Beach London – AmeliasMagazine

Amelia’s Magazine | Pick Me Up 2016: A Round Up of My Favourite Finds

aart-jan-venema-pick-me-up-3
Pick Me Up 2016 took place earlier this year, and although I shared my best picks of the show on instagram I never got around to posting anything on Amelia’s Magazine. So here, a mere half year down the line, are my favourite finds. Enjoy!

marie-jacotey-pick-me-up
Marie Jacotey is a French artist exploring what it means to be a girl.

george-douglas-pick-me-up
George Douglas works in a pop art collage style. He is based in Scotland.

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camilla-perkins-pick-me-up-2

I love the folk art influenced pictures depicting jaunty “sapeurs” by Brighton based Camilla Perkins.

alice-bowsher-pick-me-up
Beautiful, simple, evocative ink paintings by Alice Bowsher.

jack-sachs-pick-me-up
Fantastical bright new work by Jack Sachs takes a look at our anatomy.

aart-jan-venema-pick-me-up
aart-jan-venema-pick-me-up-1
aart-jan-venema-pick-me-up-2
I really loved detailed paintings by Aart-Jan Venema, who lives in The Hague, Netherlands.

julian-glander-pick-me-up
Lenticular madness from Julian Glander, eye popping colours and surreal arrangements.

charlotte-mei-pick-me-up
Please excuse the glare on this fab painting of pottery by Charlotte Mei (always a favourite).

isabel-helen-pick-me-up
Isabel & Helen is a creative partnership specialising in set design and interactive installations.

eliza-tulip-anorak-mag-new-designers
Eliza Tulip created this image for Anorak Magazine, always a great place to check out illustration talent.

peso-press-pick-me-up
A beautiful stand from Peso Press.

mr-penfold-pick-me-up
Mr Penfold for Grey Jam Press.

liam-barrett-mr-punch
Cuckoo’s Nest was a collaborative exhibition between Beach London and The Museum of British Folklore, featuring specially created work by a number of well known artists alongside pieces from the museum’s collections. Above is a Mr Punch cutout doll by Liam Barrett.

fireworks-poster
I love this vintage fireworks poster.

alec-doherty-pick-me-up
This piece by Alec Doherty was inspired by the tradition of Haxey Hood.

guarab-thakali-pick-me-up
Longsword dancing by Gaurab Thakali.

rob-flowers-longsword-dancing
More Longsword Dancing by Rob Flowers.

studio-muti-pick-me-up
Love the detail in this piece by Studio Muti, a creative studio in Cape Town, South Africa.

beermats-pick-me-up
Artist beer mat designs.

megamunden-pick-me-up
The artist known as Megamunden is based in Brighton – creating tattoo inspired artworks such as this. He is perhaps best known for his awesome tattoo inspired colouring book.

clay-collective-pick-me-up
clay-collective-pick-me-up-colourbox-studio
Lovely ceramics from the Clay Collective, who share a studio space in Hackney Downs Studios, East London. I love the direction Joe Rogers (who formerly created illustrations for Amelia’s Magazine) has taken with his stunning ceramics under the name Colourbox.

sophie-alda-pick-me-up
These are by Clay Collective founding member Sophie Alda.

emily-rand-pick-me-up
emily-rand-hato-press
This is one of a series of conceptual children’s books by Emily Rand, published by Hato Press.

jack-taylor-pick-me-up
Lovely work by Jack Taylor. Two by Four is an artist book featuring a colourful house construction, also published by Hato Press.

yes-by-daisy-emerson-at-best
Yes! hand painted sign by Daisy Emerson at Best.

felicity-marshall-pick-me-up
Palm trees by print and graphic designer Felicity Marshall.

claire-powell-pick-me-up
claire-powell-bananas-pick-me-up
claire-powell-cherries-pick-me-up
Fantastic work by Claire Powell, whose work features in my colouring book, Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion. Love her anthropomorphised animals including cherries having a hug

All of these images first appeared on my instagram feed @ameliagregory – make sure you follow me there or on twitter to see my art finds first! (and in a slightly more timely manner…)

Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday November 9th, 2016 11:26 am

Categories ,Alec Doherty, ,Alice Bowsher, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,Anorak Magazine, ,Beach London, ,Best, ,Camilla Perkins, ,Charlotte Mei, ,Claire Powell, ,Clay Collective, ,Colourbox, ,Cuckoo’s Nest, ,Daisy Emerson, ,Eliza Tulip, ,Emily Rand, ,Felicity Marshall, ,Gaurab Thakali, ,George Douglas, ,Grey Jam Press, ,Hackney Downs Studios, ,Hato Press, ,Haxey Hood, ,Isabel & Helen, ,Jack Sachs, ,Jack Taylor, ,Joe Rogers, ,Julian Glander, ,Liam Barrett, ,Marie Jacotey, ,Megamunden, ,Mr Penfold, ,Peso Press, ,Pick Me Up 2016, ,Pick Me Up London, ,review, ,Rob Flowers, ,Somerset House, ,Sophie Alda, ,Studio Muti, ,The Museum of British Folklore, ,Two by Four, ,Under the Sea

Amelia’s Magazine | Pick Me Up Contemporary Graphic Art Fair 2012: Illustrator Emma Block Reviews

David Sparshott Pick Me Up

Illustration by David Sparshott.

