Blue Munday: rain, more kylie, and jason brooks

I always love it when it rains at night. What is it about the calming nature of the sound of rain? I filmed a few seconds of it from last night's april shower we had here in Southern Cali...


Anyway, as much as I like the rain, I've been seeing so much summer driven product lately, that I've actually been itching for a little fun in the sun... poolside... A few Blue Mundays ago, I posted an image from the H&M campaign for the new Kylie Minogue swim line, and now they have a full blown commercial for it.



(sigh) Doesn't lounging by the pool sound nice right about now?

anyway- which brings us to a way to have both rain and sun, via the always sexy stylings of illustrator Jason Brooks. Jason Brooks offers prints on his website, allowing you to always have a little fabulousness to gaze upon, no matter what the weather is outside. Here are a few of my faves that go with my current state of mind. Have a great munday!

J.otto is back!

As a huge fan of Mr. Seibold's work, I was very sad to see his old site (jotto.com) had gone down- BUT I just got a comment from him and it's back! (well, he got a new domain name) YAY! He said, "...yeah, somehow I couldn't prove I was me when re-registering my domain (after ten years!)... and in the process, someone who needed to make a crappy gambling site was able to nab the jotto.com. So, tell everyone this sordid tale..." I guess moral of the story is, keep tabs of your domain name and make sure you renew it before it goes! Here's more in his own words. Well, I'm thrilled he's back (not that he ever left, just his site) and looks like we'll get to see more books and projects in the near future. He also recently completed some fantastic posters for St. Judes Pediatric Cancer Treatment center.

And he has a blog as well! Catch up on what he's been up to- (click on news) Check out all his characters/books, and even download a fun paper box!

Tim Biskup

Tim Biskup is one of my favorite illustrators. Recently, I stopped by his gallery, located inside the Johnson Motor's store in Old Town Pasadena, and came across his fantastic book called "American Cyclops". This thin, but oversized hardback book showcases some of the work that was in an exhibition he did in Spain. The inside cover is printed in fluorescent orange ink- so cool. He's a local So California artist- and I love his blend of Disney / retro /punk /sci-fi /skateboarding style. You can get a copy of your own at via the GiantRobot store. ($39.95)

Spring Green, Nordstrom, and a touch of black.

What I love about this time of the year is you can always count on fresh visuals. Every spring certain colors, like Kelly Green, or various shades of chartreuse always return. This year, this illustration from Ruben Toledo for Nordstrom perfectly sums up the season (above). I love the addition of black and white which gives a crisp contrast and makes everything pop. Speaking of black, look at how great this outside slat wall looks painted in black, juxtaposed against the natural beauty of the trees and surrounding nature. (image from Met Home March 2007)Decor8 has a great post all about the many shades of the color green right now, and Design*Sponge recently had a "mini trend" report on Kelly Green too.

And back to Nordstrom and Ruben Toledo- Has anyone checked out the Nordstrom website lately? They have this special interactive flash section for their "designer collections" (last tab on the right) that is set in this "designer avenue" and feature more of the illustrations. It's really great to look at. Check it out!