Rose K, Author at Wallpaper Data Wallpaper Data Mon, 11 Dec 2023 11:10:10 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.2 The Tasty Embroideries of Chloë Amy Avery https://wallpaperdata.com/the-tasty-embroideries-of-chloe-amy-avery/ Mon, 11 Dec 2023 08:27:00 +0000 https://wallpaperdata.com/?p=5922 Chloë Amy Avery treats the needle and thread as though they were brush and paint, creating massive embroidered works that eerily remind of realistic paintings. Her work mostly centers around food, understanding her subjects as symbols of memory and culture. “I love to draw, I love food, so I thought why not try using thread as […]

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Chloë Amy Avery treats the needle and thread as though they were brush and paint, creating massive embroidered works that eerily remind of realistic paintings. Her work mostly centers around food, understanding her subjects as symbols of memory and culture.

“I love to draw, I love food, so I thought why not try using thread as a medium and combine the things I love and am interested in?” she explained in an interview with Dark Yellow Dot.

When it comes to the creative process itself, Avery has it down to a science: “I have developed a process that I know works for me in my creative process,” she says. Depending on the piece she’s working on, so will the process vary.

“For my bigger plates of food I cook the dish, compose the food for the correct photo, and then take many photos to capture the food in its best light and composition,” she says. “The other approach I take is to make a colored sketch for a photo I have taken or a combination of photos to create the best image ready to stitch.” She then draws a very basic sketch on fabric and changes it as she goes along.

Aside from food, she also embroiders portraits. Those often feature icons like Iris Apfel and Malala Yousafzai. “I’m always thinking of new ideas and yet there is not enough time to do them all,” she says. “I’m always excited to start new projects.” We’re just as excited!

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Understanding Intimacy Through Art: Hiejin Yoo’s Paintings https://wallpaperdata.com/understanding-intimacy-through-art-hiejin-yoos-paintings/ Mon, 12 Apr 2021 06:48:00 +0000 https://wallpaperdata.com/?p=7857 Describing intimacy to an outsider visiting Earth is as hard as describing color to a blind person. True intimacy is understood through experience, and negotiating feelings through words oftentimes dwindles a complex experience into syllables. And yet, through visual art, such feelings might be better understood. Take for instance Hiejin Yoo’s paintings. Based on daily […]

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Describing intimacy to an outsider visiting Earth is as hard as describing color to a blind person. True intimacy is understood through experience, and negotiating feelings through words oftentimes dwindles a complex experience into syllables. And yet, through visual art, such feelings might be better understood.

Take for instance Hiejin Yoo’s paintings. Based on daily observations, they capture mundane moments—snapshots in time—that make the tapestry of memory and feelings. Moments like reaching out your hands to touch a friend, pet a dog, or grab a fruit.

Mundane events and everyday moments are depicted with large abstracted planes of color and bold, layered marks that evoke the subjectivity of Yoo’s inner life. But oddly enough, these very personal moments have a truthfulness about them that resonates with others.

“The motivations of my works are from very personal stories, but they’re also from everyday life,” shared Yoo in an interview with Juxtapoz. “I’ve met lots of people who have told me personal stories based on their own interpretations of the works, so I think people must be reminiscing about their own personal experiences when they see my work in their homes.”

According to Yoo, being able to express those experiences as paintings and sharing them with other people has been exciting and she’s grateful for it. “I hope those who view my works can also find happiness in their lives when thinking about these moments with their families, friends, or sometimes strangers,” she notes.

It is through these relatable snapshots that a connection is made, and intimacy is being translated to visual experience. “The paintings draw connections between my own personal experiences and those of others,” relays Yoo. “By highlighting and amplifying these moments, my work responds to the otherwise overlooked and underappreciated aspects of daily life. While deeply personal, these works also hint at the ways art can address shared feelings and experiences, whether grandiose or mundane.”

Born in Germany, raised in South Korea, and based in Los Angeles, California since 2015, Yoo admits that painting has been a huge passion throughout her life. “Living in the United States with a Korean cultural background inspires me more because of the differences between them,” she notes.

Scroll down to see some of her recent work.

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We’ve Fallen Head Over Paws for Pom Pom Chewy https://wallpaperdata.com/weve-fallen-head-over-paws-for-pom-pom-chewy/ Mon, 22 Feb 2021 07:06:19 +0000 https://wallpaperdata.com/?p=7591 When it comes to cute pooches in cute outfits, there’s no such thing as too much. But even among fashionable pups, Pom Pom Chewy (or Chewy for short) stands out. Described as the World’s Littlest Trendsetter, Chewy is committed to keeping his title. How committed? Well, according to his owner, he has more outfits than […]

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When it comes to cute pooches in cute outfits, there’s no such thing as too much. But even among fashionable pups, Pom Pom Chewy (or Chewy for short) stands out. Described as the World’s Littlest Trendsetter, Chewy is committed to keeping his title. How committed? Well, according to his owner, he has more outfits than his mom, Nicole, which is quite the accomplishment!

A Pomeranian rescue from Northern Ontario, and currently based in Toronto, Chewy’s enjoys a busy schedule. Both an actor and a model, he has featured in independent films like Humor Me and has been seen on the set of the film The Secret Life of Pets.