Each year the relatively new addition to the art and design calendar that is Pick Me Up seems to find it’s feet a little more and get a little more into it’s stride. This year showcased an impressive range of up and coming illustrators, as well as collectives, agencies, galleries and workshops. To a (hopefully) up and coming illustrator such as myself, this is a pretty important event in the year.

Niki Pilkington Pick Me Up It was nice to see more names I recognized this year. All the artists were inspiring last year, but I’d never heard of most of them. If you can’t be in the show, it’s nice at least to see your friends exhibited. It makes it a slightly more realistic dream being to one day be featured in this annual celebration of illustration and design. As a collage artist it was also a refreshing change to see the reliance on traditional rather than digital media, which can dominate the illustration landscape at times. I also mush preferred the way the work was displayed this year. Illustrations are largely ephemeral; we throw illustration away every day, in magazine, newspapers and packaging etc, but I felt it was wrong to carry this idea into the display. Where work has once been clipped to sheets of pegboard, it was now framed and well lit.

Niki Pilkington Pick Me Up

Some of my favourites were Niki Pilkington’s feminine 3D illustrations, which combined fluorescent cut paper elements with sensitive pencil work, while Rikka Sormunen’s surreal and beautifully haunting watercolours showcased an expert use of colour and pattern. Both are featured in Amelia’s Pick Me Up Selects review.

Rikka Sormunen Pick Me Up

A familiar name was Tim McDonagh, previously featured on Amelia Magazine, whose incredibly intricate illustrations, which I had admired before online, looked amazing full sized and framed.

Tim McDonagh Pick Me Up

Sarah Maycock’s beautiful paintings were incredibly bold and expressive; the wrinkle of the paper under wet ink, the drips, slashes and smudges were all impossible to recreate in a digital medium.

Sarah Maycock Pick Me Up

David Sparshott’s colour pencil drawings captured some thing very real and human. It’s the little things like the way we take our tea, and the way we love to see things carefully collected and catalogued that made his work so personal.

David Sparshott Pick Me Up

Each artist showcased a different skill or attribute, each one leaving you itching to get the paints, pen and paper out yourself.

Away from the 20 selected illustrators in the main hall there was a whole world of warren like rooms and exhibition spaces to explore. I entirely missed this section last year, so don’t make that mistake, there is so much more to see.

Tom Frost Soma Gallery

Soma is a little gem of a gallery that had set up shop in one of these rooms. Tom Frost’s vintage animal stamp prints and painted wooden sculptures were favourites of mine.

Tom Frost Soma Gallery

In the next room was Many Hands, an online shop that was new to me, but contained many familiar names. I had the chance to meet the lovely Lizzy Stewart, whose work I have long admired. Her delicate and sparing work was perfectly juxtaposed with Sister Arrow’s vividly coloured risographs. One of the lovely things about Pick Me Up is that there is something for every budget, from framed originals to zines, badges and post cards, and of course Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration and Anthology of Illustration, stocked by Beach London and featuring moi. As an illustrator shows like this not only inspire you, but also give you an insight into the industry. I know I was walking around mentally taking notes of possible stockists and collaborators.

Lizzy Stewert Badges

To me this year’s Pick Me Up was bigger and most importantly better than ever before. For the first time I feel like it truly represented an illustration and graphics industry that I not only know and love but also feel a part of. It is essential viewing for all art and design student, graduates, aspiring and professional creatives.

Written by Emma Block on Friday March 30th, 2012 4:20 pm

Categories ,ACOFI, ,Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration, ,Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, ,art, ,Beach London, ,David Sparshott, ,design, ,Emma Block, ,illustration, ,lizzy stewart, ,Many Hands, ,Niki Pilkington, ,Pick Me Up, ,Rikka Sormunen, ,Sarah Maycock, ,Sister Arrow, ,Soma Gallery, ,Somerset House, ,Tim McDonagh, ,Tom Frost

Amelia’s Magazine | Pick Me Up Contemporary Graphic Art Fair 2012: Review

Pick Me Up 2012 -puck collective
Following on from my review of the newcomers in Pick Me Up Selects section it’s time to take a look at the rest of the exhibitors at this year’s fair. It was seriously busy at the Pick Me Up private view, so I no doubt missed out on a huge chunk of talent in the market place, but what I did find was a fabulous preponderance of screenprints and risograph images: the popularity of these mediums shows no sign of abating, presumably as a counterpoint to these digitally obsessed times.

