1. Oh, how I love UK illustrator and screen print maker Alice Pattullo!Based in East London, she’s a Brighton University graduate and is inspired by British folk tradition, superstition, and mid-century design, while striving to create a nostalgic aesthetic in her own work through colour choices and composition.
She collects folklore, junk and “all sorts of ephemera from the dusty history books of the British isles.” I love how she’s simultaneously preserving parts of authentic heritage while breathing new life into it.
Of course I especially enjoy her foodie pieces — it’s like reading pages from old cookbooks or discovering vintage posters or advertisements.
She’s done a lot of commercial work for clients such as Country Living, Bon Appetit, V&A, Sainsburys, Urban Outfitters, and Crabtree and Evelyn. She’s also self-illustrated several titles, such as this Animals ABC book,
in addition to illustrating books written by others, the newest of which, The Butterfly House by Katy Flint, is due out April 2, 2019:
You can purchase Alice’s screen prints directly through her website or via several online galleries. It’s so much fun to browse all her designs!
Do you remember the first time you were entrusted with an important “job” by your family and feeling a real sense of responsibility?
For five-year-old Ernestine, it was when her mama asked her to deliver two jars of milk to their neighbors in the holler. She would have to set off alone at dawn to walk through dense thickets and overgrown vines, all while hiking up and down a winding mountain path before climbing through a barbed wire fence. Not to mention the possibility of encountering wild animals. No small feat!
This beautifully told story, set in 1940’s Maggie Valley, North Carolina, brims with heartwarming goodness and has the feel of such classics as Steig’s Brave Irene and Rylant’s When I Was Young in the Mountains.
1. Just in case you’re suffering from the winter blues or cabin fever, drink in some of the gorgeous colors, patterns and textures of Este MacLeod’spaintings.
Born in South Africa, Este now lives in London, where she creates beautiful, stylized landscapes, florals and still lives. What a master of layering and composition! There is a certain dreaminess about her work that nourishes the viewer. Shake off the blahs, wake up and embrace the world in living color!
Limited edition prints, notebooks, tea towels and originals are available for purchase at her Etsy Shop.
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2. New Book Alert! Sometimes you find the nicest surprises in your mailbox. Recently, THE BOOK OF YAWNS by Carolyn Blasinsky (Blazing Sky & Co., 2018) magically appeared.
This adorable board book is just the thing to get the little ones to wind down at bedtime. Full color photographs of eight wild and domestic animals show them practicing the fine art of yawning. Their facial expressions, whether weary, drowsy, or comical, are just plain priceless, and the simple, repetitive text saying “night night” to each animal is hypnotic.
The thing is, after you’ve turned a few pages, you start to get sleepy too. Yawns are contagious! Whether in the forest, ocean, open plains, arctic or back yard, these creatures demonstrate what we all have in common. I especially like the monkey, tiger and seal. Guess who the last animal in the book is?
Mr Cornelius’s favorite is this polar bear!
I asked Carolyn, who is my neighbor, to provide a little backstory about the book:
I’m a graphic and web designer and have always wanted to do a children’s book – I was just waiting for the right idea to strike. With a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old I read to them nightly and one book showed a character yawning which made us all yawn and I thought – what about a book all about yawns?! Children love animals and it seemed like the perfect combination. I like simple books that are easy to read (for tired parents at night) and love great photographs and clean, beautiful design. Plus – it helps get my little readers sleepy and ready for bed! My kids love the book and I’ve learned a lot in the process. It’s been an interesting project!
A special treat for animal lovers, THE BOOK OF YAWNS is the perfect new baby, shower or toddler gift. I would *yawn* tell you more *y -a-w -n* but I really need *y — a. –w — n* to take a nap.
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.”
