The post This Illustrator is Inspired By Thai and Chinese Cultures appeared first on PlayJunkie.
]]>“I began drawing when I was very young,” she shared with Lake. “During my childhood, I was surrounded by Chinese and Thai decorations. My grandpa used a Chinese ceramic bowl and teapot, and my grandma wore a Thai motif textile cloth. I thought I absorbed a lot from my childhood environment. My parents always encouraged me to continue my creative path.”
“I am into traditional Chinese painting,” she adds. Inspired by wall paintings in Chinese temples, as well as Thai textiles, Ploy says she enjoys the complexity of natural shapes and animals in folk tales. “I am so thrilled to see illustrations and patterns come to life,” she says.
Using mainly watercolor, but also gouache and ink, Ploy’s selected clients include Samsung, Design House Greetings x Trader Joe’s, and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. “Social media is a huge part of my career as a freelance illustrator and designer,” she says. “Clients have found me through social media, especially Instagram. I use them to share my work and connect with other people. I can’t imagine living without it.”
Enjoy some of her work in the gallery below:
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]]>The post Daniel J. Yeomans Rediscovers Portrait Art appeared first on PlayJunkie.
]]>“Working from life enables spontaneous brushwork,” explained Yeomans in an interview with Jackson’s Art where he discussed his lifelong practice. “Each brushstroke, the color, the direction, the thickness of the paint is all a response to something happening in front of me,” he says. “If all this becomes still (in a photo) I lose all these variable qualities in my work that make it my own.”
According to Yeomans, his traditional training was achieved at the internationally renowned Charles H. Cecil studios in Florence. As well as specializing in portraiture, Yeomans also paints plein air works, some of which hang in collections throughout Europe, Asia, and the US.
As he tries new techniques, Yeomans expands his knowledge of this traditional form of art making. “Sometimes they fail and sometimes they work out, but I use the experience for future projects,” he stressed.
Scroll down to see some of his incredible work and get in touch with him if you’re interested in commissioning a one-of-a-kind piece to hang in your home.
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]]>The post Alison Roman Will Inspire You to Cook, If Nothing Else appeared first on PlayJunkie.
]]>But if you ask Roman, she’s just a person writing recipes that people like. “I’m not trying to corner a market,” she relayed in an interview with the New Consumer. “I’m not trying to appeal to millennials, which by the way, could be a 40-year-old at this point.”
“There’s other people in my industry that would never get that label that,” she reflected, “quite frankly, have never achieved the level of popularity, and I’m wondering why. It’s just interesting to me.” Her rise to popularity is in part thanks to her viral recipes (look up #TheStew and #TheCookies), and in part due to her unapologetic approach to cooking (look up that beef with Chrissy Teigen).
She also has a newsletter you’d actually want to sign up for, with recent recipes including sticky apple cake and chicken salad. But according to Roman, her success came about fairly intuitively, with no real business model to follow. “I have no strategy,” she admitted. “That’s something you should know about me. I’m like an animal. [Laughs.] I operate on instinct — yes or no. I say no a lot. And I say yes to not as much, especially these days.”
Follow her on Instagram for some behind-the-scenes footage from her kitchen.
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]]>The post Cat Rabbit’s Plush Toys Aren’t Meant to Be Played With appeared first on PlayJunkie.
]]>“I first started making little plush toys for friends when I was studying at university,” Rabbit recalled in an interview with AG Gallery. “My interest in textiles grew from there and I began experimenting with embroidery and 3D felt techniques.”
Her handmade figures draw on the tradition of embroidery, doll-making, patchwork, and textile design. “I like to devise new characters all the time!” admits Rabbit. “I get an idea in my head or sketch something out and am not satisfied until I work it up into a 3D character.” The finished result appeals to both adults and children.
“I like my work to engage a wide audience, so there are elements that appeal to young children and also an older generation,” she notes. “My main objective when creating new work for exhibition is to incite feelings of comfort, joy, and nostalgia – when I make a piece that encapsulates all of these elements, I am satisfied with the work!”
