Realistic Paintings by Tom Björklund

"Eagle owl chick"

"Juvenile great grey owl"

"Tengmalm´s owl"

"Cave hyena cub"

"Swans"

"Horse"

Tom Björklund is an artist and illustrator presently living in Espoo, southern Finland. Besides art, he is passionate about nature and history, influence of which is visible in his work. He digitally paints these stunningly realistic wildlife with such detail and precision that one'll need a second take to realize that these are not real but are paintings. He has won several awards such as the Bjorn Kurten Prize in 2011 for his amazing work, and the Public Information Award in 2010.

The process of paintings usually start as a traditional pencil drawing and then thin strokes of colors are added onto a painting layer by layer which is the most time consuming work. The technique of applying patterned brushstrokes does not interfere with the painting, instead add dimension giving a painting 3D effect. For creating his paintings he uses a software called ArtRage. Tom Björklund shares: "I’ve been using ArtRage for my professional work practically from the beginning...Actually, my commissioners and my audience have hardly noticed that I have changed media from traditional to digital."

You can learn more about him and his exceptional work through his interview that he gave to ArtRage, here. If you feel inspired then visit his his blog for a detailed tutorial on how he painted his eagle owl chick (shown above).

You can view traditional and digital artwork by Tom Björklund on DeviantART. I bet you won't be able to spot any difference between the two. 

Swatch: New Watch Collection

The brand new 2015 watch collection by Swatch features playful and bright designs. Some of my favorites are shown above - "Wild Totem" with owl head on the dial, part of the animal totem on the strap, "Cattitude" with cat head and cat motifs , "1, 2, 3 Soleil" featuring number shaped characters and "Choupinou".  These are fun to wear and will compliment a wide variety of outfits.

Thanks Megan!

Jim Shore: Hand-Painted Easter Eggs

I know it's a little early to be talking about Easter but considering how quickly time flies Easter will be here before we know it. Also, when I came across these adorable Easter eggs I couldn't keep them to myself and I had to share them with you all. 

These "Miniature Character Easter Eggs" come in six designs including owl and chick that are hand-painted and come in a beautiful egg carton shaped box as a set from Jim Shore.com. These are perfect as a playful accessory for Easter basket or to be added to a centerpiece. The set and individual characters can also be found on eBay and Amazon.

The Poultry and Raptor Suites by Jean Pagliuso

Jean Pagliuso was born in California in 1941. After gaining majors degree in Fine Arts at UCLA, she worked as an assistant art director at Mademoiselle Magazine. She began her career in photography in 1969 and in 1974 she moved to New York. Her work has been published in Seventeen, Mademoiselle, NY Magazine, Italian Harper Bazaar, Vogue, HG, Time, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Men’s Journal, New York Times Magazine “Fashion of the Times”, Italian Vogue, and Interview Magazine. Apart from her fashion photography, she has worked in collaboration with film director Robert Altman, as well as Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox and Disney.

Last ten years of Jean Pagliuso's work is influenced by her travels to Cambodia, India, Turkey, Mexico, and Peru, consisting photographs of palaces, temples, sacred places addressing the theme of time, nature and decay.

Her latest “Poultry Suite” and “Raptor Suite” series feature owls and roosters in black and white photographs on handmade paper washed with hand-painted silver emulsion against minimal backgrounds "explore the animals’ anthropomorphic traits, and the resulting photographs are simultaneously captivating and timeless." via. 

Amazing Wire Sculptures by Helen Godfrey

Helen Godfrey is a self-taught sculptor who currently lives in rural Dorset. She specializes in creating amazing life like sculptures drawing inspiration from her surrounding wildlife. Helen initially began using galvanized wire for her papier mache work, for which she won a bursary from Dorset Arts and Crafts in 1997. Her work exhibited in garden openings and craft exhibitions. Slowly, she shifted to making wire sculptures when people showed more interest in the wire shapes than papier mache itself.

Her wire sculptures gained popularity among the masses and started to appear at garden openings in UK as well as in abroad. Her work featured in publications such as The English Garden magazine and Dorset magazine. She has created a whole menagerie of animals including owl, hare, elephant, badger, chicken, fox, birds and many more. It's truly amazing that these real looking animal sculptures are made with galvanized wire which is a challenging material because of it's strength and lack of flexibility. 

To learn more about Helen and her work visit her website, and to get updates on her new work you can follow her on facebook.

Animal Inspired Tea Infusers

With these animal shaped tea infuser your tea time will be more fun. These will also make a wonderful gift for a tea drinking animal lover!

1. Owl Tea Infuser

2. Tea Rex Tea Infuser

3. Frog Tea Infuser and Drip Tray

4. Dunkfish Tea Infuser

5. Squirrel Tea Infuser

6. Blue Whale Floatin' Tea Infuser with Stainless Steel Basket

Collection: Owl Mosaic

 Kasia Polkowska

Owl at Malibu Legacy Park, via

"Night Owl" by Claudia Santillan

Owl by L.A. Mosaic Gifts

Owl & the pussycat mosaic by FOSAL

"Night Shift" by Susan Turlington

Owl mosaic planter from here

Owl mosaic made from pebbles Queen Street, Edinburgh, via.

Solange Piffer

Mosaic on a glass window by Meaco's Art Garden

Fossil: New Bag Collection

Another lovely bag collection featuring owl motif in navy by Fossil. The collection includes everyday functional bags including cross-body, wristlet, carry-all case, flap cross body, zip clutch, shopper tote, backpack (not shown) and more. You can find all the products from the range here and here.

Round-Up 2015 Calendars Part - II

LisaVanin

Andralynn

Kate Endle

PencilMouse

SukiMcMaster

PixieCampbell

EweSir

Linoking

ByMoni

NaisyHomemade

Artibonita

Faith303

BeckyTylerArt

Still looking for the perfect 2015 calendar for your desk or wall? Don't worry, I am here to help :) This round up is all about the beautiful birds and animals inspired calendars with fresh designs and gorgeous illustrations. For more calendars make sure you check out my round-up of owl calendars part 1, here.