Pick Me Up 2012 -people of print
People of Print was established in 2008 to sell the work of emerging artists across the globe. Their display stuck to a magenta and turquoise colour scheme that created an eye-catching effect.

Pick Me Up 2012 -ship of fools
Ship of Fools caught my eye with their beautifully curated stand Trapped in Suburbia – check out that explosion – and it was nice to see a collective that isn’t based in the east end of London. Not that I’ve got anything against it mind, it’s where I live after all… but there is art being curated elsewhere in the universe too.

Pick Me Up 2012 -landfill editions
I was pleased to see that output from Landfill Editions has grown greatly recently: their stand features a plethora of beautiful plates, glassware, ceramics and more, commissioned from artists and inspired by the work of Eduardo Paolozzi.

Pick Me Up 2012 -landfill editions

Are Landfill responsible for the Florist stand? It’s adhoc primary coloured artworks are a joy to behold.

Pick Me Up 2012 -liv Bargman
Liv Bargman.

Pick Me Up 2012 -jack teagle
Jack Teagle.

Puck Studio are showing artwork by creative talents working in the South West – which includes two of my fave artists: Liv Bargman (a contributor to my first book, Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration) and Jack Teagle.

Pick Me Up 2012 -Peepshow Collective
Upstairs the Peepshow Collective take the large central space to show a Pitt Rivers inspired Museum of Objects and Origins. It will be a changing display over the course of the exhibition as visitors add to the content.

Pick Me Up 2012 -Print Club London
Pick Me Up 2012 -esther mcmanus
Esther McManus.

Pick Me Up 2012 -Margaux Carpentier
Margaux Carpentier.

Print Club London‘s space was a hive of activity when I visited – not surprising since they have transplanted a fully functioning studio into Somerset House. My favourites on display are by Esther McManus and Margaux Carpentier, who will be on hand to demonstrate their print techniques during the fair.

Pick Me Up 2012 -Nelly Duff
Pick Me Up 2012 -'Bunny Blossom' by American artists Kozyndan.
Bunny Blossom by Kozyndan.

Nelly Duff are based in Columbia Road, where they are known for selling an eclectic selection of paintings and prints from a diverse range of artists.

Pick Me Up 2012 -Soma Gallery
I am so pleased that Soma Gallery is showing at Pick Me Up this year. Fiona has curated a carefully edited selection of work from her stable of regular artists: Peskimo, Gemma Correll, Andy Smith, Crispin Finn and Tom Frost. Look out especially for bargain prints by Peskimo and some great wall slogan artworks from Andy Smith. Loads of bargains to be had!

Pick Me Up 2012 -karolin schnoor
Karolin Schnoor.

Pick Me Up 2012 - sister arrow
Sister Arrow.

Many Hands is a new online shop that sells the work of a variety of artists, including Stone and Spear, Sister Arrow, Thereza Rowe (find her work in my first book!) and many others.

Pick Me Up 2012 -Marcus Oakley Nieves Books
Marcus Oakley for Nieves Books.

Pick Me Up 2012 -Lubok

Beach London have carved out quite a name for themselves in a very short space of time – and this year they join Pick Me Up for the first time with a shop space in prime position before the official exit. They have chosen to showcase the publications of five indie publishers known for their illustrative output, so you can take a peek at new work from Nobrow Press, Nieves Books, Lubok and more. They are also selling copies of both my books, featuring some names you will recognise from the exhibition: Yoko Furusho, Karolin Schnoor, Thereza Rowe and Liv Bargman. Make sure you take a peek when you go through! And check in with my listings to make sure you don’t miss one of the many workshops and talks that are taking place over the next week. Pick Me Up London is one event that graphic artists, illustrators and lovers of either or both should not miss!

Written by Amelia Gregory on Saturday March 24th, 2012 11:17 pm

Categories ,2012, ,Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration, ,Andy Smith, ,Beach London, ,Bunny Blossom, ,Collectives, ,Columbia Road, ,Crispin Finn, ,Eduardo Paolozzi, ,Esther McManus, ,Gemma Correll, ,Jack Teagle, ,Karolin Schnoor, ,Kozyndan, ,Landfill Editions, ,Liv Bargman, ,Lubok, ,Many Hands, ,Margaux Carpentier, ,Museum of Objects and Origins, ,Nelly Duff, ,Nieves Books, ,Nobrow Press, ,People of Print, ,Peskimo, ,Pick Me Up London, ,Pitt Rivers, ,Print Club London, ,Private view, ,Puck Studio, ,review, ,Risograph, ,Ship of Fools, ,Sister Arrow, ,Soma Gallery, ,Stone and Spear, ,Thereza Rowe, ,Tom Frost, ,Trapped in Suburbia, ,Yoko Furusho

Amelia’s Magazine | Pick Me Up London 2014: graphic arts exhibition review

This year I went along to the Pick Me Up exhibition at Somerset House on a quiet weekday, giving me plenty of space to walk around the exhibits and chat to people along the way. In the Pick Me Up Selects area I was delighted to find many familiar names, including some recent graduates. Here’s a few of my favourites: there were many more so do check out this page.

