Maria Livings

A warm welcome also this month to the agency for Maria Livings whose portfolio explodes with talent.

A background in fine art painting and printmaking underpins Maria’s distinctive work, which combines traditional line with contemporary colours, textures and graphics. Clients include, Lush, Asapce, Tree Aid.

Smooth in Barcelona

Kavel Rafferty is behind this illustration for a new hair removal salon in Barcelona.

Commissioned by Barcelona designers Soon in Tokyo, Kavel made three illustrations for Suaus, (meaning “smooth” in Catalan). Kavel also painted on the main wall of the shop. Says Kavel: “It was great to work on a variety of scales”. The images will be used on the website, publicity and promotions.

Beauty Culture

Nadia Flower is the creator of this vibrant spread for Nylon Magazine which is out now.

Commissioned by Kristin Eddington, the brief had to incorporate denim textures into the composition along with Nadia’s interpretation of the products and text. The illustration features in Nylon’s counter culture page.

Jumping Hurdles

Check out Bill Greenhead's spirited new animation for the Party Gaming Advertising Department.

Bill’s brief described an 'average man' jumping hurdles, which shrink as he runs, making the task ever-easier. Explains Bill: "The runner you see is based upon me running. Luckily the character needed is as portly as myself!"

The Nuno

This intriguingly stylish design by Nuno DaCosta was created for top London salon Hari's Salon.

Based on his Caran D' Ache colouring pencil box set with a different colour on each nail, the ‘Nuno’ (as it’s come to be known) has been getting a lot of press and meanwhile Mr DaCosta himself promises more to come.

Henry VIII Stamp Set

Gail Armstrong has created an incredible set of stamps on Henry VIII for Guernsey Post to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the coronation of the legendary king.

Gail has used a colour palette that is heavily influenced by the paintings and textiles of the era. "All of the patterned and textured papers I used for these pieces, I created digitally" explained Gail "rather than being compromised by what was available."

A Screw Loose?

Ian Naylor brings us yet another outstanding creation with this animation for Phillips Drive Systems.
Tom Davis at Brand Focus approached Ian to produce this animation to show how the Phillips Screw Company can tighten up the world. From the initial laying of the structure, the segments clang into place, giant continents follow finally locking the whole thing tight with a twist from above. Amazing stuff!

Works Like A Charm

It could only be Jacqueline Bissett when Jeweller Thomas Sabo was seeking illustration for their Charm Club catalogue comprising of around 50 illustrations.
Commissioned by ad agency AHD, Bissett placed her high society Charm Club Girl creation in various scenarios: clubbing, shopping etc resulting in an illustrated lifestyle. The clients were so impressed she has just completed an additional illustration for their new perfume ad.

Everybody Loves The Sunshine

This eye grabbing piece of work comes from the talented fingertips of Masha Karpushina.
Commissioned by EMI for their production music branch KPM to create a CD cover for Indie Movie House, Masha's unique style was perfect for the brief. The cover required a quirky indie feel and to be representative of the music inside.

Enya

This stunning lettering creation by Ruth Rowland is for Enya’s latest C.D "The Very Best of Enya".
Ruth's fluid words were layered over a collection of sumptuous photographs by Simon Fowler. The end result is a very collectible Limited Edition Box Set in which all the lyrics are hand lettered, her original logo has been retained and Ruth’s hand lettering used as a visual link throughout the inside of the booklet.

Decked

This dynamic skate deck art springs from the imagination of Ben Tallon and features at the up-coming ‘Decked’ exhibition in London, where some fifty artists have created art directly onto a skate deck.

The exhibition takes place at Stolenspace Gallery, 91 Brick Lane, Poplar, London, E15, UK, and runs from 25th to 30th August, with a private view on Thursday the 27th from 7pm.

Champers Hampers

Currently wowing all at the Perth Fashion Week is this anti-drink drive animation from the amazing Sarah Beetson.

