Stylized Magazine Spreads

The artist that has worked with virtually every major national agency

November 2012 styl ized 15

Winner of the Young Guns X Award

The up and coming artist from Madrid

The multi-talented artist cheering up NYC

The American Modernist artist who started it all

Featured Artists

blancagomez

the up and coming illustrator from Madrid

16 styl ized November 2012

lanca Gómez lives and works in Madrid, Spain.

She is an illustrator and graphic designer. Her

website is called "cosas mínimas,” which means "tiny things"

in Spanish. Simple things inspire her and her work, which

has been described as "colourful” and "whimsical.” She

works on projects ranging from editorial comissions, interior

design, stationery, books and advertising.

bNovember 2012 styl ized 17

blancagomez

WITHQ&A


Where are you from originally?

I am originally from Madrid and that

is where I currently reside. I am always

saying that I’d like to move somewhere

else for at least a while, but here I am. I

suppose underneath it all Madrid isn’t

so bad.

Tell us a bit about your art/design

background. Where did you study?

When I was little I would draw all day

long like many kids do and my parents

enrolled me in a painting academy. I

would always say that I wanted to be

a painter, but as I grew older I didn’t

see it as a feasible option and the idea

faded. When it was time to head to col-

lege I wasn’t clear what I wanted to do

with my life. I had

always considered

drawing a hobby,

but never imag-

ined it as one that

could earn me a living. Instead I chose

to study Publicity because I thought

it would lend itself to creativity and

aide in my professional development,

but I soon realized that Publicity was

not for me. I continued my studies, but

explored other alternatives like photog-

raphy and film through my fourth year,

which I spent in Milan. It was in Milan

that I became interested in graphic

design. I remember attending an eye-

opening exhibition of Milton Glaser’s

work and somehow finally figuring out

what I should do. When I returned to

Madrid I enrolled in evening classes at

a design school while I wrapped up my

publicity studies. I was in classes all day

until 11 P.M. and it was very exhausting

but well worth it in the end. One month

after finishing college and my design

coursework I began working for a small

graphic design studio that was mainly

“I suppose that everything that surrounds me and everything that I

like inspires me inevitably.”


dedicated to the production of busi-

ness literature. That is where I learned

to work in a very rigorous and precise

manner. I’ve been working for graphic

design studios for seven years now.

When did Cosas Minimas begin?

Cosas Minimas got its start several

years ago in a very curious way. I was

working for another graphic design

studio at the time and was in the habit

of constantly drawing on post-its. Most

of the drawings ended up in my waste-

basket and my boss would tell me that I

should do something with those draw-

ings, but I never paid much attention.

One day he simply told me that he had

chosen a name for my website and pur-

chased it for me. So it just naturally

morphed out of what was once merely

a hobby at work.

How has Cosas Minimas grown?

What was initially meant to be a per-

sonal project gradually and naturally

turned into a professional project.

Having a site dedicated to my per-

sonal projects forced me to learn more

and more. As time went on I began

dedicating more time and effort into

Cosas Minimas. That is how my first

commissions and collaborations came

about, always via the web, until finally

my hobby became my primary job. It’s

not like I had a plan or predetermined

objective, it just happened. These days

Cosas Minimas continues on its unde-

fined path; dividing my time between

personal projects, the store, and com-

mercial commissions.

Can you tells us about any projects

you’ve been involved in that you’re

particularly proud of?

It’s not a project in the strictest

sense, but I was very flattered that

Janine Vangool chose an illustration

of mine for the cover of the first issue

of Uppercase Magazine . I had never

before seen my work featured on the

cover of a magazine much less the first

issue and now I fear I won’t see it again.

The best part is that my work was on

the cover of a fantastic magazine, but

I feel honored more than proud. On

another note, I’ve just finished a series

of greeting cards for Carrie and Hal of

Red Cap (they’re lovely people). They

asked to use existing works, but when

I proposed new illustrations for them

they accepted and gave me free reign

when it came time to work. I think this

will be obvious when you see the final

results. I am very happy with the final

product and recently had a chance to

view some samples. They left a great

impression and I can’t wait to see the

real thing. Generally I feel most proud

of my personal projects. over my com-

mercial projects.

What inspires you most?

To be sincere, I’m not too certain what

inspires me. I suppose that everything

that surrounds me and everything that

I like inspires me inevitably. I’m a huge

collector of objects and books.

Picasso said something along the lines

of it being best for inspiration to find

you working, I happen to think that’s

good way to put it.


Julia Rothman is a illustrator and pattern de-

signer located in Brooklyn New York. You can

find her designs on various products for Urban

Outfitters Artist Series, on stationery for Hello!

Lucky, and on a new line of wallpapers for Hygge

& West. Her illustrations have appeared in The

New York Times, Details magazine and on a

line of puzzles for Kid O. She is also part of an

award winning three person design company

called Also. For fun she has a blog about art

books called Book by its Cover.

the multi-talented artist cheering up NYC


How and when did you first become

interested in art and illustration?

I always liked to draw since I as far back

as I can remember. I used to win a lot of

drawing contests in elementary school.

It was never the thing I was going to do

with my life, but it was always some-

thing I was good at. In high school, I

didn’t take art class until senior year

because of my schedule. I only applied

to one art school, RISD, after someone

suggested it to me. When I got in, I

took it more seriously and decided that

was what I wanted.

What attracted and inspired you to

designing patterns?

