Valerie Chua

'April'

I was browsing the web today (as you do) and I came across some beautiful illustrations by Valerie Chua, a young girl from the Philippines. She has a beautiful collection of passionate illustrations ranging from watercolours, mixed media and pen and ink.

Not to mention her website on DeviantArt is wonderful to look at. Take a look; http://green-tea.deviantart.com

 

'Femullet' 

The Sketchbook Project World Tour 2012!

Contemplating entering The Sketchbook Project this year. The thought of filling a sketchbook with absolutely anything I want rather excites me! The only issue for me would be the money need to be involved. 

Check it out! http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject

Leeds Exhibition

 

So I went to see the Leeds College of Art Degree Show yesterday. Overall, I think it was an enjoyable experience. The venue itself was rather easy to work your way around if you paid attention to signs etc. Was also helpful that you were given a map at the entrance. Personal opinion; I think not being able to find your way around a show easy enough just dampens the experience as a whole, you spend more time being lost within the building rather than the art. 

As I predicted before I arrived; there was a variety of work within each category ranging from averagely good to 'wow' unforgettable. I was disappointed that there wasn't an illustration section at all, however found myself being inspired by fine artists, graphic designers and fashion designers! Each category was set out as easy and appropriate as I think it could be, however I felt, especially within the fashion department, the students didn't have enough room to explore and be as elaborate as they could have been. 

Overall, I enjoyed the experience, it was interesting to see what other students had been up to. However, there were a select few that I have to share with you! 

A fine artist in particular had me admiring her work for a while, I couldn't seem to walk away from her work. Even though other students within this category had branched out using different media and 'thinking outside the box' creating dimensional shapes, her simplistic tonal sketches won me over in an instance! 

Jessie Simmonds.

Fine artist.

Star of the entire show for me had to be graphic designer; Chris Matthews. There was something so precise and exquisite about his work, that throughout the day I just couldn't forget it. His realistic composition was perfection, I don't think anyone could find a line out of place. The fact that he actually took the route of using different media by carving into the bottom of wooden snowboards was a bonus! The majority of the category took the typical route of graphic posters which next to this, in my opinion, they just didn't seem to compare. His exhibition itself also included 3 posters to help illustrate his work, however I couldn't seem to take my eyes off the skill involved with the boards. The carvings varied from shallow to deep in order to change the tone of the wood. After seeing his work I was happy to have taken the time out to simply stand there and admire. Kudos to Chris Matthews!

Chris Matthews.

Graphic Designer.

 

Look what arrived today!

Amazon surprised me with this, this morning! I wasn't expecting it for another week and a half yet. Even though it won't be as contemporary as Now 3, I'm contemplating ordering Now 1 and 2, it's nice to have the whole package.

Illustration Now! 3 brings groundbreaking work from a fascinating mix of 150 of the world's most exciting illustrators. It features sketches from each illustrator, including information about their career paths and lists of selected exhibitions. This book is perfect inspiration for graphic artists, creative professionals and illustration students, as well as anyone with an appreciation for visual language.

The editor; Julius Wiedemann was born in Brazil, studied graphic design and marketing, and was an art editor for digital and design magazines in Tokyo. His many TASCHEN digital and media titles include Illustration Now!, Advertising Now, Logo Design, and Brand Identity Now!

Flicking through there are certain illustrators that jump straight out at me. Here are a select few; 

Andrew Bannecker; http://www.andrewbannecker.com 
Not my own personal style but there's just something about his work, these two sketches in particular that just draw me in. It could be as simple as the use of colour, or his use of layering texture upon texture, I find his work rather beautiful.

Cecilia Carlstedt; 

Her work is more what I believe I can relate to. The use of contrasts, textures and watercolour within this particular sketch is to die for. Even with a minimum use of colour, the balance between watercolour and pencil tones is just right. Her personal website is under construction at the minute, however being nosey online, some of her sketches are similiar to the techniques and styles of Nadia Flower; an illustrator which I have referenced my own work to a couple of times. I think this may also be a reason why I'm drawn to Cecilia's work.

Steve Wilson; http://www.wilson2000.com

"Somewhere between Psychedelia and Pop Art"

Honestly think I'm attracted to the use layers and vibrant colours.

Inspired by Manchester.

Here are some sketches inspired by the architecture in Manchester. I chose particular images out of this project that I believe work best as a sketch due to composition, media and proportions. This project was inspired by the works of Jim Butler; a printmaker and fine artist; www.jimbutlerartist.com.

This one combines an image of Albert Hall and Oxford Street. Drawn realistically in black fine liner, background consists of manipulated masking tape and coffee stains.

Albert Hall. Drawn realistically in black fine liner. 

Architecture in Manchester. This sketch is pencil drawn on top of individual brown collages. The lamp-post is highlighted using black fine liner. I orginially was planning to draw over all the pencil line with fine liner but I preferred to leave it with a 'sketchy' look.

Mainly of Cafe Roma; a high street restaurant in Manchester. Drawn in simple fine liner detail, using collaged torn brown paper and postage stamps to highlight the main focus of the sketch.  

      

This particular sketch I used different shades of blue, red and black fine liner which was influenced by Jim Butler; who runs the B.A in Illustration and Animation course at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge.

Leeds College Of Art!

Looking forward to the Leeds College Of Art Degree Show next week! Hopefully it'll be an enjoyable experience and I'll leave with some inspiration!

'You had me at hello!'

An introduction to the little things I do;

An Illustration I did a while ago when I was going through my 'let's do everything tonal' phase. Inspired by how I imagined the main character from Angela Carters' novel The Magic Toyshop (1967).

Happy browsing!