Thursday, February 16, 2017

Steve Aparicio




Whoever can wear a vest, fedora and rock band shirts unironically deserves an honorable mention on this blog. And Steve Aparicio has all the honorable mentions.

Apart from his quirky fashion sense (that matches his quirky sense of humor), Aparicio's art reflects his peculiar view on the world that surrounds us-- a world he views through large, rose-tinted glasses.

Much like Douglas Rodas, Aparicio is a Universidad Jose Matias Delgado illustration graduate,  who was working at a call center until he decided to take a leap of faith and illustrate full-time.




                               The S Series








Now, I may be biased, but I don't think that work like his belongs in a call center. His play with textures and colors... Wow. Look at it!! Doesn't the trout just seem to be leaping?  "The S Series" was Aparicio's capstone project; an examination of different techniques and styles, all celebrating the letter "S". 

Other projects of his include the "Drawlloween" series: 













Pink and black! What a difference from the drab black and white! Doesn't it give the illustrations a much more spooky feeling? 

Steve's style is markedly different from the previous featured artists, but still shares some common ground; the slanted eyes on the characters, the "goth" undercurrent, Douglas Rodas's strong penchant for black, serious characters. 

Furthermore, as well as Rodas, Aparicio favors drawing animals:



Halloween drawing series, 2015.

Something I really like from Aparicio's work is the variety of products he does:





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The thermal carry-on mug (the last one, with the red lid) is actually engraved into the ceramic! How creative is that? And so polished too! 

Steve Aparicio has also branched out into the land of creepy illustration: 

My favorite illustration by Aparicio, the Greek goddess Gea. He did this for a personal project, highlighting figures from Greek and Finnish mythology.

As with Sonia Lazo and Douglas Rodas, Steve Aparicio mostly advertises and publishes his work through his Instagram:




Again, his drawings are predominantly black, with pops of color, which I think gives him a slightly edgy look, which I love. 

Overally, I think Steve Aparicio is definitely a local artist worth keeping an eye on, for both his imaginative character, and daring pops of color mixed between the black. 

All pictures from Steve's Instagram.

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Marta Torres / Martania



Marta Torres, known by her brand name Martania, is five feet tall and has bright cotton-candy colored hair.

She's also fond of dreamy, flow-y clothes and has the sweetest personality to match her exterior.

She's not an illustrator, as the last two featured artists were, but a small-scale entrepreneur. Specifically, she makes these awesome, delicate bags that come in (literally) all shapes and colors and sizes. Check them out:









Donuts, watermelon and seashells are only a couple of the designs she works with; all of them creative, all of them portable, and all of them manufactured with the utmost care and love by a team of no more than three craftsmen, from Marta's own house-turned-workshop.

My favorite collection so far:



Pineapples. I love them! Look at the textures, and the delicate finishes, and the contrasts between materials! I especially like the way they all come together to make a statement-- tropical, fun, relaxed. Definitely, definitely my favorite.

Pineapples are a huge theme in Martania's collections-- as are other fruits (see the watermelon above) and cute food in general:




Donuts, apparently, are huge too (pardon the pun). But take a look at the pizza backpack. Isn't it creative? It looks really neat too, and the triangular shape of the bag is particularly innovative. 

If you're not completely buying the alternative shapes and colors, she also has more traditional choices:



Look at the translucent computer bag! And the "Space Backpack" in matching translucent gray and pink. She still doesn't completely conform to the boring, standard black-and-white of traditional design, but instead chooses to keep her essence even within the confines of more serious approach to utility wear.

I've got a couple of her bags back home in El Salvador (the round pineapple one and the bunny eared one), and what I'm most shocked about is how much care goes into making these bags. I mean, just take look at the interiors:


Look at the vivid pattern in the fabric! No one interior has the same design, but they're all popping, electric and usually flower-themed. And she does this for every. Single. One. Of her bags. All of them! Imagine how much care goes into making bags as personalized as possible.

The price range isn't excessive either, especially if you consider the quality and attention to detail of the craftsmanship: they range from $15 (the smaller pouches) to $50 (the larger bags). When I think about how much I'd pay for the same product in a larger locale or chain... Phew. I'll gladly pay whatever price she sets.

Posing a stark contrast to both Sonia Lazo and Douglas Rodas, Martania doesn't really seek to transmit any particular message through her craft; instead, I believe she chooses to be her bold self to the world and have that be her act of protest. 


Because with her "alternative" hair colors and edgy fashion choices, this craftswoman is definitely on the Rad Radar for low-key subversiveness in a mostly male-dominated culture, that emphasizes female beauty exclusively as low-key, quiet and plain.

Unfortunately, Martania doesn't have an Etsy store at the moment, but she can be reached through Facebook or Instagram.

Stay artsy and stay local!

All pictures used here from Martania's Instagram.







Thursday, February 2, 2017

Douglas Rodas



Douglas Rodas, with a beautiful graffiti behind him

Douglas Rodas, @doughism, is the epitome of the artist-- moody, insanely creative, dark. Started out as a communication student at the National University of El Salvador, he's branched out as an independent illustrator and diversified his range of products from just illustrations to patches:





Badges:


















And stickers.











He's one of the most avant-garde promoters of the artsy-feminist movement in El Salvador, along with last week's artist Sonia Lazo, and his work heavily reflects his strong beliefs on the matter:








































































His outright, fearless support for radical feminism has garnered him a strong follower base, especially in the young, female demographic. However, his fanbase extends this demographic-- he's also quite popular with the steampunk-goth community in the country (and abroad too), as his style is particularly idiosyncratic when it comes to his drawings; dark, cartoonish, and full of fantastical creatures:



His illustrations also heavily feature messages about love and heartbreak























Rodas even came up with a fantasy universe-kingdom, Borea,  and drew all the little characters and landscapes for it:

Where it all started



 




























This line of little critters has made Rodas popular amongst the younger crowd, as well as with their parents, who usually use his drawings as a starter for bedtime stories, as he makes it flexible for greater interaction between his drawings and the user. 

One of his most popular collections is the "Freakshow" he released in 2016:























As you can see, he borrows a lot from the goth community, and he mixes color with black and white ink prints throughout his work, which makes for a very nice visual pairing and gives variety to his work:



My personal favorite collection, however, are the animals:



However, my absolute favorite series within the animal collection (my favorite favorite artwork by him, I guess) are the cats:












Just like Sonia, Douglas uses his art as a platform to disseminate his message, and does so very successfully over social media: twitter, Behance and Instagram are his main ones.

As of now, he doesn't have an Etsy store... But the last time I asked, he said he was working on it.

I'll keep you posted!

x.