Saturday 28 June 2008

Inspirations, Illustrations, Imaginations

I THOUGHT IT TIME to pass on a few threads of inspirations that I have received from other lovely people hiding in the hills of blogland. As I have mentioned before, I'm not a keen passer-oner of "awards" and things like I'm s'posed to. But I do appreciate those given to me and in turn, I will from time to time show you some lovely things I've found on my web burrowings.
Morna, Erica, Ciara, Jo, Lindsay and Terry have all been so kind as to give me little blog awards recently, and so today I wanted to show you some artists and their illustrations that have made me smile and feel inwardly connected to them.


A little while ago Victoria Usova contacted me to ask if I fancied doing an illustration swap, which I hardly ever do.. but this time, I felt something warm and familiar in her illustrations, and so after much trouble choosing, decided that I would like this Foxy Fox watercolour original on the left to come and live with me, in return for my Button Mouse travelling over the sea to New York. Victoria is a Ukraine-born New Yorker and said of my work that "your painted world seems close to mine, but more in the evening or nighttime. Perhaps we travel to similar locations just during different times of the day." I liked that.
She has a "Chest of Fairytales" etsy shop here and flickr page here where you can see her enchanting works. For me they have a playful sunniness and very distinct Russian flavour which is delightful. This Foxy Fox will be framed and enjoyed on the wall of our truck.


Next I wanted to show you the wonderful otherworldly paintings of Yoko Tanaka. She paints a muted Other world peopled by strange beasts, surreal objects and melancholy tales. Yoko was born in Japan but moves from country to country, having been educated in the US and living at present in Thailand where buffaloes stroll around the house and cranes fly over the nearby Mosque's call to prayer. On the right is her painting Remnant. Do take a while to wander her world, which I feel very drawn to, here.


Thirdly, another Japanese illustrator, Yuko Michishita, who is currently studying in the UK. The inspiration for her fine pencil drawings dwells in an interest in folklore and nomadic ways of life and she says of her work that she has always loved "meticulous patterns of Asian traditional costumes, shades and shapes of trees, furry animals and human faces that look slightly like fish", and is greatly influenced by these likings. This illustration to the left, Apples Be Ripe makes me smile no end ... and includes lovely wonkyness, detail, colour and lettering. Do have a look at her work here.



And lastly but not leastly, Oliver Hunter, a young Australian artist whose work I have known of for a little while through Endicott Studios. His imaginative, surreal and strange mythic world gives away his obsessive and cerebral imaginations and love of tale and spirit. I find his creations extremely evocative, and a little influenced by the character of the world conjured in Terri Windling's book The Wood Wife. On the right is his painting After the Hunt. Those of you who are aware of Goblin Fruit, a relatively new online mythic poetry magazine, will have seen his work there. He also has a little "Cupfull of Oliver" website here, and there's a fascinating write up about his work, background and inspirations here at Endicott.

Thank you to all those people who have sent me words of encouragement and told me that my work makes them feel familiar strange things ... these kind nods lift my fragile self confidence enough to keep me creating. And thank you to these artists whose works make me feel these familiar strange things too.

18 comments:

Shelley Noble said...

These artists are wonderful. If you took each of them, shook them up, and blended gently, added other ingredients unmentioned, I believe you'd get your works. I see a little bit of each of them in what you you do, the skill, the thought, the line, the subject, the place.

I dearly love that you and Ms. Usova made an original art trade, and such a fair one. Her observation about you visiting the same place at different times of day, rings both true and dear.

Vita said...

Thank you Rima for such kind words!
I did recognize the familiar faces in your art.And I knew they were the same guys that hide from me during daytime:)they do peek from behind rocks and trees and wink, and then hide again. So I have th foxes dryads to keep me company.

Jules at 7-Imp said...

Hi, Rima! My name is Jules, and I blog at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. Can you email me at seventhings@gmail.com? I'd love to feature some of your work, if you're interested at all, at our site, but I can't seem to find your email address at this blog (I'm probably just missing it). If you're interested at all, contact me. I love your art work featured here!

dinahmow said...

I "lose myself" on your blog fromtime to time, never absolutely certain why (other than the fact that it is a lovely thing to read!)until now.That bit about travelling to similar places at different hours suddenly struck a chord and I saw myself, age 3 or 4, propped up on pillows with an Arthur Rackham book to help me through whooping cough.Whatever medicine they gave me sent me into a dreamy world...travelling to strange places.
Thankyou for all your links and explanations.

tlchang said...

What a great idea to highlight artists in this way (and what a terrific collection of unique art!)

Yes, your work causes me to 'feel things' indeed!

Acornmoon said...

Thanks for introducing such a delightful collection of artists. I am particularly drawn to Yuko's work, it is so decorative in an unconventional way.

littlerobot said...

Oh lovely Rima! I especially like Oliver's work. Seems so authentic. Yes, still pretty rainy here, a small moment of blue sky happened this morning so we went up to the waterfalls outside Largs - lovely! Apparently next week is more of the same - ah well.... Oh, and about the new paintings, they don't use different materials but I painted them differently! Might try layering some oil glazes on top soon though....Hope you're both well!
x

Ciara Brehony said...

Oh, sweet Rima these are so lovely! Thanks for sharing! I'm off to squirrel around these amazing links now. Thanks!

d. moll, l.ac. said...

You all seem like such kindred spirits...

Tess Kincaid said...

I always love to check out the artists you recommend, Rima. Great post, thank you!

mama p said...

Ahhh. Somehow no matter how awful a day I've been having, I end up here, and I become inspired again. Warm and familiar, all of you yes. Makes me wonder just what might come out of my own fingertips, would I be brave enough to let them speak in color and ink! Big thanks, Rima. 'twas a rough one, up to this point! :)

Rima Staines said...

Ahh thanks folks, glad you enjoyed these delights :) Lovely to hear that it brightens your day Pilar to come here.. I'm touched.
And interesting how people see bits of these artists in my work... I guess there's a common thread of something that we are all drawn to...

Anonymous said...

You never fail to inspire, thanks so much. They all seem to have a quietness about them which I fear I may disturb if my 'IF' post today gets out! hehe x

Dragan said...

I have two links for you:

Illustrators: http://www.barefoot-books.com/ (ok, it does play some irritating music when you get to the page, but if you go the the artists pages it's much more interesting, I promise!)

My people: http://www.geocities.com/~patrin/

Valaine said...

I truly love your blog! You fascinate me with your art as well :)

My daughter (10) wants to say that she loves your drawings and that you are very interesting.

Dragan said...

I do indeed, I am half Romnichal. My mother's generation was the last to travel.

mister M said...

toujours autant de belles choses chez toi

Michelle said...

oh lovely! only now I want one of Victoria's pendants so much. :-x

Have you ever seen Michael Leunig's work? He's an Australian artist/poet. I love his stuff.

Here's one I like:

http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2004/11/20/wbleunig20_gallery__550x327.jpg

My alltime favourite is his poem about a broken heart, but I can't find it online. :-(