Cupcake Richard Rebrand

 I can't stress enough how very important the glorious little life-sustaining nugget known as creative freedom really is to an artist, especially when trying to create something unique. In the seemingly creative industry of commercial design and illustration it is not quite as commonplace as you might think. That is why I always enjoy working with Wida, the lovely baker and food stylist behind Cupcake Richard. Not only is she the sweetest creature, but a great supporter of local artists and their unique styles and capabilities. I was super stoked when she entrusted me with her company's rebranding because I knew this project was going to be a goody. Also. I love drawing plants and animals and as you can tell from our last project together, she is very good at indulging these wishes..

The name of her vegan baking company, 'Cupcake Richard' is a reference to the tiger Richard Parker from The Life of Pi, as she is a lover of anything of the feline persuasion. So the logo had to include a tiger, of course! The greenery alludes to the wholesome | vegan aspect. Plus Richard was crying for a little jungle to be king of when I was painting him and really, who am I to say no. You may know by now that I have a tendency to lean toward less literal interpretations when it comes to titles and logos, because who doesn't love a bit of mystery instead of captain obvious being up in yo face. So working around this title was right up my alley. 

During a meeting of coffee and croissants (the best kind of meetings) I was shown a beautiful array of inspiration images that looked like they could be straight off my own Pintrest board. Aside from a few general stipulations as to what the logo should include, I was allowed pretty much free reign and it made the conceptual and design process both fun and really creatively stimulating. Once the design was approved, I couldn't wait to start painting it up and I love the end result. 


*if you have even the slightest sweet tooth, I recommend checking out her instagram. Its full of beautifully photographed treats and recipes..and you will also be graced with images of Party Bear, her magnificent cat.

The Surfing Midwife

As I speak to you now, I am sitting at the window counter of a cafe in a renovated colonial-style building on a Cape Town beach front.
Muizenberg beach to be specific. Johnny Cash plays in the background and in front of me, sparkling lines in the ocean stack up to the horizon. A multitude of rubber clad surfers play in the glassy but cold, no. Lets call it what it is.. frigid water. Its just a terribly appropriate setting for me to tell you about this recent branding project I did for Margreet, also known as the 'Surfing Midwife'. 

 I'd love to share with you what this lady is all about so that you can get to know her better. Not only is she a talented and passionate surfer, the Surfing Midwife makes waves in her community too. 
I grew up in the Eastern Cape, and if you have spent any amount of time there, you will immediately see why it bears the title of South Africa's most impoverished province. Margreet noticed a deep need for better healthcare and parental education amongst the many underprivileged mama's and babies where she is based in Jeffreys Bay, and
unlike most of us, she decided to use her skills to actually do something about it. Through compassion and I'm sure no small amount of dedication, The Healthy Mom and Baby Clinic was born. It is a non-profit organization which provides quality healthcare, support and post-natal education to underprivileged expectant and new mothers. This means that both they and their children get the best possible start, irrespective of their income. What a beautiful cause with such a far-reaching positive impact.. 

Her blog, the Surfing Midwife is a place to share her stories and experiences encountered along the unusual path that surfing and midwifery and have led her on. I was obviously intrigued and so keen to design a blog header for her.

Being a fellow gurfer (that is, a girl surfer), identifying with this awesome lady and her love of surfing and the ocean was no challenge. However when it came down to the midwifery part, well.. not quite as relateable! She envisioned a simple logo combining illustrations of both elements of her unusual title. But because both spheres of interest are so fundamentally different from each other, I thought a literal interpretation would fall short of representing her. I believe that the title alone does the job of explaining what she does better than any actual surf/midwifery elements thrown together would achieve. I used calm, blue shades and slowly built up layers of 'waves' with watercolour to create the background pattern. It creates a lulling, natural, peaceful feel reminiscent of surfing and the energies you would want to focus on during pregnancy, although goodness knows all that goes straight out the window during labour! I also think the 'wave' shapes are reminiscent of pregnant bellies, but that is perhaps me indulging my Fine Art background and reading too much into things ;) Anyway, I hand-painted the text and converted it to white to contrast it against the dark background of the waves to make it stand out clearly.
All in all I think it makes a successful blog header and I had a lot of fun with this technique.