This cheeky airplane is by Edward Cheverton, a recent graduate of the University of Brighton. He specialises in deceptively naive collages and mini sculptures.

Billy (otherwise known as Alex Godwin) divides her time between the UK and Germany, creating distinctive iconographic artwork with a playful edge.

Jack Hudson graduated from UWE a few years ago. I love the way he plays with scale in images such as Wibble Wobble, above.

Finnish designer Linda Linko mixes fine art with illustration and graphic design in large scale abstract artworks.

Moving upstairs, there were lots of exciting artworks to be discovered on the stands hosted by collectives and galleries. Works by Becky Liddiard caught my eye on two walls; firstly on this repurposed plate featuring a pair of horses, and then with her Mushroom Botanic risograph.

I first discovered Margaux Carpentier at Pick Me Up in 2011 and more recently I’ve been following her on instagram, where she posts pictures of her highly patterned animals. At the Animaux Circus sign painting stand I admired her work in progress, a war squaw for the Puck Collective shields project.

Other works that I loved included Doing the Dictator Dance, by Alec Doherty, who is currently showing in 80s Youth, an exhibition curated by Printer of Dreams.

Moving onto the next floor I discovered this gigantic artwork by Malarky at Beach London.

At the Unlimited stand a super sized gem print by Paul Farrell grabbed my attention.

Over at Outline Artists I was introduced to new works by Hvass & Hannibal – including this awesome jungle print.

Andreas Neophytou produced this intriguing abstract print on lovely paper in conjunction with GF Smith.

Isn’t this Roller Disco Girl awesome? Owner Camilla was kind enough to offer me a print of my choice, and I chose these Toucans, also by Jessica Das: she must be one of my favourite finds from this year’s Pick Me Up.

Over at the Handsome Frank stand I admired this lady riding a tiger, by the wonderful Lesley Barnes.

Skull, rainbows, clouds, stormy seas… papercuts by Helen Musselwhite are so damn clever.

I love to read Paul Thurlby’s Alphabet book with Snarfle. Paul Thurlby has an idiosyncratic ‘retro modern’ style that is brilliantly realised in this ace musical pussycat print.

On my way out I was introduced to the delights of bag making with Sally Walton of Carry-a-Bag – a business she set up in response to the vast amount of plastic bags that are only ever used once. Thanks to the involvement of Outline Artists visitors were invited to choose a fabric design from the newly relaunched Heal’s Fabrics collection. Like many others I chose the fabulous Peacock design by Malika Favre. Since it was the end of my visit and I was unable to wait for the bag to be made up they kindly offered to send it to me and it arrived promptly in the post a few days after. What a delightful surprise.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday May 7th, 2014 5:22 pm

Categories ,2014, ,80s Youth, ,Alec Doherty, ,Alex Godwin, ,Andreas Neophytou, ,Animaux Circus, ,Beach London, ,Becky Liddiard, ,Billy, ,Carry-a-Bag, ,Doing the Dictator Dance, ,Edward Cheverton, ,GF Smith, ,Graphic Art, ,Handsome Frank, ,Heals, ,Helen Musselwhite, ,Hvass & Hannibal, ,illustration, ,Jack Hudson, ,Jessica Das, ,Lesley Barnes, ,Linda Linko, ,Malarky, ,Malika Favre, ,Margaux Carpentier, ,Mushroom Botanic, ,Outline Artists, ,Paul Farrell, ,Paul Thurlby’s Alphabet, ,Peacock, ,Pick Me Up, ,Pick Me Up Selects, ,Printer of Dreams, ,Puck Collective, ,review, ,Roller Disco Girl, ,Sally Walton, ,Somerset House, ,Toucans, ,Unlimited, ,Wibble Wobble

Amelia’s Magazine | Sister Like You by Bellykids at Lik + Neon

Sister Like You front cover by Ellie Andrews.

Sister Like You is the new book from cult indie publishers Belly Kids, featuring illustrations and stories about some of the fiercest women rulers in Ancient History, from Cleopatra to Elizabeth I. Most of the illustrations have been created by awesome female illustrators and are accompanied with text by Jade Coles. The book comes in an A5 format of over 50 Pages, Perfect Bound. To celebrate the launch last week at LIK + NEON just off Brick Lane, Belly Kids have printed up a selection of illustrations from the book as beautiful A3 and A2 prints, which you can now view on the walls and in the window of the shop, until 8th June 2014.

Queen Elizabeth II by Ana Galvan.

