Casiotone for the Painfully Alone

Album Covers: Casiotone for the Painfully Alone

Top: Vs Children (2009)

Middle: Etiquette (2006)

Bottom: Advance Base Battery Life (2009)

Even if you aren't familiar with a band, I really believe you should get an essence of their spirit from the album artwork. I love these charming illustrations, and they confirm Casiotone for the Painfully Alone's dreamy, rich and sensitive sound. Go check them out on Spotify... I did!

Beautiful Illustrations

Amy Dover- Images courtesy of the Behance Network

Haven't posted for a while, but having got back to my beautiful home for the Christmas period, its time to get back on track! Just been scanning the net and came across Amy Dover. Using the simplistic medium of graphite pencil, her illustrations are detailed and dramatic. I love her work, and these pieces inspire me to draw... The horse is stunning. I love it when illustrators draw on to textured/used paper; i love the contrast between the layers and depth, against the perfect drawing. Check her website out here.

Hawkins Bazaar

Matthew Hawkins

Top: Christmas Cards (2009)

Middle: Booty Love (2009)

Bottom: Snæfellsjökull (2009)

These illustrations are just marvellous! The Christmas card woodcuts are very cute indeed. Matthew Hawkins embraces hand-drawn imperfections and textures of differing mediums, creating artwork that resembles adventure and mystery.

what a feast!

National Geographic

Aren't the colours of the ocean just utterly phenomenal?! I love nothing more than to swim amongst the tranquility of the big blue. However, Jellyfish have to be my biggest fear! Take a look at these images taken by Omri Bronstein... Here, a predator coral (termed 'Mushroom Coral') devours a jellyfish! Well, nothing really is impossible. If only the ocean was made up of a blanket of these creatures!

I would love to journey on that ship

Matt Lyon

Top: Game Over

Middle: Sweetroot

Bottom: The Magic Ship of Freyr

Here's just a small selection of my ultimate favourites from Matt Lyon's collection. If I looked at these everyday, I'm sure that it would fill my day with inspiration. The Magic Ship of Freyr is beautiful: I long for a world so colourful and bold as this...

Good winter

Bon Iver- 4AD

Top: For Emma, 2008

Middle: For Emma, Forever ago, 2008

Bottom: Blood Bank, 2009

I forgot just how magical Bon Iver's music is, until I started listening to it again this morning. I adore the album cover photography too, which encapsulate Justin Vernon's winter hibernation in Northwestern Wisconsin, following the break up of his band.

Black and white secrets

Jason Langer- Secret City, Michael Hoppen Gallery

Top: Go-Go Girl, 1994

Middle: Moonlight over Montmartre, 2002

Bottom: Woman in Window, 2002

These photographs by Jason Langer are mysterious and exceptionally wonderful. His impeccable layouts create stark lighting contrasts that intensify the powerfulness of black and white photography. I was lucky enough to visit the beauty of Paris in August, and viewing 'Moonlight over Montmartre' takes me back to that sublime city- Paris was another world, and Langer manages to encapsulate the feelings that I felt when I was there in this stunning and sensitive composition.

Just in time for winter

Brighton- Phone Camera

I travelled to Brighton on Friday to visit my best friend who's just moved down there. She took me shopping around the wonderful lanes and we spotted this- Banksy?? Probably not... but it is rather delightful and mysterious!

Epic Scenery

District 9 Film Poster

I watched District 9 last week and thought the scenery within it was absolutely fantastic. Although I found the film a little disturbing in parts, I would definitely recommend it purely for the dramatic scenery!

Coca-Cola throughout the years

The history of the coca-cola bottle... Image courtesy of Stumble Upon

Left to Right- 1899, 1900, 1915, 1916, 1957, 1986.

This just shows how far a brand develops and changes over a period of time. Gosh, 110 years has gone by and still, Coca-Cola is dominating the world!

A floating tap?!

Tap Fountain, Santa Galdana- Menorca

My first thought- 'How on earth is this standing up'! Well, of course I was subsequently enlightened by a friend of the pole, situated in the middle of the gushing water. This may have seemed obvious to you, but I'm sure that in a few years they will be able to create sculptures like this that do defy the laws of gravity. Watch this space...

Bizarre Buildings

Top: Dancing Building, Prague

Middle: ING Headquarters, Amsterdam

Bottom: Archigram- Moving City

These caught my eye today. I have a keen interest in architecture, and in particular buildings that resemble space-like forms. The ING Headquarters immediately reminded me of Archigram's work. The Dancing Building is just superb. I do hope what ever goes on inside this building resembles its energetic and twist-like exterior.

