#5WomenArtists --the illustrative list!
I recently saw an article in the Huffington Post talking about art museums around the country trying to showcase women’s art. Additionally the challenge “Can you name #5WomenArtists?” made me think.
I thought “Mary Cassatt, Frida Kahlo, Georgia O’Keefe.....and.....well crap”
But then I realized, WAIT I know ALL of these fantastic female illustrators and digital artists. But I didn’t think there names were “legitimate” answers to the #5WomenArtist questions, because they aren’t “fine artists” that get featured in the Met.
SUCH NONSENSE.
Illustration is art. Digital Art is art. Tattoos are art. Comics are art.
Additionally, Huffington Post compiled a list of 101 Female Artists to know about. Which is great. But when I browsed the list, I didn’t connect with a lot of the work. It was a bit too abstract or avant garde for me. I love artwork with figure drawing, illustration, women’s faces, watercolors, beauty, humor, and color.
So I thought I’d compile some of my favorite female artists. Not necessarily the artists my liberal arts professors would laud, but people who create BEAUTIFUL work, that inspires me everyday to keep working.
Trina Schart Hyman--Illustrator
Trina Schart Hyman is the best. Simply the best. I first fell in love with her artwork on the Patrica C Wrede Enchanted Chronicles book covers (pictures above). She has illustrated countless picture books too. My favorite is The Fortune-Teller, with St. George and the Dragon as a close second. Also Bearskin (a multi-racial fairy tale!) Go find her work at your local library. it’s worth it. Her line sensitivity... the organic and fluid postures of her figures....her attention to background details....it’s all tip-top.
K.Y. Craft (Kinuko Craft) --Illustrator (http://www.kycraft.com/)
I first fell in love with K.Y. Craft from her book Cupid and Psyche. As I got older, I started recognizing her style everywhere. Her work is incredibly delicate and detailed. You’ve seen her work on the covers of The Cry of the Icemark, Wildwood Dancing, and her various illustrated fairy tales. The detail and beauty simply astound me. How can someone focus to put that many fine details into one piece?
Lora Zombie --Pop/Grunge Art/ Illustrator --(http://lorazombie.com/2017/ )
Lora Zombie does a delightful mix of pop art and illustration. Many of her images feature animals (especially pandas) wearing hats, children with guns or blue hair, blue birds and text. Her work flow is relatively fast, and she just lets the pigment go where the water goes. The above picture is my favorite of her works.
Carol Carter --Watercolor (http://www.carol-carter.com/)
This entry actually breaks my rule, because I did have a college professor show us Carol Carter’s work. But I knew about her before that, so I’m putting her on the list. Her control of the blend between pigment and water is amazing. Her subjects include figure, plants, and animals. Her colors are always beautifully saturated.
Lois H -- Digital Art (http://loish.deviantart.com/)
If you don’t know loish then you don’t visit Deviant Art. Her work includes both beautiful creative landscapes like the one above, and illustrations of women. The use of lighting in her work is always breathtaking. She always creates different face shapes in her women. Long faces, short faces, big eyes, small eyes. It’s not just the traditional “beautiful women” art.
Charlie Bowater--Digital Art (http://charlie-bowater.deviantart.com/)
Charlie Bowater creates beautiful illustrations. Her figures, textures, proportions, perspectives are always on point. She brings her characters and scenes to life. Given how much I love her, I feel like I’m not writing enough about her work....I guess when I think of Charlie Bowater’s work, I think it’s synonymous with “beauty.” And that alone should make you go look through her whole entire gallery.
Stephanie Pui-Mun Law-- Watercolor/ Illustration (http://www.shadowscapes.com/)
I first fell in love with Stephanie Pui-Mun Law’s art when she illustrated the covers for Catherine Asaro’s The Lost Continent series (The Misted Cliffs’ cover is seen above). Her very delicate water color textures are distinctive to her, and feel especially magical.
Alice X. Zhang --Digital Art (http://alicexz.deviantart.com/)
You might recognize Alice Zhang’s name from her official Dr. Who and Sherlock fan art. The art was so fabulous that the BBC commissioned her to do more. She uses saturated colors, beautiful textures and brushes to create a distinct style of work. While creatively using textures and color, she still manages to capture amazing likenesses of the actors she draws.