The animations were projected onto the sides of several buildings in Perth City Centre, with the tagline: “Champers hampers driving skills”. Never has a police warning looked so cool.

Vintage Style

Bringing a perfectly vintage look to the British dinner table is Caroline Church and her fine illustrations for Marks and Spencer’s meat range.

Each of the 6 illustrations is styled with a similar treatment, with each animal seen in profile, and the terrific linework conjuring up a reassuringly worn, etched look.

Urban Garden Launch

Danny Allison is the hand behind the art on this front cover illustration for Urban Garden magazine’s launch issue in the US.

Explains Danny: “The Art Director gave me free reign on concept, colour and design. The design needed to get across that the US government has a hold over the corn industry and in turn is enslaving people.”

Meet Bompas and Parr

Still a bit peckish? Meet spectacular and unique installation artists, Bompas & Parr, whose medium of choice is jelly.

This is jelly as art, jelly that functions in the space between food and architecture. Recent projects include a vast glowing jelly installation for SFMOMA and Alcoholic Architecture, a walk in cloud of breathable G&T.

The Woman of the House

Matthew Hollings is the creator of this masterly illustration for the Sunday Times Magazine.

One of two images, the brief was to create illustrations for a short story ‘The Woman of the House'. Explains Matthew: “The story itself was quite sinister but I was asked to keep the illustrations colourful. The main image aims to encapsulate the story as a whole”.

Welcome Pete Pachoumis

A warm welcoming hello please for the mighty Pete Pachoumis who brings a truckload of talent to Illustration this month.

Florida-based Peter is a 3-time Addy award-winning illustrator who counts Disney, Paramount and DC Comics among his clients. In addition to work on Star Wars, Terminator and Star Trek, Peter also contributed to the graphic novel ‘9-11: Artists Respond’.

Rock and Roll Expressionists

Vince Ray is among the acts showcasing their combined illustration and music skills at the Rock and Roll Expressionists exhibition.

That's right. Illustration meets Rock and Roll head on at the Resistance Gallery where Vince's band will be playing a live set on Tuesday 1st December. Come and rock out at 265 Poyser Street, London E2 9RF.

The Sky is the Limit

Skiers characterised as birds soaring over Californian skies is the theme of this entertaining spoof poster created by Alan Baker.
Commissioned by David&Goliath for Mammoth Mountain , Alan created this poster over one weekend, he enjoyed the concept so much he even put himself in, take a peek at the Naked Pale Aler to see Alan in action!

Merry Christmas

Our official Christmas illustration this year is brought to you in graceful style by Nuno DaCosta.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and may 2010 bring you great opportunities and fun. With appreciation and thanks from all the artists and agent team at Illustration Ltd.

A Crisis

Matthew Laznicka is the artist behind these powerful illustrations depicting the financial crisis.

Commissioned by Caspian Publishing for Real Deal Magazine, Matthew has confidently captured the despair caused by the economical situation in these compelling images. Keep your eyes peeled for the magazine, out last week.

Ron Borresen

New to the agency this month is digital artist Ron Borresen who is a welcome addition with his warm and witty style.
He joins us with an impressive portfolio that already includes clients such as New York Times Media and Harcourt Brace Publishing. His humourous illustrations have featured on the covers of numerous magazines and newspapers, including this recent image which he greatly enjoyed, for AJS monthly.

Autosur to the Rescue

Make way for Peter Thom’s super-hero bear, filled with attitude and chutzpah, Pete has recently revamped the mascot for French auto care company Autosur.

Appearing in adverts througout the French press, Pete worked closely with Creative Director Jean Letellier of Ailleurs Exactement Paris to develop this auto hero, at the same time adhering as much as possible to the original specifications of the previous bear.

Festival of Arts

Congratulations to Echo Chernick who has been chosen as the poster artist for the 25th Annual Cape Coral Festival of the Arts.
Held early this month, this esteemed arts festival has been named one of the top 75 nationwide art fairs by "Sunshine Arts Magazine". Echo is an award winning art nouveau illustrator who works digitally to create these dazzling images.

