Saturday 27 October 2012

The First Cut Exhibition

In a time when paper is becoming a less dominate medium, with the introduction of the Kindle, and The Guardian discussing the end of it's printed paper, it's nice to see the beauty of paper being celebrated in the current exhibition, 'The First Cut' at Manchester Art Gallery.

This is the best exhibition I have seen this year, and also at Manchester Art Gallery, ever.  The exhibition showcases 31 international artists who work with paper to create beautifully complex and thought provoking pieces.

First Cut @ Manchester Art Gallery


First Cut @ Manchester Art Gallery

First Cut @ Manchester Art Gallery

First Cut @ Manchester Art Gallery


Sunday 20 May 2012

Future Everything 2012

I wish I had more money and more space to indulge in my love of zines. Yesterday I got an eye-full of ziney loveliness at a zine convention at Victoria Baths, which made me especially gutted that my bank balance prevented me from buying all the papery goodness that the zines had to offer. The event was part of the Future Everything festival, which also included digital crafts.

Victoria Baths

Victoria Baths

Victoria Baths

Victoria Baths

Monday 27 June 2011

MMU Degree Show 2011

MMU Degree Show ii

MMU Degree Show iii

MMU Degree Show iv

Alyson Exall

MMU Degree Show vi

Some of the work at MMU's degree show 2011.

Monday 25 April 2011

Matthew Lyons

I'm really excited to discover a new favourite Illustrator Matthew Lyons. I love the textures, colours, and angler shapes he uses. The style of his characters have a sixties feel to them with some pretty cool outfits and furniture.

Wednesday 23 March 2011

Pick Me Up 2011

PickMeUp
PickMeUp
PickMeUp
PickMeUp

I went to Pick Me Up art fair this week and it was amazing. It really inspired and excited me to see such diverse and high quality illustration work. I especially liked Paul Blow, Puck Collective and Victo Ngai's work. The fair is on until 27th March so if you are in London I would recommend you check it out!

More pictures here.

Wednesday 23 February 2011

Elena Hormiga

I wish I had made this illustration...



Elena Hormiga
is a super talented Spanish illustrator. She has a blog written in her native language, which unfortunately I can't read, but thank god for google translate! Her style is very unique with lots of textures. I just love everything about it, I can't even explain how much! You can visit her flickr or website to see more work.

Diamonds Are Forever

diamond

Sunday 13 February 2011

Guardian Scrapbook

To take my mind off a frustrating illustration I have been cutting and pasting into my new scrap book, which I bought yesterday. I have a folder bulging with bits and pieces of reference and inspiration that needed a better home so I've been putting it all together in one book, which is easier to look through. I did notice that I had a lot of work by Gillian Blease taken from The Guardian. Her work is so clever and simple at the same time. Here is a picture of my book and Blease's work.

scrapbook

fish
You can also buy this print from Blease website.

Saturday 29 January 2011

Stamps

stamps i
stamps ii

I discovered these the other day, long forgotten and hidden away. When I was about 9 or 10 I decided to take up stamp collecting, my Dad took me to the Manchester Corn Exchange to buy a stamp collectors book and a big bag of assorted stamps. With many of my childhood ventures this one lasted for about two weeks before I moved onto something else, most likely collecting PG Tips cards or Pogs.

Monday 17 January 2011

Luke Best is My Hero

luke best zine i
luke best zine ii

The other day I went rooting under my bed for a box of books & found some old zines. I hate having them hidden away but I don't have a bookcase at the moment (visit to Ikea on my to do list). I love my collection and was excited to see the London Zine Symposium dates have been released (April 17th). One of my favorite zines is by DR. ME, showcasing work by Luke Best.

Friday 14 January 2011

Edinburgh Adventures

edinburgh ii
edinburgh i

I could so easily move to Edinburgh and be quite happy. It is one of the most beautiful cities.

Wednesday 5 January 2011

Highlands...

I have an exciting new toy! A DSLR camera, which I will be taking with me to Edinburgh this weekend. It's been over a year since I last went to Scotland so I am looking forward to visiting again and returning with some nice photos hopefully.