According to owner Nicole, Chewy’s career skyrocketed largely thanks to social media: “When I sent photos to friends, I would put different-sized items beside him to show them how small he was,” she shared in an interview with Animal Wellness Magazine. “All the photos went on my personal Instagram and I realized it was slowly becoming his own account.”

These days, Chewy’s wardrobe includes anything from pineapple printed shirts to pinstripe straight-leg pants. He also enjoys sporting trendy eyewear.

“One of my favorite stories about Chewy happened at our first Pet Expo,” recalled Nicole. “A little boy had just got a pair of glasses and was very insecure about them. Chewy loves wearing glasses and happened to be wearing a pair that day. I’ll never forget the moment that little boy saw Chewy with his glasses. Suddenly, it was like glasses were the best thing in the world!”

According to Nicole, Chewy’s favorite pastimes include dressing up to travel, making appearances across North-America, and hopping from one sunny patio to the next. We’d love to come along!

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Russell Shaw’s Design Philosophy Includes a Healthy Dose of Empathy https://wallpaperdata.com/russell-shaws-design-philosophy-includes-a-healthy-dose-of-empathy/ Mon, 25 Jan 2021 06:44:29 +0000 https://wallpaperdata.com/?p=6945 In a world full of mediocre designs and single-use brand identities, Russell Shaw’s design philosophy is a breath of fresh air. “A brand identity is more than a logo,” writes Shaw. “It is a promise, a guarantee, a story.” Shaw, as it turns out, can deliver a story. An award-winning freelance art director, designer, and […]

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In a world full of mediocre designs and single-use brand identities, Russell Shaw’s design philosophy is a breath of fresh air. “A brand identity is more than a logo,” writes Shaw. “It is a promise, a guarantee, a story.” Shaw, as it turns out, can deliver a story.

An award-winning freelance art director, designer, and illustrator, his clients include giants like Porsche, Target, Tesla, New York Magazine, and HarperCollins. Recent projects include branding a bioengineering research lab, designing packaging for Serenbe Foods, and illustrating a unique map of the city of New Orleans for AIGA’s 2015 Conference.

A New York Times best-selling book illustrator and designer, Shaw’s work has received PRINT Magazine’s “Best In Class” designation for hand-lettering, as well as PRINT’s Regional Design Awards, HOW Design’s Marketing and Promotion Awards, and recognition in AIGA, The Dieline, and the Social Good Design Awards.

Describing himself as a maker and a builder, Shaw aims to create brand identity systems through individualized attention and personal relationships that help clients create value in their communities and customers’ lives. According to Shaw, design work should be strong, unique, and ownable so that the personality of the brand is specific to the visual identity to fuel recognition.

At the same time, good design should also be simple enough to be a vessel of that message that others can fill in overtime. But more importantly: design should have a level of empathy—a way to convey the emotional traits of the brand’s personality, and to connect in a way that matters and sticks with the audience on a more personal level.

“Good design cannot fix bad content,” stresses Shaw. “Even if the design of a logo is excellent, if the company proves to be of poor quality or terrible service, over time, we will come to observe the brand’s mark as being representative of something negative.”

Aspiring designers should take note!

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There’s a Sense of Community In Julia Rothman’s Illustrations https://wallpaperdata.com/theres-a-sense-of-community-in-julia-rothmans-illustrations/ Mon, 21 Dec 2020 06:02:29 +0000 https://wallpaperdata.com/?p=6829 Over the past decade or so, Julia Rothman has become a household name amongst illustrators. An illustrator and an author, her work is manifold and includes an illustrated column, Scratch, in The New York Times, more than 10 illustrated books, and co-founding the Women Who Draw project (a directory of female-identifying artists). She’s also a […]

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Over the past decade or so, Julia Rothman has become a household name amongst illustrators. An illustrator and an author, her work is manifold and includes an illustrated column, Scratch, in The New York Times, more than 10 illustrated books, and co-founding the Women Who Draw project (a directory of female-identifying artists). She’s also a seasoned pattern designer with her designs printed on products for brands as big as Urban Outfitters, The Land of Nod, and Garnet Hill.

Based in Brooklyn, New York, her work is rooted in her background and creative upbringing. A colorful documentation of the people she meets and talks to, her illustrations are a celebration of the power of community and togetherness. “I always feel strange about the fact that I haven’t really lived anywhere else besides New York City,” she admitted once in an interview with Grain Edit. “I feel like maybe I haven’t experienced enough. But every time I visit anywhere else, I’m always happy to come home at the end of the trip.”

Like most creatives, she traces back her passion for creativity to when she was but an infant. “I always liked to draw since I as far back as I can remember,” admits Rothman. “I used to win a lot of drawing contests in elementary school. It was never the thing I was going to do with my life, but it was always something I was good at.”

These days, her schedule is filled with creative endeavors. Aside from illustrating, she also has her own line of letterpress stationery with Hello Lucky, office products through Galison, and a wallpaper line through Hygge & West. And if that’s not enough, she also teaches at the School of Visual Arts and runs Ladies Drawing Night, a female-only drink and draw, with Leah Goren and Rachael Cole.

