Hi Summer babies!

We made it! Over the course of the last month, my yard exploded with tulips, lilacs, irises and greens..lots of greens. Entering Summer feels like a totally new existence in Michigan, which is why I love this region so much - each season feels like a new life. June also officially marks the halfway mark of the Yearlong Celebration of Things I Love About Art! It’s been an inspiring change of pace digging into to and sharing new artists with you everything month and this month is no different. In fact - this was the easiest month to put together. We are celebrating SHAPE - and many artists came to mind for this one.

What is SHAPE? A shape is created when a line is enclosed. It can be organic or geometric, and can also be a two-dimensional area that is defined by a change in value or some other form of contrast. (The Virtual Instructor)

When I consider shape in my own work, I think of simplifying an image, which is not actually that simple at all given that I’m prone to drawing realistically or putting in every detail. Thinking in shapes helps me balance a piece of artwork though. I’m better able to set boundaries between foreground, middle, & background, especially with lots of moving pieces and details. Breaking an image down into shapes also helps me harmonize color when I’m not using the addition of line.

Here are a few examples of where I think shape really helped me simplify a scene.

“Talent consists not in inventing shapes but in causing those that were invisible to emerge.”
- Muriel Barbery

GOSIA HERBA

I’ve long loved the work of Polish illustrator Gosia Herba. When I first came across her work, I was drawn to her seemingly effortless ability to lay out an image in a stark and alluring composition - with the most incredible shapes!! I often look to her work as inspiration when trying to simplify my own - she has a way of dropping the useless details. She’s worked for publishers, magazines, ad agencies, and has written & illustrated picture books and graphic novels. Honestly it’s hard to choose just a few of her pieces to share.

© Gosia Herba, Vote! 2019, Created as a part of the action curated by Pogotowie Graficzne.

Caterpillars, @ Gosia Herba

Omg the shapes on the one below!! Now this is serious shape celebration.

Kingdom, © Gosia Herba

BEATRICE CEROCCHI

This Italian illustrator has been a long time favorite - not only do I adore her subtle palettes and textures, it’s her shapes!! They’re clever and calming and she seems to add just enough detail to retain clarity. She’s done work for picture books and magazines, and even on site installations. What I especially love is that her work is analogue - she gets the most velvety textures in gouache, colored pencil, and other traditional materials.

Piazza di Spagna, Roma, Gouache on paper, 38,5x28,5cm, January 2023 © Beatrice Cerocchi

This is a lovely video to see her process for the piece above! And below left - see how simple two different color doors represents lighting in such a subtle way… swoon

Illustrations for 'PASTA!' written by Felice Arena - Affirm press, March 2023 ©Beatrice Cerocchi

Illustrations for 'PASTA!' written by Felice Arena - Affirm press, March 2023 ©Beatrice Cerocchi

'Il giardino più bello' written by Luca Tortolini - Editrice Il Castoro, 2020 ©Beatrice Cerrochi

MIZUKI GOTO

Mizuki Goto is a Japanese artist whose work is brimming with interesting shapes. Her work is so playful and bold - definitely inspiring in terms of simplification (yet of source, not simple at all…) She works in torn paper collage, and while I can’t find specifics, it does seems like the paper has painting textures before it’s cut (I could be wrong!) After graduating from design school, she worked in a children’s specialty store where she was inspired to pursue illustration. Her work can be found in picture books, newspapers, magazines, and more. Isn’t it seriously so fun? Was almost impossible to only choose a few to share.

"I live with this"Yoko Mun / Written by Kadokawa Shoten, Binding: Kanae Sakazume ©Mizuki Goto

“LA SAUGE 40” ©Mizuki Goto

Written and Illustrated by Mizuki Goto, "Onamida Poi Poi" Mishima Publishing 2017, Binding: Yuichi Urushibara (tento)

JACOB LAWRENCE

Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) was a painter and educator whose work can be found in museums across the country from MOMA to the Whitney Museum. His work has such brilliant shapes inspired by the sights and colors of Harlem, where he was active in the beginning of his career, “All these people on the street, various colors, so much pattern, so much movement, so much color, so much vitality, so much energy.” He gained national recognition for a 60 panel Migration Series which depicted the great migration of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North - something he himself experienced after moving as a child, being placed into foster care, and reuniting with his mother in NY.

©Jacob Lawrence, The Migration Gained in Momentum, 1940-41, via MOMA

© Jacob Lawrence, Housing for the Negroes was a very Difficult Problem, 1940-41, via MOMA

The Shoemaker, Jacob Lawrence, 1945 via The MET

CAMILLA ENGMAN

I first found the work of Swedish artist Camilla Engman a decade ago when I found her Suitcase Series Vol 1 Book with Uppercase. I fell immediately in love with her work and have continued to admire it. At times, it has a sweet innocence about it, but at other times, her work is haunting and eerie, quiet with muted colors and sparse shapes. Her characters are also quite interesting - sometimes they are clearly human. In some of her work, they look more like dogs, dolls, or empty eyed organic shapes. She works as a multidisciplinary artist, doing three dimensional work as well as paintings and collaborations.

Uppercase Suitcase Series Vol 1. with Camilla Engman

“I sent a letter once, I don't know to whom” Acrylic on board 80x60 cm, ©Camilla Engman

“Omgruppering” Part of a commissioned installation at a library in Sweden, ©Camilla Engman

MIROSLAV SASEK

There probably aren’t many illustrators who haven’t heard of Miroslav Sasek but he’s a must on this shape loving list so we’re celebrating him anyway! He of course is the Czech artist behind the This is… series, which began with This is Paris in 1959. He was prolific with these successful books, creating This is London, Rome, New York, Edinburgh, Munich, Venice, San Francisco, Israel, Ireland, Hong Kong, and more. Sasek had trained as an architect, finishing studies not only from the school of architecture but also the school of drawing and painting at the Czech Technical University in Prague before doing a host of creative endeavors in illustration, puppet making, and radio broadcasting. His works brilliantly lay out architectural details but they human capture something alive and human.

“This is Rome”, 1960. (Photo: Ondrej Pribyl/Šašek Foundation)

© Miroslav Sasek

© Miroslav Sasek

THE PRINTED PEANUT

Most of you I’m sure will be familiar with Louise Lockhart - the powerhouse behind The Printed Peanut. I have mega respect for her ability to have a unified brand and and body of work (also she has the most adorable studio and house!) But she’s also a great artist to talk about in regards to shape! Louise works in cut paper and print, bringing her work to books and magazines, but mostly her incredible products which range from cards to soap to textiles. I love the way she portrays places, packaging and people in playful geometric shapes.

A Collection of Work, all ©theprintedpeanut

(detail from) Along The Pier, Concertina Booklet, ©theprintedpeanut

Cut Paper Process, via InkyGoodness Interview, ©theprintedpeanut

What about you, do you get excited about shapes, either in your own work or in the work of others? As always, I’d love to hear your suggestions about artists - it’s so fun to learn from you on these posts too.

If you want a deeper dive into shapes, this month on The Dessert Club Patreon, I’m sharing some examples of simplifying shapes and using cut paper to build an illustration. We use neocolor crayons, acrylic gouache, and vintage paper to make this month’s Blog Illo! (I did edit a bit in post - can you spot the differences?)

On The Dessert Club, you’ll also find a recent behind the scenes post from last month’s recipe (strawberry shortcake!) where I experiment with printing linocut - something I hadn’t done in so long!

OK! Thanks as always for reading - such a joy to connect with all of you every month. Have the wildest and most refreshing month of June - it’s the only one in 2023 we’re gonna get!

xoxo,

Becca