Benoit Tardif I

 

These illustrations by Canadian artist Benoit Tardif are un-related except for colour and are all editorials. I love the energy and fun of Benoit's work.

Julie Liger-Balair II

A story in 8 parts (or Strike a Light) by Julie Liger-Balair 
1. Maddie didn’t like her neighbors, they never said hello. So she decided to strike out on her own to find another place to live.
2. Although familiar, She felt overdressed.
3. Here she got too many mixed messages.
4. And she wasn’t up on her Russian fairytales either.
5. Wrong dimension.
6. Conversations were a little difficult...
7. She wandered through the emptiness until she spied a light glimmering in the distance.
8. Her neighbors had left their porch lights on to guide her back. “To be fair”, she admitted to herself, “I never really did try to strike up a conversation before.”
No moral is to be found here. Any similarity to known individuals is purely coincidental.

Manon Gauthier II

A new book released today, 'From Jade January to Dany December' by publishers Éditions de l'Isatis with delicious collage illustrations by Manon Gauthier and to a story by writer Bertrand Gauthier.

Below you see Manon's cat helping to flatten the leftover paper samples.

Dan Yaccarino II

'Circle Dogs' written by Kevin Henkes published 1998, Has bold, beguilingly simple illustrations that are visually exciting and a great introduction to shapes. The story has a lovely pace and I can imaging the child following the shapes with their finger.

Dan Yaccarino I

Dan Yaccarino's Morris Mole published 2017 also has a mole who decides to dig up and see what is on the surface. This is a lovely book with great messages about kindness and not being afraid to think differently to everyone else.
Dan has a lovely modern mid-century graphic style.

Michela Sorrentino

Abstract paintings by Canadian designer and artist Michela Sorrentino. Michela worked for many years in Europe and Asia as a textile designer but in recent years has changed her main medium to painting. Thank you  

Kelly Pousette

Canadian illustrator Kelly Pousette makes dioramic scenes with her illustrations, in shadow boxes, creating tiny worlds to enact her imagination.

Julie Morstad

Julie Morstad creates very refined and detailed illustrations, this one is therefore not typical, but I loved the character of the limp collaged mother, and imagined her being propped up by a pencil.

Manon Gauthier I

Manon Gauthier's illustration for Michaël Escoffier's 'Grumpy the Elephant' has just been published by D'eux. Full of wonderful humour and great communication about the impact of a bad mood, look at those poor birds!

Manon trained as a graphic designer and then her focus shifted to children's books. As you can see Manon usually works with collage moving elements about until she achieves the finished composition.

Dominique Fortin IV

Dominique Fortin takes us on a walk through the forest, in paintings that are unsettling in a number of ways, for Dominique's works are full of opposites. 
Dominique contrasts colour in a haunting way combining monochrome pallor with intense jewel like areas of very strident pattern and colour. 
Dominique also uses very polar techniques in her application of paint, for she uses very crude loose brush work over much of the canvas, making us concentrate on the sharp focus photorealism of the human subject ( Dominique's daughter). 
Finally her subjects are unsettling as you are unsure to read them as of this world, or the world of imagination, dream or despair?

Stefan Thompson I

Stefan Thompson makes art as paintings illustration and sculptures. Stefan's work is quite disturbing as a whole. It usually focuses on the wild and wild animals but they often appear damaged through the process of the mixed media he uses, as he likes to experiment and mix lots of techniques and media, but also in the way they are drawn.

Kenna Moser I

Kenna Moser is a Canadian artist who works with encaustic techniques using beeswax to layer drawn and painted imagery in her works with garden specimens. 
Her works are like letters from The Minpins a book I am rereading at the moment with Freya.

Sophie Jodoin

I have always loved Pierre Bonnard's paintings of his wife in the bath but now I know I just love paintings and drawings of people in the bath, there is always a wonderful calmness, contemplation and peace in this subject. These are wonderful evocative drawings by Montreal based artist Sophie Jodoin.

Dominique Fortin III

It has been a while since I featured Canadian artist Dominique Fortin, her haunting work seems to get more spiritual and intense. I love its transient delicate and  the fleeting encounters with butterflies and birds who are like our guardians in Dominique's Paintings.

Natali Fortier II

I found myself back in the portfolio of Canadian artist Natali Fortier today. Revisiting her eclectic imaginings and creativity, I wonder what comes first in her process. Whether she creates her sculptures and then forms their two dimensional  persona's in her books, or the other way round. 
Which ever, she has created a treasure trove of imagination, like a wonderful curiosity shop of fun.

Dominique Fortin II

 

Dominique Fortin's works also contain secret conversations.

Dominique Fortin I

 

The stunning paintings of Canadian artist Dominique Fortin. Dominique Fortin's paintings are the result of combinations of many techniques; collagraphy, scratching, projection, running paint, gilding, stencilling and image transferring.
Dominique's painting's have zing with there colour and gold but this is tempered by the photo transferred details.