16 Jun 2008
by mashadutoit
in Art, books, Colour, Illustration, Inspiration
Tags: children's books, chinese, fold tale, Illustration, molly bang
Dont you just love an excuse to sort through your book collections? To be paging through old battered survivors of childhood, as well as look at new discoveries. For me, one such new discovery is “the Paper Crane ” by Molly Bang. This little book is perfect. I love the freshness of the storytelling, the sensitivity and beauty of the artwork, and the quiet joy it radiates.
What could be a more satisfying medium for this story than to tell it in pictures made up of folded and cut paper and collage? More
06 Jun 2008
by mashadutoit
in Art, books, Colour, Illustration
Tags: children's books, Errol le cain, Illustration, sleeping beauty
Isn’t it strange how some childhood moments stay with you so clearly, while most things fade into a half remembered muddle? It was just before Christmas, many years ago when I was just a little girl. My family were getting into the car to go home after a visit to the bookshop in Cape Town. My father was holding a brown paper packet. I tried to peep into it and caught a glimpse of two books, but my father whisked them away before I could get a proper look.
That packet re-appeared again under the Christmas tree, and contained Errol Le Cain’s Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. More
03 Jun 2008
by mashadutoit
in Art, Colour, Illustration, Inspiration
Tags: arabian nights, children's books, Illustration, janusz grabianski, watercolor, watercolour
Did you also have books, as a child, that you read over and over again? The images become so familiar that you cannot imagine the story without them. This is, for me, the ultimate edition of The Arabian Nights. The text reworked by Hedwig Smola, translated into Afrikaans by Andre Brink and above all illustrated by Janusz Grabianski.
As a child I loved Grabianski’s vivid colours and strong brushwork – the storytelling in the pictures is just as lively as that in the text. Here you can see the first meeting of Aladdin with the evil magician, pretending to be his long lost uncle. More
23 May 2008
by mashadutoit
in books, Colour, Illustration, Inspiration
Tags: children's books, children's illustration, cinderella, Errol le cain, Illustration
Here is a magical book for you to have a look at: Cinderella by Errol Le Cain. This process of sharing my favorite illustrators has helped me realise how profoundly they have influenced me . When I am asked what my influences are, I tend to think about serious fine artists. Audrey Beardsley maybe? But in all honesty, it is people like Errol Le Cain who have shaped the way I look at things.
I wish I could draw like Errol Le Cain! Here is Cinderella doing her embroidery under the watchful eye of her stepmother and stepsisters. More
16 May 2008
by mashadutoit
in Art, books, Colour, Illustration, Inspiration
Tags: charles keeping, children's books, children's illustration, Illustration, josef se plant, joseph's yard, writer_artist
Charles Keeping was a powerful force in my childhood. I was scared and fascinated by his books . The drawings burn on the page, and the stories cut into your heart. I was deeply influenced by his drawing style – that muscular scrawl with ink and wash. In this post I want to share one particular book: “Joseph’s Yard” which I grew up knowing as “Josef se plant”, in its Afrikaans version.
More
04 May 2008
by mashadutoit
in 2 Work in progress, Colour, Myself
Tags: masha du toit, south african art
Having overcome an absolute torrent of procratination I’ve finally started on the second half of my coming show – the animations. This is the unfinished face of my nameless girl.
Look well, as I may chicken out and remove these work in progress posts…
17 Apr 2008
by mashadutoit
in Art, Colour, Illustration
Tags: commercial art, lisa frank
I suppose its not so strange. “Lisa Frank” must be quite a common name. And what is the significance of having the same name as some one else in any case? But I still find it fascinating to find two women with the same name who create such different works:
More
29 Mar 2008
by mashadutoit
in Colour, Myself
Tags: cats, death
I just saw a ginger cat carrying a pure white pigeon he had killed. The cat had the pigeon by the throat and was carrying it like a flag, very proudly. The pigeon was so white I thought it was a cloth at first. Then I saw its little dark eye looking at me. I’m not sure if it was dead yet.
02 Mar 2008
by mashadutoit
in Colour
Some colour palettes inspired by the Design Indaba.
Previous Older Entries Next Newer Entries
Masha du Toit 
Recent Comments