Archive for the ‘inspirations’ Category
Berlin is a city that is constantly changing. Ultra modern building projects glisten beside historically grand structures and the occasional art-covered chunk of the Berlin Wall. In this constantly evolving landscape, there is never a shortage of sleek and stylish hotels either, many which have become some of the city’s most daring expressions of new design. Among these trendsetters Nhow Hotel has to be one of the most beautifully designed of them all.
Buenos Aires is filled with colorful street art. Everywhere you turn buildings have been tagged, and much of it has been elevated to an art form. You’ll find street art across the city, signed by the artists themselves. These images encompass bold graphics and painted characters, as well as classic typography and iconography. Some of the best street art can be found in two of B.A.’s trendiest neighborhoods: the up and coming San Telmo historic district and the stylish Palermo Viejo neighborhood.
In these photographs of Picasso, shot in 1949 by LIFE magazine photographer Gjon Mili, Picasso traces a light pen in the air, effectively painting with light. You can feel his iconography subtly shining through in these glowing air drawings: bulls, centaurs, figures in flux, crooked cubist profiles, and of course African masks. Beautiful.
Helsinki is one good looking city. Relaxed, clean, and hip, you’ll discover wide tree-lined boulevards filled with decorative buildings and countless stylish shops brimming with well-designed treasures. Voted the design capital of the world for 2012, this city is a design paradise, a visual art symphony.
Sweden is home to the famous Ice Hotel, located way up north in Swedish Lapland, where you can sleep on ice beds in an artistically sculpted ice room and dine on ice dishes with drinks in ice cups in the dead of winter. Adventurous couples can even get married in the ice chapel. (I fully considered this.) If your plans don’t include a northern jaunt during the winter months, you can still get your icy fix at the Icebar inside downtown Stockholm’s Nordic Sea Hotel.
Last week I was based out of Los Angeles. Over the course of a week, my husband and I quit our jobs, packed up our possessions, moved out of town, and boarded a flight to Dublin, Ireland. Yes, Ireland!!!
Here’s this month’s latest color inspiration, drawn from our latest Pinterest pin board, in the category of color!
Building cityscapes out of pen, ink and watercolors, Gabriel Campanario can be seen throughout the streets of Seattle capturing the city’s subtle nuances and familiar landmarks both in the pages of his sketchbooks and in his Seattle Sketcher column for the Seattle Times. Even more inspirational is Gabriel’s dedication to the art of sketching. Seeking artistic community and a place to share and celebrate ideas, he spearheaded the Urban Sketchers movement, created to connect artists the world over through the art of sketching. With a network of sketch groups in over 30 countries around the globe, urban sketchers draw on location, immortalizing their cities through lines and colors, and visually sharing their adventures with each other and the world online.
Sketch by sketch, Urban Sketchers has grown and gained momentum, with the latest project resulting in a book filled with over 500 illustrations by artists of all backgrounds. The book not only showcases artists’ sketchbooks, but also discusses each artist’s inspirations, drawing process, and techniques. Inspired to grab her pen and watercolors and start sketching on the spot, Culture Vixen’s Gayle Wheatley caught up with Gabriel to find out more about his illustrated life.
