artist: jesse lefkowitz

Illustration by Jesse Lefkowitz for Washington Post

Because I occasionally outsource illustration (for Delphine stationery and for graphic design projects for clients) I am on a bunch of illustrators’ eblast lists. I consider it one of the best perks of being a graphic designer! Lots of interesting pieces of art end up in my in box each week. It’s super inspiring, and a welcome break from pharma spam and “you’ve just won one billion euros from the Italian lotto” notices.

I just have to share these awesome illustrations Jesse Lefkowitz sent me; he illustrated the chipmunk/turtle/toad one for a story about how and why animals hibernate for the Washington Post, and the money pyramid illustration for Money Magazine.

Illustration by Jesse Lefkowitz for Money Magazine/Making Money in 2011

Sidenote: I love Jesse’s bio. You should read it. And then you should hire him. Clipart: booooooo. Real illustrations by real people: yaaaaaay! 

inspired by: American artist Charles Demuth

The Figure Five in Gold, by Charles Demuth (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

It’s difficult to explain, so I won’t really try, but this painting is one of the reasons I became a graphic designer. It’s a portrait of William Carlos Williams (he wrote that sweet poem about plums, the icebox and forgiveness). Every time I go to New York I make a point of visiting this painting at the Met.

la lune et le soleil prints

How fab are these limited edition prints from Double Merrick?!? The moon print would look amazing in our son’s new grey and blue bedroom. Santa?

Inspired by vintage classroom wall charts, they have a very cool, retro vibe. Want to learn some French slang to describe something way cool? Say, “C’est La Vache!” Which translates literally to “It’s the cow!” Weird, but in French slang the meaning is “It’s so cool” (or “it’s the bomb,” or “it’s the shit”).

Scoot over to Double Merrick’s shop before all the prints are gone. Vite (quickly). It’s a limited edition run of just 25 pair.

artist: kevin gilmore

Sachuest Point, by Kevin Gilmore

Last spring, after a loooong day at the National Stationery Show in New York City, I wandered into a wine shop in Brooklyn, in desperate need of a bottle of relaxation. Keep in mind that I had been at NSS and Surtex all week. If ever there is a place for eye candy overload, it’s at the Jacob Javits Center. Anyway, I wandered into Windsor Wine Merchants, walked past a smallish painting on the wall, then literally walked backwards and stood nose to glass, staring at this fabulous painting by Kevin Gilmore. This one foot square painting blew away everything I had seen at the trade shows all week. Just thinking of it still makes me happy.

You can visit some of Kevin Gilmore’s work (and Kevin himself, often) at Windsor Wine Merchants at 216 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn NY. Also he has a holiday show at Jessica Hagen Fine Art in Newport, RI this weekend. And you can also see some of his work at Muriel Guepin Gallery in Brooklyn, NY.

double merrick

I'm smitten with this darling bird print by Merrick Angle. I love the juxtaposition of nature and technology. Check out the details in the Double Merrick shop and snap one up quickly, as only 20 prints were made!

graphic art: eleanor

How cute are these birdie mugs by Eleanor? I had the great pleasure of meeting her last month at the National Stationery Show, and was totally blown away by her cute booth and her gorgeous illustrations. Of course I forgot my camera the day I walked the show, so I have no pictures. Bummer! But check out Eleanor's work on her Push Me Pull You site. She's going to be speaking at the HOW conference this weekend and I so wish I could be there.

wishing you a weekend full of pancakes

painting by Dear Weekend

Good morning, darling readers. It's Friday already, can you believe it? This week was full of highs: I met a ton of fellow designerds at the North County Graphic Design Meetup; secured a new project with one of my favorite clients; and made time to lunch with a dear friend, to name a few. Unfortunately there were a couple of real lows, which I won't go in to other than to mention that I had to review my old law books from Journalism school days to brush up on libel and slander. Ugh. I'm shaking it off. Don't worry.

I have to say, though, that one of the best parts of my week was to receive an email from an old client, Elisabeth Klos. One of the many joys of working with brides is meeting brides! Last year I had the pleasure of working with Elisabeth on her wedding invitations.  She told me then that she was interested in exploring her creative side. She told me she was a painter at heart (she was working in sales at the time, if I remember correctly), and was positively itching to get back to it. Of course I encouraged her whole heartedly to pursue her passion. I'm so happy to see that she has followed through and is now painting full time! The wonderful pancake painting above, by Elisabeth Klos, is sold in her brand new Etsy shop, Dear Weekend. I hope you'll visit her shop when you have a moment. You can read more about her technique in the shop (she incorporates collage ... pieces of ingredient packaging peek through the paint).

