Studio Brief 3 - Tell an Untold Story Pt 2: The Picture Book - Inspiration

Inspiration

After my progress review, I was in need of further inspiration to spur on and motivate me in my idea to paint my final artwork. It is such a scary thing to trying something new and attempting something that when you have tried it previously, you usually fail at it. Added pressures are that I need to be starting artwork soon (hardly freaking out at all...NOT!)

To help me with this process I decided to create a Pinterest board just for this module. In the past I have hardly every used Pinterest but since being on this course I have to confess I am now a closet addict. I find it really helpful to see such a wide collection of artwork, illustrations and visual concepts all in one place that I can group together how I see fit and refer back too if I need a little booster or a push in the right direction. I also find it really beneficial to see what other practitioners are up to in the world - it helps me gain perspective and gives me endless inspiration and ideas to put towards my own practice.

My Picture Book Pinterest Board

3 Illustrators that have really jumped out at me throughout this collecting inspiration process are below. These illustrators and their work have impacted and directed me greatly in terms of what I want to achieve in my own artwork and have shown me what can be possible with paint. Oh such beautiful painting!!! Please let mine be like this!

Carson Ellis

A few months ago I purchased the Wild Wood Chronicle books written by Colin Meloy and illustrated by his wife Carson Ellis. I bought the books as they were recommended to me by a friend, but upon receiving them - I have to say it is the artwork that captures my imagination most of all. Carson's use of gouache and the colour palette she uses is so engaging and detailed that it is hypnotic and manipulative in an almost old fairytale like way. I also admire her as a practitioner because the process she undergoes to create her artwork is no quick thing as I found out in a blog post I discovered (below). She takes her time, like me, but it pays off. It is good to know that professionals out there aren't all experts and that learning new processes and battling with them continues on well into your professional practice when in the industry. 

I like Carson's work so much that she has her own Pinterest board. (I am such a geek I know.)

Blog post: http://www.designsponge.com/2014/02/a-day-in-the-life-of-carson-ellis.html


Eyvind Earle

Researching Eyvind and coming across his artwork was a bit of a lightbulb moment for me. Instantly I recognised his unique style and colour choice  - and then it hit me. Disney. Eyvind is famously known for his beautiful background works for Disney, in particular Sleeping Beauty. Obviously not all of his work is painted, but it is his choice in colour that has really grabbed me. They are so striking, dark and seductive and have such a great impact, that even though these aren't your traditional colours used in landscapes - they depict the surroundings so vividly and amazingly true to life. These colour choices create such an atmospheric feel and depth that I hope to achieve (or at least attempt) in my own work). His watercolours are also some of the most beautiful I have ever seen.

Ray Morimura

Ray is someone I purely stumbled across whilst scouring Pinterest boards and his artwork and talent truly speaks for itself. Again the choices in colour he makes and attention to detail help to bring landscape scenes to life and have so much information included, they speak their own story and narrative. The selected information that Ray chooses to record is also really unique and its his sense of depth and scale which help take the audience inside his paintings. 

After all this inspiration and research I am looking forward to attempting my own paintings and artwork for this brief. I am trying to keep my expectations realistic, I am not going to become an expert in painting overnight, however addressing the visual tools that these artists and illustrators use has been helpful and is a good starting point for my own practice and learning.