indie artist spotlights

love me some mouni feddag

~ jama ~ 8 Comments

When you’ve got the blahs, the perfect way to *WAKE UP* and have some !!FUN!! is with a little Mouni Feddag. 🙂

A self described “drawing person born and based in the UK” who is also “very nice,” Mouni’s distinctive style is all about vibrant shocks of color and a wry humor that examines the human condition with loads of quirky details. She’s like a sketchy doodler gone wild. 😀

Though she was born in England, she moved to Frankfurt with her family when she was nine, and has been back and forth between there and various cities in England ever since. She graduated in 2014 with a Degree in Communications Design from the University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt.

She claims that studying in Germany helped solidify her style, a reaction to the “somber, melancholic, and over-conceptual work” she saw in the classes she took. This prompted her to make “silly, pretty things.”

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loving bella foster’s happy watercolors

~ jama ~ 8 Comments

Yes, come in! Please do.

Bella Foster’s watercolor interiors are cheery, welcoming, colorful, quirky and exuberant. Who can resist stepping into a world of bright and pretty florals, cozy fireplaces, and inviting bookcases?

Currently living and working in Los Angeles, Bella studied painting at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She counts among her inspirations Bonnard, Matisse, Josef Frank, and Mary Cassatt.

Her love of pattern and textiles is evident in her still life tableaux. Very few people inhabit her pictures; she instead likes to think of “people’s stuff” as characters in composition.

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a peek at monika forsberg’s walkyland

~ jama ~ 7 Comments

 

These days I’ve been loving Monika Forsberg’s wonderfully quirky art. I’m taken with her vivid colors and interesting compositions, as well as how she blends humor and fantasy with reality.

 

 

A Monika Forsberg design is bold, eye-catching and very distinctive.

 

 

Though she now lives and works in North London, she’s originally from Sweden. She grew up in a northern seaside town where it was almost always winter.

 

 

In her early 20’s, Monika moved to London to study art and animation at the Royal College of Art. Her boyfriend is also an artist and they are the parents of two boys. After the birth of her second son, she decided to pursue illustration.

 

 

Her work appears in books and magazines, on fabric and paper products (gift wrap, greeting cards, planners, stationery), and a variety of children’s products (games, puzzles, backpacks, baby clothes).

 

 

 

Her client list includes Anthropologie, eeBoo, NY Review, United Nations, Gorman Clothing, Oopsie Daisy and Unicef.

 

 

Monika begins her pieces with pen, paint, and paper — drawing by hand while sitting on her bed listening to audio books or radio documentaries. When she’s compiled a stack of drawings, she moves to her computer, where she scans them in before assembling the best ones in Photoshop.

 

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love me some richard adams

~ jama ~ 14 Comments

With Richard Adams’s work, it was love at first sight.

I’m such a sucker for British charm and quirkiness.

How I’d love to step right into his paintings and explore the bucolic villages, sample the food at the open markets, stroll along country lanes, peek into thatched cottages, and best of all, chat with some of the fascinating characters who dwell in his halcyon world.

Adams was born in Hampshire (1960) and grew up in Wiltshire amidst the south Cotswold countryside, a landscape that would have a lasting influence on his work. He received a BA Hons in Graphic Design from Leicester Polytechnic, then worked as a freelance illustrator in London for clients such as BP, the Radio Times, and Penguin Books, before moving to Rye in Sussex, where he lives now. He has exhibited widely in the UK and internationally in Madrid, Washington, Sydney and Bremen.

At first glance, one is taken with the enchanting beauty, brilliant composition, and wealth of detail. On second glance, one catches on to Adams’s puckish sense of humor (he characterizes his work as having “a subtle light-heartedness”). While studying the chock-a-block cross-section of his Dolls House, for example, one might be distracted by the man doing a headstand on the front lawn and miss the naked woman casually sitting on the sofa making polite conversation.

With Adams, a liberated, freewheeling loose boob or two seems par for the course. Why not frolic in the field, mix the playful with the pretty, and surprise the viewer in the best possible way? 🙂

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gill pinkney’s charming felt creations

~ jama ~ 18 Comments

You can’t help but smile when you see Gill Pinkney’s handiwork. Colorful, quirky, and brimming with charm, her lovingly crafted wonders are made from wool, felt, buttons, beads, and a fanciful imagination.

Gill’s a wet felt artist and designer based in Whitley Bay, a seaside town on the northeast coast of England. She makes a variety of products, including jewelry, wall hangings, bags, scarves, framed pictures, dolls, and seasonal ornaments.

Her birds, bunnies and grinning cats are adorable, while her fairies and mermaids are lovely and whimsical.

I also love her landscapes and seascapes. What gorgeous colors, lines and textures! Who can resist her rows of tidy houses, her flowers, her trees? Her hand embroidered finishing details are exquisite, too. Such a distinctive style. 🙂

So beautiful!

Gill’s work can be found in several galleries in Northumberland, Newcastle and Yorkshire, and she also exhibits in various craft fairs and other events in Northeast England.

Her work can also be purchased online via her Etsy Shop. The best way to learn about new pieces is to follow her Facebook page or Instagram.

HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS TUESDAY LOVELINESS.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Copyright © 2018 Jama Rattigan of Jama’s Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.