Her illustrations can be found in the New York Times, Cosmopolitan magazine and on a poster displayed throughout the New York City’s subway system as part of the MTA Arts for Transit program. But you can also follow her online, on Instagram for instance. Scroll down to see some recent highlights:

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Scenes of Comfort and Coziness: The Illustrations of Leah Goren https://wallpaperdata.com/scenes-of-comfort-and-coziness-the-illustrations-of-leah-goren/ Mon, 23 Nov 2020 12:12:00 +0000 https://wallpaperdata.com/?p=6801 Leah Goren is the illustrator your favorite illustrator follows. Based in Southern California, she’s amassed a cult following online, thanks to her playful approach to illustration. Drawn mostly by hand, her illustrations tend to portray scenes of everyday life: a woman eating fries and a man scrolling idly on his phone. There’s also a lot […]

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Leah Goren is the illustrator your favorite illustrator follows. Based in Southern California, she’s amassed a cult following online, thanks to her playful approach to illustration. Drawn mostly by hand, her illustrations tend to portray scenes of everyday life: a woman eating fries and a man scrolling idly on his phone. There’s also a lot of house plants.

Having graduated from Parsons School of Design in 2012 with a BFA in Illustration, she has since worked with brands as big as Anthropologie, The New York Times, Penguin Random House, Vanity Fair, and Urban Outfitters.

Aside from being an illustrator, Goren also works as a surface pattern designer (and indeed, scrolling through her Instagram page – her fondness of patterns is evident). “I like making patterns because they repeat endlessly and I don’t feel restricted to containing my drawing within a box,” she admitted in an interview with Spoonflower. “I’m always interested in home interiors, and I’d love to see my patterns on wallpaper or an upholstered chair or couch.”

According to Goren, patterns seem to come easily for her—each, having a clear theme or motif. Her toolbox includes brushes, gouache, ink, watercolor, palettes, a scanner, and Photoshop for finishing touches. “Gouache is my favorite to paint with,” she admits, “but depending on the piece I may use ink or watercolor instead.”

But when it comes to the creative process itself, she tends to stick to a clear schedule. “I usually finish everything from start to finish in one go,” says Goren, “though it may take days or weeks to complete a project depending on my work schedule and the complexity. I draw quickly and loosely and I’m used to the quick turnaround times of commercial illustration.”

Scroll down to see some of her selected work.

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We Can’t Get Enough of Peter Tarka’s Digital Interiors https://wallpaperdata.com/we-cant-get-enough-of-peter-tarkas-digital-interiors/ Mon, 19 Oct 2020 08:36:00 +0000 https://wallpaperdata.com/?p=6749 Award-winning art director, graphic designer, and illustrator Peter Tarka is known for producing immersive illustrations using forms, shapes, and bold colors. His mesmerizing visuals have attracted some of the biggest names in the industry, with brands like Apple, Google, Instagram, Microsoft, and LG all magnetized to his fresh, digital aesthetic. But according to Tarka at least, […]

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Award-winning art director, graphic designer, and illustrator Peter Tarka is known for producing immersive illustrations using forms, shapes, and bold colors. His mesmerizing visuals have attracted some of the biggest names in the industry, with brands like Apple, Google, Instagram, Microsoft, and LG all magnetized to his fresh, digital aesthetic.

But according to Tarka at least, his fascination with digital aesthetics is in part due to his “horrible” drawing skills. “I started pretty early with Photoshop CS2, which I got from my father’s friend (I’m almost sure this was a pirate copy),” he recalled in an interview with Medium. “I always liked drawing, so I started creating really simple stuff with brushes etc…”

After Photoshop came Adobe Illustrator, which introduced him to vector graphics. “In 2011, I started thinking about giving more depth to my illustrations, so I used simple 3D tools from illustrator and then retouched them in Photoshop to give them a more natural feel,” he explains. “After this I moved onto Cinema 4D, which has turned into my main program along with Photoshop.”

Fully self taught, Tarka had originally studied economics but dropped out of school after obtaining a bachelor degree. Jump forward some years later and he now has a following of over 200k on Instagram, and has won many awards (amongst them a Silver Cannes Lions for Art Direction & Design and a Bronze Cannes Lions for Use of Social Platforms).

His advice to other aspiring artists? “Work hard and get enough time of sleep (repeat until the end of your life).”

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Kelly Abeln’s Autobiographical Comics are the Meaning of Candid https://wallpaperdata.com/kelly-abelns-autobiographical-comics-are-the-meaning-of-candid/ Mon, 14 Sep 2020 08:38:00 +0000 https://wallpaperdata.com/?p=6694 What first drew us to Kelly Abeln was her candid approach to illustration. Her autobiographical comics turns the most mundane things into bite-sized illustration that pack a punch. Based in Minneapolis, MN, Abeln freelances full-time from her home studio, working on a variety of illustration and design projects for clients, alongside her more personal projects. […]

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What first drew us to Kelly Abeln was her candid approach to illustration. Her autobiographical comics turns the most mundane things into bite-sized illustration that pack a punch. Based in Minneapolis, MN, Abeln freelances full-time from her home studio, working on a variety of illustration and design projects for clients, alongside her more personal projects.

