New Illustration / Didier Blondeau

October 14, 2009 | New Illustration | by Ilana Kohn |

There is something almost apocalyptic about the intense black and white decimated, chaotic landscapes that French artist Didier Blondeau lovingly depicts.

New Illustration / Mini Monsters Tiny Terrors

October 13, 2009 | New Illustration | by Gerry Mak |

Pittsburgh’s Zombo Gallery is currently running an exhibition of miniature paintings of monsters, dinosaurs, and mythical beasts by Nathan Mazur. The show ends on October 16, but presumably the online gallery will be up for much longer and Mazur is available for reasonably priced commissions. The little paintings in this exhibit go for $30 a pop, making them great gift ideas.

New Illustration / Nicolas Palmer

October 12, 2009 | New Illustration | by Nicklaus Andersen |

Nicolas Palmer captures candid images from strange worlds inaccessible to many and brings them to our attention through precision linework and vivid color. Palmer studies concept art, storyboarding and comics at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, GA. From graphite drawings to computer animation, Palmer’s surrealistic images travel the territory between cute and terrifying with unflagging boldness and whimsy. Read more

New Illustration / Santiago Morilla

October 10, 2009 | New Illustration | by Gerry Mak |

Elegant, simple, whimsically twisted, and vaguely Shell-Silverstein-ish, Spanish illustrator Santiago Morilla’s work has a graphical quality to it that’s understated but memorable.

New Illustration / Food One’s body art

October 9, 2009 | New Illustration | by Andy Howell |

Jim Mahfood, aka FOOD One, is a prolific neo-contemporary illustrator and painter whose work shows up in all kinds of odd places including his own 40 Oz Comics, Spiderman books for Marvel, Kevin Smith’s Clerks Comics, a mural on the Sarah Silverman Show, a brand new Simpsons collaboration with graff artist Kofie, on apparel for boutique brand King Duce, and other hotbeds of contemporary youth culture. A good night of drinkin’ and drawin’ for the accomplished comic artist includes live painting on naked girls in his local LA hotspots and around the country. I’ve painted with FOOD One, and when I say prolific I mean this guy’s got a lightning fast quickdraw with spraypaint, markers, and brushes like you wouldn’t believe. Read more

New Illustration / Richie Pope

October 7, 2009 | New Illustration | by Tin Salamunic |

Richie Pope was born in Newport News, VA, and grew up drawing anything he could, always with paper in hand. He moved to Richmond and majored in Communication Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he received a BFA in 2009. His work has been seen at the 2009 Society of Illustrators Student Scholarship Competition, CMYK magazine and a handful of other magazines and websites. We checked in with him and asked him how important the constant drawing in his sketchbook is for the more commercial work he does: ‘To me, it’s extremely important to constantly draw in my sketchbook. I see it the same way a bodybuilder would see the gym. You have to constantly work at it to get better. The more you draw, especially from life, the more will stick and you’ll start to draw things more naturally. At first, my sketchbook work didn’t really connect with my commercial work because I had just started really sketching seriously. Now, I find that the gap is getting smaller and smaller’. Read more

New Illustration / Geordan Moore

October 7, 2009 | New Illustration | by Gerry Mak |

I don’t really have a preoccupation with death, but for some reason I am endlessly compelled by the image of a skull. That said, most artistic renderings of skulls can be quite cliched. Illustrator Geordan Moore is the first person in a while who I’ve seen draw a skull in a way that I’ve never seen before.

New Illustration / Masters of the Universe hipsters

October 5, 2009 | New Illustration | by Gerry Mak |

German artist Adrian Riemann’s reworking of Masters of the Universe characters as hipster fashion models has been making the internet rounds lately. I’m sort of tired of hipsters as a cultural touchstone, but these are somewhat amusing. He should make Thundercats into goths next.

New Illustration / Bats Langley

October 1, 2009 | New Illustration | by Ilana Kohn |

Bats Langley. What a fantastic name! With some fantastic work, as well. I would love to see his detailed paintings or drawings grace the pages of a childrens’ book.

New Illustration / Keith Shore’s folksy artwork

September 30, 2009 | New Illustration | by Ilana Kohn |

As a long time fan of the folksy paintings of artist Keith Shore, I was really happy to hear from him that he’s just updated his site with some amazing new paintings. I can never get enough of the loose, dreamy way that he treats his subject matter, as well as the medium in general. In fact, several of these paintings will be dressing the set of the upcoming movie, The Beaver, starring Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster. I’ve never been a huge Mel Gibson fan, but I might have to check this one out. Read more

New Illustration / Miles Thomson

September 28, 2009 | New Illustration | by Ben Keys |

Dig, hepcats! If the art of Miles Thomson doesn’t transport you to a beachside speakeasy staffed by monkey waiters serving cocktails in tiki heads, well, something must be very wrong. The Californian effortlessly blends elements of surf art, jazz iconography, cowboys and injuns, vagabonds and drunks, life and death — all that good stuff. He’s also currently working on images of crime figures such as Al Capone, John Dillinger and Jesse James for Nickelodeon’s The Mighty B, so keep an eye out for his unmistakably groovy style on the box real soon. Read more

New Illustration / Psychiatric Tales

September 25, 2009 | New Illustration | by Gerry Mak |

London-based mental-health nursing student Daryl Cunningham has posted a chapter on his blog from his forthcoming comic Psychiatric Tales addressing the realities and myths surrounding mental illness.

New Illustration / Michael Rytz

September 24, 2009 | New Illustration | by Ilana Kohn |

I’m so digging the work of Copenhagen illustrator Michael Rytz, with his spontaneous, sketchbook-like work. Characters, like vintage cartoons, parade around, fleshed out through glorious textures and scribbles punctuated with the occasional clean, bold, illustrator-like element for contrast that hits the spot.

New Illustration / Sophia Martineck

September 23, 2009 | New Illustration | by Ilana Kohn |

German illustrator Sophia Martineck’s own description of herself as ‘The Sophisticated Pencil Girl’ is actually rather fitting. Colored pencils were always one those materials the professors always tried to steer us illustrators away from, but Martineck has me rethinking all of that. I really enjoy her flat use of the pencils and the subtle texture they impart.

New Illustration / Chinese artist Xiao Bai

September 23, 2009 | New Illustration | by Dennis Juan Ma |

Chinese illustrator and comic artist Xiao Bai has studied traditional Chinese painting since a young age. Her slick and beautiful illustration work features mostly females, and almost all of her characters have a tattoo. This is influenced by her other job as a tattoo artist. Xiao Bai has worked for various magazines and publications, in both China and France. She is also an active member of the local Association of Illustrators in China. Read more