Mike Stilkey's painted book sculptures

I've been a fan of Mike Stilkey for quite a while now. I first came across his work in 2013 when he came here, to the Philippines, to install his 24-foot-high book sculpture in Fully Booked, Bonifacio High Street.

Mike is a Los Angeles-based painter, illustrator and sculptor who creates fabulous animal and human characters directly on stacks of books. He heads to local libraries to find books that are about to be thrown out, then he stacks them on top of one another and uses them as canvas for his vibrant paintings. The artist's melancholic and at times a whimsical scenes and portraits are created in his signature style, and he forms them using a mix of ink, colored pencil, paint, and lacquer.

A lover of books himself, Mike quit his job as a picture framer and sold his car to get money so he could become a full-time artist. In an interview with the LA Times, he said: "The books are dying. There are so many that go to the garbage. It's crazy. If I can paint on them, I'm giving them a second chance."

In the video, embedded below, Mike discusses his childhood, skateboarding, graffiti, and his path to becoming the artist that he is today.

Comments

Print out and fold your own paper cameras

Totally want to make some of these Olympus mirrorless cameras with my daughter this weekend. They don't take pictures, but they sure would make my little girl very happy. The Japanese company has a webpage for kids , and you can easily create three-dimensional paper models of the OM-D or the PEN Lite by printing and folding those PDF templates in the papercraft section . Enjoy! [h/t: Pop Photo ]

Stone horsemen invade River Thames

It's not uncommon to see huge art installations on River Thames: a giant fiberglass sperm whale , a floating house , a massive wooden hippo . If you happen to be in London, head down to Nine Elms, on the south bank of the waterway, any day this month, and — if it's a low tide — you'll see a group of stone horsemen by world-renowned underwater sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor , rising above the riverside beach. The artwork, titled The Rising Tide , is part of the Totally Thames arts festival and is the first of its kind to be installed in the famed river. Four three-meter tall working horses with riders are shown — two of the riders are businessmen and two are children — though horse heads have been replaced with oil pumps. The sculptures are on display until the end of September.

Simon Beck creates giant 'Game of Thrones' snow mural

It's been a few months since I last checked in on Simon Beck (previously here ), who specializes in making ornate snow murals with just his snowshoes. Recently the British artist was commissioned by Sky Atlantic to create a promotional art for Game of Thrones : a massive direwolf symbol the size of two and a half football pitches. According to Digital Spy , it took Simon 13 hours, 64,800 steps, and 32.5 kilometers to complete the artwork, which is the sigil of the House Stark of Winterfell. The result is mind blowing.

finding cain

Search This Blog