sometimes extremely sexual and violent themes opposed to her childrens book illustrations that are completely innocent and pure. I love the constant connection Chelsea draws between nature, the animal world and the feminine, sometimes innocent and mystiacl and other times brutal and savage.

I cannot believe I haven’t posted Chris Riddell yet. He is my absolute favorite. His stories are so so charming and his drawings are magical masterpieces.