Creative Café #28 ★

so i did it again didn't i, i vanished a for a few days and forgot that actually yes, i do run a blog from time to time. As per usual i have good excuses though, you can be sure of that!

anyway on with the post, today it's a Creative Café post which can mean only one thing...

time for the drill! so go, go now and get yourself a snack or beverage or something otherwise it takes the whole 'Café' part out of the Creative Café. i mean obviously if this were a real Café i'd be the one to go and fetch you a drink and a snack but this isn't a real café. it's a blog. so no such luck.

anyway, back to the post. today it's all about super talented designer, illustrator, evil mastermind and professional sneaker aficionado Tim Easley



i first discovered Tim's work some time last year via Twitter. i can't actually remember when it was i just know that it was through Twitter and that i really liked his style of illustration straight away.



i know i always say that when i do these posts but it was definitely true for Tim's work (it was true for the others as well i'm just trying to make a point here! i'll just give up shall i). i also won a little Xmas card and zombie moustache sticker off him last December and i can tell you now that i spent a very happy hour wandering around the house wearing my zombie moustache sticker when it arrived.

I could sit here and type up a heap of zany made up stuff about Tim but i thought it would make more sense to just borrow this from his website instead: "Tim Easley is a self taught designer & illustrator from London, who likes to work with hand drawn lettering, bright colours & bold lines. He creates work from uniquely imaginative concepts, matching seemingly unrelated subject matters in playful & explorative illustrations.

Having previously lived in Tokyo & Seattle, he is now based back in his home town, where he works in a variety of mediums, predominantly creating art for freelance projects & prints. His illustrations have been featured in a number of publications internationally, as well as being sold & exhibited worldwide.

Most days Tim can be found in his studio with some inappropriately placed pencils, daydreaming and doodling, surrounded by pretty ladies & piles of gold." 



all of that definitely sums him up better than i ever could! but the point is, he's a really talented guy and he creates all sorts of very groovy stuff using funky colours and nice bold outlines. his themes are often peculiar but brilliantly drafted to create wacky and wonderful scenes and characters. he also co-founded 'Crooked Tongues' which is apparently the place to go for anything sneaker related online. who knew!



i find Tim's work really inspiring, probably because we're both perfectionists and use similar bold outlines. but he's also full of great tips, useful criticism and advice for any and all creative types out there, and it's not just because Tim is older and wiser (he is though...) he just seems to have a great eye for what works and what doesn't when it comes to graphic design, typography and illustration making his own work a brilliant fusion of creative awesomeness that will make your brain go 'wow'.



that's why i wanted to feature his work on here, because i admire his stuff so much. oh and it's also because the other day i treated myself to one of Tim's rather fetching little tote bags (well i needed somewhere to store my impressive beach pebble collection...) and when it arrived he'd sent a stack of other papery goodies along with it which cheered me up no end

anyway there's probably a lot more that i could say about his work but my brain isn't cooperating fully today and i think i've rambled on for long enough now, so i'll leave you all to scroll through some more of Tim's work in your own sweet time, enjoy...

there you see, i told you it was all awesome! and i am usually always right...

ok time for some links now.


to see even more of Tim's work you can head on over to his website here - Tim Easley

he also has a great online shop selling rather lovely prints, stickers, postcards, totes, notebooks and other things that you might like to treat yourself or someone else to - Tim Easley | Store

you can also 'Like' Tim's work on Facebook - Tim Easley

and follow him on Twitter - @timeasley

he also has a Flickr page full of wonderful things for your eyes to feast on - Flickr


ok all that's left now is for me to say a whopping great 'thank you' to Tim for not telling me to go jump off a cliff when i asked him if i could run a blog post featuring some of his work. so thanks for that :)


All images featured in this post belong to Tim Easley © do not claim, use, distribute, reproduce of trace ANY of this work without his express written consent. All Rights Reserved.

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in other news, i've been very busy this week, so busy in fact that i forgot to say a big THANK YOU to everyone that entered the Blog Birthday Giveaway!!!

my blog turned 3 years old on Wednesday, unfortunately i was working all morning and at a meeting all afternoon so i completely forget to celebrate this fact

the giveaway closed on Wednesday night at midnight, it was a great success and the 3 winners have now been notified but thank you thank you thank you to everyone that entered it!

the next giveaway will be held exclusively on Twitter to celebrate my finally having reached 1000 followers on there, but to be in with a chance of winning you MUST be following me on Twitter - @jadeboylan

anyway until next time, that's all folks... xX

Creative Café #24 ★

so 2011 is on it's way out at last, and what better way to see out the New Year than with a funky Creative Café post!

when i started the 'Creative Café' features back in June i never thought i'd manage to keep doing them (what with the failed 'Super Sunday' posts...) but more than 20 Creative Café posts later and i still absolutely LOVE finding artists and creatives to feature here and share with you all!

 so here's to another year of totally super duper Creative Café posts to come in 2012!

anyway, quickly dash off and get a snack and a drink, maybe in light of NYE you'd like to grab a glass of champagne and kick off the festivities early, if not... get a nice cup of tea/coffee instead!

don't forget the cake, biscuits + leftover Xmas chocolates!

ok then without any further ado todays post is all about the truly awesome and fantastical Iris Luckhaus

Iris is a really fabulous illustrator, designer and stylist from Germany

she creates really stunning and incredibly detailed images full of gorgeous colours and bold outlines (i think you'll be able to see why i love her work so much!) her work is often very girly and fun, with sultry pouting pin-up type girls dressed up with fabulous outfits and accessories! 

i'm a fan of pretty much everything she does although i think some of my particular favourite designs of hers are from the 'Lily Lux' character sets

when she's not designing fab illustrations or putting together gorgeous outfits, Iris is a big fan of visual storytelling... and storytelling is one thing her drawings definitely do! 

each one has it's own tale to tell and they are often so full of little details that you could sit and look at one for hours and just keep spotting things to add to the story!