Aside from her soft sculptures, Rabbit also makes books for children and other fantastical artworks with her collaborator and good pal Isobel Knowles under the name Soft Stories. Follow her Instagram page for more:
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]]>The post This Cat is So Famous That She Was Interviewed by Oprah! appeared first on PlayJunkie.
]]>Indeed, when it comes to notoriety, it’s hard to compete with Nala Cat. Sporting more than four million followers on Instagram, Nala’s legacy will likely trample ours. Her photos showcase the cat in all her glory: her lush gray coat, piercing blue eyes (albeit sometimes cross-eyed), and quirky personality will have you sold in an instant.
(@nala_cat)“The story of one kitten, Nala, starts off at a home where the owners could no longer take care of the cats and kittens because there were too many,” shared her owner, Varisiri (Pookie) Methachittiphan, on the Instagram sensation’s personal website. “Nala was then taken away to the shelter where she was separated from her original family.”
And while Methachittiphan doesn’t know what happened with the rest of the cats or kittens, Nala’s journey to stardom began on that fateful day. Aside from being a top earner on Instagram, Nala won the TikToker of the Year award at the 11th annual Shorty Awards and was even interviewed by Oprah Winfrey.
But at least according to Methachittiphan, the cat’s fame came as a total surprise. “I just started Instagram without actually thinking that she was going to be so famous,” she admits. If you’re not following her yet, now’s the time!
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]]>The post In the Mood for Mexican Food? We’ve Got You Covered appeared first on PlayJunkie.
]]>Scrolling through Orozco-Moore’s Instagram page will have you drooling. A first-generation Mexican-American, her recipes offer a blend of authentic Mexican food and Mexican-inspired dishes. Recent posts include Asian-Inspired Chicken Tacos topped with crunchy broccoli slaw and super flavorful Quinoa Black Bean Chili.
According to Orozco-Moore, she draws her inspiration from her mom’s authentic Mexican cooking: “My mum’s red enchiladas will always have a special place in my heart,” she gushed in an interview with National Geographic.
“The sauce is made with a blend of guajillo, ancho, and arbol chilies and a small piece of Mexican chocolate. No fancy stuffing either—just a handful of Mexican cheese and diced onions.”
Orozco-Moore absolute favorite Mexican dish? Tacos. “Especially carnitas tacos made in the slow cooker,” she explains. “The shredded pork is highly seasoned and tender—perfect for scooping into a homemade corn tortilla and topping with queso fresco [Mexican white cheese], coriander and onions.”
Check out her blog and follow her on Instagram for more.
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]]>The post Cedric the Chihuahua is Too Pure for This World appeared first on PlayJunkie.
]]>Known for his hilarious Instagram posts, he’s often sporting cute outfits and costumes, highlighting is tiny frame. With just one tooth and his tongue proudly sticking out, Cedric is too pure for this world.
“I was the last puppy left in the litter that no one wanted, because I have a severe overbite,” admitted the pup in a mock interview with Dog Whisperer HQ (for the time being, his owners choose to stay anonymous). “My humans knew my biological father and that’s how they learned about me. They had been wanting a small dog that they could easily travel with.”
It was when his owners saw a video of the pup playing with his siblings that they fell in love immediately and made the decision to take him in. “When they first saw me in person, they were surprised. I had seemed much bigger in the photos and videos. They were terrified that they would accidentally step on me or hurt me. We got to know each other over a few weeks and they stopped worrying as they saw I was very smart and careful.”
Don’t take this tiny pooch for granted. With some 60k followers on Instagram alone, and some viral videos comparing him to different-sized fruit and vegetable, Chihuahua Cedric is the next best thing on the internet. You’ll have to trust us on that.
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]]>The post These Artists Will Inspire You to Think Out of the Box appeared first on PlayJunkie.
