The focus of this video is to demonstrat the application of watercolors on a manga character - I wish these skills came this natural to me!

I have posted Audrey Kawasaki - Oiran before but I liked it so much that i thought id dedicate another post just to this illustration.

Audrey Kawasaki - Oiran

More Audrey Kawasaki

Video of Work by Audrey Kawasaki

These simple geometric illustrations are nice. Fokes simple is not easy!

Beatrix Potter (1866-1943)
‘The Rabbits’ Christmas Party’
About 1890
Watercolour

At Sotheby’s London, Beatrix Potter’s original watercolour illustration of the final scene from “The Rabbit’ Christmas Party” was sold for the remarkable amount of £289,250 – nearly five times its presale  estimate (est. £40,000-60,000). This has set a new record for book illustration sold at an auction.

The watercolour was one of 20 original illustrations, books, unpublished Christmas cards and letters by Beatrix Potter. They came from her brother, Bertram Potter, which were offered for sale in today’s auction of English Literature and History. The whole collection, which represents the most extensive group of Beatrix Potter artwork to have appeared on the market went for a total of £748,200.

Bertram Potter must be a very happy man.

Shepard Fairey has a whole range of subject but I posted these portraits because I think they work wonderfully together. There is something very prolific about them – Perhaps the colors (red and black) and/or the strong cultural and social references which gives these art works such weight.

Shepard Fairey - Malcolm X

Shepard Fairey - Mujer Fatal

Shepard Fairey - Arab Woman

Shepard Fairey - Peace Goddess

Shepard Fairey - Peace Mujer

Her skill and style is fantastic but conceptually I found her other stuff a little bit try hard morbid (emo kids would love it) .  Here are some specific illutrations I picked out.

Computer games often produce some amazing illustrations. Blizzard games have just released Diablo 3. I remember when they brought out Diablo 1 - I was glued for hours as I explored the labyrinths looking for new weapons and spells. You have to find and kill Diablo.  Here are some illustrations from the game. Check Out The Website - pretty impressive.

Click on them:

“Mark Ryden came to preeminence in the 1990’s during a time when many artists, critics and collectors were quietly championing a return to the art of painting. With his masterful technique and disquieting content, Ryden quickly became one of the leaders of this movement on the West Coast.

Upon first glance Ryden’s work seems to mirror the Surrealists’ fascination with the subconscious and collective memories. However, Ryden transcends the initial Surrealists’ strategies by consciously choosing subject matter loaded with cultural connotation. His dewy vixens, cuddly plush pets, alchemical symbols, religious emblems, primordial landscapes and slabs of meat challenge his audience not necessarily with their own oddity but with the introduction of their soothing cultural familiarity into unsettling circumstances.”  Read More…

Here are some more of Mark Ryder’s Artworks:

Mark Ryden - Allegory of the four elements
Mark Ryden - Allegory of the four elements

Mark Ryden - Little boy blue

Mark Ryden - Little boy blue

Mark Ryden - Goodbye Bear

Mark Ryden - Goodbye Bear

Mark Ryden - Nursesue

Mark Ryden - Nursesue