Artwork of the Week: How Far is Far?

An illustration from How Far is Far? written by Alvin Tresselt

illustrated by Ward Brackett, 1964

There are some other beautiful illustrations in How Far is Far?, but this simple tear through the drawing is my favorite. 

- Cathleen 

[Source: myvintagebookcollection] 

Artwork of the Week: Thumbs Up

Thumb by Marcus Oakley

As a rounder faced preteen, I was notorious for flashing thumbs up in photos. I was never much for the peace sign. Nor was I ever edgy enough to go for the bird. It was the thumb for me all the way. Those pictures are now a terribly embarrassing reminder of how totally radical I thought I was. 

[Speaking of which, The Awkward Years Project deals in just this sort of thing.] 

This thumb and eleven finger salute is a square drawing by London artist Marcus Oakley that a professional thumb gesticulator like myself can fully endorse. 

- Cathleen 

Artist of the Week: Darrah Gooden

Felix Fox Print, 8.5"x 8.5"

$14 from tinyfawn on Etsy

These sweet animal portraits are reproductions of original paper collages on canvas created by artist Darrah Gooden of Dallas, TX. They remind me a lot of Eric Carle and Ezra Jack Keats illustrations; so simple and eloquent. I think they'd look perfect in a child's room or nursery, don't you? Check out more of Darrah's handiwork in her shop, Tiny Fawn on Etsy. 

Francis Bird, 8.5"x 8.5"

$14 from tinyfawn on Etsy

Ember Bunny, 8.5"x 8.5"

$14 from tinyfawn on Etsy

Linus Bear, 8.5"x 8.5"

$14 from tinyfawn on Etsy

Tito Tortoise, 8.5"x 8.5"

$14 from tinyfawn on Etsy

- Cathleen 

Artwork of the Week: Butterfly Wings

Bird in Flight, $39 via xpltx904 on Ebay

made with butterfly wings from Malawi Africa, framed 9 x 11"

Butterfly wing art, a popular motif in jewelry from the 1920s-1950s in England, can also be found in a lot of more recently made South American tourist items depicting tropical scenery and kaleidoscopic patterns on trays and other travel souvenirs. I prefer the bird and animal collages created from these gossamer fragments and mounted under glass. They remind me a lot of the work of Giuseppe Arcimboldo, known for his painted assemblages of fruits and vegetables that formed highly detailed portraits of people's faces. But in this case, I really love the representation of flying things made from other flying things. 

Some of the winged images I've included here are vintage and some are from today, but all of them, in my opinion, are pretty amazing. 

Two Parrots on a Branch, $24.95 via rubisco on Etsy

made with butterfly wings from Nigeria, framed 10.25 x 8"

Gazelle Antelope Goat Animal, $39.95 via udderlygoodstuff on Ebay

from Cameroon West Africa, framed 8.5 x 11"

The Parrot, $29 via xpltx904 on Ebay

made with eight different species of butterfly wing, framed 6 x 8"

Set of Two Parrots, $178.55 via michlilypoppy2010 on Ebay

framed 42 x 26 cm each

Birds, $45.99 via illkniterate on Etsy

vintage 1980s, framed 22.5 x 17.5"

- Cathleen 

ArtWORK of the Week : Matt Wisniewski

Matt Wisniewski seamlessly combines images he finds on Tumblr into some seriously stellar digital collages. His website features a pretty nice collection, but this one is by far my favorite. 

- Cathleen 

[image via Matt Wisniewski, discovered through thisiscolossal.com]