Jade Coles writes – “For the past 5 years I have been a performer in riot grrl all female punk choir GAGGLE. We have been lucky enough to tour all around the UK and Europe. I joined whilst studying fine art at Wimbledon School of Art, where my ideals of Feminism were being formed. Gaggle were asked to re write 5 sections of a mostly forgotten opera called ‘The Brilliant and the Dark‘ in which 1000 female volunteers performed the history of women in the Royal Albert Hall and it got me thinking on how such important facts could drift from history, losing significance. I started to research at the Womens Library at the London Met… and I couldn’t believe how much female history was crammed into the one tiny space!”

Queen Njinga Mbande by Charlotte Trounce.

Mike Coley of Belly Kids says “Belly Kids make a habit of revitalising Ancient stories, having released a book about the Egyptian God Osiris last year. Together we looked at the story of 9 female rulers, some you’ll have heard of and some you won’t know of at all. We reveal all the scandal and the gossip, taking the stories from the dull pages of history textbooks and, hopefully, bringing them to life in a humorous and fun way!”

Enjoy our selection of work by some of the featured artists:

Ellie Andrews (at top) is a freelance artist and illustrator, who has also exhibited her vibrant work with Beach London.

Ana Galvan (above) is a freelance illustrator living and working in Madrid. She has a great range of editorial credits to her name including Wired magazine, Gestalten, Archive, Nobrow, to name a few.

Charlotte Trounce (also above) is a freelance illustrator living in London. She has worked for notable clients including The New York Times, M&C Saatchi, Anorak Magazine, Wrap Magazine to name a few.

Catherine the Great by Alice Tye.

Alice Tye is a recent graduate of the brilliant BA Illustration degree course at Camberwell College of Art and her work is influenced by modernist architecture and films. Alice is a member of Olio Studio.

Queen Zenobia by Kaye Blegvad.

Kaye Blegvad is an illustrator, designer, and general maker-of-things. She was born & raised in London, studied illustration at the University of Brighton, and since then has lived between London and Brooklyn.

Queen Christina by Brigid Deacon.

Brigid Deacon is a comic artist and illustrator currently living in South-East London, interested in collaborations, commissions, print & play.

Other artists featured in the book include Donya Todd, Greg Kletsel, Molly Askey-Goldbury and Bradford Haubrich.

View the Sister Like You prints at Lik + Neon until 8th June at LIK + NEON 106 Sclater Street, London E1 6HR.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Tuesday June 3rd, 2014 11:49 am

Categories ,Alice Tye, ,Ana Galvan, ,Beach London, ,Belly Kids, ,Bradford Haubrich, ,Brick Lane, ,Brigid Deacon, ,Camberwell College of Art, ,Charlotte Trounce, ,Cleopatra, ,Donya Todd, ,Elizabeth I, ,Ellie Andrews, ,Female Warriors, ,feminism, ,gaggle, ,Greg Kletsel, ,illustration, ,Jade Coles, ,Kaye Blegvad, ,LIK + NEON, ,Madrid, ,Mike Coley, ,Molly Askey-Goldbury, ,Olio Studio, ,Osiris, ,Queen Christina, ,Queen Njinga Mbande, ,Queen Zenobia, ,Sister Like You, ,The Brilliant and the Dark, ,University of Brighton, ,Wimbledon School of Art

Amelia’s Magazine | Kingston University: RARE Illustration and Animation Ba Hons Graduate Show 2012 Review part two

New Blood graduate show 2012 -Otto Shillingford
Continuing on from my first review of Kingston University Illustration and Animation graduates, here’s more great talent found at the RARE this summer.

New Blood graduate show 2012 -Otto Shillingford

Kingston Rare illustration 2012 -New Blood graduate show 2012 -Otto Shillingford
Otto Shillingford created an incredible Alphabet for his youngest brother that first caught my eye in the New Blood exhibition.

Kelly-Marie Roberts Artemis
Kelly-Marie Roberts created delicate embroidered illustrations and miniature paintings as pendants.

Kingston Rare illustration 2012 -Georgie Ellen McAusland

Georgie Ellen McAusland produced a marvellous History of the Fig Leaf and Relics inspired by superstitions and strange beliefs.

Kingston Rare illustration 2012 -Sophia O'Connor

Sophia O’Connor illustrated the Greek myth of Nisus and Scylla, presenting the narrative from several viewpoints.

janne jensen forelskelse
An illustration for Norwegian folktale Kvitebjørn kong Valemon by Janne Jensen.

Kingston Rare illustration 2012 -Louise Madzia

Louise Madzia chose to work in gorgeous ceramic style, with bold glazed plate designs themed around how we came to be here.

Kingston Rare illustration 2012 -Tom Lappage

Tom Lappage‘s Spectrum of Theistic Possibility represented differing beliefs in God – and showcased a great reappropriation of the paper fortune tellers so beloved of kids.

New Blood graduate show 2012 -Joseph Vass

Joseph Vass used tropical colours to screenprint a beautiful book about the notorious Bumpmen gang, miscreant scoundrels of the criminal underworld. Available to buy at Beach London.

