The explosively expressive British illustrator Russ Mills has updated his gallery with new prints. Which is good news. For one, it is always nice to see some new works from great artist such as Russ. Two, new prints to his online store should be coming soon. If you can't wait to get some Russ on your walls then have no fear, he will be taking part in The Rud Propeller Show in Devon beginning this week. He'll be there in person on the 21st (that's Thursday). Buy him out and set up your own online Russ Mills print shop, you'll double your money I promise. As for the rest of us, check out his new illustrations in his gallery.

Sometimes bad things happen. A couple weeks ago, an unknown spider bit Matthew Woodson and sent him to the hospital. The doctor's report requires a weekly treatment until the wound heals; roughly eight months. To make matters worse, Matthew is "in between" health insurance companies, which means he needs to sell some art. Luckily, he’s really good and has a rap sheet with clients like Wired, American Express and Threadless to prove it. While scary medical bills stack up every week he is asking for commissioned artwork … and by asking we mean begging. He will do anything, large or small — yes, that even includes tattoo projects. He also has some great prints available here and a full list of his illustrations on his website. Having gone through a spider bite personally, I know it can be quite scary. We wish Matthew a quick recovery. He has left a web of contact details on his blog for commission information or just to send a supportive note.

Via Drawn

You probably know Rod Hunt from his image "Change the World 9 to 5" that has floated around the Web and design world for a while now. While never slowing down, Rod has become an active force in the London art world and has a strong international base. Working with clients like FHM, The Observer, Maxim and Vodafone, the world is slowly being colored with Rod's retro-styled illustrations. Make your Monday a little more enjoyable and head over to his website or his blog to enjoy some bright and sunny robots, or a possible space toy come to life.

Last year we turned you on to Brazilian artist tag team Mulheres Barbadas (that’s “bearded women” in Portuguese, just to give you an idea of this duo’s type of humor), and almost a year after the post, they just mounted their exhibit in Sao Paulo called Waxed Men (hmm, I’m seeing theme here). The show features fresh works solely in pen, a feat they admit is more time consuming than using Photoshop, but a heck of a lot more enjoyable. One of the most labor-intensive pieces took them three days to finish, and it also took that long for them to paint the wall outside of the show space — their first ever, by the way. The works have no specific subject, but instead are about “chaos, mayhem and toast.” Though they are looking forward to painting more outside spaces, team member Julio Zukerman was reported to be suffering “drawing spasms in his sleep after [their] little drawing marathon,” so they’re resting easy for a while. The exhibit runs at Rojo Magazine’s Sao Paulo art space in Livraria Pop until June 28th. Check out their website to see the collaboration in action.

Scott Hansen (AKA ISO50) knows how to impress our staff. Every move he makes completely floors us, take a look at what we've written about him in the past. Now that ISO50 has reached a level of god-like designer status on this blog, the design community and the world (see his Obama prints), his music provides a soundtrack for his decorations. Check out Scott's new tracks “Adrift” and “From Home” on his website or pick them up excusively on iTunes.

Jan Willem Wennekes, also known as Stinger, crafts a killer monster. Well, “killer” in its most docile, endearing sense — because the creatures of this Netherlands-based designer have always had more success drawing aww's than arghh's!

As founder of Zeptonn Lab, Stinger cranks out his unique style of design for clients like PlayStation, Popcling, and Threadless, as well as a solid variety of art, design, and online publications. In between those projects, this eco-conscious designer spends his time creating some of the best books you've ever laid claws on, including one of our all-time favorites, Stingermania.

Just in time for the release of his newest book, Black & White Freedrawings (site coming soon), we chatted with Stinger about his work, his education, and how he's using both to make his world a pretty wonderful place.

READ MORE…

You can never have enough cushions. Seriously, saying there is a limit to how many cushions one can have is like saying there is such a thing as “too comfortable” — especially when the cushions in question are graced with the prime pillow patterns Dadawan. The Paris-based purveyor of tasty tees has combined a variety of illustrations and innovative printing techniques to create a bright new collection of graphic cushions that are sure to be both aesthetically and ass-thetically pleasing.

This spring, Victionary returns with Printwork, a softcover book that allows 50-plus designers to showcase their printing techniques across 248 pages. The newest edition of our favorite look book seeks to promote those designers who prefer to put a unique mark on their own work, instead of using the tired printing options most often available. While the publication itself does not appear to integrate revolutionary production values, it does offer plenty of items that may spark inspiration — such as or picking up the phone and hiring one of these artists for your own project.

