Paper Is Pretty.

Ever since I can remember I have been obsessed with paper. Stationary shops were literally like my dream shop when I was a kid. If my Mum would've let me, I could have spent hours just wandering round looking at all the paper and pens and sheets of wrapping paper. 

I would save up my pocket money to buy colourful pads of paper, and bits of card and just keep them in my room until I had an excuse to make someone something pretty with them. I even had one of those fake little Post Offices once. I'm not ashamed. It was amazing.

So naturally, when I came across these gorgeous illustrations by Yulia Brodskaya made entirely of paper, I was in awe.

Works in Paper - Bianca Chang

Bianca Chang - Recent Works, June 2011 from Bianca Chang on Vimeo.

Photography Summer 2010

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Stains

I recently came across these gorgeous pieces by Canadian artist/creative Niall McClelland. The vibrant designs are simply created by leaked printer cartridges on paper, and the results are beautiful.

"Famous Faces"

Over the past few weeks I've been working on a series called "Famous Faces" - a collection of Fine Art portraits of legendary people dating right back to the 1920's. I'm holding an exhibition for the collection, at Rudeboy Studios in Norwich, from May 14th onwards.

copyright sktchpd 2011 ⓒ

Marilyn

copyright sktchpd 2011 ⓒ

I know Marilyn Monroe has been used over and over again in the past by different artist's, to the point of becoming a bit of a cliché, but I still wanted to do my own take on her, and found an awesome photo I hadn't seen before. If I was going to do it I wanted it to be something different, not the typical smiley pose you find with Andy Warhol prints, so thought this was perfect.

The Boy & I

I drew this over a year ago now as a present for my boyfriend, and finally got round to putting it up. 

Love you Jake.

Toys on Roids

I recently saw a friend showing this to another friend saying how great it was etc. and couldn't resist a little peek at it myself.. and they weren't wrong. It's an amazing collection of around 60 photos of classic and modern toys, all shot using a Polaroid SX-70 by Sean Tubridy.

The collection ranges from cute little 50's robots, to really cool 70's cars, all with their own unique story to tell. The best part is the fact that these photos have not been manipulated or Photoshopped in any way; what you see is literally what you get, and we all know how difficult and unpredictable shooting with a Polaroid can be.

The collection ranges from cute little 50's robots, to really cool 70's cars, all with their own unique story to tell. The best part is the fact that these photos have not been manipulated or Photoshopped in any way; what you see is literally what you get, and we all know how difficult and unpredictable shooting with a Polaroid can be.

As you flick through his Flickr stream it becomes apparent the lengths he goes to to create these wonderfully animated images. He uses different backdrops and often elaborate sets to really create a feeling of childhood imagination, but with a more adult twist of humor.

To view the entire collection, go check out his Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/seantubridy/sets/72157603732440197/with/2329551886/

PurpleTree

This was one of my final major projects for my third and final year at uni. It was a self-written brief to design an identity for a new high-end restaurant based in London. I wanted the identity to reflect the organic nature of the restaurant, which would use fresh, local produce, and serve up amazing meals that people would want to come back for.

This was my final logo that would be the focal point of the restaurant's identity.

I then began looking at patterns, and the sort of shapes I could make using the logo, which I thought would be a great idea for a cocktail mat design.

These were my four final designs, using the various different pattern layouts. I also thought it would make a nice touch to have seasonal cocktail mats - for example a tree with full, green leaves for spring, purple leaves for summer, a tree with some golden/yellow leaves for autumn, and then a completely bare tree with no leaves for winter.

I then carried that same theme through to the menus, using the summer trees for the food menu, autumn for the desserts, and winter for the drinks. However on all three menus I still kept one random "purple tree" on the front and back of each; not only to remind the customer of where they are, but as a like subliminal way of saying that PurpleTree is unique, and nothing like any other restaurant experience. It sets itself apart from the rest.

copyright sktchpd 2011 ⓒ

This is a card that the bill will be presented in at the end of the meal. It's the same size as a normal credit card, so can easily be stored in a purse or wallet, and contains all the restaurant details so customers can easily book a table for a return date.