♥ Meet Lily. ♥

New! Portfolio prints now available at Søciety6!

Visit my brand new Studio at Søciety6 to buy my most popular portfolio images, not just as gallery quality Giclée prints, but also Laptop, Mac, iPhone and iPod skins!

Design in a Hailstorm #10: Maral Sassouni

Today we have the vibrant, lively, watercolour-and-ink portfolio of Paris-based illustrator Maral Sassouni...

"Using watercolor, ink, gouache, and the occasional pixel, Maral tackles assignments with enthusiasm and fluency, producing work that has been published widely by editorial and publishing clients around the world as well as some corporate, advertising and design firms."

Maral's client list includes the Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Harper Collins, and Microsoft, to name but a few. Wow.

FFFFOUND! Daily Find #9: Pushmepullyou Design

Mmm... a lovely Daily Find of printed stationary, cards, gifts and even tees from Eleanor at Pushmepullyou, a design boutique supplying design, illustration, identity, pattern and more:

"Eleanor loves animals; you name it, she's probably drawn it! Eleanor's unique graphic perspective aims to simplify line and playfully arrange form to capture the essence of each animal she draws. She's well-known for her graphic take on our feathered, furry, and fuzzy friends, and her illustration career has grown from its rock poster roots with jobs for clients such as Keds, Giro, Urban Outfitters, and Wilco."

You can follow Eleanor on Twitter, keep up to date with her blog, or buy gorgeous things from the Pushmepullyou shop, which is offering free shipping for Spring. Hooray!

New! Personal Work, 'Bird of Paradise'

Design in a Hailstorm #9: Josie Portillo

If you enjoy wonderfully skewed perspectives, whimsical character design and retro styling, LA illustrator and animator Josie Portillo is definitely one to keep an eye on. Josie's interest in subjects as eclectic as UFOs, mid-century design and the songs of Edith Piaf shine through in her romantic, haunted artworks and animations, all mysteriously populated by pirates, thieves, and kissing couples. Some of Josie's brilliant artworks are available as prints from her Etsy shop, and my favourites - full of tiny, engaging details, including the charming 'La Vie en Rose' series - are below.

FFFFOUND! Daily Find #8: Katie Kirk

Today's Daily Find is from Katie Kirk, a graphic designer and illustrator living and working in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Katie's clean, simple portfolio has been designed in the form of a blog, each update perfectly showcasing a new artwork or project, which can range from print, greetings and graphic design through to children's books. Katie also co-runs EightHourDay - a multi-disciplinary, multi-talented design boutique - with her husband, Nathan Strandberg:

"Our goal is to create work that is honest. Solutions that are exploratory, educational and inspirational. Creative that is conceptually interesting and visually stunning. Design with the belief that process and collaboration should be as exciting as the end result."

Katie's beautiful, clean-edged vector designs translate perfectly into patterns, combining a playful use of graphics with typography and sophisticated colour palettes to create stunning artworks. Some of these are available as hand-screenprinted prints from the EightHourDay Etsy shop; my favourites are below, along with a couple of COLOURlovers palettes inspired by them. 

Design in a Hailstorm #8: Jing Zhang

Today, Oriental ingredients and a Western recipe result in a few delicious excerpts from the scrumptious portfolio of London-based artist and designer Jing Zhang. Enjoy!

FFFFOUND! Daily Find #7: J Fletcher Design

Jay Fletcher has been working as a designer, illustrator, and art director in Charleston, South Carolina since 2001, and his slick, glossy portfolio is an amazing body of work which includes illustration, graphic design, and design for both web and print.

"My bedrock philosophy is simple – it’s all about the work. I believe in the power of visual communication. To tell you the truth, I really believe in it. Frankly, I’m sort of in love with it. Whether you’re a mom & pop or a Fortune 500, design is the face of your business and the foot you put forward. It makes your first impression and speaks volumes on your behalf. When done correctly, it’s money in the bank. From the quick project to the monumental challenge, I believe nothing is routine and everything is an opportunity to shine."

My favourites of Jay's work include these fantastic posters, which brilliantly combine warm and cool colours together with typography to create a contemporary spin on the classic vintage travel poster. You'll also find COLOURlovers palettes based on these gorgeous designs below...

Design in a Hailstorm #7: Jen Lobo

Well, we're well overdue for a blog update... so here's another not-so-daily (but very beautiful) update featuring Californian illustrator and painter Jen Lobo:

"Jen Lobo has a great affinity for all things feathered and furry, avian and aquatic. Her work is a testament to that love for the natural world with a blend of human themes of love, loss, tragedy and triumph."

I've been a fan of Jen's work for a couple of years and have been meaning to feature her on the blog for some time. Represented by the Jennifer Vaughn illustration agency in the States, her illustrations have the traditional, handcrafted feel to them unique to those who draw and paint from scratch to create their artworks. Jen's gorgeous paintings, however, also benefit from rich, quirky, humorous attention to detail and a genuine sensitivity to (and obvious love for) flora and fauna alike. 

As well as her online portfolio, Jen also runs a very sweet and funny blog - with updates not only about upcoming exhibitions and brand new artworks, but also engaging stories about her family - and a Facebook page, on which she amusingly reveals: "I was trying to explain what I do to a parent at my son's school the other day. He looked at me a little confused and said, 'So you paint stories about relationships about people, but you don't paint people, you paint animals?' Well. Sort of."