Danielle Corsetto --Comics! / Illustration (http://www.girlswithslingshots.com/)
Danielle Corsetto wrote the first webcomic that I read, and Girls with Slingshots will always have a soft spot in my heart. Danielle is currently making new comics on her Patreon and posts her figure drawings on instagram. Her work captures so many different unique faces and figures. Every character is a distinct, recognizable individual. And her comic is hilarious.
Erica Moen --Comics/Illustration (http://www.erikamoen.com/)
Erica Moen currently writes the comic Oh Joy Sex Toy, an often smutty educational/review site for all things sex and reproduction. I’ve learned A TON from reading her weekly comics. I love her commitment to showcasing a huge variety of skin tones, body types, genders, and abilities. Additionally, her figures feel like they’re always moving. Her work quite often features nudity and sex. Google away from your mothers.
Ryan Ashley --Tattoo art (https://ryan-ashley-malarkey.format.com/)
Ryan Ashley specialized in “fine line black and grey” tattoos. I first encountered her on the show Ink Master (which she won!) The way her designs merge geometric patterns, jewels, and hair/feathers/leaves/flowers is beautiful. The precision of her values and lines is hard to achieve on paper, much less on human skin.
Teresa Sharpe --Tattoo art/ Illustration (http://teresasharpeart.com/)
I first encountered Teresa’s art on the show Best Ink (which she won). Her fine art is amazing (as seen on her website and Instagram). But her tattoos feature beautiful colors, amazing lines and textures. She fits her images to the human body and beautifully blends the elements that the client asks for.
Anna Dittmann --Digital Art (http://escume.deviantart.com/)
Anna Dittmann’s work often blends botanicals or feathers with women’s faces. She merges the two beautifully. I live for it.
Elena Berezina -- Digital Illustrator (http://sharandula.deviantart.com/)
There are just many images I could have posted. Elena Berezina is working on a book called Silence is Golden, though it looks like it will be in Russian. She creates both really smooth blends and glorious texture. She also does very expressive cartoons of all her characters.
Claire Hummel--Digital Art (http://shoomlah.deviantart.com/)
I first encountered Claire Hummel’s art first in her Historically accurate Disney Princesses series. Above is one of her Hamilton fan art pieces. Her art features precise lining, immaculate costume detailing, and great design.
Jan Brett-- Illustration (http://www.janbrett.com/index.html)
Fritz the Beautiful Pony, The Hat, The Mitten, Beauty and the Beast, go borrow them all from your local library. Jan Brett does beautiful detailing in the frames around her pictures. And she adds great life and humor into animal’s faces while keeping their proportions realistic.
Susan Jeffers --Illustration (http://susanjeffersart.com/BioFrameset.html)
Susan Jeffers’ beautiful illustrations are also a staple of my childhood. Look at the lines in those plants! She uses color lines to create value, texture, movement, and dimension.
Diane Goode --Illustration (http://www.dianegoode.com/works.htm)
I live for this woman’s illustrations of Charles Perrault's Cinderella. Literally my favorite book as a child. I (as a 7 year old) made sculptures in homage to dress above. She has these sassy little expressions, FABULOUS hair and clothing, and limited color palettes.
Patricia Polacco --Author and Illustrator (http://www.patriciapolacco.com/#books)
Author of Just Plain Fancy, Thunder Cake, and so many more. Polacco’s illustrations capture the sweetness of human’s relationships. She draws a diversity of people: old, young, black, white, and many more. Her stories are always sweet.
Judy Schachner --Author and Illustrator (http://www.judithbyronschachner.com/books/)
Judy Schacherner’s Skippyjon Jones series of book is delightfully weird. Her illustrations use colorful chalk pastel, and her book uses a bizarre blend of Spanish and rhyming. The kitten Skippyjon Jones is always getting in trouble, being sent to his room, imagining he’s a Chihuahua, and dreaming up wild adventures with his band of imaginary dog friends. It’s as trippy as it sounds. Her latest book, Dewey Bob, is about a raccoon. The illustration are a really cool mix of collage and pastel.
AND OF COURSE
Mary Cassatt (Classic Impressionism)
Mary Cassatt rejected doing portraits of nicely dressed women on dark backgrounds. She focused on scenes from life, particular on mothers and children. She used bright colors, expressive brush strokes, and was interested in light.
Note: Most of these female artists are white women. At least two have publicly queer identities, and at least two are non-white. Since this list is for Women’s History Month, I wanted to acknowledge that this list doesn’t meet standards for intersectional feminism. If you want to add on more diverse female artists, feel free.