Pocket Notebook

The brilliant Willie Ryan completed this bold illustration for the front cover of Mike Thomas's much anticipated book "Pocket Notebook"
Commissioned by Random House and due to be launched in early February the book is expected to fly off the shelves. Willie created a homage to the Anthony Burgess Clockwork Orange Cover which resulted in this eye catching image.

Every Day Girl

This alluring image is part of a personal series of hand drawn illustrations created by the talented James Hodgkins.
Inspired by the desire to return to traditional media James ditched the computer to embrace acrylics and paper. He explains “All the pieces feature the same girl, at various stages in her life, a working title for the project is "Every Day Girl". A celebration of feminine allure and beauty.”

Wine Buffs

Maria Livings completed these stylish images for the Wine Society, where they will soon be splashed across the pages of their magazine and wine list.
The brief was to illustrate various aspects of the Sustainable Viticulture, Maria explains "The brief was very specific because wine buffs would probably notice if I'd included the wrong kind of creature or plant! It was a challenge to make some of the subjects decorative - a hedge for instance presented difficulties until I drew a leaping leveret in front of it."

Let It Out

Once again Gail Armstrong gives us a masterclass in paper sculpture.
This incredible illustration is one of three posters commissioned by Coco Weir at JWT for Kleenex’s internal awards, linked to their "Let It Out" campaign. Each poster depicts two images reflecting the positive and negative of one scenario. Gail says, "Lovely job to work on as they gave me free reign to design everything including the type."

Psychic Eye

Delve into the fantasy world of Steinar Lund, who has recently developed a new gothic site with us introducing his spookier side.
This stylish image is an updated logo for renowned psychic Craig Hamilton Parker's website, Steinar also created a "skeleton wing" version of the logo for the more chilling side of the site.

Fashion Masochist

Kavel Rafferty takes a light hearted approach to the challenge of this illustration for Boston Magazine US.
The subject matter ‘Fashion Masochist’ shows our girl expressing her fashion angle by wearing a blonde afro, this supported an urban fashion feature in the Connoisseur; Style Article section of Boston magazine. The commission by Designer Betsy Halsey sits perfectly with the edgy article.

Legally Blonde

Feast your eyes upon the richly textured illuminations of The Savoy Theatre at night, brought to life by the talented John Walsom.
He was commissioned to compose this bustling image which was presented to Sonia Friedman the main producer of the show Legally Blonde, with 25 Limited Edition prints being given to the other producers. He explains "The painting, like the show, has a very pink theme, with an image of the leading lady crossing the Strand, lots of fun to do!”

Monaco Oceans

Let yourself drift away with Christian David Moore’s Monaco posters.
This stunning image is one of four posters created by Christian and commissioned by Green Team, New York to promote Monaco. Featuring the renowned Oceanographic museum, this poster focuses on how Monaco and the Prince Albert II foundation are helping to protect the worlds' oceans.

Greet The Sauerkids

We are thrilled to welcome on board this month the humourous and colourful Sauerkids.As you journey through their engaging portfolio prepare to be delighted by their quirky illustrations. Based in Holland, Marc and Taco are graphic designers and illustrators whose character based illustrations have been shown in several international art exhibitions, illustration projects, magazines & books. Sauerkids are not only known for their witty illustrations and fine art, but they also feel equally comfortable with designing vinyl toys, visual brands, clothing, sculptures and typefaces.

Elephant Parade

If there’s an elephant in your room then I hope it’s Rosie Sanders beautifully decorated example. Rosie hand painted exquisite orchids on the elephant which is one of two hundred 4ft high elephants placed around London as part of the Elephant Parade London 2010. It is a project which aims to raise funds to protect the Asian elephant. Rosie’s elephant is currently at Swallow Street near Piccadilly, where it will stay until it is auctioned off at Sothebys later this year. To see more of Rosie’s stunning work she has an exhibition coming up, it opens on the 8th June at Park Walk Gallery in Chelsea.

