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Art means something different to everybody, but what I look for...

Tue, 29 May 2012 10:15:38 -0700

Art means something different to everybody, but what I look for in art show is not how it looks but how people interact within the environment. Graphic Thought Facility is a London-based design consultancy.

Lucy Eldridge makes magic with her watercolors, illustrating for...

Tue, 29 May 2012 08:57:51 -0700

Lucy Eldridge makes magic with her watercolors, illustrating for various zines, greetings cards, and books from Brighton. I love her hand-drawn patterning and I love the roughness and texture of her portraits. But it’s her compositions that I’m attracted to the most. Where most talented illustrators would build a center-heavy and intricate drawing, Lucy creates room for a breeze while still being meticulous.

There’s so much I’d like to tell you about this...

Tue, 29 May 2012 07:28:00 -0700

There’s so much I’d like to tell you about this song, and probably double as much that I don’t know about either French singer Isabelle Carpentier or Gabriel Fauré’s ‘Sicilienne’. Some songs should just simply be experienced, though. Cheers!

Seems like the Soundcloud link is broken; here is a direct link.

The best part of this song comes 3 minutes in the 8 minute-long...

Mon, 28 May 2012 13:29:00 -0700

The best part of this song comes 3 minutes in the 8 minute-long track. Eddie Kendricks gets everything from bongos, horns and a dirty-sounding piano to come together and jam out.

Eddie was part of the Temptations till the early 70’s when he went solo, collaborating with another ex-Temptations member David Ruffin, both of whom are pictured above. And then there’s Bruce Springsteen ….

This wine packaging, a dedication to SF politician Harvey Milk,...

Mon, 28 May 2012 10:53:00 -0700

This wine packaging, a dedication to SF politician Harvey Milk, is from New Yorker Emily Hale. She writes that the half-empty jug represents Harvey Milk’s positive attitude. That ‘M’ might just have topped the Monocle ‘M’ as one of the most gorgeous letterforms in a logo.

LA-based illustrator Audrey Kawasaki is in the middle of...

Mon, 28 May 2012 08:26:00 -0700

Courtesy of LA Weekly

LA-based illustrator Audrey Kawasaki is in the middle of creating a line for Hint Mints’ artist series which will be launching sometime this summer. Her packaging design, like her paintings, take a lot of inspiration from Alphonse Mucha and art nouveau. Look at how she composes the hair and her use of floral motifs. Though her most recent paintings are actually a departure from these.

LA Weekly did an interview with the shy Kawaski back in ‘11 and I was surprised to learn that the girls in her paintings are actually all the same girl.

"Anger is a great motivator. Political campaigns rake in the money when their supporters are enraged..."

Sat, 26 May 2012 08:14:18 -0700

“Anger is a great motivator. Political campaigns rake in the money when their supporters are enraged at their opponents; media outlets that lean to one side or the other often do best when their audience is looking for a fight. (If you’ve ever been puzzled as to why Glenn Beck was such a success on Fox News for a little while, this is your answer.)”

- Alex Koppleman The New Yorker

First of all, the team at Maricor/Maricar have a gorgeous...

Fri, 25 May 2012 13:31:28 -0700

First of all, the team at Maricor/Maricar have a gorgeous website. In their own words the Australians are illustrators, designers, animators and embroiderers. I’m going to have to do a whole separate post on their embroidery work alone but for today I just wanted to highlight this simple chalk mural. The little detail of having shading on the curves knocks it out of the park for me. ”Fail better” couldn’t better capture what I’m trying to do out in California, too.

I’ve listened to this Canyons album a couple times over...

Fri, 25 May 2012 10:56:56 -0700

I’ve listened to this Canyons album a couple times over now and I’m not really a fan, with the exception of ‘When I See You Again’. The song builds up and surprises you at how lovely and intimate it is. There’s even a hint of Morrissey in the vocals when he pleads “If I see you again / We can make it this time!”

Their video, directed by Fleur and Manu who you might remember for the addicting M83 single ‘Midnight City’, also deserves a separate note. I want access to all these home movies.

Found these amazing illustrations for Peter and the Wolf by...

Fri, 25 May 2012 08:22:24 -0700

Found these amazing illustrations for Peter and the Wolf by Josef Paleck on Mallory McInnis’ illustration blog. She actually has a set of tumblrs too that breaks up her vintage books into Illustrated Ladies, Illustrated Gents and The Zoo Keeper.