I'm still an animal...

Luishock- We are Animals

Behance Network

"I change shapes just to hide in this place but I'm still, I'm still an animal"- (Animal, Miike Snow)

Luishock has created these stimulating, energetic and detailed illustrations where various animals have been incorporated into human form. I love the stained background, and the ink splatters that bring these illustrations alive.

Nonsensical, but beautiful

Chad Hagen- Nonsensical Infographics

We have absolutely no idea what the information being presented is, but visually these look incredible. Layers of colour, shape and exquisite layout attract.

Remember remember...

Barry Island- November 5th, 2009. Phone Camera

You can't beat a firework display at the seaside. It was bitterly cold, but the stars were out and the fireworks did not disappoint! The accompanying music was extremely eclectic, however!

Dancing Sea Dragons

Images courtesy of Life- BBC iPlayer

This was by far, the most beautiful part of Monday nights' episode: dancing sea dragons in springtime courtship. The cinematography is first class, and what is captured within the sequence is stunning: these delightful, quirky creatures surrounded by the hazy blue water and vivid colours of the coral. The top image reminds me of hopping kangaroos!

Magnificent Montage!

James Dawe: Rojo Magazine, Illustrated Ape

James Dawe creates visually rich and elaborate imagery. His collage and layering techniques incorporate textural, photographic, diagrammatic and schematic forms of communication: the result is these monumental illustrations!

Sometimes the sky is just incredible...

Phone Camera, 16:00

I took this photograph on my phone today as I walked home... The sky looked absolutely epic, and I just had to share it with you all!

What a find!

Meat Magazine- Issue 8

I recently went into Borders to purchase my monthly edition of Creative Review, when I spotted this beautiful, understated magazine. Meat Magazine is filled with gorgeous black and white illustrations: each article is introduced with a bold header in Impact TT. This magazine is stripped bare: it embraces do it yourself, 'bedroom publishing' techniques. I absolutely love the 'Contributors' page. The illustrator David Sparshott has captured the personality of each of the individuals- we see through the eyes of David. When I first saw this page, I was instantly reminded of my primary school: when the whole year would each draw an illustration of themselves and these would be positioned together on a tea towel! The results would be charming, unique and cherished forever!

Beautiful Badger

Golden Badger- Ghostpatrol

During the summer, I caught a glimpse of Ghostpatrol's work on the monitor screen next to me. This beautiful piece of street art is one of my favourites! The badger appears as if in human form. We empathise with this creature: it looks so vulnerable and alone. I adore the juxtaposition of Ghostpatrol's crisp drawing style against this highly textured and distressed background: this enhances the realness of the scene.

Ronald Searle embraces the typed mistake...

“It must be true, it was all in the papers”- Denys Parsons

I found this true delight when I was browsing in the depths of a second hand bookshop in search of inspiration, and I simply couldn’t resist it! This 1950’s gem contains a selection of comical misprints from newspapers, magazines and books. A charming and delightful array of illustrations by Ronald Searle enhances the humorous tone of the book. It seemed fitting to discover this during the process of dissertation writing and understanding the importance of proof reading. These are fine examples where simple errors have completely altered the content of a written passage.

Hidden Truths

Taryn Simon: White Tiger (Kenny)

Chromogenic Colour Print

As a result of selective inbreeding, Kenny is mentally retarded and has physical limitations

I discovered the work of Taryn Simon when I watched her TED talk in September, 'Taryn Simon photographs secret sites'. Her photographic exhibition, ‘An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar’ is groundbreaking and astounding. She embraces photography’s ability to uncover hidden truths.

Within the last 3 months, I have been examining Malaysian Radio Broadcasting, in an attempt to establish the extent to which the West dominates the East within contemporary society. It has become apparent that within this subject exists a separate topic that could succeed as an investigation purely on its own: the idea that an incredible amount of information is kept hidden from the masses as it is filtered out to ‘protect’, or lead society astray.

Wadah Khanfar is the director general of the al-Jazeera Network and was interviewed as part of the Guardian’s ‘Weekend’ edition last week. Q “What is your greatest hope for the next 10 years? - A “To see Journalism liberate itself from the chains of political influence and commercialism, and to see freedom of expression become sacred without any suppression by governments or authorities”.