Check out this wonderful blog entitled Vintage Kids’ Books My Kid Loves of “vintage children’s books from thrift shops, library sales, book stores, online and elsewhere”. Image from Gyo Fujikawa‘s exquisite Lets Grow a Garden.
Incidentally, if you like Gyo Fujikawa, there’s a ton more images of her work on Flickr.
I was, apparently, born in the same town and went to the same school as Illustrator Quentin Blake, most famous for his wonderfully apparently effortless illustrations for the books of Roald Dahl; although obviously not at the same time… what with him being 43 years my senior. Anyway, I managed to spot an interview him on BBC Breakfast News before I left for work this morning where he was talking about a proposed museum for illustration in London.
They’re currently trying to raise the £6 million required to build a “House of Illustration” in Kings Cross, London by 2011 — the world’s first museum dedicated to the art of illustration in all its forms.
The House of Illustration is a registered charity that was established in 2002. It is the brainchild of Quentin Blake. As an experienced illustrator and teacher, he saw a gap in the UK’s museum sector. At the moment, illustration is only seen in occasional temporary exhibitions in other museums and galleries. The House of Illustration will change that.
The House of Illustration will be the place to see past and present illustration, both British and international. It will be the world’s first centre dedicated to the art of illustration in all its forms.
They are a registered charity and currently accepting donations via their website.
Ward Jenkins, animator, contributor to Drawn! and curator of the wonderful Ward-O-Matic blog current has a wonderful looking solo show at the Grassy Knoll Gallery in Portland, Oregon inspired by graffiti and 80’s hip hop. This is a little too far for me to travel so I’m grateful that so many photos are available online.
Original artwork can also be purchased directly from the gallery website.
Hah! Blogging! Remember that? Er, where was I…?
Recently (and by “recently” I mean “over a year ago“) Pixelation ran a little contest on their forum to see who could create Game Boy-inspired screenshots of more recent video games. The entries are fantastic — some of my favourites, World of Warcraft, Bioshock, Sam & Max and American McGee’s Alice, are above.
Go take a look if you haven’t seen them already… and if you have it was probably so long ago now that you’ve forgotten about it and should go have another look anyway!
Ok, yeah, this kind of happened a few months ago now (brace yourselves, you’re going to hear that a lot over the next few weeks!) but it’s still worth mentioning. Previously only available to paying subscribers, comic artist James Kochalka has made the archives of his wonderful daily comic journal, American Elf, free to access. That’s nine and a half years worth of sketchbook life!
They’re also available as a series of books, I have a copy of the first one which compiles the first five years and it’s a lovely big tome. The second volume, which collects 2004 and 2005, is also available and volume three will be available in November.
With a little boy on the way I find myself checking out more and more children’s books, especially ones with interesting and quirky illustration. In Waterstones today I spotted a great book by Oliver Jeffers called “The Way Back Home” about a little boy who finds an aeroplane in his bedroom cupboard and flies to the moon, where he finds he’s not the only one that’s lost. It was a little while later, after getting back and Googling, that I realised I’d seen his work before.
Anyway, here’s his site, and an interview. Enjoy.
Chris Sanders, former Disney artist and the creator/director of Lilo and Stitch, finally has a website. He also released a new sketchbook at this year’s San Diego Comi-con which I’ll have to order a copy of to sit alongside the one he printed last year on my bookshelf.
I rather like the beginnings of a children’s Rhyme Book by Canadian illustrator/designer Chad Geran. He hasn’t got a publisher yet but, inspired by Steve Mack, he’s creating a new book spread every week or so on his blog. Go take a look and, if you’re a publisher, make him an offer! (via Drawn!)
Monkey: Journey to the West: The latest collaborative project by Gorillaz co-creators Jamie Hewlett (also famous for creating Tank Girl) and Damon Albarn is an opera based on the 16th century Chinese novel “Journey to the West” — better known, thanks to the BBC re-dubbing of the 1970s Japanese TV-series, as Monkey. Lots of info, illustrations and photos can be found on the myspace page.
The show started at the Manchester Palace Theatre last night and continues until the 7th July. It then moves to the Theatre de Chatelet in Paris from 13th September until the 13th October.
“Imagine: Damon and Jamie’s Excellent Adventure“, a documentary on the show, premieres on Wednesday 4th July at 10.35pm on BBC1 in the UK. The site contains clips from the forthcoming show.
I never knew him by name, but I was certainly familiar with his work. Charley Harper was most well known for his highly stylised bird, insect and wildlife illustrations, particularly for the U.S. National Parks Service.
Charley liked to say, that when he paints a bird, he doesn’t count all the feathers in the wings – he just counts the wings. Minimal realism, he called it, and his unique and precise style continues to resonate and inspire his admirers.
A new book, “Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life“, is being published next month, edited by Todd Oldham, on his six decade long career. More details can be found on the publisher’s website.
(thanks Ward)
