Wednesday Whim - Kate Powell

all images via Kate Powell via Society6

While I was perusing various artists on Society6, I came across the work of Kate Powell. She's a young artist who "utterly adore(s) making art." She knew she wanted to be an artist ever since her 2nd birthday when she received a "mega-sketcher" and drew dinosaurs and sea-creatures. Kate began to take art more seriously in 2011 to make a career. She embellishes portraits with nature (butterflies, flowers, etc.) and creates series of drawings that are very personal and emotional. Every drawing has a reason and fulfills a purpose, whether for herself or for others. Though she is modest (she hesitates to call herself a true artist) she knows her motivation and liberation comes from a blank page and being able to draw gives her life.

P.S. You can buy some of her prints from Society6.

Wednesday Whim - Seasonal Beauties

all images via Zeutch via Alon Avissar

With so many of you experiencing real winter weather and low temperatures, a change in the season will be welcome with open arms. I thought about this when I recently came across graphic designer and illustrator, Alon Avisar's, work called Seasonal Beauties. Instantly, I became enamored at his rendering of seasons. There's nothing like the "dead of winter" and being stuck indoors to start the creative juices. Inspired not only by the process of the changing of seasons but Alphonse Mucha's Art Nouveau calendars, Alon Avissar uses double-exposure portraits to create four feminine silhouettes that represent "her own stylized seasonal wonderland." The result is an attractive woman with a beautifully muted color theme featuring seasonal items like blossoming flowers for spring or pine and snow for winter. 

I definitely look forward to spring.

Wednesday Whim - "Red" Hong Yi

all images via Red Hong Yi via Design Boom

With all things Chinese New Year right now, I couldn't help but write about "Red" Hong Yi and her creative Chinese-themed illustrations. Red (her nickname) is a Malaysian artist/architect who cleverly uses lipstick, mascara, false eyelashes, pencil shavings, etc. to produce unexpected and unconventional drawings. She first experimented with makeup as her tool of choice in August but, Red has never been the one to use typical tools to create her designs - she previously used flower petals, a basketball and even rings of coffee stains.  Red plans to reveal 15 drawings during the 15-day Chinese New Year celebration through her Instagram account. I'll definitely stay tuned to see more from her!

Wednesday Whim - Into the Mirror

 all images: Luca Meneghel via DesignBoom (model: Nasty Bugriy, make-up and hair: Sabine Gutwenger, stylist: Erin Fox, drawings: Normal Nardi)

In a new fashion twist, Italian photographer, Luca Meneghel, creates a literal illustrated photoshoot called Into the Mirror. Luca captures a real life model (Nasty Bugriy) "wearing" illustrated garments and accessories on a mirror drawn by Normal Nardi. Nasty carefully stands in front of the mirror to showcase the dresses and jewelry. By combining different mediums, Luca captures fashion and art in his photographs. The result is a unique blend of reality and fairytale. 

Now, if only I could draw myself some designer clothing to showcase on the blog... har har.

Wednesday Whim - Dirty Little Secrets

 all images via Sarah Rosado

I've said it before and I'll say it again, people's creativity and talent never cease to amaze me. When I saw Sarah Rosado's images, I couldn't help but smile at the fact that her illustrations are made from dirt. With the movement of tiny particles, she has created simple but mesmerizing art. An illustrator and photographer based in New York, Sarah was inspired by seeing other artist's work online and how others created images with objects like food and flowers.  Her series called "Dirty Little Secrets" is playful yet thoughtful. You can imagine how meticulous she had to be in moving the pieces of dirt around to perfect each edge. She lets people think what they want to think when they see these images and she hopes maybe people will think of their own "dirty" little secrets. 

Wednesday Whim - The Power of Bic

 images via Joe & Nathan via fubiz

Artists/illustrators usually opt for sophisticated materials to create their work. But, for Paris-based art director, Jonathan Bréchignac, he prefers using the simple pen brand known as Bic and using ultraviolet ink on paper to manifest art. Using just these tools, he created complex pieces in his series, The Carpets, and The Blue Carpet. 

You can only imagine how time consuming these creations were as well as the amount of determination and patience all of these pieces took. Jonathan Bréchignac literally mapped out every area of the illustrations to create symmetry and balance. His inspiration came from various types of art (French Roman, traditional Japanese, Native America, Mexican, etc., as described here) and you can see a mix of all these influencing factors.

If you're fortunate enough to be in Brussels, you can see The Blue Carpet now through February 4, 2014 at Villa Empain. After seeing his other pieces on his website, I would love to see some of his work in person! His work literally sets the theme for "less is more."

Wednesday Whim - Seiichi Hayashi

 all images via Seiichi Hayashi via Booooooom.com

Some of you may already be familiar with these beautiful illustration by Seiichi Hayashi (of Japanese manga fame called Red Colored Elegy). They were featured in a 2008 calendar called Modern Beauty. Though these are considered "old," I still see them as stunning drawings. I'm intrigued each of the ladies depicted are in profile and hold an alluring yet mysterious charm about them. I also can't help but see the eclectic style of each gal in each drawing from the accessories to the actual clothing.

What do you think? Have you seen these before?