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      Monumental Ballpoint Pen Portraits Are Rendered on Vintage Collateral by Artist Mark Powell

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      Art
      Illustration

      #found objects
      #maps
      #portraits
      #postcard

      August 9, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Mark Powell, shared with permission
      From his Brighton-based studio on the seafront, Mark Powell (previously) pieces together crinkled book pages and postcards laden with travel dispatches. The vintage collages serve as backdrops for the artist’s oversized portraits of older folks, whose pensive stares and deep wrinkles are rendered gently in ballpoint pen. Often magnified, the subjects complement the weathered, ephemeral surfaces that span multiple feet. “I’m currently working on a series of larger works because they have much more impact on the viewer, more confronting yet comfortable I’m hoping. It is also much more tricky because by just using a ballpoint pen no mistakes can be made, and it would be a terrible shame to ruin a map, document, or letter that has survived hundreds of years only to be destroyed by me,” he shares with Colossal.
      Each enlarged illustration—which sometimes depicts famous subjects, like Basquiat and Hunter S. Thompson— takes about a month to complete, and Powell generally works on more than one simultaneously. Recently, he’s started to slow down his artistic production as he shifts away from creating for dozens of shows every year. “The past two years, I’ve taken a step back from shows slightly to allow that evolution space to breathe. It has meant that the quality of the work has increased immeasurably (still much room for improvement of course),” he says.
      Powell’s detailed illustrations will be included in an upcoming show at Hang-Up Gallery in London. Until then, dive into his repurposed projects on Behance and Instagram, and check out the available prints in his shop.

      #found objects
      #maps
      #portraits
      #postcard

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      A Massive Compendium of Tarot Cards Explores 600 Years of the Divine Decks

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      Art
      Illustration

      #books
      #cards

      August 8, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      By Mina Mond, Wild Men Tarot, 2014, France. All images © Taschen, shared with permission
      Compiling more than 500 cards, a new book sequences an incredibly diverse array of metaphysical decks from medieval to modern times. Tarot is arranged in order from the Major to the Minor Arcana and examines the meaning behind the varied illustrations, considering who created them and when. From a whimsical, black-and-white rendering of The Lovers by Madison Ross to French occultist Jean-Baptise Alliette’s pastel series, the compendium explores the collaborations between mystics and artists that have been happening for centuries. Many of the pieces included in the 520-page book are being shown outside their respective decks for the first time.
      Tarot, which you can purchase on Tashcen’s site, is the debut tome in the publisher’s ongoing Library of Esoterica series. You also might enjoy paging through Salvador Dalí’s surreal deck.

      Madison Ross, The Lovers, 2019, Canada
      From Visconti-Sforza, Yale Deck, mid-15th century, Italy
      Elisabetta Trevisan, Crystal Tarot, 1994, Italy
      By Jean-Baptise Alliette, France
      By Olivia M. Healy, The Fool, 2019, England
      By Jean-Baptise Alliette, Etteilla, France
      By Minka Sicklinger, Bryn McKay, Eve Bradford, Strength, United States
      From Visconti-Sforza, Yale Deck, mid-15th century, Italy

      #books
      #cards

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      Lyrical Illustrations by Käthe Butcher Explore Femininity, Emotion, and Human Intimacy

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      Art
      Illustration

      #drawing
      #flowers

      August 7, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      “A Hug In The Garden.” All images © Käthe Butcher, shared with permission
      As widespread lockdowns swept the globe earlier this year in response to the threat of COVID-19, intimacy became fraught. For artist Käthe Butcher, the loss of an embrace or casual peck on the cheek was incredibly difficult. “The pandemic affected everyone differently. I always thought I am not that kind of person getting scared or/and paranoid easily, but in March I did. I panicked and felt very alone, which was one reason why I left London at the end of March to go back to my family. It was definitely the right decision,” she tells Colossal.
      This desire for connection culminated in “A Hug In The Garden,” an emotional rendering of two women holding each other. Their botanical garments swaddle their individual bodies, and singular stems poke out from their sleeves, adding a bit of whimsy. Similar to her other drawings—explore a larger collection of Butcher’s work (NSFW) on Instagram—this illustration visualizes emotional depth and intimacy.
      Replete with floral motifs and delicate lines, Butcher’s pieces generally focus on one or two figures, who are simultaneously confident, carefree, and elusive. Rendered in thin, inky lines, the women portray a range of experiences, moods, and personalities. “Femininity can be everything and nothing. It’s individual. For me personally, it is something elegant yet strong,” she shares with Colossal.
      Currently, Butcher is in the process of leaving London permanently for her hometown of Leipzig, Germany, and has been reflecting on the role of artistic practices in the current moment. “As for a lot of artists, this situation was and is still blocking a lot of creativity. It’s draining. Like wading through mud. But at the same time, it feels like the beginning of something new, bigger,” she says.
      To purchase a print of the artist’s tender renderings, peruse what’s available in her shop.