“I love that what I want to do aligns with how I support myself,” she once remarked in an interview with MCAD Alumni. “I also love seeing people’s reactions to my work and that I get to see things I create out in the world. The variety of working from home, working on a contract assignment, and personal projects keeps things interesting.”

Having received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration with a concentration in Graphic Design from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, she admits she chose illustration because she wanted to draw and paint but was more interested in commercial than fine arts as a career. “Illustration classes were pretty open and let you experiment and find your style,” explained Abeln. “I also liked the formality of graphic design classes; learning grids and rules was a good balance to the openness of illustration.”

According to Abeln, once she started making comics she found they were the perfect way to get her autobiographical stories all out and release them. But ultimately her work takes a lot of work. “Inspiration comes from working,” she says. “Just keep making stuff and ideas will come.”

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The Editorial Comic Art of Ana Galvañ https://wallpaperdata.com/the-editorial-comic-art-of-ana-galvan/ Mon, 10 Aug 2020 06:58:00 +0000 https://wallpaperdata.com/?p=6644 Freelance illustrator, Ana Galvañ, creates images that are halfway between comics and editorial art. A rising star in the illustration scene, her work has appeared in publications coordinated by Fantagraphics, Nobrow, Ultrarradio, Vertigo DC, Off Life, Autsáider, Apa-Apa, and Fosfatina. She has also published a 64-pages story with Apa Apa cómics. “I’m a comic book artist by […]

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Freelance illustrator, Ana Galvañ, creates images that are halfway between comics and editorial art. A rising star in the illustration scene, her work has appeared in publications coordinated by Fantagraphics, Nobrow, Ultrarradio, Vertigo DC, Off Life, Autsáider, Apa-Apa, and Fosfatina. She has also published a 64-pages story with Apa Apa cómics.

“I’m a comic book artist by nature, rather than an illustrator, so there’s always this narrative element present in my pieces, even when I make a single illustration,” she remarked once in an interview with the WeTransfer blog. Indeed, each piece has a nugget of narrative within it, enticing the viewer.

Based in Spain, Galvañ studied at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Valencia, before moving to Madrid, where she worked as an Art Director. More recently, she left advertising to pursue comics and illustration full time. Her visual language is very wholesome, and includes bright colors and overlapping geometrical shapes. Galvañ also likes adding a textured feel to her work – a graininess that also makes her work more comics-like. “I have always tried to remove the coldness from my digital works, adding worn textures or screen dots,” she notes. “I also usually add some vintage Photoshop filters, which change the original colors.”


“I like to work on imaginary worlds in which any surreal event is possible,” she adds, “but it’s based on realistic surroundings. In that way, the surprise of absurd scenarios causes a bigger impact. I guess creating fantastic universes is one of the reasons I like to draw and tell stories.”

Follow her visual stories on Instagram:

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Beth Hoeckel’s Collage Art is Part Vintage, Part Futuristic https://wallpaperdata.com/beth-hoeckels-collage-art-is-part-vintage-part-futuristic/ Mon, 06 Jul 2020 05:39:00 +0000 https://wallpaperdata.com/?p=6263 Collage artist Beth Hoeckel makes the case for “more is more.” Born and raised in Baltimore, MD and now based in Austin TX, Hoeckel earned a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she studied painting, photography, and printmaking—but, her main area of expertise is in the medium of collage. Over […]

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Collage artist Beth Hoeckel makes the case for “more is more.” Born and raised in Baltimore, MD and now based in Austin TX, Hoeckel earned a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she studied painting, photography, and printmaking—but, her main area of expertise is in the medium of collage.

Over the past 5 years, her work has been exhibited around the world and published in many prestigious books and magazines, with selected clients including Rookie, Domino, The New York Times, and many more. But mostly, she can found creating collage and mixed media art for arts’ sake.

An avid collector of vintage ephemera, her collages are made of images cut from vintage publications ranging from the 1920’s to the 1970’s. “In my earlier work, I’ve used a lot of imagery from National Geographic and other magazines that were super widely published,” she shared with society6’s blog. “Now I try to really search and find more unique things, but it’s definitely more spontaneous.”

With her creative process relying as much on intuition as it does on careful planning, the end result comes as a pleasant surprise. “I love to mindlessly flip through pages and then tear out any page that I like or that speaks to me in some way,” says Hoeckel. “The next step is cutting out specific bits from those pages and then I scan them. I used to do everything totally analog, but now I am working on digitizing a lot of my materials and putting them on a hard drive so that everything can be portable. But basically I am extremely intuitive and so the whole process is informed by my subconscious. That includes knowing when a work is complete. It’s 100% based on feeling.”

Her Instagram page awakens our inner artist.