Hello Alexis

Dazzling us this month with her delicate, vintage collaged illustrations is Alexis MacKenzie.She joins us with a fresh style which beautifully combines imagery from the past, natural and organic themes with drawings and textures. Alexis's collages are all composed by hand from a wide variety of sources, they have already attracted much attention, including a recent solo show in L.A which was reviewed by the L.A Times. She has a selection of beautiful prints which can be purchased here.

Shailesh Khandeparkar - D&AD Judge

We are very proud to learn Shailesh Khandeparkar will be joining D&AD as a judge in the Illustration category. A little about Shailesh and his acheivements: "...Shailesh Khandeparkar, a Graduate from ‘The Goa School of Art’ is a renowned Freelance Illustrator and Designer, based in Mumbai. He prefers to work on styles that fall in Indian-Urban genre, which means a mix of classical Indian styles and modern techniques. He likes the unique starkness of black & white. Shailesh’s work for WWF was selected as In-book at D & AD for 3 years in a row. He won a Gold Pencil in One Show Design, Bronze at the Clio Awards, and several nominations in Cannes, London International and other major international awards. Shailesh’s work was selected in the 200 Best Illustrations by the Luerzer’s Archive magazine. Shailesh’s work is regularly featured in reviews on illustration and design. His work was published in The Work Book, WPP Cream Book, idn, Communication Art, Computer Art and Indexbook...."

Miminne and Pink Tank

Miminne was all over Pink Tank's shop window, a pop-up shop in Barcelona for the month of October. She says: "... This project was put together by a Fashion PR agency called Clarity based in Barcelona. The store housed garments from London based designers like Vivienne Westwood, Sophia Kokosalaki, Felder Felder and more.  My task was to design something exciting to represent the buzz of London city..."

 

Liz Pepperell's Scrapbook

Liz Pepperell shares how living in the beautiful, rural countryside of Devon inspires her artwork.
Liz Pepperell's Scrapbook

FRAME X FRAME OhLaLa

Just what we need this time of year, Daria Jabenko has made an enticing animation for her portfolio pulling us away from the cold dark Winter! WATCH IT NOW

Just Released, our latest Scrapbook is now available to view

Our second Scrapbook is now just out. We continue our collection of some of the best illustrations, interviews and articles from our weekly Scrapbook emails that feature our artists, their work, their studios and influences etc.

The online version is FREE to view here.



Also, we have about 100 of the printed versions that are available for £16 inc p&p (circa $25). The 180+ page notebook (with 82 pages of top notch imagery and views) are the 'much admired' moleskin-esque essential for all creatives...

FRAME X FRAME Pepsi Refresh

This "Pepsi Refresh your World" entry from Nick Murray Willis was shortlisted as one of the finalists in the worldwide short film competition. WATCH IT NOW.

Having to Cancel the Xmas party tonight

Sadly we have cancelled the Artist's party tonight...defeated by the elements.

Thankfully Alan Baker has layed on some alternative entertainment...thank you Alan

Claire Rollet's Inkcities

Claire Rollet will be selling her architectural "Inkcities"  prints at Spitalfields Arts Market from 2nd-19th December 2010, Thursdays to Sundays 10am - 5pm.  Claire says "...London's Spitalfields market  is the largest creative market in the world.  It's a fantastic day out, idiosyncratic to London's edgy, bustling creative energy. A must!..." Claire's prints are also available from the Inkcities website where she specialises in architectural drawings of cities like London, New York, and Tokyo.

How to find Claire at Spitalfields:

BoomArtwork's Scrapbook

Netherlands based illustrator Eric Van Den Boom, aka BoomArtwork, tells how his ideas often start by doodling & sketching. BoomArtwork's Scrapbook.