Combining Photography and Illustration

No words! I honestly don't know what to tell you other than: "this is just so cool"! I stumbled upon a really great trend where artists are combining illustration and photography. Not to say this hasn't been done before, but it's always refreshing when people reintroduce the trend to you again purely because of their approach.

I would also like to take this time to thank my art teachers from school for forcing us to write artistic reviews. I now understand that it was never their intention to punish us but rather to inspire. It all makes sense now: letting other artists inspire our own work.

Johan Thornqvist, a Swedish illustrator, is one such artist who has made me open my eyes again to this combination of realism and imagination. Something I haven't done in a while because I've probably been so caught up in simply making a living!

Thornqvist's approach is somewhat unique in that he takes photographs with his cellphone after which he draws over the image using his tablet and adjusts colours and effects on Photoshop. It's really quite special this ability of his to see things in what we perceive "just ordinary".Page through a few of his illustrations below, you'll see what I mean. To see more of his work click here.