Enjoy the weekend. Wishing you a lazy couple of days full of love, laughter and pancake breakfasts with your families and friends!

decorate: violet swallow queen ornament

I have a serious soft spot for Christmas ornaments. I'd keep them out all year if I could (and, honestly, I DO keep a few out on my desk all year). Some people (i.e. my husband) think I have a serious problem. I like all styles: handmade, glittery, modern, rustic, vintage, felt, embroidered. Throughout the season I'll be posting some of my favorites, like this gorgeous handmade ornament by The Night Jar.

The Violet Swallow Queen holiday Christmas ornament is a print of the artist's original work, which she affixed to a wood heart and decorated with German glass glitter. She'll inscribe the back of the ornament (free!) for you to make it a dear heirloom. It's available here on Etsy for $18. Also on my wish list:the violet swallow queen print would look great in my soon-to-be-painted bedroom. Swoon.

graphic design: penguin classics

I was browsing at my local Borders the other day and came across these fabulous updated covers of three of my very favorite books. (My all-time favorite is The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton, in case you're wondering. And no, I didn't see a fabulous new cover for it). They're all Penguin Classics imprints. The illustrations in this series are by über-talents (including Ruben Toledo and Jeffrey Brown).

The cover illustrations on the cover make these classics a bit more accessible to teen readers than the dour looking oil portrait that usually stares up from the covers, don't you think? How old were you when you first read these books? I was in ninth grade.

I'll admit that the cover of a book (the packaging of anything, really) matters to me. Although I have read all three of these books, and have perfectly good copies sitting on my shelves, I was extremely tempted to purchase them. I have a coupon, after all, I tried to justify to myself. Instead I walked out with a newish novel by Leif Enger: So Brave, Young, and Handsome. The cover is not particularly interesting ... which totally blows my theory.

artist: caitlin kuhwald

No matter what you think of our President's politics, there is no doubt that he is married to a super stylish first lady! Caitlin Kuhwald's paper doll illustration of Mrs. Obama (for Psychology Today magazine) is utterly charming. When I first saw the illustration I laughed out loud, then seriously considered cutting it up and playing with the doll (something I never would have done as a child...I always played with cars and trucks). Caitlin's other work is just as darling. I'm especially smitten with her woodland and barnyard animal illustrations. You can check out her portfolio here and her Etsy shop here. 

holiday: day of the dead

photos courtesy Ruby Lang

Halloween is just around the corner ... and so is The Day of The Dead. Each year the amazingly talented Ruby Lang lovingly installs an ofrenda within SoLo to celebrate the holiday. This year's theme is "Alimenta Para El Almo" ("Food for the Soul"). She decorated with traditional sugar skulls, fresh flowers, religious artifacts, a basket of limes, and plenty of food. The altar stands about 12 feet tall and is chock full of treasures and tiny details. You can check it out through November 1st at SoLo (on Cedros Avenue in Solana Beach, CA).

culture torture: the frick collection

Last week I visited The Frick Collection in Manhattan. Amazing! I spent a lot of time there as a teenager, because my Godmother lived around the corner and she and my mom liked to "culture torture" their kids by dragging us to museums. The visit brought back a lot of wonderful memories. When I was younger the entire home was open for tours ... I remember racing Drew up the staircase (shameful, I know). These days the collection is consolidated downstairs, and the curators have added wonderful audio tours. I love this museum because it really is like visiting a home (a spectacular, fancy home with a built in art gallery wing with gorgeous velvet walls).

adorable animal art

Delphine intern Tori says: These little animal vases and sculptures are made by California artist Joanna Medicino. Each is hand thrown, so no two are the same. I love the clean and simple lines. Not to mention they are just too cute! My favorite is the hamster : ) You can see more of her work in her Etsy shop.

Delphine says: We had the pleasure of exhibiting at SFIGF across the aisle from Joanna a few years ago. And we, too, fell in love with her vases. In fact we have a few (the penguin and a modern mini bud vase) that we traded for stationery and a few shelves that we didn't want to take home with us after the show. Best trade at a show EVER!

illustrator: aleks sennwald

Don't you just love this illustration by Aleks Sennwald? One of the things I like best about Aleks' work is the sense of fun and whimsy that comes through in each illustration. This one, called "Art in Bloom," appeared in Vegetarian Times for a story about the art of Ikebana flower arrangements.

travel: a day at moma

Untitled #7, by Howardena Pindell

For the past five years I have spent my birthday on the floor of the Jacob Javits Center in New York City, working the National Stationery Show. (We're in booth 3327 this year, btw). Since John started helping with the show a few years ago his gift to me is to let me walk out of the booth the second the show is over (the last day is a half day) so that I can spend the afternoon hanging out in a museum while he dismantles and packs up the booth all by himself. So sweet! This year I plan on visiting MoMA's Paper: Pressed, Stained, Slashed, Folded exhibit.