Sara K Byrne's 'Nature' Portraits

What could be better than one of my favourite type of photography, portraits, being combined with beauty photographs of nature? Not a lot! Sara K Byrne is a photography who deals with double exposure to create stunning pieces of portraits overlaid with these natural scenes. What I find most interesting is that they are not Photoshopped. Using completely traditional techniques Byrne utilises double exposures. Darkrooms are something that have always fascinated me but still have absolutely no idea how they work! 

The colours Byrne uses, combined with her beautiful compositions and subject matter create a nostalgic value to her work. The time and place of the scenery draw the viewer back to the portrait, as if they are somehow related. In a way it is like the two are of the same memory. This creates emotional and narrative pieces, with a strong storytelling aspect to the works. Enjoy!

A World of Colour - Andrew Logan's Glasswork

On Saturday I got the amazing opportunity to attend a lecture as part of Tate Liverpool's 'Glamology Series' set of lectures. This weeks was the final lecture and couldn't have been a better finale. Andrew Logan, one of Britain's most influential artists of the 70s spoke about his huge artistic career and his phenomenal life of creating work all over the world. He has exhibited all over the world: America, India, Australia and is currently working on commissions for Mumbai.

Logan has worked in many mediums, from sculpture to jewellery to paint. However for me it is his use of glass, mirrors and endless colour that stand out for me. His use of found glass to create quirky yet elegant jewels and sculptures is beautiful, and with the glass he brings in the use of mirrors and reflective material. In the lecture he said "his work plays with like, and that art should be celebrated and found wherever you go". I couldn't agree more, and his work can in fact be found in public spaces all around the world. The only way to describe Logan's work is to show you.

He has made a number of 'Cosmic Eggs' throughout his time as an artist, which are huge pieces of just beautiful, elegant decorations in coloured glass. To me they connote a richness and wealth with their saturation of colour.

Logan has two iconic themes in his work as an artist. One, the cosmic egg that can be seen above and below, but also the Pegasus. He has made many versions of the Pegasus, the two original pieces traveled the world with him, to America, Mexico and India among other places. The wings were always beautifully decorated and glowed in the sun. 

Andrew Logan has always been one of my favourite artists. I went to a gig of a friend of his in one of his exhibitions in a small art gallery in Liverpool once! I was honoured to meet him and have his work explained first hand by this thoroughly interesting life. I can only hope that one day I will have seen the world as much as he has!

Christian
@cjfwatts

Quote of the Week

 Designed by Jessica Rose

"Wherever we are together that is home"

Happy Birthday!

It was my birthday last week and I thought I would take this opportunity to share some of the beautiful cards and gift wrap I was lucky enough to receive.

'Vintage' embroidery by Jo Corner for Blue Eyed Sun

Marks & Spencer

Dragonfly Dreams by Rachael Taylor

Rachel Bright 'The Bright Side'

Cancer Research Uk

Clinton Cards

Marks & Spencer

Ink Drop Cards

Fairy Cake by Stop the Clock Design 

Birdcages by Camilla Charnock

Hallmark

 by Elizabrth Searle for Camden Graphics

Three Dimensional Typography with Ebon Heath

Today's Monday feature I thought I would feature something on a completely separate vein of illustration than last weeks beautiful watercolours. Well if you can call Ebon Heath's work illustration. Is it sculpture, illustration, product design, fine art? Whatever label you want to force upon his work there is no denying the creativity he puts into his work.

"What does it look like when our letters are liberated from the two dimension page (or screen) to express their unique content?" Ebon Heath.

Heath questions our relationship we have with typography by creating stunning three dimensional pieces made up of letters from a wide variety of fonts. He brings together spiraling and curling letterforms into layered sculptures that seem to grow and expand as if they were organic themselves. He also experiments into realms of jewelry design, fashion and graphic design, providing an expansive and fascinating body of work, solely built up of these letters. His choice of colour, well lack of substantial colour forces the viewer to focus on the form and shape. The whiteness of the pieces make sure that there is no distractions; the viewer only sees the lettering for what it is. Letters. There is not more I can write without showing his beautiful, delicate and powerful work.

Check out more of his stunning body of work at his website here

Christian

@cjfwatts

Quote of the Week

Sourced

"Sometimes the dreams that come true are the dreams you never even knew you had"

Watercolours by Oriol Angrill Jordà

Jorda is a contemporary Spanish illustrator who uses watercolour and coloured pencil to create beautiful illustrations. He has created fashion illustrations for high profile companies, but recently has created a series combining water landscapes with fashion illustration to form a stunning series called 'Blendscapes'.

As I have a slight design identity crisis as to what kind of designer I am, Illustration is something I have always been interested in. Angrill Jorda's illustration series 'Blendscapes' perfectly captures the beauty that can be achieved in this growing design field. I love the combination of landscapes and portraiture, with a hint of realism thrown in there for good measure!

Jorda creates seemless portraits, half way between fashion illustration and abstract painting. The natural ridges of mountains have been perfectly placed to fit with the hairlines, the collars and the face. The textures; the splashes of colour and the cloudy skylines create stunning depth within the portraits, and the muted pastel colours chosen reflect a dramatic landscape fit for nature itself. I love this series of portraits, and could go on to talk about the rest of Jorda's work, but here is a selection from his 2012 illustration series entitled 'Blendscapes'.

Be sure to check out the rest of his work on his website here

Christian
@cjfwatts