asparagus season

Oh man, I love asparagus and never more than when British asparagus is in season. As a salute to this magnificent vegetable here's a new little animation I cobbled together this morning. It's a visual recipe, albeit a very simple one, and darn tasty!

pick me up 2014

I went to Pick Me Up, the annual graphic arts festival, at Somerset House last Saturday. It was a mistake to go on a weekend as it was so very busy, but it's a sure sign that illustration is maintaining it's popularity and credibility as an art form. I spotted some familiar illustrators there as well as some that were new to me. I bought a delightful black and white print by Eleni Kalorkoti to add to my kitchen 'art gallery' wall. I also enjoyed works by Isabel Greenberg, Nick Alston, Thomas Dathony and Claire Scully. Here they all are:

'Good Witch in her Garden' by Eleni Kalorkoti

'The Great Dag' by Isabel Greenberg

'N' by Thomas Danthony

'Escape' by Nick Alston

'Valley of Cape' by Claire Scully

nancy liang

I came across these illustrations by Nancy Liang on Illustration Friday. The look and feel of the illustrations remind me of one of my favourite illustrated books: Un lion a Paris by Beatrice Alemagna (100% worth checking out if you aren't familiar with it already!). The images have a real sense of depth while at the same time having a flat, stage set-like quality. The loosely drawn pencil work and the cut out shapes give the works a real sense of freedom and I love the use of textured papers. Sadly there's not much more of her work to be found online but I really hope we see more like this from her soon!

johan thornqvist

Johan Thornqvist draws on photographs. I think it's a really difficult thing to get right, but it's clear that he's sensitive to the contexts and the colours. The results work incredibly well and I love the exciting new worlds that he creates from very ordinary photos.