View this post on Instagram

#socialdistancing < #socialmediadistancing

A post shared by Beth Hoeckel (@bethhoeckel) on

View this post on Instagram

Organized chaos, the beth hoeckel story

A post shared by Beth Hoeckel (@bethhoeckel) on

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BE MINE 💋🎂🍓🍫. (Originally for newyorker.com)

A post shared by Beth Hoeckel (@bethhoeckel) on

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ersion="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> Rose K, Author at Wallpaper Data Wallpaper Data Mon, 11 Dec 2023 11:10:10 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.2 The Tasty Embroideries of Chloë Amy Avery https://wallpaperdata.com/the-tasty-embroideries-of-chloe-amy-avery/ Mon, 11 Dec 2023 08:27:00 +0000 https://wallpaperdata.com/?p=5922 Chloë Amy Avery treats the needle and thread as though they were brush and paint, creating massive embroidered works that eerily remind of realistic paintings. Her work mostly centers around food, understanding her subjects as symbols of memory and culture. “I love to draw, I love food, so I thought why not try using thread as […]

The post The Tasty Embroideries of Chloë Amy Avery appeared first on Wallpaper Data.

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Chloë Amy Avery treats the needle and thread as though they were brush and paint, creating massive embroidered works that eerily remind of realistic paintings. Her work mostly centers around food, understanding her subjects as symbols of memory and culture.

“I love to draw, I love food, so I thought why not try using thread as a medium and combine the things I love and am interested in?” she explained in an interview with Dark Yellow Dot.

When it comes to the creative process itself, Avery has it down to a science: “I have developed a process that I know works for me in my creative process,” she says. Depending on the piece she’s working on, so will the process vary.

“For my bigger plates of food I cook the dish, compose the food for the correct photo, and then take many photos to capture the food in its best light and composition,” she says. “The other approach I take is to make a colored sketch for a photo I have taken or a combination of photos to create the best image ready to stitch.” She then draws a very basic sketch on fabric and changes it as she goes along.

Aside from food, she also embroiders portraits. Those often feature icons like Iris Apfel and Malala Yousafzai. “I’m always thinking of new ideas and yet there is not enough time to do them all,” she says. “I’m always excited to start new projects.” We’re just as excited!

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Understanding Intimacy Through Art: Hiejin Yoo’s Paintings https://wallpaperdata.com/understanding-intimacy-through-art-hiejin-yoos-paintings/ Mon, 12 Apr 2021 06:48:00 +0000 https://wallpaperdata.com/?p=7857 Describing intimacy to an outsider visiting Earth is as hard as describing color to a blind person. True intimacy is understood through experience, and negotiating feelings through words oftentimes dwindles a complex experience into syllables. And yet, through visual art, such feelings might be better understood. Take for instance Hiejin Yoo’s paintings. Based on daily […]

The post Understanding Intimacy Through Art: Hiejin Yoo’s Paintings appeared first on Wallpaper Data.

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Describing intimacy to an outsider visiting Earth is as hard as describing color to a blind person. True intimacy is understood through experience, and negotiating feelings through words oftentimes dwindles a complex experience into syllables. And yet, through visual art, such feelings might be better understood.

Take for instance Hiejin Yoo’s paintings. Based on daily observations, they capture mundane moments—snapshots in time—that make the tapestry of memory and feelings. Moments like reaching out your hands to touch a friend, pet a dog, or grab a fruit.

Mundane events and everyday moments are depicted with large abstracted planes of color and bold, layered marks that evoke the subjectivity of Yoo’s inner life. But oddly enough, these very personal moments have a truthfulness about them that resonates with others.

“The motivations of my works are from very personal stories, but they’re also from everyday life,” shared Yoo in an interview with Juxtapoz. “I’ve met lots of people who have told me personal stories based on their own interpretations of the works, so I think people must be reminiscing about their own personal experiences when they see my work in their homes.”

According to Yoo, being able to express those experiences as paintings and sharing them with other people has been exciting and she’s grateful for it. “I hope those who view my works can also find happiness in their lives when thinking about these moments with their families, friends, or sometimes strangers,” she notes.

It is through these relatable snapshots that a connection is made, and intimacy is being translated to visual experience. “The paintings draw connections between my own personal experiences and those of others,” relays Yoo. “By highlighting and amplifying these moments, my work responds to the otherwise overlooked and underappreciated aspects of daily life. While deeply personal, these works also hint at the ways art can address shared feelings and experiences, whether grandiose or mundane.”

Born in Germany, raised in South Korea, and based in Los Angeles, California since 2015, Yoo admits that painting has been a huge passion throughout her life. “Living in the United States with a Korean cultural background inspires me more because of the differences between them,” she notes.

Scroll down to see some of her recent work.

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We’ve Fallen Head Over Paws for Pom Pom Chewy https://wallpaperdata.com/weve-fallen-head-over-paws-for-pom-pom-chewy/ Mon, 22 Feb 2021 07:06:19 +0000 https://wallpaperdata.com/?p=7591 When it comes to cute pooches in cute outfits, there’s no such thing as too much. But even among fashionable pups, Pom Pom Chewy (or Chewy for short) stands out. Described as the World’s Littlest Trendsetter, Chewy is committed to keeping his title. How committed? Well, according to his owner, he has more outfits than […]

The post We’ve Fallen Head Over Paws for Pom Pom Chewy appeared first on Wallpaper Data.

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When it comes to cute pooches in cute outfits, there’s no such thing as too much. But even among fashionable pups, Pom Pom Chewy (or Chewy for short) stands out. Described as the World’s Littlest Trendsetter, Chewy is committed to keeping his title. How committed? Well, according to his owner, he has more outfits than his mom, Nicole, which is quite the accomplishment!

