Friday Finds
Illustrator Meiling Chen’s 2018 sketchbook, “Meii,” is a gorgeous series of spreads that showcase the oft-underrated power of character design. Chen’s paint-and-ink illustrations are immersive snippets of magical new worlds, with scribbles of text and enchanting accents of gold that add to the air of fantasy. Chen works as a 2D and 3D artist in California, taking on concept projects like character designs, storyboarding, environmental modeling, and editorial illustrations. She has a specific focus on projects in the science-fiction and fantasy genres. You can see her reel of 3D works on her Youtube channel and check out more of her illustrations on her website.
Zara Ashger’s 2016 sketchbook “Cityscapes,” is a rich compilation urban landscape illustrations. With pen in hand, Ashger captures the hustle and bustle of her local Lahore through delicate ink drawings and intricate line-work. These vignettes of architectural structures, crowds of commuters, and snapshots of everyday life is a great source of inspiration for budding urban sketchers. Ashgar works as an artist and educator in Pakistan, and continues to doodle her daily observations while also dabbling in painting and printmaking. You can follow her on Instagram and check out her illustrated story, “Chaotic City,” through StoryWeaver.
For her 2014 sketchbook, “Journey,” artist Stephanie Elise Flier decided work under the theme “accidents,” writing that “I put old prints and sketches that I considered to be "mess-ups" to use and gave them a new life by incorporating them with other materials.” Coupled with a desire to travel, Flier’s bird motif follows the viewer across each spread, encountering collages of flowers, cityscapes, and found objects. It’s a sketchbook full of whimsy, and one that wholeheartedly embraces the imperfect process of making art. Flier continues to live and work in Mississippi, with a focus on printmaking and ceramics that are influenced by botanical and ecological imagery. You can see more of her work by visiting her website and by following her on Twitter.
Elaine Weiner-Reed’s 2014 sketchbook, “Raw Edges Soliloquy,” is a great example of how an abstract approach to art-making can lead to insights and experiments with color, texture, and sharing one’s own stories. Each bite-sized painting and collage piece offers a look inside Weiner-Reed’s process as an artist, presenting her emotions and observations with each visually-harmonious piece. Visually harmonious, this sketchbook will surely spark an interest in smaller-scale painting. Weiner-Reed continues to exhibit her work across the country and is currently the artist-in-residence for Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts. In addition to producing work, Weiner-Reed also teaches workshops, and is the author of several children’s books. You can learn more about her upcoming shows and latest pieces by checking out her website and subscribing to her Youtube channel.