      “Hey Girl”
      “Dreaming About Another World”
      “T.S. Girl (Sleep Well)”
      “Grass As Soft As Cotton Candy”
      “Setsuna”

      #drawing
      #flowers

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      Vibrant Digital Portraits by Artist Alexis Franklin Emphasize the Nuances of Emotions

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      Art
      Illustration

      #Black Lives Matter
      #digital
      #portraits

      August 3, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Alexis Franklin, shared with permission
      Dallas-based artist Alexis Franklin considers her digital renderings a reinvention of the expected. “I’ve always seen the world through a filter that brings vibrance and excitement to things most people wouldn’t notice, and that’s something that I really want to have come across in my work,” she says of her expressive paintings. Through facial expressions, gestures, and color, each work highlights the nuances of the subjects’ experience, personality, and mood.
      A church videographer by day, painting is Franklin’s side-project and one for which she’s received an influx of attention in recent days. She illustrated an affective portrait of Breonna Taylor, who was murdered by three Louisville police officers in March, for the cover of O, The Oprah Magazine. The two-decades-old publication has only ever featured Oprah Winfrey. This isn’t the 24-year-old’s first high-profile cover, though: she also created a powerful rendering of Anita Hill for Time earlier this year.
      Franklin often shares time-lapses of her paintings-in-progress—which you can watch below and on YouTube and Instagram—that document every step of her process. “I tend to stay in the present with my work. I don’t really imagine where it’s headed,” she writes to Colossal. “I just let each project be what it is, and then I move to the next one with fresh eyes. And I’m very grateful that each project continuously seems to find me!” (via Kottke)

      

      #Black Lives Matter
      #digital
      #portraits

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      Paper Wildlife Sculptures by Artist Diana Beltrán Herrera Document Nature’s Most Striking Details

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      Art
      Design
      Illustration

      #birds
      #butterflies
      #paper
      #sculpture

      July 28, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Diana Beltrán Herrera, shared with permission
      In 2012, Bristol-based artist Diana Beltrán Herrera (previously) began sculpting impeccably layered paper birds and other wildlife as a way to record her surroundings. Her lifelike pieces continuously have captured nature’s finely detailed and minuscule elements, like the fibrous texture of feathers and the veins running through leaves.
      Today, the artist has expanded the practice to include exotic species and environments she’s never seen up close, developing her paper techniques to express the more nuanced details of the shapes and textures she studies in biology books. Now focusing on the structural elements of fungi, fruit, and florals, Beltrán Herrera shares with Colossal:
      Paper as a medium for documentation allows me to register and create notions and ideas of subjects that I have not experienced in real life but that I can experience when a sculpture is completed. I like this approach because it is not harmful, and through my work, I can show and tell my viewers about the things I have been learning, of the importance of nature just by researching and making it myself.
      Much of her work centers on conservation efforts and environmental justice. For example, a recent commission by Greenpeace UK bolstered the organization’s Plastic Free Rivers campaign. ” I am constantly looking for more subjects that are relevant to the times we are living in, so that through my work I can communicate important information that can educate or just make things more visible. The approach is very (graphic) and visual, which helps to deliver a message,” she says.
      Beltrán Herrera’s upcoming projects include a commission for a coral sculpture, in addition to plans to launch a studio with her brother by the end of 2020. Her hope is to merge graphic and digital design with her paper pieces, potentially adding in animation, as well. Ultimately, her goal is to dive into larger projects. “I don’t see my work as something I want to know how to make and stay safe, but as a challenge, that will always allow me to wonder how to execute and create things that were never made with paper,” she says.
      To see more of Beltrán Herrera’s creative process and follow her future pieces, head to Behance and Instagram.

      #birds
      #butterflies
      #paper
      #sculpture

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      Formed With Geometric Blocks of Color, Modern Women Exhibit Strength in Artist Luciano Cian’s Prints

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      Art
      Illustration

      #portraits
      #posters and prints

      July 23, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Luciano Cian, shared with permission
      Artist Luciano Cian’s latest series Geo explores the power, perseverance, and stability of contemporary women through bold colors and gesture. Simple lines and geometric shapes comprise the nondescript figures, who tend to look away from the viewer with striking facial expressions. Relying heavily on the tension between symmetry and asymmetry, Cian tells Colossal he’s inspired the aesthetics of Brazilian modernist artists like painter Athos Bulcão and architect Oscar Niemeyer. Dive into more of the Rio de Janeiro-based artist’s vibrant prints on Behance and Instagram, and check out which pieces are available to add to your collection.

      #portraits
      #posters and prints

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      Jolly Characters by Artist Jean Jullien Overrun the Jardin des Plantes in Nantes, France

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      Art
      Illustration

      #installation
      #public art

      July 15, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      Photo by Jean Jullien. All images © Jean Jullien, shared with permission
      Take a stroll through Nantes’s Jardin des Plantes, and you’ll find a playful cast of characters floating in a fountain, raking the grass, and joining hands to hug a tree. Part of a new exhibition titled Filili Viridi in the French city, the colorful ensemble was created by Paris-based artist Jean Jullien (previously) for the botanic garden in his hometown. Each of the characters is massive—the blush-colored creature spans more than eight meters—and appears to utilize the lush grounds just like their human counterparts.
      If you’re in Nantes before November 2021, head to the park to hang out with the jolly group, to which Jullien plans to add a dozen (!) more of the spirited characters next fall. To dive further into his light-hearted projects, check out the artist’s Instagram and the range of books he’s illustrated, many of which are available from Bookshop. (via Juxtapoz)

      Photo by Jean Jullien
      Photo by Jean Jullien
      Photos by Jean Jullien
      Photo by Jean Jullien
      Photo by Jean-Felix Fayolle
      Photo by Jean-Felix Fayolle

      #installation
      #public art

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      Sinuous Snakes, Insects, and Florals Intertwine in Graphite Illustrations by Zoe Keller

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      “Where We Once Lived II,” copper belly water snake, graphite on paper, 14 x 14 inches. All images © Zoe Keller, shared with permission Through a winding series of delicate illustrations, Zoe Keller (previously) explores the fragility of the natural world. In Scale & Bone, the Portland-based illustrator renders copper belly water snakes, San Francisco garters, and […] More