What was your favorite comic book when you were in elementary school? Jorge Mascarenhas’ classmates would say ‘Ferhinhas [Little Beast],’ which was the comic book that Jorge produced and started selling to his buddies at age seven. We have massive respect for that kind of entrepreneurship at such a young age. Now he has turned his illustration talent to create rich characters he finds in everyday life. Check out a full body of his works at his website and see a little bit of the process and dialog that he puts into his work at his blog.

Zune Arts is an absolute must-see for anyone who wants to be on the cutting edge of emerging art. The collaborations they foster between artists are dependably kick ass and always push the envelope.

They continue to break new ground with "epic intergalactic adventure" The Lost Ones, an upcoming graphic novel written by 30 Days of Night comic horror master Steve Niles. In the collaborative spirit, The Lost Ones' four chapters will be illustrated by a different graphic artist, giving each section its own style, while also working in tandem to visually bring Niles' story to life.

Particularly impressive is the diversity of these fantastic four: Dr. Revolt, an original in the legendary NYC graffiti crew The Rolling Thunder Writers; amazing surrealist illustrator Gary Panter (pictured left); innovative Brooklyn-based art and design studio Morning Breath; and up-and-coming fashion designer/painter Kime Buzzelli. Scheduled for release in June, The Lost Ones will be up for grabs in both paperback and collector's editions. And grab it we will.

How did the Swedes become such good designers? Their idea of Wall-Mart is IKEA, the people are gorgeous, and their streets are always clean no matter what time of night you are out. It’s a question we may never solve. Stina Persson is no exception, as she walks the line between designer and artist, showing her work in big galleries around the world and creating advertising designs for major brands. It's no wonder she has all this attention. Her illustrations are sexy pictorials of attractive urbanites and the fluid surroundings of Europe. Persson is part of the Le Femme show opening at L.A.’s Nucleus Gallery, May 10 through June 3.

Here’s a little eye candy from one of my favorite artists, eepmon. I’m not even quite sure what Mini Financial Services is, nor do I even think it matters– because this 13 month Mini Cooper Canada Calendar (yeah, that’s a mouthful) he created is incredible. 13 Illustrations for 13 months, where each month contains a different original illustration to compliment the Mini vehicle. The hard copy versions will be available at Mini dealerships across Canada in a sexy hang-on-your-wall format soon. And I’m sending all my Canadian friends to grab them. Intrigued? Check out all the images here.

Update: Credit where credit is due, Eepmon worked with Canadian agency TAXI on this project– check them out.

Our general consensus is that it is in the eyes. It has to be, for there is nothing else to offer up that feeling of wrongness in the art of Marion Peck. Her palate is sunny enough, her subjects innocent enough, her landscapes full of greens and lights and other indications of virtue. But the eyes – the eyes hold none of those characteristics.

Some of us think that the eyes are that feeling you get five minutes before you find out your best friend was in a car accident, the rest of us think of them in only slightly less ominous terms, but all of us find in them the reason that we always look again. Yes, the paintings are beautiful, but it's the dreams in them that draw our attention. They are familiar, they are unfamiliar; they are disconcerting, they are comforting. They are in the eyes, vacant, but not abandoned, and we can't stop looking.

Joshspear.com: Can you share your background with our readers, please?

Marion Peck: I grew up in Seattle, W.A., and went to art school on the east coast. I did a little bit of graduate school in Italy, then dropped out of school and stayed in Italy for a few years. That had a big effect on me. Then, I was back in Seattle until five years ago, when I moved down to L.A. to live with Mark Ryden. READ MORE…

Andrew Wilson is a jack of all creative trades. Throughout his career DC-Based design innovator has been able to show his complete command of the entire creative process across a wide range of fields from illustration to print advertising to game animation. Did we mention he also plays a mean keyboard? With the obvious importance of the arts in Wilson’s life, it only seems natural that he the current art director at Discovery Communications has crafted his own kick ass personal art, design and music site, Filter9. The site showcases Wilson’s ability to turn heads and perk up ears with his stunning photography, graphic design and musical talents. He also includes the work of other overlooked musicians that have allowed him to expand his horizons. Filter 9 isn’t just about Andrew Wilson, it’s about each person’s unique response to artistic stimulus he provides. Overall, it’s good stuff.

Since writer Matthew Newton is of a like artistic mind, so we thought it might be nice to give a little exposure to his column called Made You Look. Newton, besides living in Pennsylvania, and according to his bio, owns some choice speed metal and hip-hop cassette tapes, brings up-and-coming artists from around the world (like Grotesk and Wilfrid Wood) to the fore in this series of profiles. His latest is an interview with Noah Butkus, a snowboard graphics designer and professed comic book junkie who splintered off to pursue a passion for drawing melting skulls and eviscerated masked men. Newton seems to have a good eye for what’s hot, so we’d recommend keeping a browser tab open for him.