Amy Hamilton

http://amyhamilton.ca/

I love Amy Hamilton's unique style of illustration.  These pieces are so attractive.  I love the use of ink (or watercolor) and the colors agaist the black features are so nice.  The fawns eyes just jump out at me, and I love his simple feet against the fur.  

I love her use of blues and grays against the warm oranges and reds of the animals coats. 

I'd love to adopt a similar style for adding color to my work, layering of inks and dripping, while still incorporating the pen style that I use.

Daniel Kornrumpf

http://danielkornrumpf.com/home.html

One of the more incredible pieces I have ever seen.  Not only is this a stellar and pretty unique portrait (kind of reminding me of Chuck Close) but it is embroidered.  I'm completely amazed.  Whats even more impressive is seeing it at actual size vs close up.

The ones called"Brooklyn Bobby."  I'm not sure exactly how I feel about the tiny size of the embroidery (it's in the center of a 50"x44" sheet of linen).  Although impressive, especially up close, how would this hold up in a gallery? It might be interesting, how each visitor has to take some special time with each portrait and get their face right up against the piece. Pretty intimate.  I just hope people wouldn't miss out on that gorgeous texture. 

Daniel Zeller

http://www.pierogi2000.com/artists/daniel-zeller/

Daniel Zeller does some really interesting, colorful, intricate drawings.  I'm not sure exactly what they are but many of them feel scientific in nature, maybe of some organism I can't seen or a close up view of bacteria.  I really love the color choices and the surreal landscape quality he creates. 

Matt Rudinski

http://society6.com/mister/YONDER-LWI_Print

http://www.mattrudinski.com/

Lately I've been seeing posts of low-poly artwork/design, and I have been so attracted to it.  I'm not sure I'll ever introduce the style into my own work, but I find it to be gorgeous and unique.  The work of Matt Rudinski is unique in that it feels like other low-poly work, and is created in that style, but these animals feel like they are created out of cardboard.  I'm imagining this a a 3D object coming off of that wall at me.  I love his color pallate and this new interpretation of a kind of typical "deer head in front of nature scene" design.

Spires

http://society6.com/artist/spires
I've been thinking a lot about color and texture in my work.  How can I create a unique color pallate that extends throughout my pieces, tying them together.  What techniques can I use to integrate textures into the screen prints I make.  I love the work of Spires.  They are all so similar, using the same diamond shape and design, but each evokes a different feeling.  I particularly like the meshing of the cool and warm colors, especially along the bottom row, how he turns royal blue to yellow without ever meeting green.

Teagan White

http://www.teaganwhite.com/
Teagan White was that artist for me where I felt like, god damn, I really wish that was me.  I am completely impressed by all of her illustration (and she just happens to share a love of bugs with me).  Her work is focused on the delicate relationships between flora and fauna.  Most of the work is illustrated by hand in grayscale, then color and texture gets added in photoshop (I should try this).  For a lot of the pieces, she introduces a texture to make it feel like a screen print.  In my opinion, she should actually screen print some of these.  How gorgeous with this one be?

If I can come up with the money, I'm thinking about requesting a tattoo design from her. 

She also does some really adorable illustration for children's books.  That would be a great path for me for a solid income. 

The Hungry Fox Illustration

http://hungryfoxillustration.com/

I've been thinking a lot about illustration.  I love the feel of inks and pens, and I work well with them.  I'm just beginning to think about incorporating stories in my artwork, so why not take a stab at illustration.  Part of me wants to go for it, but part of me feels like (for me, not everyone) its just a cop-out for fear of being an unsuccessful fine artist.  It is a very real fear that I have.  So how could I mesh the two? How can I make fine art thats illustrative, but will also sell, and could possibly be reproduced? This may be the basis for my draw to printmaking.  

I reallly like the pen drawings of this illustrator.  She uses mostly black and white, with pops of color throughout.  I though this compartmentalized whale was silly and fun, but I still would want it on my wall.