Kingston Rare illustration 2012 -Roberta Longoni

Neapolitan Notebooks by Roberta Longoni were inspired by a visit to Naples, Dante and the Divine Comedy.

Kingston Rare illustration 2012 -Amy Kate Wolfe

Amy Kate Wolfe drew an Aquacise class with amazing attention to character.

New Blood graduate show 2012 -Suzie Moloney
Suzie Moloney was also enamoured of swimmers, viewing them from underneath.

My final blog from the Kingston University Illustration and Animation show will cover the best animation. Read it here.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Friday August 17th, 2012 9:44 pm

Categories ,2012, ,Amy Kate Wolfe, ,Aquacise, ,Beach London, ,Georgie Ellen McAusland, ,History of the Fig Leaf, ,illustration, ,Joseph Vass, ,Kelly-Marie Roberts, ,Kingston University, ,Kvitebjørn kong Valemon, ,Louise Madzia, ,Neapolitan Notebooks, ,Nisus and Scylla, ,Relics, ,review, ,Roberta Longoni, ,Sophia O’Connor, ,Spectrum of Theistic Possibility, ,Suzie Moloney, ,Tom Lappage

Amelia’s Magazine | Meet Mateusz Napieralski: Featured Artist from That Which We Do Not Understand

Amelias_magazine_TWWDNU_mateusz_napieralski_tribal_cumulusAmelias_magazine_TWWDNU_mateusz_napieralski_tribal_cumulus
Mateusz Napieralski (also known as Gust of Wind) works from a studio in London, where he explores the relationship between the handmade and the digital. Tribal Cumulus explores the unknown powers of mystic rituals, where humans and nature merge during ceremonial, hypnotic trances. His bold colours and textures show the powerful energy that is generated but can’t be seen by the human eye. Real gold leaf is used as highlights throughout the illustration.

Mateusz Napieralski
How did you put your illustration together?
I wanted to create an abstract composition capturing the invisible energies created during mystical rituals and dances. I started with sketches of forms, textures and abstract shapes, which I then collage together. I then scanned in my original sketch and carried on with the composition in Illustrator. I like how much freedom digitalizing my sketches gives me. I love playing with scale, movement and placement of all the shapes. Once I was happy with the layout I started applying colour; experimenting with colour palettes is a very enjoyable part of the process for me. Although it’s also quite dangerous, because I end up with many different options and can’t decide which one I like the most!

Mateusz Napieralski 4
What attracted you to the open brief?
I’ve been a big fan of Amelia’s Magazine for good few years and contributed some editorial work in the past. I think the open briefs are such great opportunities for young designers and illustrators to test and develop their skills. This particular brief was very special, because it is such a broad, open topic, which could be interpreted in so many ways, especially when you think of all the different artists involved and their approaches. I also loved the idea of seeing my work printed in gold, because I have never had a chance to experiment with gold leaf printing techniques.

Mateusz Napieralski 6
Your day job involves motion design, how does this feed into your graphic design and illustration work?
I always enjoyed working across different disciplines and mediums, and motion graphics and animation have been present in my work for the past 4 years or so. I think it also gives me that edge to think about my illustration work in different ways and think how the characters and forms I create could work in terms of movement. I think there is also this flowy, smooth feel to my character design and composition, which I guess also comes from the moving image side of things. I guess being able to animate also makes my work a little bit more relevant, as clients are now moving faster into moving image based mediums, and it’s definitely an exciting time for illustrators – everyone loves seeing their work come to life through animation!

Mateusz-Napieralski-what_happens_at_night
You are a member of Just Us Collective – who is in your collective and what have you been up together?
Just Us Collective was established quite a few years ago to promote up and coming talent of designers/illustrators and makers that are in full time education (usually in their final year of studies). I became a member during my final year of studies with about 30 others from around the country, working across various disciplines. Since joining Just Us I took part in a group show which was held at Beach London, and I also pitched some illustrations for an online stationary shop.

Mateusz Napieralski 3
How much has your Polish background influenced the way that you create? and in what way?
I can certainly say that my style and thinking about illustration has been influenced by being exposed as a kid to some beautiful Polish illustrations and Polish poster design. I am in love with the bold graphic shapes of Polish folk art and I guess this comes across in my work as well since the shapes and forms I work with are usually quite bold and have that cut-out feel which is quite Polish.

Mateusz Napieralski 5
What other projects have you worked on lately? Can you share some favourites?
I’m currently working on an illustrated fairytale about a Polish Mermaid, which is quite exciting as this is a purely illustration based project, which I haven’t done in a while. The final outcome will be a little illustrated fairytale zine. I’ve also been busy with making some santa-lovers to start feeling a little bit more Christmasy. I’m also working on a little branding project, but it’s still early stages, so stay tuned for more on that.

