While perusing through our flickr group, I stumbled upon the art of a Russian artist who goes by uncle_cat on flickr. Not much other info has been found, so any other tidbits about the artist remain a mystery.

Their art is vivid, playful, and infused with child-like whimsy. Some pieces look like something a proud parent would pin up on the fridge. Others show a glimpse of a crazy, fantastical world that is full of details. It's tempting to hop right into this colorful place populated by critters with character, geometric geography, and slanting cities.

I met Rich Cali at a local watering hole where he serves up tasty drinks to patrons many days of the week here in Austin. When he's not working at Yellow Jacket here in town, he's doodling and drawing to the beat of his own drum.

I love Rich's work and feel that we share a certain affection for the unknown. Rich is a painter and photographer, so seeing his work transition to a refined work on a panel shows his doodles are the foundation for something much greater.



Rich is a founding member of Common House, an art space and studio where he and other members host artists and art shows every month. Go check out their site and drop by an opening if you are in town.

This post is long overdue. I haven't posted my Instagram likes on here since December of last year, even though I've probably faved more than a 100 since then. I dug back and found ten to share with you.

The above photo is one of mine. It's of my tiny Field Notes memo book opened to a spread from my "Drawn Evolution" series. Check out some friends below and if you poke around Instagram a few times a week like I do, drop by and say hello. You can find me by searching @doodlers or @okat.

I draw the greatest inspiration from the people around me. For the month of May, I'm going to ask one of my buddies to send me a drawing/doodle to highlight for each post.

My first buddy is my best buddy: Jessica Clark is my partner, roommate and collaborator and all-time favorite person in the world. She sent me the above doodle to include.

Jessica is a designer and artist, too.

We live in a house in South Austin where we make all sorts of things and collaborate with other artists on zines and art shows under the moniker Crummy House. We're taking a break from the collaborations to focus on our own work for a bit, but we'll be back in action later this year.

Here are a couple photos of some of my favorite collaborations:





Jessica and I enjoy spending time with our friends, family and two cats, Clem and Moose.

I am mesmerized by German street artist DOME's series on cardboard. He paints human bodies with eerie postures and proportions. The decaying canvas sets the mood for his stencil characters, who emit the sense that they are falling apart as well. His use of mixed media is also intriguing. The work above was made with acrylic, pencil, and espresso. Overall, it's gloomy, dingy, and endlessly fascinating.

Zak Peric, an instructor at Tower Hamlets College in London, put together an outstanding doodle project with his students. Over the course of three days, 11 students doodled on the wall of their college.

Using only black ink, students drew shapes, characters, objects, and lines all around the encouraging and positive words: "The difference between who you are and who you want to be is what you do!"

Kudos to Zak for making this happen! Long live teachers and instructors that encourage the arts beyond just the walls of their classroom. Watch it all come to life in the time-lapse video below.

This has been making its rounds on the web, but I just couldn't resist posting it too. It should not be missed. I've plenty talked about how much I love constraints, as they tend to be a great catalyst for ideas you might not have ever considered and this illustration project completely embraces that notion.

Thomas Lamadieu has been drawing in the space between buildings for his new series, SkyArt, and he's making us all look up again. Open spaces of blue sky replaced with drawn characters stuffed amongst the architecture. What's not to love?