]]>The following artists will inspire you to broaden your horizons when it comes to your definition of art. Who knows, they might just inspire you to pick up your brush.
Stone Painting
First up is Japanese artist Akie Nakata. Using small stones and pebbles as her canvas, Nakata’s miniature paintings take after the natural world. Cats, owls, and frogs come to life as she paints them on stone. According to Nakata, she chooses stones that already resemble animals. She then paints straight onto them, using acrylic paint. The end result is quite remarkable.
Teabag Painting
Ruby Silvious uses a different material altogether as her canvas: used, dried-up teabags. Her miniature art includes recreations of classic paintings such as Gabriël Metsu’s painting, Woman: “I want viewers to keep an open mind and think beyond the boundaries of what they may consider traditional art,” Silvious remarked once.
“In today’s throw-away culture, where we have immediate access to an abundance of materials and numerous mediums to choose from, all things become possible.” Alongside used teabags, Silvious also paints on broken eggshells and wine corks.
Illustrating with Everyday Objects
Chances are, you’ve stumbled across Christoph Niemann’s illustrations at least once. Celebrated as the world’s best illustrator, his work appears regularly on the covers of The New Yorker, National Geographic, and The New York Times Magazine. Part of his charm and wit is his unique use of everyday objects, incorporating physical objects like matchsticks and socks, into his illustrations.
“More than a specific visual style, my trademark has always been to autonomously, swiftly, and conceivably map out and execute an idea,” Niemann once shared with The Creative Independent. “Nobody ever approached me asking for a drawing of, say, a dinosaur with a fridge as a head done ‘in my style.’”
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]]>The post Travel Blogger Reflects On Traveling During COVID appeared first on PlayJunkie.
]]>But like most of us, 2020 hit Holeman hard. “It’s all so complicated, isn’t it?” she recently wrote in a candid Instagram post. “To travel, or not to travel. One thing’s for sure: the way we travel may not be the same for a very long time.” And so, she found herself back where it all began—Canada.
I may not see Big Ben anymore. I may need to see Matisse by looking at the print I have of his in my bedroom. I may not travel the world like I used to. But I’m happy. I’m with people I love, people I share my life with, people who make every day infinitely better. I belong. And for that? Why… I wouldn’t give that up for all the world. 
by my mama, when we spent a day picking flowers at @missmilliesflowerfarm 
“At the moment I have absolutely zero desire to travel outside of Canada, or even to another province,” says Holeman, adding that the thought of traveling to a higher-risk location or being in close quarters with tourists who haven’t quarantined makes her itch.
Her solution? Travel closer to home. “I was in talks with Travel Manitoba over a year ago that I would spend this summer traveling around this beautiful province, and that is indeed happening. While I’ve already been to Bird River as well as Winnipeg Beach, Pinawa Dam, and Birds Hill Provincial Parks in the past month, I’m soon headed to Brandon, Swan Valley, and Riding Mountain National Park for a Manitoba series with Travel Manitoba.”
According to Holeman, she will be road-tripping and spending time doing what Manitobans do best: hiking, canoeing, fishing, camping, and supporting local businesses.