I first discovered Iris' work about a month or so ago when her name popped up in my 'twitter suggestions' list, the moment i clicked on her website i knew i'd have to feature her! 

her bold graphic style is stunning and the more i flicked through her work, the more i liked it

 ok, so i may have rambled on for long enough! have a nice scroll through some more of Iris' lovely designs in your own sweet time! enjoy...

gorgeous stuff right?! of course it is... although it was tricky to narrow it down at all! i wanted to post EVERYTHING! 

anyway, time for some links now...

to see even more of Iris' fabulously funky artwork, head over to her official website here - Iris Luckhaus

she also has a shop on her site selling books, prints and products featuring her designs + some really groovy magnetic dress-up dolls (i might have to treat myself to one of the doll sheets in the new year!) - Shop

you can also follow her on Twitter - @irisluckhaus

'Like' her work on Facebook - Iris Luckhaus Design

and follow her on Behance - Iris Luckhaus

she's also on Google+ so if you're on there, add her to a circle - Google+

you can also see more of her Lily Lux designs here - Lily Lux

all that's left for me to do now is say a very massive THANK YOU to Iris for saying yes about the feature! when i asked her she said yes straightaway and made my day by adding 'I think my girls would like the nice company they'd have there :)'. well i hope the post is ok Iris! Danke schön :) x

All images featured in this post belong to Iris Luckhaus © do not claim, use, distribute, reproduce or trace ANY of her work without her express written consent. All Rights Reserved.

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in other news, i've been working on some commissioned files for ads and banners so i STILL haven't finished working on my new candy characters! but i promise that when they're done, i'll post them on here for you all to see! 

if i don't post tomorrow, i'd like to wish all of you the happiest of New Years! may 2012 bring you everything you wish for!

so until next time (and maybe even next year!) that's all folks... ◕‿◕ ★ xX

Creative Café #17 ★

so it's time for another Creative Café post! as promised...

you know the drill, go and get a cup of tea or something, grab a cake/biscuit/chocolate bar etc

settled and comfy? good stuff, let's get on with it then!

today it's all about a smashing Manx artist, someone whose work i've admired for many years, this person is very talented and produces some really incredible artwork! this feature is also coincidentally the first one to feature a guy so without any further ado, today it's all about... Adam Berry!!!

like i said, Adam is a Manx artist/designer/animator who is super duper talented!!! he's not the first guy to be featured on the blog but he is the first guy artist to get a creative café feature! i know this is traditionally a verrry girly blog but you'll see from his work... his unique style of design appeals to both guys and girls.

i've followed Adam's work for a few years now, he was the artist in residence for a year at the local Sayle Art gallery in 2008 and i remember visiting the gallery one day while he was painting this amazing piece featuring a girl in sort of pop art colours. it was during my first year at college and was the first time i think i'd ever seen his work! (i was kind of closeted from the Manx Art world when i was studying for the IB at my old school!) 

sadly i never got to see his residency final exhibition but i remember going back to the gallery at some point in 2009 and seeing postcards of his work, so naturally i had to get some!!! (they're on my desk board at college) then seeing canvases of his work on sale in Zooma in Castletown. i could never afford a canvas but the style of his work has stuck with me since the first time i saw one of his paintings so i guess you could say that his work has inspired me over the years what with the bold outlines and bright colours of his style!

his work is so beautifully detailled and kind of timeless in a way, mainly because his pieces often contain varying styles of illustration. often his work conjures up images of the 60's with rounded melting text and multitudes of colour. but then some remind me of Victorian style art nouveau illustrations, full of flowing lines and tendrils of text, then others make me think of 1950's Pop Art with their collaged layers and spray painted features! then some pieces are just purely modern in style and medium. it's this flux-like style of creation that i really admire!

there's also a great sort of psychedelic vibe to Adam's work and obviously i love the way he  incorporates lots of sassy pinup type girls into his pieces. all of his artwork is beautifully executed in a bold but brilliant style, bursting with so much intricate detail that my brain boggles just looking at it!

anyway i've rambled on for long enough, have a little skeet at some more of Adam's work. (ps - this time we have multi-picture collages due to the size of the originals + it means you won't get hand cramp scrolling for half an hour like usual...)

so there you have it! really stunning stuff for sure! each piece is absolutely sublime!

links time now...

to see more of Adam's art and design work be sure to check out his official website here - Adam Berry

you can also buy prints (and originals!!!) of his work from his online shop here - Print Shop

be sure to 'Like' his work via facebook too - Adam Berry Artwork

you can even follow him on twitter to keep up to date with all his arty goings on - @adamcrapola

oh and don't forget, Adam also takes commissions for designs and stuff so you can also email him about all that here - adzberry@gmail.com

all that's left for me to do now is say a big ol' THANK YOU to Adam for saying yes about the feature! he was also kind enough to place a little link to my site on HIS newly re-launched site so thanks again for that as well!!!

All images featured in this post belong to Adam Berry © do not claim, use, distribute, reproduce or trace ANY of his work without his express written consent. All Rights Reserved.

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so that's that! not much else to tell really, i've been working my arrrrrse off on some new commissions which i'm trying to get done asap so i can finally get on with some college work!!!

i won't be back in college until Wednesday but i'll try to find something to post about before then!

so until next time, that's all folks... ◕‿◕ ★ xX