To learn more about the Surfing Midwife you can visit her page and you can spread the care and compassion by donating to the Healthy Mom and Baby clinic here to help them continue the incredible work they do.

                                                                      x

Wonder Meyer Illustration + Cupcake Richard

Here is a quick post about what I've been up to recently.
I was contacted a while ago by the lovely folk at Cupcake Richard, a start up bakery headed by a tiger enthusiast and maker of all things good and sweet. She initiated a wonderful little project in aid of tiger conservation, and have commissioned myself and 3 other local illustrators to design a series of postcards. 100% of the proceeds will go to the tiger conservation effort, and this project is backed by the prestigious World Wildlife Fund organization. Its not often that you come across passionate people who are willing to fully fund a project on behalf of a charity, and I'm so happy to be a part of this great initiative.
It was a really fun little project to work on, with an open brief (the only prerequisite was that the design had to involve tigers) and best of all, super sweet and easygoing people to work with (not to mention the bonus cupcakes that were part of the deal)!

I have been a long time follower of Greenpeace, pretty much ever since I had the opportunity to climb aboard the Rainbow Warrior in Panama when I was 9. How I got into that position is a fairly long story involving a childhood spent travelling around the world on a boat, but let's leave that for another post. Anyway, the point is that the declining population of wild tigers has been on my radar for a while now, thanks to daily updates from Greenpeace. But because of this project, I got to do some research on the topic and delve a bit deeper into the subject. I was suprised to find that loss of habitat was only second on the list for reasons for the rapid decline of the wild tiger population. Much like our Rhino tragedy here in South Africa, tigers are being poached for their organs and body parts for an Asian market that believes them to contain magical and medicinal properties. 
Its estimated that we have lost 97% of the wild tiger population over the past century. ?? And that 3 of the 9 of tiger subspecies are already extinct. I had no idea. To learn more about the threats to tiger populations and to see what you can do to help, have a browse around the WWF  or Greenpeace sites.

The title of my illustration 'Up in Smoke' refers to the rapidly declining numbers of the current tiger population, and also references the ghosts of the already extinct species. I started out by painting some foliage at the bottom in burned hues, then faded into barren branches and eventually smoke towards the top. This alludes to the destruction of habitat caused by overpopulation and the growing Palm oil industry in particular. For some or other reason I enjoy making cards in oval formats, so I continued to do so in this drawing and I think it worked out just fine. Sir Richard Parker himself solemnly sits in the middle with his monkey-face and dainty paws. I used watercolour and coffee stain for this painting..more like ingredients that mediums..I think I had cupcakes on the brain. 
I can't wait to see the full series of postcards which will be released on the 16th of May- I'll do another post to let you know how and where you can get your paws on them so you can do your bit for these stripeys.

                                                                                       x

Interview on Petal to Petal

My artwork was recently featured on Petal to Petal, a blog run by the Irish surface pattern designer, Lily Reilly. I'm not sure if you're aware of the warm and fuzzy feelings I reserve for all things Irish, but Lily and her lovely blog are definitely recipients of said feelings :)
She features all kinds of artists on her blog, and  invited me to participate in one of her insightful interviews. I am so pleased to be featured alongside other illustrators like Katy Horan, who's work I've always admired - thanks Lily! x

You can mosey on down to Petal to Petal and read my interview here.

P.S The above picture is of Luna, my beautiful beaded deer head, and is totally unrelated to the post. But isn't she lovely?

Nestle

My little hand carved and painted porcelain girl 'Nestle' found a new home on the very first night of her exhibition. Although it's always a little bittersweet parting with something you've laboured so long and hard over, the feeling is far surpassed by the joy of seeing someone fall in love with a piece and want to take it home. This was my first attempt at working with porcelain, and it was, of course, a lot more tricky and time consuming than I had anticipated. After I had sculpted the figure, she was bisque fired and ready to be painted. I used a very fine brush to painstakingly paint on her hair, which I then proceeded to sand right off again, re-paint, sand off etc. and annoyingly continued to do this about 3 or 4 times before I finally achieved a result I was happy with. Thankfully this process was made a little less agonizing by the wonderful ladies working in the ceramic department, who let the wine flow at all hours of the day and supply endless amounts of hilarity and good advice. The final painted figure was dipped in a clear glaze before going back into the kiln for a last firing. I just love the finish of the glossy glaze and how it brings the colours to life, and I cant wait to get my hands on some more porcelain :)

Because Stickers!

