Marie Mahler

I really like the work of Marie Mahler, a French illustrator now living and working in Brussels.

She works in oil pastels and colour pencils and collage—the originals measure about 20 x 20 cm. Best-known for her children's books (published by Didier Jeunesse, Mango, Lito, among others), she also does other illustration work, including:  editorial (including Milan), stationery and cards, and toy and game illustration for Djeco,the wonderful French toymakers.

These images are from her beautiful book Kalimagier.  This picture book, published jointly by Ricochet (France) and Lazhari Labter Editions (Algeria), was inspired by words that cross over from the French language to the Arabic and back again — indeed, "kalima" means word in Arabic, and "imagier" is French for a sort of picture dictionary. This includes words like Zarafa (giraffe), Quoton (cotton), guitar, café and so on — 100 words in all.

If you happen to be in Paris you can see the originals, now on show at Galerie Jeanne Robillard until 2 July.  

But if not, you can always look at this video, which includes a really interesting interview with Marie (in French), plus a virtual tour of the images and the gallery. Don't miss it!

Martin Jarrie headshots

Heads up!  Martin Jarrie, painter and illustrator extraordinaire, is having a one-man show in Paris!

His illustrations are equally wonderful — his Hyacinthe et Rose received the  Bologna Ragazzi Award this year.

His show — "La Fabrique Anatomique" — is up until 4 June, at  the Arsenic Galerie ... don't miss it!

Heads up

Hello again!  I have been unavoidably detained in recent times with all manner of things, expected and unexpected (yes, the usual suspects:  work and over-work, life, and whatnot...). But I wanted to pop in briefly today and share a new discovery.

Pratica l'Arte is blog dedicated to the creation of art. From practical tips and tricks to inspiring thoughts, to tutorials and announcements for art shows and workshops, it seems to have it all!

I have only just dipped my toes in a little, but it does come highly recommended, from  Le Figure dei Libri, the wonderful blog on children's books by the illustrator and author and teacher, Anna Castagnoli. 

Both are in Italian...

Winter Solstice

(From ilovedoodle)

Today is the Winter Solstice — the year's shortest day and longest night — so let us settle down for the duration.  I don't know about you, but it is my most productive time of year.  

William Blake wrote, "In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy."

I leave you with a few wintry images to enjoy...

(from Camil Tulcan)

(From Mique Moriuchi)

(from Northern Soul)

Stay warm, and enjoy the season!

PS.  One last thought:  Pietro Arentino (a 15th century poet) wrote, 

"Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius."  

Get busy!!

Armenian legends, illustrated

Tzeh, the Russian illustrator's collective, is having an exhibit on the legends of Mount Ararat — stunning imagery  from Armenian tales, myths and stories.  It has been made into a book, and also cards!  It's the crème de la crème of Russian talent, including work from Irina Troitskaya and Victoria Semykina, among many many others.  Beautiful work, definitely worth a look!  Here are some that caught my eye:

 

 

 

 

Exhibit runs until 20 December in Moscow, see tzeh site for details.

It is also possible to order a copy of the book.

via Irina. 

Fallin'

Happy autumnal equinox! 

To celebrate the beginning of my favorite season, here's an image from Iranian illustrator Mehdi Mo'eeni.  It is from his book  LEAVES which won the prize at Bologna Book Fair in 1985.  Via the wonderful blog Animalarium.


More leaves:

Javier Jaen Benavides via accidental mysteries

Left: as seen on design*sponge

Right: from kris's color stripes

Left: tardamucho

Right: from typogabor's blog (Westvaco inspirations for printers)

Luella Martin

.

Left: Allotments 2, oil on canvas, 50 x 40

Right:The New Greenhouse, oil on canvas 30 x 50 cm

I am loving the paintings of Luella Martin, an English painter living and working in Brighton. What looks like a naive childlike perspective on the natural world is, in fact, the result of putting together many glimpses of different parts of the same landscape. As one would do on a walk. She works it all together from memory, quick sketches and a photo or two, completing the final pieces in a variety of media, from oils and acrylics to watercolour and prints.

Left: Spring, a small study in oil on canvas 18 x 24 cm

Right: Sleeping Cat, acrylic on paper, 20 x 29 cm

Village House by the river, Watercolour on paper, 6 x 6 inches

Jean Dubuffet

Following on from the last post, here are some images from Jean Dubuffet himself:

Campagne Heureuse, 1944 — oil on Canvas, 130 x 89 cm

Galeries Lafayette, 1961 — gouache on paper

Left: Mangeuse, 1944 — Lithograph, 26 x 15.8 cm

Right: Donkey and Cart, 1955 — ink on paper, 23.6 x 32 cm

Voyage en Auto, 1946 — oil on canvas, 38 x 51 inches

Thirst

A great image to kick off the weekend, from the Wooster Collective — the blog bringing to our attention the very best of ephemeral art from streets and cities the world over.

Busy!

My workspace has been looking a bit like this lately:

This gouache painting is by Charlie Roberts, an artist from Kansas who now lives and works in Norway. A lot of his work is at the Richard Heller gallery, which has wonderful roster of artists, including Devendra Banhart...

Seth Clark

Seth Clark is an artist who has a playful way with architectural forms. I am particularly delighted with these constructions, made from old building blocks and gouache.

Check his website for more...

Rosetta Santucci

Rain Dance (H112 x W923 cm // acrylic and oil on canvas)

I am quite taken with the paintings of Rosetta Santucci, an Australian painter. They make me think of maps crossed with growing foliage, or of larger-than-life carpets patched together with songlines. Found at Greenwood Gallery, of Melbourne.

Joe McLaren

three chickens and oasthouse

three chickens on an overcast day

night cyclist

I love these paintings by Joe McLaren.