Illustration
There’s nothing quite like handmade lines. Perfect in their imperfection.
Then, taking that beyond – with paint, with colour, with physical texture-making things – string, paper, plastic, and so much more.
Inspiring : Emily Julstrom {surface design + illustration}
Emily Julstrom says it's good to get as many terrible ideas off your chest as possible so you can get to something interesting. I think she must have done an awful lot of work, because what I see is utter skill and total clarity of vision. I first came across some of...
Inspiring : Ben Conservato {illustration}
"I did struggle with taking photos at first; for someone who studied photography, it kind of baffled me that I couldn't get it right." So says Sydney-based Emma Kidd, artist, illustrator, printmaker, zine maker, and photographer, and the face behind Ben...
Inspiring: Elly MacKay, TheaterClouds
I can't get over how delicate and lovely these images are from Elly Mackay, the artist behind theaterclouds. They glow like warm memories of childhood, viewed through a magical peephole. Elly is part craftsperson, part theatre-designer, and part...
Inspiration : Carmel Debreuil {painter/illustrator}
Carmel Debreuil says that one of the greatest things about having been drawing and painting so long is that she doesn't have to worry about whether the nose is straight or the eyes match. "I can spend more time thinking about the story. That's a good...
Opinion : Hot or Not?
Yippee! SO excited about this new segment on tractorgirl. What I'm going to do is pick a current trend in craft and design, review it, and pull it apart to see if it's worth having as a trend. Whadya reckon? Be warned, the vagaries of my personal taste are bound to...
Colouring my day : White Chalk
I hope you've been enjoying this musical interlude, while I've been concentrating on other things for a short while. This is the last in the series featuring music + colour, I'll be back on Monday. Julie x * White Chalk : PJ Harvey I could not leave...
Surface Design & Illustration : Fishink
Craig, aka Fishink, is an illustrator and surface designer living and working on the edge of Manchester, close to a large expanse of land called the Ees. Forests and fields are all 5 minutes from his door, as well as the Manchester shipping canal, and he feels...
The illustrated object : Louise Jenkins
Today I'm going into shady territory. As you know, I love all things craft, surface design and photography, and I usually leave illustration and graphic design to other folk better qualified to talk about them than I. However, Louise Jenkins has such a lovely...