Alphonse Mucha

Alphonse Mucha

Naoto Hattori

Naoto Hattori, born in Yokohama Japan, studied graphic design in Tokyo, illustration in New York. He mostly works in airbrush and acrylic. He says, "I've been creating the imaginary world within my mind ever since I was a child. My vision is like a dream, where it's a sweet dream, a nightmare or just a bizarre dream. I try to see what's really going on in my mind and that's a practice to increase my awareness in stream-of-conscious creativity. I try not to label or think about what is supposed to be, just take it in as it is and paint whatever I see in my mind with no compromise. That way, I create my own vision."

Naoto Hattori's official site (with gallery and prints)

Dave Cooper

Dave Cooper has always intrigued me. He began as a comics artist and that style persists in his paintings. You can see influences from R. Crumb, crazy animation of the 1930's and 40's, Renaissance paintings and, what, I don't know... balloons? Verging between cute and grotesque, sexual and disturbing, happy and violent, his art grabs you in your pop-culture psyche without any clear reference. I just got his book, Bent, and I highly recommend it.

Dave Cooper's website
Dave Cooper at Jonathan LeVine Gallery
Dave's old site
Dave Cooper's art book, Bent

1872 Anatomy

Check out these amazing cross-cut anatomy illustrations from Germany published in 1872. Quite beautiful. On Flickr by History of the Book / Typography, Amsterdam's photostream, be sure to take a look at the rest of the historical prints available there.

Andrej Dugin and Olga Dugina

Andrej Dugin and Olga Dugina are what you would have if you took Arthur Rackham, Hieronymus Bosch, and Eugène Delacroix and mashed them together into an astonishing illustration team. There are notes of so many more influences from classic illustration, romanticism, and deco aesthetics that you'll get lost in time and magic and wonder that you are looking modern works.

I found these artists on the wonderful blog, lines and colors.

The artist's official website
Some great pieces
Another gallery
lines and colors post

The above illustration was done for Madonna's children's fable, The Adventures of Abdi. Not a great story, but great illustration. I recommend their own books, The Brave Little Tailor and, with Arnica Esterl writing, Dragon Feathers.

Peter P. Plasencia

 

Ward-O-Matic (Ward Jenkins) shares some terrific illustrations from a Jules Verne book. Illustrations by Peter P. Plasencia. They're stunning in their design and tone. Peter P. Plasencia also illustrated a wonderful Space Alphabet book.

Jules Verne: The Man Who Invented the Future

Space Alphabet
Ward-O-Matic

Till Hafenbrak

Till Hafenbrak has a wonderful way with a limited palette.

Till Hafenbrak website
flickr

via Drawn

cancer

It's been a long, long time since I've been updating my blogs. I apologize for not being around, answering emails or requests, writing, drawing... just doing anything but healing. See, I spent all of 2010 fighting cancer. The good news is that the cancer is gone, I am healthy, and I am ready to draw and blog again! And it sure is great to be back.

More Tenggren

 

I posted about Gustaf Tenggren previously but I wanted to mention him again... because, well, I just love his work. The Animation Archive (ASIFA) has couple more pages I wanted to point out - in particular is an article (with lots of images) about Tenggren's Little Golden Book style. When Tenggren left Disney he worked at making a name for himself. He also couldn't get fairly paid for a week's worth of work for a single illustration. He developed a beautiful simple style, reminiscent of illustrations from his Swedish roots. It became a Golden Book standard and influenced children's books ever afterward. Compare them to more elaborate illustrations.

•Tenggren's Little Golden Book style (ASIFA)
•Tenggren's Grimm's Fairy Tales (ASIFA)
•Previous Post

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.

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

Retro German Illustration

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

• illuopa

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

Links

Here's a few links to some wonderful art I really enjoyed (via drawn!). Check it out!

• The Art of Fons Schiedon
• Brian Biggs Trick or Treat
• Linzie Hunter's Spam One-liners
• Lab Partners beautiful designs
• Mel Stringer's beautiful portraits

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

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