I like to think of myself as an arty person, despite the fact
that the last time I picked up a paintbrush was probably during year 7 art
class. Art comes in so many different forms and doesn’t have to fit into the
confines of what’s seen as ‘classic.’ It can be dark, comical, gross, beautiful,
hilarious and everything in between, and social media is the perfect tool for
discovering loads of exciting new artists and their innovative ways of
producing. I’m big into my illustrators at the moment after stumbling across
their work on the likes of Twitter, and decided to write a little list of my
faves as a way to lift up and showcase the talents of some of these fabulous
females. Enjoy!
1. ELLEUSTRATES
Elle is a 20 year old illustrator (and drop dead gorgeous
gal) whose artwork I stumbled upon via Twitter. Her intricate line detail and
beautiful depictions of nature, mental health, self-love and being a girl are
honestly incredible and I have been known to spend inordinate periods of time
scrolling through her Tumblr page. Her mindfulness zines available on her Etsy
shop are beautifully finished and you can really tell how much time has gone
into their creation. When I am not as poor as I currently am now, I need to get
this girl to draw me a custom portrait. She’s going places.
2. RUBY ETC
You know those days when everything has gone horribly
wrong? When you’ve finally managed to slither out of bed only stood on a plug,
then sprinted to the station and found that your tube is so busy you’re
practically inhaling the hair of the person in front? Ruby’s new book It’s All
Absolutely Fine basically takes all those mad bad days and produces something
akin to the rare and beautiful instance when you’re having a mental breakdown
and someone else says “oh my god I get that too.” It’s a soothing sigh for the
soul. Her social media channels are regularly updated with darkly comical quick
sketches and on a bad day her work is the hug your brain needs.
3. JULIE HOUTS
This, dear readers, is the woman whose art you without a
doubt need in your life. I’m fairly sure that Julie has, at some point, snuck
into my bedroom whilst I was sleeping and peered right into my brain. Her
pencil sketches are based on the nuances of day to day life and touch upon the
troubles and strife experienced as a twenty-something year old woman. And as
any woman. And probably some men. She covers the likes of bad dates, being an
anti-social hermit and weird cultural things we all do like wear Thrasher
hoodies as a uniform despite knowing as much about skateboarding as we do about
brain surgery. She is so damn relatable, and that’s her selling point.
4. JESSIE CAVE
If you’ve ever met someone you fancied on a night out and
woken up in the morning to discover your Facebook search history emblazoned
with their name, along with the names of their ex-girlfriend and their ex-ex-girlfriend,
then Jessie’s love sick illustrations may perhaps strike a chord. Her colourful
illustrations focus on the utter MADNESS that is the bedfellow of modern dating
and in a weird sort of reverse psychology way, makes me feel a little bit
better about being so utterly crackers when it comes to matters of the heart.
5. MARSHALL ART
A new venture by a London-based gal who has ditched the
corporate life to follow her dreams of being an artist (should totally be a movie,
I know), Marshall Art is the brainchild of all round wonderful human Kayleigh
Marshall. Kayleigh’s work includes cute pineapple and flamingo geometric prints,
mixed media pieces and custom commissions of pretty much anything your heart
desires. She cites her ugliest possession as her ‘sex panther jumper’ and at
that, I was sold.
Hope you enjoyed this little run down & please let me know if you know any other talented artists you think I'd like!
Sara x
