the scatterbox organized

Doodle Love: Amanda Visell

One reason I love Amanda Visell, as with other artists I find myself drawn towards, is that she is primarily self-taught.  The other reason is that she draws influence from Mary Blair, renowned for her work as a concept artist and animator for The Walt Disney Company in the 1950s and 60s (more on her later!).  Aside from originals and prints, Amanda has a great line of books, sculptures, and three-dimensional toys as well.

Amanda's work has a dark-yet-lighthearted edge, and I love her bold use of color.  Check out her website to learn more!

These are some of my favorites:

(I love the moon's face!)

 

("Lost Safari" commemorates the Jungle Cruise ride at Disney.  I first saw it in the art gallery at Downtown Disney in Orlando and fell in love with it.  This is the first of Amanda's work that I had come across.)

Doodle Love: Matte Stephens

I find myself intrigued by Matte Stephens.  His work just plain makes me smile.  The consistency of his color palettes and unexpectedness of his pattern choices; the recurring themes of animals and smoking pipes (or animals smoking pipes...); the whole purposefully imperfect retro-ness of it all.  The other reason I am intrigued is because he is primarily self-taught.  I love finding artists I like with the added bonus of having figured it out all by themselves.  The 1950s/60s era of illustration and graphic design is my absolute favorite.  I think Matte does a fantastic job of capturing that innocence, simplicity, and fun.  It also helps that he is surrounded by that goodness in his home, which you can see in this great interview of Matte by Grain Edit.

These are some of my favorites.  Be sure to check out his Etsy shop and Flickr pool for more happiness!

 

Shoe Portrait

 

Canal Street New Orleans

 

Beehive with Birdies

 

Irving Is an Avid Bird Watcher

Doodle Love: Brigette B.

I don't really remember how I stumbled upon Miss Brigette...  Perhaps it coming across an item of hers on Etsy, but I'm glad I did.  Noseying on over to her blog, I unearthed a treasure trove of doodle love.  I so love the retro vibe, from the character's faces...

 

Tattooed Lady

to the surreal color choices she uses...

Pink Trees

...the one that totally reminds me of my friend Abby...

 

Librarian Bookended

...and especially those quirky-awesome coyotes.

Even the simple ones that remind me of my childhood.

Snow Day

(all artwork copyright Brigette B.)

I seriously can't stop looking at her work sometimes.  I really need to buy something and have the hardest time narrowing it down to the first piece.

Be sure to check out this post, as well, where you can see and read about a campaign she worked on for Swarovski.  So friggin' cute.

Thanks for making me smile, B!

Doodle Love: Kei Acedera

I discovered Kei Acedera a few weeks ago and she instantly became a favorite artist of mine.  Based in Toronto (What is it with Toronto?  I feel like I'm doing theme week on Wheel of Fortune...), Kei is a freelance artist who also produces work for Imaginism Studios, and is currently working on the new, very exciting, upcoming Alice in Wonderland film by Tim Burton (featuring Johnny Depp and an amazing supporting cast).

Here are some of my faves:

 

A Little Break, 2009

This one really has great elements of retro illustration that I love.  The fluid lines are fabulous, as is the way the colors in the grass reflect the colors of the girl's clothing.

 

Little Red and Wolf, 2008

I know we all know the story, but doesn't this drawing make you want to read the version that goes with this?

 

Good Bunny, 2008

It's carnivally.  The end.  Not to mention, who doesn't want to give a huge carrot to a huge bunny?

 

Enoki Forest Song, 2008

Raise, raise the lantern high,
Darkened riverbanks roll by,
The small skiff drifts, the band plays on
And the fireflies dance along
To the enoki mushroom forest song.

LOVE the detail. The shadows of the creatures in the back... The little frog playing maracas!!  Stop it.

To find more great art from Kei (and to purchase prints and originals!), check out her Imaginism link, or run a search to see other online galleries.

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And hey, kids... It's Wednesday, April 1st... Don't forget our date tonight!