Takashi Tsushima II

Wonderful indigo bear creatures by Japanese illustrator Takashi Tsushima for a crowdfunding project by MAOW.

Min Pin

 The wonderous big cats of Penny aka Min Pin

Il Sung Na II

Two colour block print leopard by Il Sung Na

Sergio Gontz

Sergio Gontz wonderful forest trumping elephant.

Violeta Lópiz II

A vicious looking pink tiger from Violeta Lópiz.

Aniek Bartels

Continuing on the bright pink big cat theme, here is a charming pink panther by Aniek Bartels.

John Lurie II

'Lion. Loon. Shopping Cart. Fish' by American artist John Lurie.

Laure Allain

Wonderful watercolor illustration of a particularly grumpy pink tiger by Belgium based illustrator, Laure Allain who loves to paint unhappy tigers.

Younghee Shin I

A golden illustration from Korean illustrator Younghee Shin who now lives and works in Japan. This is the first of a series of very bright big cat illustrations that I am featuring this week.

Jessie M King

Jessie Marion King (1875 – 1949)  was born in Bearsden, Glasgow was the daughter of daughter of Mary Ann Anderson and Reverend James W. King. Her mother and father tried to squash Jessie's creativity as a youngster but she managed to indulge her passion while in school and then hide the results in the hedges.
Despite her parents disaproval, Jessie attended Glasgow School of Art in 1892 and became one of the Glasgow girls. In 1899 she worked as a lecturer in Book Decoration and Design at Glasgow School of Art.  Jessie worked mainly as an illustrator but also designed of jewelry, ceramics, and textiles. In 1908 she married designer and artist E.A. Taylor and in 1911 they moved to Paris where they opened an art school, however with the outbreak of World War I, the couple returned to Scotland.

                         Above: Jessie M King, Below an example of her jewelry design

Jessie M King illustrated and wrote many books herself and also illustrated over 30 books by other authors. Her illustrations have a lovely art nouveau/ arts and crafts style and are full of references to nature.

The Curlew

It is not quite finished but nearly, 'Missing Curlews'. I was brought to tears this winter by the lack of curlews, where before there were flocks now there was one solitary individual. Curlews are critically endangered due to loss of habitat and changes in farming practices; where fields are no longer allowed to be left fallow on rotation. Today is #worldcurlewday, let hope some sanity starts to emerge in these crazy times.

Planting monsters

Sorry, I am late this morning, I have been paddling in the soil with my pajamas on planting (monsters) potatoes. It promises to be a beautiful day and I am happy to be home as the weekend is busy with children's workshops all over Scotland. Have a good weekend and enjoy the joys of nature where ever you are.

Isabel Hojas IV

Delighting in the work of Isabel Hojas. I can almost taste and smell this warm cookie.

Susy Zanella II

Susy Zanella; 'Il circo che vorrei'

Isabel Hojas III

Delightful drawings by Isabel Hojas, I love her sketches so much, she captures perfectly the joy, confusion and physicality of play.

Madison Safer I

I found Madison Safer, and I really like her obvious love of nature, recipes, observational illustrations, and folkloric, magical illustrations too.
Today I share her Dandelion Jelly as I haven't ever made it and I think it sounds interesting.
So with spring bounding on into summer as it does (too fast) how about making your self some sunshine jelly.

Diego Fernandez

Argentinian painter, Diego Fernandez paints women in a style that is very art deco, their hair becomes a decorative focus, with a lyrical, expressive line.

Jo Inhyuk

Jo Inhyuk paints disarmingly poignant, personal, incisive, translucent portraits of young women that are disarming in their honest and sometimes startling portrayal. Jo is also an incredibly talented graphic designer.

Kristi Kangilaski

I don't know whether I am suddenly drawn to yellow and black (see Andrea Antinori and Emily Haworth-Booth of last week) or whether this is a trend in children's publishing. This is; 'The Sun goes on Holiday' by Kristi Kangilaski a graduate of the Estonian Academy of Arts.
The Sun gets tired and wants to go on a holiday on Earth. So as the sun loves cats she turns herself into a yellow cat and jumps out of the sky. Once on Earth, she meets a little boy offering her a cozy home.

Vendi Vernic IV

Cropped originals of Vendi Vernic's original illustrations for her new book ‘La casa de fieras’, the winner of the 2018 International Award for Illustration at the Bologna Children's Book Fair 2019.