Last week, I shared some of my favorites from Inktober, a month-long art challenge where you draw everyday. In a similar vein, Los Angeles-based illustrator Stephanie Birdsong has her own daily project called Black-cat-a-day. It’s a sketchbook painting challenge where, for…
Lara Hawthorne is a Bristol-based illustrator whose meticulous compositions are peppered with creatures both large and small. Because of this, they’re worth spending some time with, because otherwise, you might miss her tiny alligators, giant cats, and massive schools of fish. In…
Every year, the Inktober (#inktober) project encourages artists and illustrators around the world to draw something everyday for the whole month of October. It’s a fun exercise that can inform later work, which is the whole idea behind the project. The creator,…
Kreh Mellick creates gorgeous monochromatic paintings that are alluring in their sheer amount of meticulous detail. The tiny leaves, facing all different directions, create a luscious movement throughout each piece and frame their curious cast of characters. I can’t help wondering—where are these people,…
Sarah Burwash is no stranger to Brown Paper Bag. Over the years, I’ve admired both her ceramics and drawings and have been following her work ever since. One of her latest endeavors is Sweet Smelling Ashes, a recently-opened exhibition at Latitude 53 in…
Kelly Louise Judd is an artist living in Kansas City, Missouri (my hometown!), creating the curious paintings you see here. They’re often surreal compositions devoid of a background, which beg us to ponder these symbols’ greater meanings, like how human figures…
Isn’t it incredible the effect that a simple brush stroke can have? Illustrator Marion Barraud creates an entire world with just some watercolor pigment and cleverly drawn lines. There isn’t a lot of details—there doesn’t need to be—but it’s just enough…
Are you superstitious? As a kid, I was, but as an adult—not so much. Russian illustrator Natalia Yamshchikova created a series of beautiful plywood paintings that pay homage to these unjustified beliefs. They sound silly now, but just think back to…
Japanese illustrator Ryo Takemasa is a pro at creating tranquil landscapes that depict the beauty of grandiose settings. Mountains, lakes, and fields are often featured, but he’ll occasionally paint urban settings, too. No matter the scene, they’re done with flattened…
Kate O’Hara writes that, “She enjoys creating illustrations that draw people in through their nostalgic mood and intricate detail. ” I started with the above quote because I couldn’t have said it better myself—Kate’s meticulous, realistic style composes these strange and alluring scenes, which feel…