Showreel from Mateusz Napieralski on Vimeo.

Please share with us any plans you have for Gust of Wind in the coming year…
I’m currently trying to develop my style and apply it to even more mediums, for instance I would like to look at product design and see how my work could translate in that area. I want to carry on working for various clients and see where Gust of Wind takes me. I’d like to experiment more with moving image, I think it would be great to have some bigger projects to work on. I love identity and branding, I think I would like to find an opportunity to create some playful, bold illustration led identity project. That would be a dream!

Read what Mateusz has to say about his artwork here and pledge for your limited edition gold leafed print on my Kickstarter campaign here.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Monday November 17th, 2014 4:00 pm

Categories ,Beach London, ,Gust of Wind, ,illustration, ,illustrator, ,interview, ,Jan Witwicki, ,Just Us Collective, ,Mateusz Napieralski, ,Mermaid, ,Polish, ,Tribal Cumulus

Amelia’s Magazine | Milhouse From Memory: A Belly Kids Book by Kieran Gabriel

Josh Wayles MH
Josh Wayles.

Cult indie book publisher Belly Kids is collaborating with Kieran Gabriel to produce a book dedicated to the Simpsons character of Milhouse. And you can get involved: to find out how read on.

Jean Jullien MH
Jean Jullien.

Tom J Newell MH
Tom J Newell.

What inspired the creation of Milhouse From Memory (why him, a lesser known character from the Simpsons) and why is it so important to you that artists create their artwork from memory?
It originally started as a silly game I would play with some friends, challenging each other to draw different Simpsons characters from memory. We’re all huge fans and it seems quite easy initially and ended up providing hilarious results. I then took it to Twitter in the Summer of 2013, asking a few people on there to try it out and it quickly snowballed into a much larger project from there. I chose Milhouse, partly for the alliteration of the title, but mostly because unlike the main Simpsons family, Milhouse doesn’t necessarily have a strikingly prominent feature. He does however have 3 vital features that make it key to getting right, a lot of people forget some of these and that’s where the fun begins. I wouldn’t say it’s important, after all this is just a silly experiment, it’s more interesting. The results people come out with, especially as you watch them struggling to draw it in front of you, are really fun and give an insight into the person themselves.

roseblake MH
Rose Blake.

How did a Simpsons uber fan hook up with Belly Kids? Who encouraged who?
I self published the first book in 2013 myself and it was a really limited edition that sold out in the first week, I had always said to myself that if I did the project again that it would be a much bigger and better version. A few weeks ago I received an email from Matt Groening himself, saying how much he loved the book (I sent him a copy back in August 2013, on a whim) and it pushed the project to the front of my mind again. I’ve been a big fan of what Mike’s been doing with Belly Kids for a while now and he was the first person I thought of when I was mulling over the idea. I shot him an email and it turns out he had heard of the idea the first time around and yep, the ball started rolling there.

Ping Zhu MH
Ping Zhu.

How have you got top artists such as Jean Jullien involved already? And how many artworks are you looking to publish in total?
I pretty much just emailed a bunch of my favourite illustrators and artists, it was how I was able to get such great people as Olly Moss, Rose Blake and Ping Zhu etc, last time. These guys are all great and just approaching them personally seemed to work! We’re aiming to have 100 drawings in the book itself, and we will exhibit however many submissions I receive, which is looking to be around the 200 mark at the moment.

kristyna Bazcynski MH
Kristyna Bazcynski.

What are you looking for when you choose which artworks to include?
I’m planning on including every single one I receive into the exhibition, as my ethic with this project originally is that every single Milhouse drawing is as great as next, no matter the creative talent. Some of my favourites are drawn by the people who claim that they cannot draw. The book will indeed be more of a challenge to curate but I think I’d like to have a good balance of the naive and the creative.

Gemma Batten MH
Gemma Batten.

Are there any other technical specifications that artists should know in advance?
The book is going to be A5 and the image needs to be grayscale, but other than that there are no other technical limitations, any medium or method is encouraged, just don’t cheat!

Miguel Martin MH
Miguel Martin.

The book is scheduled for release in May with an exhibition to follow in the summer: where can people buy the book from and where will the exhibition take place?
Belly Kids are now taking preorders of the book and you’ll be able to buy it directly from there when it’s released, as well as stockists around the country. The exhibition will be taking place at Beach London in Shoreditch and we have some really cool and fun things planned for it, there’ll be more information on that closer to the time.

Preorder Milhouse From Memory here and find out how you can submit your work here.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday March 18th, 2015 10:06 am

Categories ,Beach London, ,Belly Kids, ,Gemma Batten, ,Jean Jullien, ,Josh Wayles, ,Kieran Gabriel, ,Kristyna Bazcynski, ,Matt Groening, ,Miguel Martin, ,Milhouse, ,Olly Moss, ,Ping Zhu, ,Rose Blake, ,Simpsons, ,Tom J Newell

Amelia’s Magazine | Christmas Gift Ideas 2013: Homeware and Prints for the Wall

scout editions mistletoe in a bottle

Scout Editions: mistletoe in a bottle card.

