Here I’d like to showcase a few of my favorite pieces by Nomi Chi.
I wish the images were larger so I could see the details…
See more here.
Last year I stumbled upon the work of the talented Mr Mead and have been meaning to post about him ever since.
I adore his collection of dark and dapper characters.
There are many fetching foxes to be found…
If you want to see a stunning time lapse video chronicling the creation of Captain James McWolfson (pictured below), click here.
The video was a reminder to check the dimensions when I view pieces of artwork online. I would have loved this illustration if it were on a small sheet of paper…the fact that it’s 6′ tall is all the more impressive.
I might actually play cards if these characters graced a deck in my home.

I think I will start emailing this to people as a birthday greeting (with proper credit and linking to the artist, of course):

More amazing bits on his website and blog. Be sure to watch the films too!
Well, these are some wild lips, indeed (pun intended)! Paige Thompson has an adorable series of animal lipstick designs on her DeviantART site.
See more of her work here.
The following illustrations come from a book written and illustrated by Antonio Rubino (auto-translated link) in the 1920’s. The title is genius: Le Avventure Lunari di Una Bambina Lunatica (The Lunar Adventures of a Moody Little Girl).
She is carried across the sky by the little creatures in her hair (a unique methods of transportation, indeed).
I would very much like to know more about this little spitfire’s adventures. Too bad information on this series is fairly scarce.
Mermaids have a rich (rather culturally diverse) folklore surrounding them. What do you envision when you hear the word “mermaid?” An illustrious beauty with long, flowing hair?
Well, consider some renditions from 19th century Japan.
These illustrations range from about 1805-1840.
Apparently, reports of mermaid encounters were quite common during this time period…though undoubtedly far less desirable than running into one of our own culturally appropriated versions of the creature.
Oh boy…one of these years I’m going to hop on board for a Crafty Chica Cruise. This looks like so much fun!
Art swaps, workshops (all supplies included), demos, prizes, a 24 hour craft room…along with the regular culinary and scenic delights of a cruise. I’ll be smack in the middle of my spring semester, buried in Integrative Medicine so I have no hope of attending, but it seems fantastic.
See more info here (and if anyone goes, please tell me how it is!).
Happy 2012, folks!
I enjoyed this vintage glimpse of New Years past as the clock wound down last night.
Followed by the smooooooth sounds of Trololo:
Here’s a nice little 2012 collage by Marko Purac:

The companion piece actually reminds me a bit more of my feelings about 2011:

Here’s another that’s been circulating, by Trevor Brown:

And this is one of my all time favorite New Years cards (date unknown). Judging from the picture, “the pace that kills” is probably about 15 miles per hour.

WordPress sent me a note chronicling my top 5 most popular posts of 2011. I was kind of hoping I could find my top 5 LEAST popular ones and list them here for the fun of it…but there’s no easy way to access that. So, in case you missed them, the “top 5” (not necessarily written in the past year) are:
Pumpkin Megapost
Ernst Haeckel
Halloween Wedding Cakes
Owl Tattoos
Sushi Cake
Hope everyone has a lovely day today…
Apparently, it was tradition for Russian New Years cards to incorporate some Christmas themes.

What is it time to do, folks? So mysterious…

I love this hair. It reminds me of a cat.

I’m sure this story makes sense…somehow.

Love the combo of memento mori symbolism with the cherubic little creature holding them…

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I recently came across Sketchbook Jack while searching for various holiday character illustrations.
I really enjoy his rendition of Scrooge and the ghosts:

I wish I had been aware of this work in time for Halloween so I could have featured these snazzy greeting cards (sold at the Jack and Till Etsy store).
Sketchbook Jack’s professional resume is quite impressive. And you can see more illustrations here.
Claude Verlinde is responsible for one of the paintings I would most like to live in:
He has a few delightful book scenes in his gallery.
This is his magical concept of a library:

I’m forever on a quest for hourglass representations in art, so I was happy to find this:
And of course I must feature his wonderful work with skeletons…
Step into more of Verlinde’s surreal scenes here (click on the images to see detailed larger sizes).