A Pomeranian rescue from Northern Ontario, and currently based in Toronto, Chewy’s enjoys a busy schedule. Both an actor and a model, he has featured in independent films like Humor Me and has been seen on the set of the film The Secret Life of Pets.

According to owner Nicole, Chewy’s career skyrocketed largely thanks to social media: “When I sent photos to friends, I would put different-sized items beside him to show them how small he was,” she shared in an interview with Animal Wellness Magazine. “All the photos went on my personal Instagram and I realized it was slowly becoming his own account.”

These days, Chewy’s wardrobe includes anything from pineapple printed shirts to pinstripe straight-leg pants. He also enjoys sporting trendy eyewear.

“One of my favorite stories about Chewy happened at our first Pet Expo,” recalled Nicole. “A little boy had just got a pair of glasses and was very insecure about them. Chewy loves wearing glasses and happened to be wearing a pair that day. I’ll never forget the moment that little boy saw Chewy with his glasses. Suddenly, it was like glasses were the best thing in the world!”

According to Nicole, Chewy’s favorite pastimes include dressing up to travel, making appearances across North-America, and hopping from one sunny patio to the next. We’d love to come along!

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Russell Shaw’s Design Philosophy Includes a Healthy Dose of Empathy https://wallpaperdata.com/russell-shaws-design-philosophy-includes-a-healthy-dose-of-empathy/ Mon, 25 Jan 2021 06:44:29 +0000 https://wallpaperdata.com/?p=6945 In a world full of mediocre designs and single-use brand identities, Russell Shaw’s design philosophy is a breath of fresh air. “A brand identity is more than a logo,” writes Shaw. “It is a promise, a guarantee, a story.” Shaw, as it turns out, can deliver a story. An award-winning freelance art director, designer, and […]

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In a world full of mediocre designs and single-use brand identities, Russell Shaw’s design philosophy is a breath of fresh air. “A brand identity is more than a logo,” writes Shaw. “It is a promise, a guarantee, a story.” Shaw, as it turns out, can deliver a story.

An award-winning freelance art director, designer, and illustrator, his clients include giants like Porsche, Target, Tesla, New York Magazine, and HarperCollins. Recent projects include branding a bioengineering research lab, designing packaging for Serenbe Foods, and illustrating a unique map of the city of New Orleans for AIGA’s 2015 Conference.

A New York Times best-selling book illustrator and designer, Shaw’s work has received PRINT Magazine’s “Best In Class” designation for hand-lettering, as well as PRINT’s Regional Design Awards, HOW Design’s Marketing and Promotion Awards, and recognition in AIGA, The Dieline, and the Social Good Design Awards.

Describing himself as a maker and a builder, Shaw aims to create brand identity systems through individualized attention and personal relationships that help clients create value in their communities and customers’ lives. According to Shaw, design work should be strong, unique, and ownable so that the personality of the brand is specific to the visual identity to fuel recognition.

At the same time, good design should also be simple enough to be a vessel of that message that others can fill in overtime. But more importantly: design should have a level of empathy—a way to convey the emotional traits of the brand’s personality, and to connect in a way that matters and sticks with the audience on a more personal level.

“Good design cannot fix bad content,” stresses Shaw. “Even if the design of a logo is excellent, if the company proves to be of poor quality or terrible service, over time, we will come to observe the brand’s mark as being representative of something negative.”

Aspiring designers should take note!

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There’s a Sense of Community In Julia Rothman’s Illustrations https://wallpaperdata.com/theres-a-sense-of-community-in-julia-rothmans-illustrations/ Mon, 21 Dec 2020 06:02:29 +0000 https://wallpaperdata.com/?p=6829 Over the past decade or so, Julia Rothman has become a household name amongst illustrators. An illustrator and an author, her work is manifold and includes an illustrated column, Scratch, in The New York Times, more than 10 illustrated books, and co-founding the Women Who Draw project (a directory of female-identifying artists). She’s also a […]

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Over the past decade or so, Julia Rothman has become a household name amongst illustrators. An illustrator and an author, her work is manifold and includes an illustrated column, Scratch, in The New York Times, more than 10 illustrated books, and co-founding the Women Who Draw project (a directory of female-identifying artists). She’s also a seasoned pattern designer with her designs printed on products for brands as big as Urban Outfitters, The Land of Nod, and Garnet Hill.

Based in Brooklyn, New York, her work is rooted in her background and creative upbringing. A colorful documentation of the people she meets and talks to, her illustrations are a celebration of the power of community and togetherness. “I always feel strange about the fact that I haven’t really lived anywhere else besides New York City,” she admitted once in an interview with Grain Edit. “I feel like maybe I haven’t experienced enough. But every time I visit anywhere else, I’m always happy to come home at the end of the trip.”

Like most creatives, she traces back her passion for creativity to when she was but an infant. “I always liked to draw since I as far back as I can remember,” admits Rothman. “I used to win a lot of drawing contests in elementary school. It was never the thing I was going to do with my life, but it was always something I was good at.”

