Sunday, January 31, 2010

Sunday Safari – Some Like It Cold


Watching you, without me by Robert Hunter

Polar Bear by Camilla Engman

From behind the glass we watched him play for hours
and He was showing off to a captive audience by Leia Bell

Polar Bear print by Eleanor Grosch

Polar Bear print by Sebastiano Ranchetti

After the flood by Chiho Makino

Cover of The Little Polar Bear by Rudolf Lukes,thanks to Grain Edit

Illustration from The Wild and woolly animal book by Dale Maxey, 1966
thanks to Bonito Club's flickr illustration collection
White Bear by Jane Mount

Global Warming by Kun-Jum Park

Bear stencil by Simon Oxley, thanks to Share Some Candy

Friday, January 29, 2010

Cat, All Too Human



The cat is trying to open the door on the hinges side.
I laugh, then I see I make the same mistake, with people, ideas, and doors too.
Saul Steinberg, 24 august 1994. From Lettere a Aldo Buzzi, Adelphi, 2002. Thanks to oinoi

Saul Steinberg, what can I say? His art gives me such pleasure!

Gjon Mili's cat Blackie looking at his portrait by Saul Steinberg in Mili's studio, 1947.
From Life's photo archives.

Untitled (Pitcher raining on cat), New Yorker cover August 25, 1975 (variant)
Ink, watercolor, graphite, rubber stamp on paper from Adam Baumgold gallery's website


New Yorker cover November 18, 1996. Steinberg created nearly 1,200 drawings for the magazine.







The scans above come from two collections of drawings: Steinberg's Paperback, a German edition
 published in 1964 and Steinberg – The Catalogue, an American edition by Meridian published in 1962.
These are part of the large library assembled by my father in law, Michele Ranchetti, 
himself a very accomplished writer, poet and artist who regrettably passed away two years ago.
Thank you Michele for always pursuing and sharing your love of art and creativity!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Bestiarium Wilkonia - The Birds



It's time for some more lovely animal artworks by Józef Wilkon.
Part of a series of posts that has previously featured a selection of the artist's horses
big cats and little catsThe info is very limited due to language barriers!

Cover and illustration from Waldkonzert, 1979

Illustration from the recently republished Ksiega Dzungli (Jungle book) by Rudyard Kipling

Ostrich

Peacoks are a recurring theme in Wilkon's artworks.
I believe some of these are from a 1959 book titled Pawie Wierze.

Illustration from Pan Tip-Top, 1982

Bird sculptures

It's a Bird... It's a Tornado... It's Neko Case



Two music videos from one of my favorite singer-songwriters. Neko's voice is incredible, 
and she writes gorgeous music with haunting melodies and lyrics. On top of that, many of her songs 
feature animal imagery, including Lion's JawsThe Tigers Have SpokenMagpie to the Morning 
and I'm an Animal. Neko's latest Middle Cyclone has received Grammy nominations for Best 
Contemporary Folk Album and Best Recording Package, and on the 31 we'll find out if she won.

Both of these videos were animated by the siblings team of Paul and Julie Mortsad.
Maybe Sparrow was included in Neko's 2006 album Fox Confessor Brings the Flood.

Julie also created the cover artwork for the album.
Paul and Julie live in Vancouver and divide their time between animation, art and illustration.

Two artworks by Paul
How to make a kite by Julie


If you enjoy Julie's delicate yet powerful drawings don't miss Milk Teetha collection 
of her artworks in small book format published in 2008 by Drawn and Quarterly
Here you can see a pdf preview of some of its pages.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Sunday Safari - The Tallest Ones


Today is my birthday and I dedicate this safari to my mother Mariella, a strong, smart, beautiful and kind woman who has always been there for me and my family. In the small town where we both grew up she was known for her beauty (a bit of a problem for my self-esteem) and her height. 1.76 m is an average stature today, but in 1950s Italy she literally stuck out from the crowd, and was often asked: "how is the weather up there?" Thinking of this I gathered some pretty giraffes, animals that are particularly dear to me, and that like her have very strong motherly instincts.

Nomi and the lovely animals by Louis Slobodkin, 1960

Mother and child by Leia Bell

L'histoire de girafe, written by Ronald Hermsen and illustrated by Guido Pigni

Giraffe swing by David Barneda at Drawing Dreams card gallery

On Giraffe Pond by Michael Sowa

Snacking happy family by Meg Hunt
Giraffe from the tile series Our animal friends by Xenia Taler

Arabia of Finland giraffes designed by Taisto Kaasinen in 1965, from hi+lomodern

I know a giraffe: a tall tale by David Omar White, 1965, thanks to Rad Library

Illustration from Whatever by William Bee, thanks to The Apple and the Egg

children's book illustration from borisbo's flickr photostream
(worth a visit because he's also a very interesting graphic designer)

Two giraffe paintings by Naoto Kitamura

Giraffe by the ever playful Toshiyuki Fukuda

Blue giraffe by Sebastiano Ranchetti

Giraffa from Animani by Mario Mariotti, 1980

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