hero

I was given this book to look at at work today, and it's changing my life a little bit.

Charley Harper was an incredible artist and illustrator that is well known for his birds, bugs, bacteria, and other things. He is responsible for illustrating the Golden Book of Biology and several other advertisements, magazines, and publications in the 50s and 60s. 

The way that Mr. Harper treats form is deceptively simple. I love how everything begins to take on a playful, whimsical tone. It is as if the world as we know it has been transformed into a world of a different rationale, where everything is familiar but never commonplace. Plus the color! Those fire engine reds, the creams, the beautiful blue gray greens... they all make me salivate. There is something in the line work too that reminds me of paintings by Julie Mehretu.