Lisa Ramsey

Cat and Girl online comic series

Best for reading in the warm glow of an existential crisis, Dorothy Gambell’s Cat and Girl is a brilliant online comic series. It’s my daily fix of clever puns, political satire, pop culture references and biting wit, lovingly rendered in cute black and white drawings. Cat and Girl are housemates and best friends, and like all best friends, they can talk about anything: from literature, to the economy, to the perils of playing ping pong with a rotten egg. Sure, there are arguments, but most are resolved by Cat’s unwavering sense of surreal humour that balances out Girl’s eternal pessimism. ‘How do you stay warm in the cold shadow of death?’, she asks him, pleadingly. ‘Fireworks’, he replies. Gambell will also draw a personalised comic for you if you make a donation to her site via Paypal. Mine is framed and on my wall at home. Read more

Kristopher Ho

It’s windy, cold, and raining out. On days like this, looking at the intricate work of artists like Kristopher Ho feels like re-reading an old book that you loved as a kid but forgot about in your more cynical adulthood. Read more

Rafael Grampa

Comic book artist Rafael Grampa’s style reminds me of Taiyo Motsumoto’s but with an art-nouveau and even tattoo-inspired sense of layout informing each panel. His unique renderings of classic comic book characters has certainly rekindled my interest in superheroes. His comic, FURRY WATER and the Sons of Insurrection, co-written with Daniel Pellizzari, is due out from Dark Horse next year.

Sixth Pommery Exhibition Sons & Lumieres

How much better can it get than little dollops of contemporary art interspersed throughout the breathtaking setting of Champagne Pommery’s Domaine in Reims, France. The most interesting part here is that this is an ongoing tradition at Champagne Pommery, going all the way back to the 19th century ‘when Madame Pommery commissioned sculptor Gustav Navlet to carve four bas reliefs for the estate and later had the famous cabinet maker and glass artist Emile Gallé create a solid oak Pommery barrel that holds up to 19,816 gallons (100,000 bottles). This barrel was displayed at the 1904 Worlds’ Fair in St. Louis’. The upcoming Sixth Pommery Exhibition, Sons & Lumieres, will be curated by French artist Bertrand Lavier and will include ‘everyday objects often set in difficult spaces’. Read more

Ben O’Brien

Color heaven! Perusing UK illustrator Ben O’Brien’s portfolio feels a lot like wandering the aisles of a giant candy store. I could buy one of everything in sight. Read more

Art Decks

I love it! With the CD now being eclipsed by the MP3, I find myself feeling even more nostalgic for the simple charm of the cassette. Australian artists Andrew Smart and Jared Schmidt create ‘large scale hand-made wooden cassette tapes, routed, sanded, bogged, primed, and painted with a high quality paint finish’. Aha! The perfect way to memorialize my old mix tapes. Read more