PATRICK DUFFY.

DOUBLE UP - PUFFIN CLASSICS.

Double Up consists of two artists, Sophie Pickup and Georgina Carroll, that combine set design, illustration and everything in between. I was looking at book cover designs and came across these by Double Up for Puffin Classics. They created book designs for stories such as, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and White Fang by using the natural landscape combined with paper art to create characters and objects for the book covers. 

I love how they have only stuck to using simple shapes to represent things like trees or the moon and then used the surrounding landscape to create the rest of the atmosphere. I just think this is such a clever way of using paper art without sticking to the standard 'glue and stick' routine but actually applying to a real surrounding. 

LOU TAYLOR.

A lot of the artists that I have looked into so far make their images out of paper. This is something which I haven't experimented with myself yet since I like to cut all my found imagery out then play around with them till I create the design that I want to portray. But with that being said, I'd be interested to see what it would be like to combine my style of working with some new techniques such as this. I think it would be a nice contrast of textures by having strong, graphic images with playful cutouts alongside them. 

I came across Lou Taylor's work and I think her work defines playful paper art very well. Her colour palette is extremely vibrant and her use of iconic figures and motifs make her creations easily recognisable. I like her use of repetition since it's not something that I have thought about when it comes to my own work but this can be something else that I can think about. 

CHINESE PAPER CUTTING.

The art of paper cutting originated in China during the 6th century in Xinjiang. The art of paper cutting was called Jian Zhi and was mainly used to decorate walls in the royal art courts. The images above display a Chinese opera character (top) and a multicoloured tiger. These were mounted onto handmade paper which were then used as cards. Nowadays jian zhi is used, much like the Polish wycinanki, for gifts or days of celebration. 

Chinese paper art is so beautiful and delicate, the designs are carefully put together and there seems to be no room for mistake! Again I was drawn to the bright colours that are placed together but what struck me most was when one solid colour was used, like the opera character seen above, it creates a powerful atmosphere even if the design itself isn't very intricate. 

POLISH PAPER CUTTING.

Polish paper cutting or Wycinanki became a popular folk craft in the 1800s. Brightly coloured wycinanki were glued onto furniture or roof beams for decoration but also given as gifts. I'd never seen Polish paper cuts before so I was so surprised to see how vibrant the colours used were! Although I discovered that they do vary by region, the multicoloured wycinanki are from the Łowicz region, like the images seen above, and those created in the Kurpie area are typically all one colour. 

The designs mainly consist of peacocks, roosters and flowers but are also created for annual holidays such as Christmas and Easter. I love the technique of layering different coloured or complimentary bits of paper on top of each to add depth and texture. 

NINA MCNAMARA.

Nina McNamara is a UK based artist who, amongst other things, is an illustrator, art director and graphic designer. She explores feminist writings and for her university course looked into erotic fiction by writing her own poems by using written fragments from other writers, this led to her using fragments of images to illustrate the words. I love the surrealism of her images but also the simplicity of using maybe 2 or 3 different images layered together. I think she's a good example of the 'less is more' way of working and that it can be very effective in illustration. 

www.ninamcnamara.co.uk

POPPY CHANCELLOR.

Poppy Chancellor is a paper cut artist who I just came across whilst doing some research. She designs commemorative and celebratory papercuts which display the names of, and also motifs, of the ones you love. I thought her work reminded me a lot of Rob Ryan's super intricate papercuts, although I find his a lot more detailed, like doilies. I like the simplicity of her designs, although I'm sure they are quite difficult to create, they feel slightly graphic with bold and thick lettering against more fragile looking images. 

What I found inspiring about her work is how she has applied it to more commercial areas of illustration. Some of her work has been used in issues of Elle magazine and also Vogue, which can be seen in the image above. It's good to see that slowly more fashion magazines are letting illustrations and other art trickle back into their issues since it's an area that I am interested in creating work for.