Pencil-Drawn Inspiration

I was browsing Issuu this morning (thanks, David!), when I came across the preview of Work/Life, a “directory of Canadian Illustration & Photography”, which is currently enjoying an eponymous exhibition at UPPERCASE, in Calgary.

Canadian self-portrait (detail) by Kirstie Tweed

The idea behind Work/Life is to celebrate (and promote) Canada’s best. From the introduction:

Work/Life is a book celebrating Canadian illustration and photography…Participants were interviewed about their creative focus and artistic technique as well as their inspiration and aspirations…

Each participant was asked to provide a list of their top ten dream clients and the book will be sent to this master list on their behalf. We’re happy to report that some of our participants have already been commissioned, based on the links to their portfolios that we listed on the Work/Life project website.

Awesome!

One of the illustrators who caught my eye was Renata Liwska. Her pencil sketches and illustrations of lovable reminded me of curling up with and losing myself in a colorful picture book as a child, rather than the grim, black-and-white texts we adults are supposed to prefer.

Igor Beaver by Renata Liwska

Her portfolio is at wronghand.com.