illustration Archives

ARTmonday: 11 Retro Style Campers

Everywhere you turn there’s a vintage retro camper, or glamping scene. Granted the two are totally different, but still, two sides of the same coin. While I could be convinced to glamp, you won’t catch me in a camper, ’50s style chic or otherwise. I am, however, charmed by some of the images. I also kinda love the idealization of the old-fashioned camping trip, in artwork mind you, not in real life, thank you very much.

A few months ago Rise Art asked me to curate a summer-themed art collection—”Summer Is Coming“—which features some camp and road trip inspired artwork. One of my favorites from that collection is this first piece, a technicolor blur of a family camp scene.

I searched for other similar images, but wound up finding illustrations mostly vintage campers, so I figured I’d just go with it.

Camping • Jack Addis • Rise Art

Camper & Mountains • Amy Lighthall • Etsy

Camper Trailer RV • Cece & Coco • Etsy

Camp Hawk • J. Austin Ryan • Etsy

Campfire Retro American Landscape • Jazzberry Blue • Etsy

Happy Camper • Susanna Jarian • Etsy

Vintage Camper • Paper and Canvas • Etsy

Vintage Camper • Just Print It

VW Camper • Wyatt Design • Society 6

Wallowa • Rachel Austin • Etsy

Boler Camper • O’Reilly Ink • Etsy

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ARTmonday: Bowls From the Kitchen Cupboard

I’ve been collecting cute and colorful tabletop and kitchen trinkets, like dipped wooden spoons, little patterned bowls, graphic tea towels, flowerpots, and such, because this summer I’d like to attempt to take more original photographs for the blog. I’ve recently attempted to style a few shots (like the ones for the Raddish Kids post), and I think they’ve come out decently. And, of course, I’ve been practicing my still life tablescape and flower photos on Instagram almost daily. The last think I need is more stuff to store, but I figured the items would be good inspiration.

That reminded me of these artworks of bowls that I’ve been saving for a while, and figured today is as good a time as any to post them.

Bowl of Fruit • Mzscreations • Society 6

Vintage Pyrex • Pocono Modern

Bowl Stack • Strawberry Luna • Etsy

Fruit Bowl • Colourbox • Society 6

Midnight Blue • Akiko Kobayakowa • Etsy

Retro Kitchen Bowls • Charming Shop Love • Etsy

Ashley Goldberg • Etsy

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ARTmonday: 15 Bicycle Artworks

No deep thoughts today, or even particularly serious artwork. Just some fun images of bicycles. Over the weekend it was almost warm enough, by Boston standards (and by that I mean it was over 40 degrees and sunny), to think about getting my bike down from its hanging place and going for a ride on the Esplanade. I settled for a walk It’s wet and muddy, with dirty, frozen mounds of snow still scattered, but I’m hopeful. For now (unless I become a different person and hit the new Soul Cycle), I’ll just enjoy these 15 bicycle artworks.

Bicycle Yellow • CB2

Kelly Nicolaisen • Show Off

Ed Pullela • Bicycle

Elizabeth Graeber • Bicycle

Cecilia Vassolo • Ride In Bicycle

Gabriel Winter • Bicycle Pose

Run4It • Fashionable Hipster Deer

Vassi Slavova • Bike Chick

Allison Glancey & Craig Seder • Going to See My Baby Blue

Chris Whittaker • The Bicycle and the Bee

Ashley Percival • Cat and Owl on Bike

Erin Wallace • Cycling

Jessica Abbott • Red Bicycle

Walter Bibikow • Bicycle Display at Swiss Transport Museum

Moe’s Home Collection

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ARTmonday: 12 Artworks from Uncommon Goods

I discovered Brooklyn-based site Uncommon Goods, which launched back in 1999, when I worked for Store Adore. I perused it all the time, especially for environmentally-conscious and handcrafted gift options. For some reason it had fallen off my radar for a while. They emailed me recently. I learned that the company’s lowest paid worker makes 50 percent above minimum wage—as good a reason as any to start shopping the site again—and that they donate to a number of worthy non-profits, including organizations for women, hunger, and the environment. I was also reminded of its selection of selection of cute gifts, including a whole bunch of whole bunch of personalized gifts, like jewelry, pillows, and books. There’s also affordable artwork. I posted a dozen of my favorite artworks from Uncommon Goods below.

Rainbow, Sarah Nicole Phillips, $85-$150

Big Orange Chair, Kate Lewis, $75-$130

Slice of Genealogy (custom artwork), Jen O’Neill, $295

Personalized Family Art, Mary and Shelly Klein, $150

Challenging Conditions, Audrey Heller, $140-$200

City Skyline Wooden Routing (NYC), $34

You Simply Glow, Jessica Swift, $65-$120

The Animal Alphabet Zoo, Kim Smith, $140

The Happy Elephant, Zlatka Paneva, $68-$150

Woven Seacape, Elise Wehle, $75-$135

Dogs (Dalmatian), Denise Fiedler, $125

Hiking With George, Renee Leone, $145-$ 230

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ARTmonday: TurningArt

Sorry for the late night post. Spent the snowy weekend organizing cabinets and hanging with friends, including interior designer Alison Sheffield and photographer Stephen Sheffield, when I guess I should have been blogging. Then today, had a whole bunch of style stories due to the Boston Globe. I was kinda thinking of skipping out early tonight to bed, but I just got an email from a Boston area company called TurningArt, so here we go.

The Boston-based start-up, founded by 35-year-old seasoned webpreneur Jason Gracilieri, is a sort of Netflix for art. For $10/month, the site will send you a framed print of an original artwork of your choosing, which you can swap as often as you like. Shipping is free and and membership dollars get banked as ArtCredit, which can be used to buy prints or original pieces from the site.

After a quick survey about your taste (literal vs. abstract), your way of life (city vs. suburbs), and how you approach it (conversation starter vs. laugh inducer), TurningArt assigns you a “Personal Curator.” Mine’s name is Mari. “She” curated ten pieces for me to kickstart my collection. The pieces were a bit more representational and traditional than my actual leanings. Here’s a sampling of artwork I found by browsing that I could live with: