artistic block = artistic gain

Every artist knows what a pain it can be to have an artistic block. Sometimes they take weeks, others just a day...but in general they're my worst nightmare! Well, I've been in one for probably the past three weeks :( I know many factors have to be considered, such as situations happening in my personal life, nutrition, exercise, etc....all in which I know I've been on the downside.
A couple of weeks ago a few dear Australian friends of mine came to visit, and I spent a week with them at Santa Teresa beach, here in Costa Rica. One of our greatest discoveries, not only food-wise but artistic-wise as well, was Zwart Art Café, or Zwart's as we liked to call it.
This beautiful café/art gallery/hang-out spot was founded by Canadian-born Margriet Zwart (or Margarita, as she introduced herself). Her paintings are a reflection or her personality: collage-like illustrations made from memories, dashes of peacefulness mixed with the chaotic world. Neon and pastels. Surf, sun, birds, dogs,...a bit of everything. Even her café: an all-white space resembling calmness and freshness, gets mixed in the hustling of her illustrations and the noises from the street right at the doorstep. A balance of all things good, and just the right amount of peace vs. chaos to enjoy a very good meal indeed!

Todos los artistas sabemos el dolor que provoca un bloque artístico. A veces toman semanas, y otras sólo un día...pero en general son mi peor pesadilla! Bueno, he estado con un bloque desde hace ya tres semanas :( Yo sé que hay muchos factores que considerar, tales como situaciones en la vida personal, nutrición, ejercicio, etc...todos en los cuáles sé que estoy del lado negativo. Hace un par de semanas, unos amigos Australianos muy estimados míos vinieron a visitar, y pasé con ellos una semana en la playa de Santa Teresa, aquí en Costa Rica. Uno de nuestros grandes descubrimientos, no sólo en temas de comida sino en temas artísticos, fue Zwart Art Café, o Zwart's como le decíamos cariñosamente. Esta bello café/galería/lugar-para-pasar-el-tiempo fue fundado por la Canadiense Margriet Zwart (o Margarita, tal y como ella se introdujo). Sus pinturas son un reflejo de su personalidad: ilustraciones tipo collage hechas de memorias, pinceladas de paz mezcladas con el mundo caótico. Neón y pasteles. Surf, sol, pájaros, perros,...de todo un poco. Incluso su café, un espacio completamente blanco asimilando la calma y la frescura, se mezcla con el movimiento de sus ilustraciones y los ruidos de la calle que está justo a la salida de la puerta. Es un balance de todas las cosas buenas, y justo la porción necesaria de paz vrs. caos para disfrutar de una muy buena comida!

sunday groove

I was researching through my 'inspiration' folder today for some...um...inspiration, when I noticed that I have all these beautiful designs from all over the world saved up, and have forgotten to add the name of the designer who created it. However, having said that these designs are not mine, and have been taking from various resources all over the internet, I don't see why I shouldn't share 'em here. In fact, I have so many saved inspirations in my hard drive that I decided every Sunday I'll share some fairytale grooveness from my folder. Behold, the first of many Sundays...

wool & things

I recently discovered Wendy Chan when browsing through The Dieline and immediately went on to search her work. She's an undergrad about to graduate from the University of Florida and already has an amazing portfolio. Her Yarnimals project caught my attention, especially because of her treatment in the logo, but looking at others I found that they're equally captivating! She has an almost childish style turned retro, a kind of design that has taken over 2010-2011 and hasn't yet dropped in popularity! A retrofantastic pastel fairytale :)

fantastic duo

Argentinians Gaby Herbstein (photographer) and Pablo Bernasconi (illustrator) collaborated to produce these magnificent images for a Buenos Aires based foundation called Fundación Azara that promotes activities for the community and the environment. The images were used for their 2011 calendar called "Garbage is not Garbage".

coqué azcona

Recently I was looking for inspirations for a postcard design for a hotel project I-m doing. I have these images I-m using throughout the design of the hotel, but I wanted to use them in a different way so that it wouldn-t become monotonous.
I-m subscribed to this online magazine called LeCool, in Barcelona, where it shows you all the artsy events going on in the city, and the front page was done by this amazing illustrator called Coqué Azcona. I thought right then and there it was a perfect solution for my project, and I think it is worthwhile to check her out!