These days, her schedule is filled with creative endeavors. Aside from illustrating, she also has her own line of letterpress stationery with Hello Lucky, office products through Galison, and a wallpaper line through Hygge & West. And if that’s not enough, she also teaches at the School of Visual Arts and runs Ladies Drawing Night, a female-only drink and draw, with Leah Goren and Rachael Cole.

Her illustrations can be found in the New York Times, Cosmopolitan magazine and on a poster displayed throughout the New York City’s subway system as part of the MTA Arts for Transit program. But you can also follow her online, on Instagram for instance. Scroll down to see some recent highlights:

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Scenes of Comfort and Coziness: The Illustrations of Leah Goren https://wallpaperdata.com/scenes-of-comfort-and-coziness-the-illustrations-of-leah-goren/ Mon, 23 Nov 2020 12:12:00 +0000 https://wallpaperdata.com/?p=6801 Leah Goren is the illustrator your favorite illustrator follows. Based in Southern California, she’s amassed a cult following online, thanks to her playful approach to illustration. Drawn mostly by hand, her illustrations tend to portray scenes of everyday life: a woman eating fries and a man scrolling idly on his phone. There’s also a lot […]

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Leah Goren is the illustrator your favorite illustrator follows. Based in Southern California, she’s amassed a cult following online, thanks to her playful approach to illustration. Drawn mostly by hand, her illustrations tend to portray scenes of everyday life: a woman eating fries and a man scrolling idly on his phone. There’s also a lot of house plants.

Having graduated from Parsons School of Design in 2012 with a BFA in Illustration, she has since worked with brands as big as Anthropologie, The New York Times, Penguin Random House, Vanity Fair, and Urban Outfitters.

Aside from being an illustrator, Goren also works as a surface pattern designer (and indeed, scrolling through her Instagram page – her fondness of patterns is evident). “I like making patterns because they repeat endlessly and I don’t feel restricted to containing my drawing within a box,” she admitted in an interview with Spoonflower. “I’m always interested in home interiors, and I’d love to see my patterns on wallpaper or an upholstered chair or couch.”

According to Goren, patterns seem to come easily for her—each, having a clear theme or motif. Her toolbox includes brushes, gouache, ink, watercolor, palettes, a scanner, and Photoshop for finishing touches. “Gouache is my favorite to paint with,” she admits, “but depending on the piece I may use ink or watercolor instead.”

But when it comes to the creative process itself, she tends to stick to a clear schedule. “I usually finish everything from start to finish in one go,” says Goren, “though it may take days or weeks to complete a project depending on my work schedule and the complexity. I draw quickly and loosely and I’m used to the quick turnaround times of commercial illustration.”

Scroll down to see some of her selected work.

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We Can’t Get Enough of Peter Tarka’s Digital Interiors https://wallpaperdata.com/we-cant-get-enough-of-peter-tarkas-digital-interiors/ Mon, 19 Oct 2020 08:36:00 +0000 https://wallpaperdata.com/?p=6749 Award-winning art director, graphic designer, and illustrator Peter Tarka is known for producing immersive illustrations using forms, shapes, and bold colors. His mesmerizing visuals have attracted some of the biggest names in the industry, with brands like Apple, Google, Instagram, Microsoft, and LG all magnetized to his fresh, digital aesthetic. But according to Tarka at least, […]

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Award-winning art director, graphic designer, and illustrator Peter Tarka is known for producing immersive illustrations using forms, shapes, and bold colors. His mesmerizing visuals have attracted some of the biggest names in the industry, with brands like Apple, Google, Instagram, Microsoft, and LG all magnetized to his fresh, digital aesthetic.

But according to Tarka at least, his fascination with digital aesthetics is in part due to his “horrible” drawing skills. “I started pretty early with Photoshop CS2, which I got from my father’s friend (I’m almost sure this was a pirate copy),” he recalled in an interview with Medium. “I always liked drawing, so I started creating really simple stuff with brushes etc…”

After Photoshop came Adobe Illustrator, which introduced him to vector graphics. “In 2011, I started thinking about giving more depth to my illustrations, so I used simple 3D tools from illustrator and then retouched them in Photoshop to give them a more natural feel,” he explains. “After this I moved onto Cinema 4D, which has turned into my main program along with Photoshop.”

Fully self taught, Tarka had originally studied economics but dropped out of school after obtaining a bachelor degree. Jump forward some years later and he now has a following of over 200k on Instagram, and has won many awards (amongst them a Silver Cannes Lions for Art Direction & Design and a Bronze Cannes Lions for Use of Social Platforms).

His advice to other aspiring artists? “Work hard and get enough time of sleep (repeat until the end of your life).”

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Kelly Abeln’s Autobiographical Comics are the Meaning of Candid https://wallpaperdata.com/kelly-abelns-autobiographical-comics-are-the-meaning-of-candid/ Mon, 14 Sep 2020 08:38:00 +0000 https://wallpaperdata.com/?p=6694 What first drew us to Kelly Abeln was her candid approach to illustration. Her autobiographical comics turns the most mundane things into bite-sized illustration that pack a punch. Based in Minneapolis, MN, Abeln freelances full-time from her home studio, working on a variety of illustration and design projects for clients, alongside her more personal projects. […]

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What first drew us to Kelly Abeln was her candid approach to illustration. Her autobiographical comics turns the most mundane things into bite-sized illustration that pack a punch. Based in Minneapolis, MN, Abeln freelances full-time from her home studio, working on a variety of illustration and design projects for clients, alongside her more personal projects.