Any kid that grew up in the 90's  knows the joys of these tacky delights. I used to spend hours pouring over my sticker book collections full of wonderously puffy, fluffy, scented, glittery goodness, and occassionally allowed myself to part with a few in order to swap them for coveted glow in the dark Lion King numbers owned by other little sticker collector friends.
In a moment of poor judgement or nostalgia ( I prefer to put it down to the latter), I designed a couple of fun little sticker sheets for Design Indaba with peach (above), mint and grey accents and they sold out, yay! So relieved there is still a healthy appetite for these items! Each little image tears off individually from the A5 sheet, so you can make your own little compositions with them. Or just sticker-ify arbitrary household objects like in the days of our youth....queue reminiscent sigh...

Cards and such..

Le Etoile

'Le Etoile'

Thunder in Our Hearts

We Float On

We All Float On is another experiment with drawing on glass. I have been doing a bit of research into myths and folktales, and have been more than a little fascinated with the reanimation of the dead in the form of souls. I started out drawing some amoeba-like blobs in this picture, which turned into something sort of resembling a bloodstream. I tried the same effect with lead oxide on glass and eventually got them to match the watercolour ones pretty closely. Having this layered effect really enhances the overall floaty feeling of the drawing. For the character's apparition I added a little paper cutout shadow which I illuminated from the back and turned the whole thing into a lightbox, as seen below.

Bunny Illustration for Miss Lee

It was a very special little someone's 3rd birthday not to long ago, and she got her very first illustration to hang in her bedroom. Hope you like your bunnies Miss Leano!

In the Face of Adversity

'In the Face of Adversity'

This benevolent bison was so much fun to draw but took a pretty excessive amount of time. I etched onto glass to give the breath between the character and the bison a subtle, ephemeral appearence and it reminds me of a child's warm breath condensing on glass. It was hard to say goodbye to this illustration as it really was a labour of love.. I am ashamed to admit it, but things got emotional, yo! But the original is now living happily in California, lucky thing! If the lovely new owners are reading this, please do send me a snap of Adversity in its new home :)

Also, I've spent a lot of time experimenting with ways to reproduce this image so that it's affordable, yet stays true to the original illustration. I am one hard lady to please when it comes to prints, but I've finally reached the point where I can say that I'm so very happy with how this guy has come out. For those of you who wish to own one, your fine art print will come with a sheet of glass with sandblasted 'breath' when you purchase In the Face of Adversity. The light tends to do all manner of reflecty nonsense on the glass when I try to photograph it, but the image below is a more accurate representation of how said 'breath' looks in reality..all misty and such, not quite as 'vector-ey' looking as the one above.

This lllustration depicts a metaphorical encounter with an insurmountable problem. It deals with subject matter pertaining to an intangible human experience and incorporates symbolism as a method of conveying meaning. The mountains represent resilience, an obstacle to overcome and the refusal to yield. When considering the bison in symbolic terms,  it echoes the same immovable qualities, which contrasts with the small and insignificant little character in the corner. However, the bison’s expression is benevolent instead of threatening, which (hopefully) leads the viewer to question who represents adversity to whom. Hmm? So what are we saying here? Essentially, this artwork is an observation of the relationship between humans and animals and carries an environmental message that points to the threat that mankind poses for the animal kingdom in terms of overhunting and destruction of natural habitat. 

So much for keeping these explanations open-ended..am I spoiling it for you guys by not really leaving the artworks open to your own interpretation, or do you prefer having a bit of a background? I'd love to know.. 

Smoke and Ashes

I have been experimenting with glass a little, and I really love how it creates another dimension for illustrations that might otherwise look a little flat. In the detail below you can kind of see how I've draw some of the arrows on top of the glass to get a more layered effect. 

