Travis Louie

 

This guy makes some of the most cutely obscure, curious portraits I’ve ever seen. They are so whimsical and fantastical, with a sort of old fashioned air about them. They remind me of so many things at once – the haunted house at Disneyland, a Series of Unfortunate Events, and those dreams you have where the creatures are strange and creepy, but cuddly and loving at the same time. I discovered Travis Louie by running across his recently released book  (aptly named Curiosities) at one of my favorite stores the other day and fell in love. Haven’t you?

 

 

Luke Wooden

Luke Wooden is one of my closest friend’s brothers, and he takes amazing pictures. (So does the close friend, who also is the handsome subject of many of these photos.) He works professionally as a photographer out of LA, but migrated there from the lovely Portland. His photos have this very real quailty about them… each one is so intense, whether it’s due to the contrast, the moment, the subject… looking at them is a real treat. He has a great eye for visuals and composition. Oh, and most of the photographs are perfect squares and that’s just awesome. So here you go: 

 

PS: the only time I ever met him, he showed me his camera collection and it kicks some serious ass.

Erika Somogyi

I stumbled upon Erika Somogyi one day at school and my brain went all fuzzy with glee (which sounds kind of weird, but it’s actually a pretty cool feeling.) Erika hails from NY and makes beautiful, vibrant, surreal, dreamlike paintings and sculptures. She mostly uses watercolor, gouache and colored pencil, which makes me wish i had painting skills even more because of the crazy awesome things she does. I just want to curl up in bed with her paintings under my pillow and be inspired to drift off into colorful, beautiful dreams.

 

 

Mike Perry

 Mike Perry’s work is like an explosion of awesomeness. The colors, Duke, the colors! He makes zines, he makes posters, he does page layouts, he does fun typography, he makes patterns. He even made some bandages! A snowboard! Exhibitions, installations! A book of hand drawn type! He’s worked with Urban Outfitters, Zune, Salomon snowboards, Dwell magazine, The New York Times, Nylon and Spin magazine! And every single thing is so much fun to look at. I don’t even know what else to say other than to check out his website (because it’s so full of awesome stuff that you could spend hours exploring it) and feast your eyes:

 

 

 

Kate Bingaman-Burt

I’m going to go ahead and plug my old digital illustration teacher because she is an awesome person who makes amazing stuff and everyone should know about it. Kate Bingaman-Burt, for the most part, makes drawings. She buys one thing every day and draws it. The fact that she calls herself Obsessive Consumption eludes to the fact that this process is almost satirical, poking fun at a society full of mass consumption, but at the same time, who doesn’t like an excuse to buy something every day? Her drawings are very simple – black and white, have occasional captions…but they are so freaking cute and funny. She compiles these drawings into monthly zines available for single purchase or subscription at her etsy site. She sews pretty pillows as well, and made dresses with embroidered prices  from all the things she’s bought - dresses I myself would wear in an instant. And to make credit card statements more interesting then they could ever be on their own, she hand draws them! Did I mention she also resides in my lovely hometown, Portland Oregon? I could go on about her work for quite sometime (and also about what a great teacher she is) but I’ll just leave you with some images and encourage you to check out her website for yourself.

Wired

Two words: Wired Magazine. If you haven’t read it, do it now. If you have, never stop subscribing. 

Contrary to what I initially thought of the magazine before I ever picked it up, it’s not the epitome of geekdom. I mean, it’s a bit geeky, yeah, but in a good way. They test current products, and talk about new nerdy slang and video games and things like that, but I’ve read some pretty sweet articles that would fascinate anyone. Like breaking down a real diamond heist that no one thought could ever happen, but did. Or reporting on how possible it really is to go into space without a gnarly degree in science. But what will really grab your attention, and what always grabs mine, is the design.

Creatize director Scott Dadich really goes above and beyond with this magazine. Fuck the economy, he says, we’ll still print on nice paper with beautiful metallic inks! Forget boring spreads, we’ll change up the feel of the magazine every issue, he says! Every page is a wonder to behold, from the table of contents to the main article. Reading the articles may suffice on the internet, but holding the pages in your hand is pure magic. When I created a magazine for my inDesign class, this was my inspiration. If I could work for any publication someday, Wired would be it. I think everyone realizes my love for Wired by now,though, so I’ll end here, but take my word for it: It’s definitely a magazine worth reading, or at least worth just looking at.

shabd simon-alexander

I am a lover of anything that has to do with space, so Shabd Simon-Alexander excites me. She takes images of stars, nebula, and galaxies from the Hubble telescope and expertly transforms them into tie dyed garments like leggings, crop tops, and leotards. The likeness she achieves is pretty impressive – especially when i consider my own atrocious tie dying skills.

She doesn’t stop there, though. Throughout past seasons she’s experimented with mixing and matching plaids and creating one of a kind pieces of jewelry out of flannel and silk.

Fortunately, there’s a shop, and things aren’t too ridiculously priced, either. Wish i wasn’t completely broke – this is really my kinda thing.

welcome

i’ve always wanted to start an art and design blog, so here you have it. there are a kajillion great artists out there that deserve to be known, and every person deserves to have their brain blown away by great art and design. my name is christina, and i’m a graphic design student at portland state university. from day one, we were told that one of the most important things is to keep our eyes open. to LOOK for inspiration every day, online, on the street, in books, in movies, in magazines, in clothes, in other people, in our dreams. i’ve got a plethora of websites, books, magazines and favorite artists and designers at my fingertips to draw from, so let’s get started, shall we?