Amy Brown

Even thought I love the beauty of world renown artists like Monet, Manet, Rembrant, these artists have pure talent.  I also have a favourite modern artist, her name is Amy Brown.  She is known for her fantasy art and the beautiful techniques she uses with watercolours.

I find there is something that inspires me about her work.  Not only because of the mythical side of things, but because the poses of her characters seem to jump to life.  The softness and delicate poses, just as a faerie would.

I also get lost in the control of her watercolours.  Over the years she has advanced her talent that I admire even more.  From painting beautifully coloured faeries she then challenges her self to using only a certain amount of colours in her pieces.

This does drastically change the feel of the paintings from, warm fun and friendly to cold and eerie, but still captivating.  This can be seen by some of the pictures I have posted.

International Designers Network

As for the video that was posted in regards to the importance of the environment, I thought I would share that the International Designers Network has an issue out at the moment dedicated to recycling in the industry.  It's not the easiest magazine to find, but I do know that they have a number of copies at Chadstone.

Otherwise they might have some things on their website www.idnworld.com

Response to: The Story of Stuff

The planet is suffering from being abused in so many ways.  It seems that a big contribution has been from the Material Economy.  This is now a system that is in crisis.  When we say that the system is in crisis it's not the fact that we don't buy enough.  We buy too much being the main problem.  The more we consume, the more we pollute the environment.  

The ways we contribute to the pollution is a never ending list.  For this reason as designers we have to be conscious of what we design.  The materials we use, ensuring that they are either recycled or recyclable, biodegradable, safe for the environment, safe for consumers to be around.  

At the moment a third of the earth's natural resources are gone due to extraction, 5% of the world is populated and we are using 30% of it's resources.  If we keep going at this capacity, our planet will not survive much longer.  

The state and the importance of the environment is being publicized and people are being made more aware of what they are purchasing.  Recycling is being promoted, package designs have been changed.  It's become an important part of everyday life.  We need to make sure that we are always conscious of it and as designers, even more so.