This is just a sneak peak of this image, but I will upload the finished print and story soon-soon :)

As Above, So Below

                                                                        'Constellation'
























                                                                                              'Moonmoth' 



Oh, hello! Time to tell you a bit about Constellation and Moonmoth. 
Let's get conceptual up in here! Okay, that was lame, I am not going to write this post like a Brooklyn-based rapper from the 90's, because thats no fun for anyone. except me. Because then I could shamelessly use terms like 'what the hizzle' and...no, Wonder, no! This blog is no place for such nonsense. Let us proceed in a dignified manner.

Ahem.

Symbolism of opposition, or themes of binary opposites, are methods used by humankind to attempt to define abstract concepts such as life and death, positive and negative, love and hatred etc. These abstract concepts are compared and contrasted against each other so that they can be better understood, and have been the inspiration for many myths, as well as serving as the inspiration for my illustrations. As seen with myths and folktales, visual metaphor in the form of symbolism is also incorporated into the imagery above, thereby constructing a 'visual myth'. 

Giving these dichotomies of our existence material form is a conceptual strategy I persue in many of my illustrations. Both Moonmoth and it's sister illustration, Constellation, explore the ineffable concepts of death and the afterlife by contrasting dualities of life and death, night and day, and Animus and Anima, as myths are said to do.  Animal symbolism is used in both images to portray a psychopomp (hee!), which in Greek mythology refers to a guide for souls on their journey to the place for the dead. According to many traditions, animal psychopomps frequently occur as a winged creature such as a bird or butterfly, hence the incorporation of moths in these pictures. As you may know by now, I am a great lover of critters, but generally tend to steer clear of insects. I am, however, quite fascinated by moths. I love that they are nocturnal creatures, only coming out at night, yet so drawn to light. And their  inherently self-destructive nature. They seem so contradictory, mysterious and lovely, and I'm quite sure that they will continue cropping up in my work. 

The originals are hand drawn on Fabriano, and I've embossed the sun and moon in Constellation, as well as the figure on the right in Moonmoth. I've used a technique known as chine colle for the moths, and there was also a little watercolour used in Moonmoth to represent the dark moth-shaped shadow at the bottom of the image. Both illustrations translate beautifully into giclee prints and are available for purchase.

Cadaver

I played around with gold leaf for the first time with this illustration. It is so finicky, but I finally got the hang of it and used it to top off an embossed tooth.

Sybil's Ascension

                                                                                                   'Sybil's Ascension'

Despite the seemingly macabre subject, this was actually just meant to be a humorous look at how many souls a schizophrenic/ multiple personality person might have. It was inspired by Flora Rheta Schreiber's 1973 book entitled Sybil, which documents the first psychoanalysis of a multiple personality. The darkest 'soul' on the illustration floats above the rest as she is actually fired onto a sheet of glass which sits on top of the picture. The drawing is done in pen and watercolour, and I used instant coffee to paint these hills- the only thing instant coffee is good for in my books..

Not that you're asking, but yes, I've experimented a lot with methods of overlay, superimposition and transparency to add  depth and subtle texture to this series of artworks, which would otherwise appear a bit too flat and straightforward to express such ephemeral themes.. i think. I've found that the semi-opaque texture created by oxide painting on a sheet of glass translates well in the depiction of souls and apparitions and reflects the element of intangibility and the spirit world. Now you know.

A last note on this contradictory piece, bare with me here, because I must reiterate.. Children’s literature, folklores and fairytales are a great source of inspiration. Its not so much the stories that influence my work, but how something can appear sweet and childlike, but   there are subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) underlying themes that are seriously inappropriate. Think of the witch that tries to roast Hansel and Gretel in her oven, Snow White who gets poisoned by her own step-mom, Red Riding Hood's beloved grandmother that gets devoured by a wolf, which she then disembowels, sews up with rock and drowns.  Its pretty horrific subject matter, yet they are such well loved childrens stories. In these visual narratives, the main character is often rendered in a way that may seem saccharine, but there is always (hopefully) a bit more to the story than just a pretty picture.

Of Atrophies and Reveries

Above is a snap from the exhibition of my most recent body of illustrations, Of Atrophies and Reveries. 