After graduating school I got hired to

work on the style guide for My Little

Pony. The art director, who is now one

of my close friends- Jess Rosenkranz-

wanted me to try making patterns for

the guide for licensing applications. It

sort of came naturally and I made many

more than she asked for just because

it was so fun. At the time I was just

using the computer and drawing in

Illustrator. I started making patterns

for many of the other Hasbro guides

as well, The Littlest Pet Shop, Plays-

kool, even Transformers. Jess wanted

me to check out Surtex (Surface tex-

tile trade show) one year with her to

see the trends in the market and I saw

individual designers selling patterns

they made. It gave me the idea to try

making patterns with my own draw-

ings and selling them to companies.

What was your first illustration gig?

I interned at City magazine the summer

before my junior year at RISD. They

gave me my first real illustration job,

which was a full-page drawing of a NYC

coffee cup. It was for the back page of

the magazine, which they called the

Icon page. Every issue they wrote the

history of a different NY icon. After I

did that first illustration and it worked

out well, it became a regular job. For

about 5 years I continued illustrating

that back page.

You recently completed The Exqui-

site Book, which is a contemporary

take on a Surrealist game. What

inspired you to create this book?

Jenny, Matt and I played the exquisite

corpse game all through art school. I

was visiting them in Chicago and we

were sitting in a coffee shop, as usual,

trying to think of an interactive project

JULIAROTHMAN

WITHQ&A


for my blog. That’s when we thought

it would be fun to play a variation of

the exquisite corpse game. Once the

idea got more fleshed out, it seemed

like it would be better as a book than

as an online project so we casually

approached Chronicle about it. They

loved the idea.

One hundred artists participated in

the making of The Exquisite Book.

How did you find most of the artists?

The internet has made it so easy to

learn about new artists. We are con-

stantly bookmarking artists we like.

Plus I had developed relationships with

artists because of my book blog, Book

By Its Cover, so it has made it easier

to approach them about participating.

Do you prefer hand drawn or digital

since your work uses both?

The digital vector style is kind of like

leftovers. I graduated school doing that

style and worked in it for many years

never really loving it. The hand drawn

style was developing in my more per-

sonal work. Finally, when I was con-

fident, I started working in the hand

drawn style more professionally.

What illustrators do you admire?

I love art that looks like it’s for kids but

it’s really for adults. All my very favorite

artists can fit in that category — Marcel

Dzama, Maira Kalman, Keiko Minami.

There’s hundreds more. Luckily I got

to work with so many of them on The

Exquisite Book.

Who or what has had the greatest

influence on your work?

I had the whole Sweet Pickle Books

series as a kid. The style uses thin line

drawings and flat color, super whim-

sically drawn. Looking through those

pages now I realized these might have

had a huge influence on how I draw.


HARPERCHARLEYThe American Modernist Artist that changed it all.

harley Harper's unique mini-

malist aproach is unmistake-

able. From his groundbreaking

mid-century illustrations for Ford Times

Magazine and Golden Books, his impec-

cably composed posters for the National

Parks and other wildlife organizations,

and to his whimsical serigraph and giclée

prints, Charley Harper's art is a beloved

treasure and an inspiration to an entire

generation of artists and designers.

C

PHOTO CREDIT: BOB SMITH


HARPERCHARLEYQ&A with


What is your process in creating

each painting?

I start with a sketch. For the Lab’s

painting, I cut out a lot of bird

shapes and pushed them around

until I was sure they were where I

wanted them to be. This let me try

different combinations and different

compositions very easily, and then,

when I finally decided where to put

them, I stuck them down with rubber

cement. That gave me the basis for the

painting. The problem is that I kept

wanting to make changes and every

time I did that it added another hour

or two to the process. I tried so hard

to make this painting the best thing

I’ve ever done, which is a measure of

how important it is to me.

Your works portray the essence of

birds well. Are you a bird watcher?

Over time I have developed an

enjoyment of birds. After I found

out what a feeding station was, I got

one and started drawing birds. But

they wouldn’t sit still. I found a bird

guide by Don Eckelberry and realized

that was all I needed--those birds

didn’t move. I’m the world’s worst

bird watcher. That’s my dirty little

secret. I do all my bird watching in

bird guides. Usually, before I start

painting I look at how everyone else

has interpreted birds. If I can, I do

look at birds. (I will even stoop to do

that sometimes!) I have trouble seeing

how birds look from below, so I also

use study skins.

In the early ‘60s I was asked by

Golden Press to illustrate the Golden

Book of Biology, which was published

in 1961, followed by The Animal

Kingdom, published in 1968. This

was my first education in nature, and

it’s gone on from there. Now I read

about birds and watch them around

my house.

I love the unique and entertaining

essays accompanying each work.

When did you develop this style?

I started doing captions when I was

working for the Ford Times magazine

in the 1950s. The first one or two

groups of birds--backyard birds and

maybe the next one--were written

by E. B. White. He didn’t want to

do them anymore, so they asked if I

would like to. I took off from his style,

then added my own awful puns, too. FORD TIMES FEATURE 1975

“I’ve always enjoyed punsthey are the purest form

of creativity.”


They loved them. And that’s how it came about

that I was a writer.

I’ve always enjoyed puns--they are the purest

form of creativity. Taking two words never

connected, and making a new creation--that

equals creation at its purest. I’m constantly

thinking of puns all the time. If it’s a good pun,

I’ll make a picture for it. Sometimes I will wake

up at 3:00 a.m. with an idea for a pun and write it

down. Later, I may turn that pun into a painting.

If you could sum up your artwork in one

sentence, what would you say?

I don’t count the feathers in the wings, I just

count the number of wings.

Charley Harper passed away at the age of 84 on

June 10, 2007. He will be greatly missed.

CARDINAL WITH BERRIES 1954

TUFTED TITMOUSE 1954

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