“I love that what I want to do aligns with how I support myself,” she once remarked in an interview with MCAD Alumni. “I also love seeing people’s reactions to my work and that I get to see things I create out in the world. The variety of working from home, working on a contract assignment, and personal projects keeps things interesting.”

Having received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration with a concentration in Graphic Design from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, she admits she chose illustration because she wanted to draw and paint but was more interested in commercial than fine arts as a career. “Illustration classes were pretty open and let you experiment and find your style,” explained Abeln. “I also liked the formality of graphic design classes; learning grids and rules was a good balance to the openness of illustration.”

According to Abeln, once she started making comics she found they were the perfect way to get her autobiographical stories all out and release them. But ultimately her work takes a lot of work. “Inspiration comes from working,” she says. “Just keep making stuff and ideas will come.”

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The Editorial Comic Art of Ana Galvañ https://wallpaperdata.com/the-editorial-comic-art-of-ana-galvan/ Mon, 10 Aug 2020 06:58:00 +0000 https://wallpaperdata.com/?p=6644 Freelance illustrator, Ana Galvañ, creates images that are halfway between comics and editorial art. A rising star in the illustration scene, her work has appeared in publications coordinated by Fantagraphics, Nobrow, Ultrarradio, Vertigo DC, Off Life, Autsáider, Apa-Apa, and Fosfatina. She has also published a 64-pages story with Apa Apa cómics. “I’m a comic book artist by […]

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Freelance illustrator, Ana Galvañ, creates images that are halfway between comics and editorial art. A rising star in the illustration scene, her work has appeared in publications coordinated by Fantagraphics, Nobrow, Ultrarradio, Vertigo DC, Off Life, Autsáider, Apa-Apa, and Fosfatina. She has also published a 64-pages story with Apa Apa cómics.

“I’m a comic book artist by nature, rather than an illustrator, so there’s always this narrative element present in my pieces, even when I make a single illustration,” she remarked once in an interview with the WeTransfer blog. Indeed, each piece has a nugget of narrative within it, enticing the viewer.

Based in Spain, Galvañ studied at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Valencia, before moving to Madrid, where she worked as an Art Director. More recently, she left advertising to pursue comics and illustration full time. Her visual language is very wholesome, and includes bright colors and overlapping geometrical shapes. Galvañ also likes adding a textured feel to her work – a graininess that also makes her work more comics-like. “I have always tried to remove the coldness from my digital works, adding worn textures or screen dots,” she notes. “I also usually add some vintage Photoshop filters, which change the original colors.”


“I like to work on imaginary worlds in which any surreal event is possible,” she adds, “but it’s based on realistic surroundings. In that way, the surprise of absurd scenarios causes a bigger impact. I guess creating fantastic universes is one of the reasons I like to draw and tell stories.”

Follow her visual stories on Instagram:

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Beth Hoeckel’s Collage Art is Part Vintage, Part Futuristic https://wallpaperdata.com/beth-hoeckels-collage-art-is-part-vintage-part-futuristic/ Mon, 06 Jul 2020 05:39:00 +0000 https://wallpaperdata.com/?p=6263 Collage artist Beth Hoeckel makes the case for “more is more.” Born and raised in Baltimore, MD and now based in Austin TX, Hoeckel earned a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she studied painting, photography, and printmaking—but, her main area of expertise is in the medium of collage. Over […]

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Collage artist Beth Hoeckel makes the case for “more is more.” Born and raised in Baltimore, MD and now based in Austin TX, Hoeckel earned a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she studied painting, photography, and printmaking—but, her main area of expertise is in the medium of collage.

Over the past 5 years, her work has been exhibited around the world and published in many prestigious books and magazines, with selected clients including Rookie, Domino, The New York Times, and many more. But mostly, she can found creating collage and mixed media art for arts’ sake.

An avid collector of vintage ephemera, her collages are made of images cut from vintage publications ranging from the 1920’s to the 1970’s. “In my earlier work, I’ve used a lot of imagery from National Geographic and other magazines that were super widely published,” she shared with society6’s blog. “Now I try to really search and find more unique things, but it’s definitely more spontaneous.”

With her creative process relying as much on intuition as it does on careful planning, the end result comes as a pleasant surprise. “I love to mindlessly flip through pages and then tear out any page that I like or that speaks to me in some way,” says Hoeckel. “The next step is cutting out specific bits from those pages and then I scan them. I used to do everything totally analog, but now I am working on digitizing a lot of my materials and putting them on a hard drive so that everything can be portable. But basically I am extremely intuitive and so the whole process is informed by my subconscious. That includes knowing when a work is complete. It’s 100% based on feeling.”

Her Instagram page awakens our inner artist.

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#socialdistancing < #socialmediadistancing

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Organized chaos, the beth hoeckel story

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BE MINE 💋🎂🍓🍫. (Originally for newyorker.com)

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