christina ung

i recently came across christina's work and i think i like it a lot. she graduated from sheridan a couple of years ago. i haven't seen her work in any mags or anything yet but i'm guessing that that will be remedied quite a bit if she continues to improve. you can check out her blog here too.

andy warhol

i had no idea andrew warhola actually worked as an illustrator for a time. not an earth shattering tidbit of info but i find that interesting, nonetheless.

( type + design ) x donny = ???

i think this will turn into a yearly thing but i decided at the very last minute to design my sister's birthday card yet again. i had a blast doing this and i will once again cop to the excuse that i only did this in a few hours...although maybe that was too much time! i'm not very well versed in typography but i'm really fascinated with the subject. those more in the know are probably very aware of the influences i have so far in this little homage. i think i'm going to try and design my own christmas cards this year instead of buying.

i took advantage of the fact that greeting cards can be displayed both ways. thematically, the design works better vertically but i think it's more appealing visually when viewed horizontally. which do you prefer?

sam weber

sam is jillian's husband. that's how i found out about him. these two are gonna have some pretty talented little kiddies, ha ha. i had seen his (and her) work quite a few times online and in magazines before really knowing it was his. anyway, he recently redesigned his site (no pop ups!) and i am all for the minimalist approach to it. his work is pretty spectacular. it seems to usually have a dark undertone to it yet everything looks elaborately delicate.

amanda nedham

i was able to check out amanda's tapping the admiral show at the le gallery and i have to say her drawings up close are incredible. i first heard of amanda through blogTO where she has a feature. when i first saw some of her drawings there, i thought they were pretty great. well put together. deconstructed. detailed. elaborate. painterly. i could go on. when she launched her site, the thumbnails showed a whole other dimension to her work. seeing it up close only awed me even more. if you have a chance and you're in the toronto area, check out her stuff while it's still there. i haven't touched graphite in the longest time but i'm now inspired to go back to it. just as soon as i'm done the projects i'm already working on. i hope.

irving penn

mr. penn passed away this week. i'm not very knowledgeable on the subject photography in general but i think it's safe to say the he was one of the pioneering fashion photographers whose body of work is quite vast and impressive. his portraits were so very amazing, especially considering how he chose to light them. i'm glad he lived a full life. it seems that his stuff when produced was too ahead of its time to be appreciated fully but i like to think that he lived long enough to see it understood and appreciated.

liisa

liisa is a toronto girl that you've probably walked by and maybe noted her 5'11" frame (amazons!!!) but you've probably seen her in many a fashion magazine and not realised it. her mouth is what helps me immediately recognise her but she's otherwise quite chameleon-like to me like another model i seem to like to try and draw. i'm told she is quite the antimodel, from an attitude perspective, which is always a good thing. i can't remember where i got this image from but i may try and take this further, illustration wise. liisa winkler in moleskine.