Thursday, September 3, 2009

John Hanna


Recently re-discovered illustrator John Hanna has been popping up around the internet. He was an Australian artist who lived in England from 1948 to 1962. Not much more has popped up yet. His illustrations for the covers of Country Fair magazine are gorgeous. It's not that easy to make such beautiful art with white, black, and a 3rd color. Check it out.

John Hanna's covers on Delicious Industries
A bit about Hanna
A bit more
And a photo of him.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Mirko Hanák

Mirko Hanák (June 26, 1921 - November 4, 1971) was a Czech painter, graphic designer and illustrator, who was famous for his particularly distinctive illustrations and lithographs with natural themes. He died relatively young of leukemia. His fine illustrations portray a loose style, belying the amazing technical expertise of a great draftsman. Apparently using watercolor on rice paper, coming in with exquisite detail with finer brushes.

Ondrej Kovacik's flickr page of Hanák's Bambi illustrations
More images on Matou en Peluche
Some scans on a Japanese site

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Retro German Illustration


Retro German Illustration... About as specific as it gets. Great blog of pre-1980 German Illustration.

illuopa

Friday, March 27, 2009

Jon Klassen

Jon Klassen has a wonderful, unique style. He's done some amazing design work for Coraline and animation work for Royal Bank of Canada and their Blue Water Project among other wonderful things. Check out his stuff.

Jon's website
Jon's blog
Jon Klassen on Illustration Mundo

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Femke Hiemstra

Femke Hiemstra (Netherlands) does wonderfully surreal paintings on found objects (usually wood or old books). Her subjects seem to pop out of a children's book from a darker world, sweet but slightly disturbing. Read her info section on her site for more.

her beautiful home site
her blog
at Roq la Rue
on Paintalicious

Friday, March 13, 2009

Saul Bass

Saul Bass - "Design is thinking made visual"

Saul Bass (1920-1996) was first and foremost a designer. An iconic designer of the 50's and 60's, famous for his poster designs, title sequences, and logos. The world of design owes him much, even to this day.

an excellent article and collection of images
Wikipedia
more logo designs
Grain Edit's flickr of a Saul Bass children's book

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Kawase Hasui

Kawase Hasui, (1883 – 1957) was a Japanese woodblock printmaker widely regarded as one of the greatest artists of the shin hanga style, known especially for his landscape prints. His simple graphic style with elegant play of colors and light evokes his yearning for simpler, older times.

at the Hanga Gallery
a nice gallery
Wikipedia
on Lines and Color

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Lowbrow

I am particularly fond of Lowbrow Art or Pop Surrealism. Pictured above is Mark Ryden's Allegory of the Four Elements. Here are a few of my favorite "lowbrow" artists, in alphabetical order:

Glenn Barr
Gary Baseman
Tim Biskup
Dave Cooper
Lori Earley
Audrey Kawasaki
Marion Peck
Mark Ryden
Jeff Soto

Heinrich Kley

Heinrich Kley (1863 – 1945) was a German caricaturist, editorial cartoonist and painter. His drawings comprised quick, loose, pen-and-ink sketches that captured an amazingly realistic and robust form. Known for his sometimes darkly humorous pen drawings, published in Jugend and the notorious Simplicissimus in Germany, Kley was an inspiration for a number of early Disney productions, notably Fantasia, as Disney was quite a collector of his work. Kley's work was also a big inspiration for me in my youth.

Kley's Art
Heinrich Kley
Wikipedia
twnty2wo blog

Monday, February 16, 2009

Ryohei Hase

Ryohei Hase, from Tokyo, Japan, is a digital painter whose subjects are a surrealist, nightmarish fantasy. He does it all painting freehand in Photoshop.

Hase's website
Hase at Deviantart

Dan Krall

Dan Krall is an illustrator, character and background designer, and animator and he has a wonderful chldren's book. He's responsible for the amazing look of Cartoon Network's Chowder, Camp Lazlo, and much or the look of the movie, Coraline (among many other amazing feats).

Dan's website
Dan's blog
Dan on Illustration Mundo
Dan on IMDb

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

d'Holbachi-Yoko

d'Holbachi-Yoko paints surreal images of colorful puffy creatures, toys of a nightmare dimension, oddly adorable monsters that bring a smile to one's face and disturbs one's soul. Pretty cool, huh? Check out her site and this interview.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Mark Verhaagen

Mark Verhaagen's digital illustrations are wonderful! Master of form, color, and composition. Go get inspired.

Update: Came across Mark's flickr and saw Mark's illustration in Computer Arts Projects magazine this month.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Golden Gems

Thank you, Barbie Miller, for your wonderful blog, Golden Gems! "A collection of little golden books and other vintage & modern illustrations meant to inspire and delight." That's exactly what it is. Consider me inspired.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Grandma's Graphics

A very nice collection of public domain children's illustrations and more at Grandma's Graphics.