‘Skine Art is an open blog dedicated to work done in moleskine sketchbooks.  I am continually fascinated by the moleskine phenomena.  The company claims that moleskine notebooks were used by the likes of Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway, but the trademark was only registered in 1998.  Their design is actually based on English author Bruce Chatwin’s descriptions of the notebooks he carried and loved.  Although they are indeed fine little books, I have to wonder if moleskines truly deserve the superiority complex they are currently enjoying over every other type of sketchbook.

Regardless of the paper, there are some very inspiring drawings on ‘Skine Art.

Link

Zach Johnsen did some illustrations on wood and then took pictures of them carousing around in the snow.  The effect is fantastically playful and I think much stronger than it would have been if Zach had just digitally integrated his characters into empty photographs.

Digital techniques continue to exponentially race towards seamless “realism,” but nothing will ever be as real as reality itself.  It’s slightly disturbing to be so refreshed by the creativity of paint and wood.

Link 

John Campbell’s webcomic Pictures for Sad Children is about “a bad feeling you get when you are feeling good, or a good feeling you get when you are feeling bad.”  It’s brilliantly uplifting and depressing all at the same time.  Also worth a look is John’s blog where he posts many more  conflicted comics.

Link

“To my mind the most interesting thing in art is the personality of the artist; and if that is singular, I am willing to excuse a thousand faults. I suppose Velasquez was a better painter than El Greco, but custom stales one’s admiration for him: the Cretan, sensual and tragic, proffers the mystery of this soul like a standing sacrifice. The artist, painter, poet, or musician, by his decoration, sublime or beautiful, satisfies the aesthetic sense; but that is akin to the sexual instinct, and shares its barbarity: he lays before you also the greater gift of himself.” — The Moon and Sixpence by W. Sommerset Maugham

Some people are great at making art, others are just great at being artists. The cult of celebrity is by no means limited to actors and musicians. Sometimes visual artists are so interesting as people that their elevated personal status eclipses admiration for their actual work. Other times the two blend together and it becomes difficult to tell whether the art would be as good without the artist.

At what point in an artist’s career comes the decision to focus more on being an artist than on producing art? Is it indeed a decision at all or rather something that develops on its own, a form of art better expressed through a whole person than on paper?

Further exploration:

The Moon and Sixpence by W. Sommerset Maugham
The Accidental Masterpiece: On the Art of Life and Vice Versa by Michael Kimmelman
Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi by Jon Gibson and Chris McDonnel

Sato Shintaro takes hauntingly beautiful photographs of Tokyo at twilight from the emergency fire escapes of apartment buildings. The colors in his photographs are absolutely stunning with color harmonies and subtleties I’ve honestly never seen before. Very inspiring!

Link

The work of Claudio Acciari always excites me. His characters have a really natural and interesting style. They definitely express a sense of life.

Something invigorating for a gray Friday!

Link

La Repubblica just put up a showcase of the work of Italian conceptual artist Mario Mariotti (1936-1997) who created fantastic creatures and scenes using only his hands. Mariotti also published several books collecting his work. The imagination behind simply an artist, his hands and some paint is truly inspiring!

Link

Time to change your desktop wallpaper because it’s Wednesday at Kitsune Noir. This week designer/illustrator, Mike Perry, contributed two wallpapers to brighten your hump day.

Link.

The streets of Little Tokyo will host the 7th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival this Saturday 10:30am-6:30pm and Sunday 10:30am-5:00pm. There will be loads of cultural exhibits and demonstrations, live music, good food and, of course, cherry blossoms. Looks like a great place for sketching!

Link

French blog, The Art of Disney Animation collects pre-production artwork and information about every single Disney and Pixar film ever made. It’s an incredible inspirational resource and worth spending the next few hours browsing.

Link