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Art

Hyperrealistic Paintings of Children and Animals Exploring Urban Remains by Kevin Peterson

Hyperrealist painter Kevin Peterson paints fairytale-like interactions of children and wolves, birds, and bears in scenes much different than the pastoral worlds of storybooks. Instead Peterson places the unlikely packs in distressed cities filled with decaying buildings and urban detritus. Despite the worn surroundings, the young girls in the paintings maintain a sense of innocence while they bravely explore the streets with their powerful compatriots.

“My work is about the varied journeys that we take through life,” explains Peterson in his artist statement. “It’s about growing up and living in a world that is broken. These paintings are about trauma, fear and loneliness and the strength that it takes to survive and thrive. They each contain the contrast of the untainted, young and innocent against a backdrop of a worn, ragged, and defiled world.”

The Houston-based artist studied at Austin College in Sherman, Texas where he received his BFA in 2001. Peterson is represented by Thinkspace Gallery in Culver City, California. You can see more of his work on their website and his Instagram. (via This Isn’t Happiness, Faith is Torment)

 

Craft Design

Felted Toy Specimens by Hine Mizushima

When you think of cuddly stuffed animals made from textiles the top candidates would probably include teddy bears or bunny rabbits. Perhaps lower on the list would be squids, cicadas, and sea slugs, and yet Vancouver-based artist Hine Mizushima has chosen these unusual creatures as the the subjects of her wildly popular hand-creafted felt toys. Her one-of-a-kind plush critters have been displayed in galleries around the world and she’s turned many of them into prints which she sells on Etsy and Society6. You can see some of her latest work on Behance.

Illustration

PolyWood: Toy Animal Concepts Rendered in Polygons by Mat Szulik

Sometimes it seems long gone are the days of kids sitting down and playing with simple wooden toys, trading tactile objects for screens and buttons. Freelance illustrator and 3D artist artist Mat Szulik straddles the two worlds of digital and physical in this fantastic series of conceptual wood toys based on digital polygons. Titled PolyWood v1.0, the series of 8 creatures are all digital, using wood textures mapped to Szulik’s geometric illustrations. I can’t imagine how something like this could be produced or carved from actual wood, but they’re lovely to look at regardless. (via Behance)

Art

Edouard Martinet’s Masterfully Sculpted Animals and Insects Made from Bicycle, Car, and Motorcycle Parts

French artist Edouard Martinet assembles faithful interpretations of birds, crustaceans, insects, and other creatures with countless objects from discarded bicycles, cars, and household objects. A bicycle pump forms the abdomen of a dragonfly, windshield wipers serve as the legs of a fly, or the metal logos of a bicycle manufacturer are layered to create the dense scales of a fish. All the more incredible considering Martinet never welds or solders his pieces, but instead uses only screws or fasteners, selecting only the perfect components that “fit” each assemblage like a puzzle. From Sladmore Contemporary:

What sets Martinet’s work apart is the brilliant formal clarity of his sculptures, and their extraordinary elegance of articulation. His degree of virtuosity is unique: he does not solder or weld parts. His sculptures are screwed together. This gives his forms an extra level of visual richness – but not in a way that merely conveys the dry precision of, say, a watchmaker. There is an X-Factor here, a graceful wit, a re-imagining of the obvious in which a beautifully finished object glows not with perfection, but with character, with new life.

Martinet will open a new exhibition of work at Sladmore Contemporary in London starting May 5th, 2016.

Art Illustration

New Ornate Ink Portraits of Lovable Dogs by Alex Konahin

Graphic artist and illustrator Alex Konahin (previously here and here) has just finished a new illustration-based project centered around the subject of seriously detailed dogs. The Latvia-based artist is known for his highly decorative style which he illustrates in each of his drawn subjects, a trait that is exemplified in the ornate fur of the included animals.

Konahin’s series was inspired by no inspiration at all, the works coming from a time when Konahin was going through an intense creative block after a long break from his personal creative work. Konahin’s first portrait in the series was of an English Bulldog, and after liking the result, followed that piece up with a German Shepherd and Pit Bull Terrier. You can see more of Konahin’s work on his Behance, Instagram, and Facebook.

Art Illustration

Tiny Ink Drawings Scaled to the Size of Pencils, Fingers, and Matchsticks by Christian Watson

Christian Watson, illustrator and owner of 1924, posts images to Instagram multiple times a day, pictures that showcase his cross-country adventures, vintage cameras, and sporadically his own miniature ink drawings that are often less than a half an inch tall. The tiny illustrations seem to mimic the rustic adventures found in his photographs—pulling in log cabins, lighthouses, and animals that teeter on the tip of his pencils or crawl to the top of his fingers. Take a look at more of Watson’s hand lettering and micro illustrations on his website. (via Arch Atlas)