You can follow her explorations—both locally and internationally—on Instagram:
I’ve always loved that question, loved the idea of wanderlust taking over, allowing your imagination to run wild. I’d go to Antarctica, or maybe sail around the South Pacific. I’d travel to Madagascar, Uzbekistan, Ghana. I’d spend a few weeks in Suriname and Guyana. I’d head to Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan with my boyfriend, our first big adventure together. Where would you go if you could go anywhere? The question has a different meaning to me now. Travel itself has a different meaning to me now. What used to excite and inspire now makes me feel nervous, cautious. While the world slowly opens back up, with some people venturing to other countries, provinces, or states, I’m still not comfortable travelling outside of my home province of Manitoba. There are many reasons for this, of course: COVID-19 and cost being the two big ones. I spent over a decade working toward this career, and as a travel writer, it’s bittersweet that the thing I love to do most and the way I make my living is now out of reach to me. Even if I did want to use my savings on a big adventure instead of paying my mortgage and bills, I’d worry too much about the health risks and bringing COVID-19 back to my community (for reference, Manitoba had one (!) active case in mid-July, but cases have since skyrocketed due to travel outside the province). It’s all so complicated, isn’t it? To travel, or not to travel. One thing’s for sure: the way we travel may not be the same for a very long time. I’d still love to go to Antarctica, of course, and Madagascar, too. My list isn’t going anywhere, and I know that one day, I’ll be able to see these places. But for now, my list is much smaller. I dream of wild camping in Nopiming Provincial Park. I dream of being able to see my mum in Toronto, my brother in Vancouver. COVID-19 has devastated the travel industry, but from that, I’ve learned to appreciate what’s closer to home, what’s just around the proverbial corner. 
••• Photo taken on my @travelclubadventures tour of the Amalfi Coast (a paid partnership) #clubadventures #travelunscripted #ditchthescript #letadventurehappen #amalficoast #italytravel #dametraveler #bbctravel #girlswhotravel 
I'm leavvvving, on a jet plane… 
As you may have noticed, I've been spending a lot more time in Canada lately, but that doesn't mean London won't be a huge part of my life going forward; I still plan on being there for a few months of every year. After spending more than five years of my life there, it really does feel like my second home, and I can't wait to spend the next month hanging out in E2 again (my favourite neighbourhood in the city). •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Honestly, this is the life I have always dreamed of for myself: half the year in Canada, part of the year in Europe, and the rest travelling. It's taken me 15 years to accomplish, but I've never been more excited about being able to grow a business online AND travel ANDDD hang out with my family. If this sounds like bragging, it totally is, my apologies… but I'm feeling all mushy thinking about returning to London (and a few other spots in Europe, too!). •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• What's your dream living situation? Do you like being settled in one place? Would you like to be nomadic, or, like me, something in between? •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• By the way, I have no idea if this photo was taken at sunset or sunrise. It was taken when I travelled to Japan in November and flew across what seemed like a million time zones, hah. I don't even know where in the world I was at this point, which I kind of love. All I knew for sure was that the sky was pink, the mountains seemed endless, and I was doing just fine. •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• #ichosetowander #liveauthentic #ourplanetdaily #fromtheair #fromabove #landscapelovers #neverstopexploring #mytinyatlas #passionpassportThe post Travel Blogger Reflects On Traveling During COVID appeared first on PlayJunkie.
]]>The post Laura Blythman’s Art is an Instant Mood Lifter appeared first on PlayJunkie.
]]>“I’m drawn to color because it just makes me so happy, it never fails to lift my mood,” explained Blythman in an interview with Kids Gifts and Toys. “When I’m creating new work I decide on a color palette first. Always. At present, I can’t get away from neon pink and peach.”
So good! ~ @finders_keepers Melbourne 
What an awesome weekend! Thanks to all of my amazing customers and my legend lady friend helpers @saintgertrude and @krystalarvanitis Her process, which more often than not includes paper collage techniques, involves covering big sheets of watercolor paper in a variety of delicious colors and copper or gold leaf. Blythman then cuts the sheets up only to put them back together again as new artworks. “I often add my signature hand-drawn and painted detail too,” she says.
“When I was young I always loved to cut, paste and layer paper and as a teen I would spend days drawing detailed illustrations of my teen idols,” she recalled. “So I guess in some form or another I’ve always been doing exactly what I still do now,” she adds. “Drawing, cutting + pasting, creating, making things.”
Her recognizable aesthetic has garnered her a legion of fans and a super happy portfolio of work with clients ranging from start-up businesses to high profile Australian and International brands. Here are some of her more eye-popping creations:
xx
New Limited Edition Print ~ Available in 7 sizes ~ all signed and numbered. Lovely. 
mwah xx
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