When my new website launches you’ll be able to find unique hand made designer items to suit all aspects of your life. Homeware and prints for the wall offer the perfect places to apply surface design and illustration, so why not delve in and be inspired? Here’s my round up of gift ideas for Christmas from a selection of those who will be selling on my new market place in the New Year.

Louise Wilkinson trees churn Jug plant lifestyle

Since I belatedly discovered fine bone china by illustrator Louise Wilkinson at Tent London I have fallen in love. Her large fine bone china jug is £26, and comes decorated with lots of friendly little birds hiding amongst the trees. The jugs are hand decorated in Stoke on Trent and are the perfect size for filling up with festive mulled wine, iced water or a sweet posy of flowers.

Anu Samarüütel STRIPY ONES
Anu Samarüütel Couture Girl fashion painting

Artist and designer Anu Samarüütel works between East London and Tallinn in Estonia. Her fabulous acrylic paintings of bubble cheeked girls will be available soon on my website, but in the meantime grab her great Couture Girls painting in black acrylic, available on etsy for £84.

beach-london-christmas-parra-vaso-di-culo

Beach London are currently hosting an exhibition of Malarkey artworks, Puppy Snatcher that is well worth a gander if you are wandering up Brick Lane. They also sell a range of unusual objects that should please the art lover in your life: I particularly like this Vaso Di Culo porcelain vase by Dutch Post-Pop artist Parra, an homage to the rounded bottom of the female figure, with black birds flying all over it. Available online for £175.

Dionne Sylvester Tropical Heat coffee cup set

I am a massive fan of abstract optical decorated tableware by Kent based Dionne Sylvester, also known as Paint Dee. For the coffee lover in your life I recommend this Tropical Heat bone china teacup, saucer and spoon set for just £15. You can read my recent interview with Dionne Sylvester here.

Tattoo Man by Eliza Fricker

Tattoos continue to be all the rage… perhaps that special someone in your life has got more than a few, or perhaps they aspire to a state of maximum body decoration. Either way they will probably love this colourful limited edition Tattoo Man screen print, yours for £50. It was produced by Eliza Fricker of the Baines and Fricker partnership done in collaboration with tattoo artist Adam Sage.

Melody Rose Kissing Couple Side Plate

Melody Rose offers a variety of super special items that would make the perfect gift. Is there someone you are romantically inclined towards? How about this lovely Kissing Couple Side Plate from the Modern SurRealist collection? It’s made out of fine bone china, and comes in three sizes, with a glorious gold edge, all gilded by hand. This side plate costs £30. Read my interview with designer Melanie Roseveare here.

Glow in the Dark Day of The Dead Skull by Typoretum

One of my favourite artworks on East End Prints is this Glow in the Dark Day of The Dead Skull by Typoretum. How cool would this look lighting up your living room at the end of a long day? At £60 this is a limited edition piece so grab a copy fast.

scout editions christmas in a bottle

Scout Editions were another find from the recent Renegade Craft Fair, where I was wowed by their eye catching risograph prints. These festive themed postcards make the perfect Christmas keepsake, at just £2.50 each.

Sian Elin cushions-yellow-grey

Sian Elin‘s colourful textile designs adorn cushions, wallpaper and more. Her Horseshoe Arch design is seen here on a grey and yellow cushion but comes in a limited edition red colour way especially for Christmas for £45.

Sit Furnishings Neon Nebula glassware

The duo behind Sit Furnishings create a range of unusual products to liven up the home, including this Neon Nebula blown glassware, a spectacular one off at £180.

Lastly, I will be sharing gift ideas for babies and young children. In the meantime catch up with my suggestions for fashionable gifts from emerging designers, and the best jewellery gift ideas to wow your loved one.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Thursday December 12th, 2013 10:27 am

Categories ,2013, ,accessories, ,Adam Sage, ,Anu Samarüütel, ,Baines and Fricker, ,Beach London, ,Christmas, ,Couture Girls, ,Dionne Sylvester, ,East End Prints, ,Eliza Fricker, ,Fine bone china, ,Gift ideas, ,Glow in the Dark Day of The Dead Skull, ,Homeware, ,Horseshoe Arch, ,Kissing Couple Side Plate, ,Louise Wilkinson, ,Malarkey, ,Melanie Roseveare, ,Melody Rose, ,Modern SurRealist, ,Neon Nebula, ,Paint Dee, ,Parra, ,Prints for the Wall, ,Scout Editions, ,Sian Elin, ,Sit Furnishings, ,Stoke-on-Trent, ,Tableware, ,Tattoo Man, ,Tent London, ,Tropical Heat, ,Typoretum, ,Vaso Di Culo

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