Japanese Illustrator Miroco Machiko

Miroco Machiko was born in 1981 in Osaka, Japan currently lives in Tokyo. Her work shows her love for animals that are depicted in the paintings with bold and vivid colors in an abstract style. Her animals are formed with rough brush stokes, visible pencil lines in simple yet magical shapes.

Miroco has participated in many exhibitions throughout Japan, created several children's books and won a Japan Picture Book Award for her book Ōkami ga Tobu Hi (The Day the Wolf Flies). Her work has been featured on the cover of magazines. Her work can be viewed in person at the exhibition at the art gallery Hirakata in Osaka Prefecture from January 16 - February 7.

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3D Illustrations from Discarded Books by Isobelle Ouzman

Seattle based illustrator Isobelle Ouzman breathes new life into discarded books by turning them into sculptural works of art. She cuts away parts of the pages from the book and draws bind-blowing nature scenes framed with dense trees, tall grasses, intertwined branches and flowers. She calls her creations 'Altered Books'. Her work is primarily in black-and-white tones with some color that gives an impression of a glowing light at the end of the path creating a fairytale land drawing the viewer in.

Using an xacto knife, plenty of glue, pens, and watercolors Isobelle Ouzman creates stunning 3D sculptures. Each book can take anywhere from two to three months to complete.

“Every book that I alter was found by a dumpster in Seattle, a recycling bin, a thrift store, or was given to me by someone who no longer wants it,” she shared. “Rather than have these discarded books sit out in the rain or in some store to gather dust, I’m striving to make good use of them. I love books very much and would never carve into one that was valuable. I just want to give them a new life and a second chance to mean something again.”

You can see more of Isobelle's amazing 3D book sculptures as well as illustrations on her website.

Embroidered Pocket Pals by Coral & Tusk

Stuffed Pal is a series of adorable animals by Coral & Tusk. Each animal is born from a simple pencil drawing which is redrawn stitch-by-stitch on computer. Every piece is then hand-crafted and embroidered on linen. The animal pals range from 1 inch to 4 inches tall, small enough to fit in your pocket. The stuffed pals are available in several designs including owl, goat, dog, bison, cat, alpaca, donkey, bower bird, elephant and many more.

Woodblock Prints by Matt Underwood

Born in 1971 British painter and print maker Matt Underwood  was curious about natural history which lead him to draw and keep sketchbooks from an early age. He studied art and art history at Salisbury College of Art and then went to Carmarthenshire College of Art to study wildlife illustration, completing his Higher National Diploma in illustration with a distinction. 

After completing college Matt began his career as a painter with landscape and still life being main subjects of his work.

"Matt finds that it is often a tiny piece of information, which may trigger an idea for a work – seeing an animal or bird in an unusual location, or a blink sketch of swifts. The challenge for him is to convey his enthusiasm for the subject and capture the feeling of seeing something for the first time."

Working without a printing press Matt creates eye-catching woodblock prints using Japanese woodblock printing technique that uses a bamboo baren, a baren is a round flat disc covered traditionally with a dried leaf. I love the grainy texture and the fusion of soft combined with bright colors in his beautiful owls and birds.

Matt has exhibited his work at many galleries including: The Medici Gallery, The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, The Llewellyn Alexander Gallery, The Royal West of England Academy of Art and The Mall Gallery. He is a member of the Society of Wildlife Artists that aims to generate appreciation for the natural world and awareness of the importance of its conservation through some the world's best wildlife and nature artists.

You can see more of his woodblock prints and paintings on his website. Visit his online store for his limited edition prints.

"50 Shades of Owls"

  

Asya Mitskevich is an artist from Moscow, Russia who gave herself a challenge to draw an owl every day for fifty days, each drawing measuring 15cm x15cm. This challenge turned into an owl drawings collection "50 Shades of Owls" which also became a part of an exhibition of miniatures in Moscow 2015. 

She has an online store where you can find the original drawings that come in a beautiful wooden frame. There are limited edition prints as well for about $8 a piece.