Monthly Archives: June 2017

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Oamul Lu

June 30, 2017 12:03 AM \

Wish we could post all the work of Chinese illustrator Oamul Lu but unfortunately space is limited. The Xiamen-based artist works primarily in paints and watercolors but has also dabbled in animation and hand-carved sculptures. We love the simplicity and innocent quality of his illustrations depicting a lot of what he has seen, heard and experienced in daily life. In an interview on Medium he says this about his background and illustration influences:
“I always liked drawing when I was younger, but I had no idea it was something I could do full-time. I didn’t even know the word for “illustrator” (插画家) when I started! My only official training comes from those run-of-the-mill art classes in high school — the kind where you learn basic watercolors and sketching, and then there are tests.”

“I studied interior design in college, and it wasn’t until after I graduated and moved to Xiamen that I ended up befriending a lot of illustrators and started to draw again.”

“A friend told me that my work was good enough to maybe earn money off of, so I just started trying it out. Eventually, publishers started contacting me and asking to put my work in magazines. In 2014, I quit my job and started illustrating full-time.”

“Nature has always been a big inspiration. My ancestral home is a small town in the mountains, so growing up I spent a lot of time around mountains and plants. These days, I like to pick places with really unique natural landscapes when I go traveling.”

You can find the artist on his website, Behance, Instagram, Tumbler and Facebook.

Images: Courtesy of Oamul Lu.

Posted in: Illustration

Bella May Leonard

June 28, 2017 12:03 AM \

Bella May Leonard is a mixed media visual artist working with hand embroidery processes and patterns. The UK-based artist creates these ‘sculptural embroidery’ using a variety of items including tape, inner tubing, electrical cables, washing lines, wool and cable ties on punched acrylic sheets. On an interview with Textile Artist she says this about textile art and her chosen medium:

“The sculptural aspect of textile art for me is intriguing; three-dimensional, interweaving threads that build up structure with colour and texture is exciting. Textiles are loaded with history and can communicate to a universal audience, making textile art, to me, very accessible. While it demonstrates considerable thought and consideration even if intuitive, it is an art form realised physically; its tactile nature is captivating.”

“I elaborate on hand embroidery techniques, responding to the materials I choose and collect. I enjoy battling with colour and would describe my process as a collaging technique. Making decisions with colour combinations, scale and shape are made intuitively as I work until I feel a piece is resolved and balanced. I really like using materials that have connotations of previous use, so my process feels resourceful and the work is unique in its experimentation.”

You can follow the artist on her website, Facebook and Twitter.

Images: Courtesy of Bella May Leonard.

Posted in: Embroidery, Installation/Display, Mixed Media

Yoshimasa Tsuchiya

June 26, 2017 12:03 AM \

Japanese sculptor Yoshimasa Tsuchiya creates these simple life-size creatures with hush tones giving off an elegant and mysterious aura. The sculpting process start with raw wood blocks carved with power tools which are then shaped, joined together then hand carved for the final details. Plaster and paint is then used to finish off the pieces. The artist is inpired by Japanese folklore, myths and dreams. On Lomography he says this about  mythology:

“I think that mythology is a series of allegorical stories referring the origin of a group of people. Regardless the historical facts, mythologies are always taken over from generation to generation so that we maintain our connections to each other. And I believe that it even exists in our private relationships.”

And on Cargo Collective says this about his chosen medium:

“In Japan, most of traditional buildings and sculptures are made of wood. Wood is a material which breath. It has own age, own viability. I studied these kind of traditional techniques in a graduate school of operative dentistry of cultural assets. I receive some inspirations from an old tale, a myth, a legend and my dream. The figure of my animals is a materialization of human hope, mind and heart.”

Images: Courtesy of Yoshimasa Tsuchiya.

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Posted in: Japan, Sculpture, Wood
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