It’s like a giant tea cozy, pot holder, afghan explosion! So fun. So colourful. So cozy.

I had a very hard time choosing which one of Sarah Applebaum‘s crocheted pieces to show. This one seemed the coziest, so it won. It is titled, ‘Padded Room‘. I would love to hang out in there on a rainy afternoon, wouldn’t you?

I wrote about Wendy Walgate a few months ago, and then this past weekend I turned a corner at the Toronto Outdoor Art Show and came face to face with her amazing work. I was so thrilled to actually see it in person, but the best part of it all was getting to meet her. Not only is her work lovely, but so is she. Sadly, that’s not always the case with super talented people!

If your name has ‘art’ built right into it you really have no choice but to be an artist. I saw Jay Dart‘s work at the Toronto Outdoor Art Show this weekend and loved it instantly. A bit of wood grain, some simple drawings of strange characters, and then to top it all off, a mounty in full uniform holding a bird… Oh Canada!

Oh Toronto. I have missed you.

I used to live about a 10 minute walk away from here. It’s Kensington Market in Toronto, painted by Brian Harvey. In fact, this weekend I’m hopping on a plane and heading back to my old neighbourhood where I’ll be seeing Brian’s work, along with hundreds of others, live and in person at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition. I cannot wait. I’ll report back next week with stories of uplifting inspiration and, of course, a little soul-crushing jealousy. Stay tuned, I’ll be back online on Tuesday. Have a nice weekend!

Sigh. I love these David Linneweh paintings. I have a thing for old buildings. I think it’s because you can’t look at them without making up some kind of story in your head.  These both feel a bit lonely and sad to me. Maybe it’s the ‘unfinished’ images, or the bare trees in the background… or maybe it’s the thought of a whole bunch of abandoned dilly bars. Now that’s sad!

This lovely drawing is for all of my design friends out there {you know who you are}… brought to you by Kerry Lemon, an illustrator from the UK.

Oh, and also, I love that chair. I want it too.

Oh Alyson Fox, what are you doing to me? I just wrote about Alyson’s work in May, but today I found this print on Little Paper Planes and I had to put it up. I love it. Ok, maybe not as much as that girl loves her horse, but close.

Is he drinking cream soda or is that a yoyo? And I guess he lives in a yellow tipi? This story really just writes itself doesn’t it.

I love this vibrantly coloured piece titled, Bear, by English illustrator Olivia Agass. I found this gem on Design for Mankind, a blog full of creative and beautiful things {started by writer Erin Loechner}.

Ah, nothing like a little vintage, photographic, scribbly mixed media collage to start off a Thursday morning. Michelle Thompson is an illustrator from the UK who is represented by Montreal’s Anna Goodson Management.

{If you like this you should also check out Julien Pacaud. His work is very vintage/photographic/mixed media… no scribbles though.}

I usually only write about visual artists that make me jealous, but I just heard an interview with one of my favourite writers, David Sedaris and I’ve come up with a plan. David writes about everyday people that he observes in everyday life… but with his own special, hilarious skew. I’d love to get a handful of artists* to work with him, each one creating a piece based on a story from his diary. Then I’d hang the work in a small gallery, put an armchair in the middle and David would read aloud from said diary (His books are amazing, but hearing him read will make you laugh til you cry!). After the show David and I would become best friends. We’d hang out in Parisian cafes laughing and drinking coffee. Ah yes ~ a  perfect plan on so many levels.

* Here’s my artist lineup for the show: Sidney Pink, Team Macho, Tim Moore, Martha Rich, Dave Barnes