When I was ten years old or so, my French Aunt gave me a book of illustrations for christmas by an artist called Kiraz. His drawings of Parisian women fascinated me and I often tried to re-create them. They were wonderful and yet so naughty. His women were so stylish, so beautiful, so Parisienne.
Eventually I lost the book and could never remember the name of the artist when I thought about his drawings as an adult. All I had were my own imitation sketches.
A decade later, living in Paris and browsing through a second-hand book shop in the 6eme, I came across the very same book my Aunt gave me for Christmas all those years ago. Perhaps it was the exact same one? Who knows. But oh, the nostalgia!
When you re-discover something lost from childhood, there really isn’t a feeling quite like it. Images I once knew so well, studied obsessively in detail; they instantly reminded me of who I was as a child, the safety I felt and the wonders I had about the grown-up world.
If I had been living in France over the years, perhaps it wouldn’t have taken so long to reconnect with the artist, as it turns out Kiraz is in fact one of the most famous French illustrators. In 1970, Hugh Hefner personally requested that Armenian-born Kiraz’ «Parisiennes» appear monthly in Playboy magazine.
I also managed to dig out the old imitation sketches I did …
I – heart – hangin’ in my room
If I had a birds eye camera and a little extra time, this is exactly the kind of thing you might find me doing in my own bedroom. Photographer Jan von Holleben created this visual work of a girl’s full night of dreams. “The shot when she is ‘shopping’ or when she is ‘driving the car’ were totally improvised during the shoot. That was quite a revelation for anyone on set,” says Jan. You just can’t help falling in love with something that just looks like it was so much fun to make…
As it so happens, I did have a little extra time in my room today and I decided to decorate my mirror using old postcards and souvenirs, magazine cutouts and a few of my own accessories…
I also got the hang of the idea that you don’t necessarily need to hide all your clothes away in a closet– they can be part of the decoration!
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‘Glow in the Dark’ day & night Art
Most of us stuck those little glow in the dark stickers on our bedroom walls when we were kids. So I thought most of you might also like this glow-in-the-dark screen print depicting a sunny little town during the day which then turns into a seedy city when you hit the lights. The clever designer is Jason Dean. Take a closer look at the the side by side close-ups to see scenes full of crime, sex and even zombies (clearly my kinda guy).
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So voila. Three very different artists. Three reasons to tap into your own creativity. When was the last time you picked up a paint brush? Re-decorated your room? Just something to think about for the weekend 😉
