This isn’t your ~usual~ Christmas gift guide (although we have plenty of those coming).
Australia is filled to the bloody brim with young, talented folk creating art basically out of magic. At least, that’s how it feels to me, a non-arty person.
So we figured, if you were trying to find a gift for someone that’s a little outside of the usual present ideas, or is a bit more spesh, then why not commission one of the many talented Aussies to create a piece of art?
We rounded up some of the best young illustrators and artists around. Some are more established, some are smaller, but they’re all extremely talented.
CAITLIN SHE
Caitlin Shearer is an illustrator and designer (doing hand-made clothes) out of Melbourne. She’ll take commissions pet portraits, family portraits, custom textiles, the lot, so go check out her stuff.
FILTHY RATBAG
Celeste Mountjoy a.k.a. Filthy Ratbag is a Melbourne-based artist with an extremely good/cooked sense of humour. Get amongst it.
TWYLA SKEGGS
Twyla Skeggs is a Melbourne-based illustrator who specialises in dope lil’ illustrations (mostly on tees and tote bags) inspired by your fave sitcoms.
AMY HEYCOCK
Amy Heycock is an extremely cool photographer and illustrator based in Sydney, and may or may not have already been commissioned by the writer of this article at one point (it turned out great).
SUSANNA ROSE SKYES
Sussanna Rose Styles is a Melbourne-based artist who paints, etches, sculpts, and pretty much everything else. She’s also been featured in Yen Magazine (RIP), Hessian Magazine and Van Girls, and her stuff is teeming with emotion + sexuality. Check out her stuff here: http://www.susannarosesykes.com/
OH BABY BIRD
Erin is an illustrator who does lots of dope watercolour commissions of people’s friends, fam and pets. You’ve got to get in quick to get an order in, but they’re worth it.
ELLEN PORTEAUS
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSU9O08AGcf/?taken-by=ellenporteus
Ellen Porteaus is an illustrator and animator in Melbourne, and her entire Instagram feed is like one joyous pop of colour.
HUM MAHBE
Hum Mahbe is an extremely cool lil’ illustrator out of Sydney who will do cartoons about your inner angst or paintings of dogs and everything in-between.
SAMUEL LEIGHTON-DORE
You might recognise Samuel Leighton-Dore‘s work from the recent furore around the tunnel in Sydney that was decorated with cute (but y’know, sexually explicit) illustrations, and then quickly painted over. That was his work. But aside from tunnels, he also does paintings and ceramics and screen-printed tea towels in his distinctive style, and it’s all just great.
ASTRO BLOB
Jini Maxwell does plenty of portraits that capture all the cuteness about your relationship / friendship / whatever. Is it even Australian love without empty cans of VB on the ground? No, it is not.
AMELIA DRAWS
Amelia takes commissions on everything from your pets to cute couples portraits. “You don’t have to be nude but it helps,” she says. Go on, get nekked.
ELYCE PHILLIPS
Elyce Phillips, a Melbourne-based illustrator and writer, does loads of cute commissions for people’s pets and fam. Check ’em out at https://www.elycephillips.com/.
SOPHIE BEER DRAWS
Sophie is a freelancer based out of Brisbane, who does bright illustrations that kinda burst with happiness. “Art should never be boring. I want to suck the viewer into my world for the few seconds they look at my illustrations, like a glimpse into someone else’s head.”
THE INTERNS
You might remember a couple years ago there was a kickstarter for a children’s book inspired by Jay-Z and Kanye‘s classic, N*ggas in Paris. Well, that was these guys. They do extremely dope illustrations around music and you should absolutely get amongst it.
CAT WALL
https://www.instagram.com/p/_WQWnnlsqn/?taken-by=cat_wall
Cat Wall has everything from dogs to David Bowie to Cassie from Skins and prints inspired by A Series of Unfortunate Events over on her Instagram. There’s a lot going on, and you should check out all of it.
HEATHER BLACKLOCK
Heather Blacklock is an artist out of Brisbane who paints, sculpts and makes prints. Her watercolour pet series are particularly cute, and you should check ’em all out here: http://www.heatherblacklock.com/.
CLAUDIA PERRY
https://www.instagram.com/p/BV1FwabAydb/?taken-by=cclaudiaperry
Sydney illustrator Claudia Perry‘s Instagram is filled with bright splashes of colour and a huge range of styles. Slide into her DMs to commission!