Josef Paleck has a pretty rockin’ website too that you should absolutely experience.

What immediately stuck me with Elizabeth Graeber’s style...

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:31:12 -0700

What immediately stuck me with Elizabeth Graeber’s style is how much it reminds me of something from a Wes Anderson flick. Then I found her Royal Tenenbaums illustration. She’s also made a series of books including “An Illustrated Guide to Cocktails.”

Loleatta Holloway was mainly a disco singer but this soulful...

Thu, 24 May 2012 10:54:00 -0700

Loleatta Holloway was mainly a disco singer but this soulful track caught my ear last night while I was driving back down to Hollywood. That trailing guitar part in this song is what got me hooked and I’m also a cheesy sucker for jazz flutes.

She actually did start out in soul and “Cry To Me”reached #10 on the R&B charts in 1975. Then her label went out of business. Her next album with a different label had a track on the B-side called “Dreaming” that took off in the pop charts and started her career as a disco singer.

C86 is the work of Matt Lyon, an illustrator with a passion for...

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:29:00 -0700

C86 is the work of Matt Lyon, an illustrator with a passion for geometry and gradients (in a good way). His work actually kinda reminds me of 60’s artist Peter Max; every astral but more digitally sculpted. I especially like his textures which give the work an almost water color effect.

And a quick update: Matt Lyon has a tumblr that’s as on point as his artwork.

Color Cubic published a vector artwork book called Vectorism...

Wed, 23 May 2012 18:05:56 -0700

Color Cubic published a vector artwork book called Vectorism that is actually really nice. Compared to other vector artwork periodicals I’ve flipped through this is leaps and bounds better; we’re definitely getting better with bezier curves.

Found these beautiful spreads on Francesco Franchi’s...

Wed, 23 May 2012 13:32:39 -0700

Found these beautiful spreads on Francesco Franchi’s flickr page. Franchi is the art director of Intelligence In Lifestyle magazine as well as a senior designer at Leftloft.

Baz Luhrman has a knack for bringing the youthfulness back out...

Wed, 23 May 2012 10:10:00 -0700

Baz Luhrman has a knack for bringing the youthfulness back out of a classic. Romeo + Juliet is an easy example, and his take on The Great Gatsby might just be another. I can’t describe how but he’s made that Roaring Twenties excesss and glamour feel more at home today; well it could just be the soundtrack, sure. This makes me want to do some proper time traveling.

Hey if this video doesn’t stream HD then please click through to the YouTube channel.

The Zoot Suit is a mid-20th Century exaggeration of a flair in...

Tue, 22 May 2012 16:53:00 -0700

The Zoot Suit is a mid-20th Century exaggeration of a flair in menswear where the cut of the chest is fuller and the waste narrower to give men a more robust appearance.

Apparently the Zoot Suit was still banned from Los Angeles County even as late as 2001. This is because of the Zoot Suit Riots, which isn’t just an annoying song. Back during WWII, after some servicemen were attacked by a group of Mexican pachocos, sailors, marines and soldiers joined in attacks across East Los Angeles’ Mexican communities, especially anyone wearing Zoot Suits. The police only arrested the victims and the general public cheered the servicemen on as heroes.

Things escalated, cops were run down, servicemen were disfigured in fights, Latinos stabbed at parties and the riots spread across the country to even New York City, where the military had just shut down the Savoy Ballroom because whites and blacks were intermingling (they were doing a lot more then that).

Back in Los Angeles, the city decided to ban the Zoot Suit; like most political actions it hardly dealt with the problem. The picture above is of Cab Calloway, one of the few big band leaders I thoroughly enjoy who was also a regular at the Harlem/Savoy Ballroom scene.

Great identity developed by Russian designer Roma Erohnovich for...

Tue, 22 May 2012 13:10:03 -0700

Great identity developed by Russian designer Roma Erohnovich for Moscow event agency Citrus. Everything is so asymmetrical, even on the cards things are pushed to one corner. Erohnovich has a good grasp of balance though. Of course, I love the illustrations which apparently are inspired by Rene Magritte’s work.

Video

Mon, 21 May 2012 14:42:13 -0700

Thank god we invented noise-canceling headphones.

Mon, 21 May 2012 10:11:42 -0700

Thank god we invented noise-canceling headphones.