 I have learned that, as an artist, I am expected to give insightful explainations regarding the 'meaning' of my work to whomever is kind enough to take an interest in it. I have written about my preferred method of interpretation of my work before, and lets be real for a second here. I am truly horrible at providing articulate answers on the spot. Really truly. The pressure! I usually think I'm doing okay until I glance over at the person I'm directing my incomprehensible waffle at and they are looking back at me with skeptically arched brows and a healthy dose of 'what the hell are you on about?' blazing out their eyes. I'll keep working on it, I promise. But in the meantime if you all read this nicely prepared little artsy speech then I dont have to answer any stressful questions on the spot, right? Right!

Here we go then:

A great part of what we perceive is intangible and cannot be successfully expressed in a purely verbal manner, and because of this, many of our experiences are rendered indescribable. However, the substitution of verbal description for visual metaphor and allusion can communicate things that can scarcely be put into words, and I employ these techniques in my illustrations in order to give visual form to the ineffable.

By attempting to explicate the ambiguities and contradictions of human existence, visual metaphors appear to serve the same function as mythology and folklore. Myth has allowed people to make sense of the world around them by contrasting fundamental opposites, for example; night and day, love and hate, good and evil. The body of work Of Atrophies and Reveries is inspired by the notion that these dualities permeate almost all levels of existence. Symbols inherent to fables and myths as well as those of a personal nature are appropriated to illustrate an introspective journey. These illustrations endeavour to give form to the transient emotions and personal experiences in the form of idiosyncratic visual myths. 

Make sense? Please say yes. 

Ireland

                                                                     OF MISTS + MOONS

Tu me manques

Due to an unexpected family emergency, I will be spending the following month in France and will be unable to post any prints until my return.
Thank you for your understanding,
Photo's to follow soon!
xo

A Kitty Card

Sooo...It was me and Pants's birthday week not too long ago.
Our birthdays fall in the same week so we get to be the same age for a whole 5 days!
This may seem trivial to some, but not me, huh uh. This is actually rather a big deal because, except for those 5 short days, I'm a year older than my boyfriend, and lets be honest, this  bothers me.
"The Man must be older!" - (to have any effect whatsoever that must be read in a booming patriarchal voice, yes?).
He is supposed to go forth and see what that age has in store, and experience all the pitfalls so that when you get there he can warn, commiserate and comfort you because he's been through it already. And also you get the be the young little minx and who doesn't want that, right? But I am just a bit silly about that. I should be used to the fact, seeing as all of my relatives (on my mothers side at least) are in relationships where the woman is older..aunts, uncles, cousins grandparents, e v e r y o n e.
Maybe it's hereditary?...hmmm.
But I digress.

If there is one thing you must know about Pants, its that he loves cats. He will spot one across the street, lying on the pavement and lure it towards him with his magical cat-speak. Many a time have I caught him in deep conversation with his own cats and referring to himself in the third person. Yes he does.
I am not a 'cat person' myself, and for this I blame my father, of course. Shame, it's not really his fault that he's allergic, but what are parents for if not to make them the root cause of all our shortcomings? So, for this reason I never grew up with cats around the house and had very limited interactions with them in general. I don't really understand them, to be honest. They kill things when they are not even hungry despite being domesticated for easily a kajillion years. They don't listen to you, in fact, they have no interest in you whatsoever unless they are hungry or itchy. They eat smelly food and they only cuddle on their own terms, namely on your face. At six in the morning.

Come to think of it, I have had some pretty bad experiences with cats. There was Billy, my housemate's cat who would frantically start humping the blanket as soon as you settled down on the couch to watch Oprah with a hot cup of tea. If he was hungry in the morning he would not hesitate to draw blood from anyone foolish enough to walk into the kitchen with their legs exposed. Then there was dear Basil, who's greatest joy was to sneak into my room and prance all over my freshly painted..paintings. And Asterix, who headbutts you in your face continuously until he gets stroked. And Fat Tummy Tommy, the only cat I have ever loved, will let no man close enough to hug his fat fluffiness.

However, I have come to realize that perhaps not all cats are like this, and maybe one day in the not-to-distant future Birthdaypant's dream will be realized  and we will find a seriously fluffy, squashy faced and emotionally dependent little kitten to come share our flat. In the mean time though, I made him this card. Thank you, that is all.