Here’s a creative crash course on six talented local illustrators whose work should be on your radar.

Wes Leal

Originally from Johannesburg, now living in Cape Town, Wes Leal likes to create playful work that doesn’t take itself too seriously, with lots of bright primary colours.

Inspired by Flat illustrations and children’s book illustrations.

Known for Playing with unexpected perspectives, colourful characters and an overall queer approach towards creating scenes and worlds within illustrations.

Dream project “I’d love to work alongside a cool children’s-book author, creating a happy, inclusive, educational book about gender expression, and touching on sexuality in a light, playful and easily palatable way that both kids and parents can enjoy and learn from.”

Alter ego “It would probably be a fiddle leaf fig tree. I’m a fast grower under the right conditions, and if I’m happy, I’m thriving in life. Ultimately, I’d love to just chill in a sunny spot with my water requirements met.” | wesleal.com

Khanya Kemami, AKA Wacomboy

Born, raised and still living in Joburg, Khanya’s digital illustrations exist somewhere between pop art, Afrofuturism, horror art, cartooning and anime.

Known for Works and exhibitions at an event formerly known as WOKEARTS; and a self-avatar-creation developer using a Japanese site called Picrew in 2020/2021. “I’ve worked on projects with local and international brands such as Netflix, Showmax and MTV Base Africa, as well as with several amazing South African musicians. So really, I’m known for passion-based, fun projects.”

Dream project “Something that involves large-scale applied printing – perhaps for cars, storefronts, buildings or even a book range. Or a graphic clothing range with H&M, Markham, Woolworths or Shelflife! I’d also love to have a collaborative contract with a liquor brand, where I can handle packaging design. My ultimate goal is to get into animation, and open a tattoo studio (I’m also a tattoo artist).”

Alter ego “Honestly, a heavily tattooed version of Winnie-the-Pooh, or Shelby from Adventure Time!” | @wacom_boy

Pola Maneli

Born and based in Port Elizabeth, Pola’s illustration style is heavily comic book-influenced, with slight hints of realism.

Known for Editorial illustrations for The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic and The New Statesman. “I’ve also worked on projects for Google, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and Constitution Hill.”

Dream project “A series of book covers, illustrating an entire magazine from cover to cover, or perhaps an advertising campaign. Basically, anything that would allow for multiple iterations of a concept.”

Alter ego “Probably the version of me that appears whenever I have to project an air of confidence to clients – as opposed to the acute anxiety that I usually experience!” | bio.site/polamaneli

Kobie “Koba” Niewoudt

Originally from Kuilsrivier, Kobie lives in Gardens, Cape Town. She describes her style as colourful and sassy.

Known for Her “funny animations”.

Dream project “Creating a textile or fashion range, and a body of work that combines animation and traditional art.”

Alter ego “Elaine Benes from Seinfeld” | kobanieuwoudt.co.za

Kat Cameron

Kat was born in Cape Town but grew up all over South Africa. She now lives in Barcelona, Spain. Her style is whimsical and narrative, incorporating mixed media.

Known for Custom children’s illustrations.

Dream project “To continue illustrating children’s books – but I’d love to work with indie publishers on some of my books.”

Alter ego “Totoro from the Studio Ghibli animation.” | katcameron.com

Leigh Le Roux

Cape Town-born Leigh spent most of his life in Johannesburg. “The city has an energy to it that makes me excited to create.” 

Inspired by The shapes and forms that feel natural for him to draw. He’s developed a unique, versatile style, so that his work could be observed “from a distance”, and be created using just three colours if needed. 

Known for Subject matter related to characters spending time with those they care about. “The videos I started creating to document my journey as an artist in Johannesburg are my signature.” 

Dream project “I don’t think I know what that is yet, because 

I enjoy exploring. My exploration of various mediums helped me discover spray-painting. I’m drawn to doing murals at the moment, so if I could cover a building one day, that might even be a dream project.” 

Alter ego “Me, when I’m recording videos of my process. In those videos, I have to convey my belief in what I’m doing, so I get really serious.” | leighsillustrations.carrd.co

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Mpumelelo Bhengu‘s urban and bold art references pop culture with his own South African twist. We chat with him about his influences and process, from drawing on walls to working with clients.

How did you get into your line of art?

I’ve been fascinated with drawing for a very long time. It started at a very young age, glued to the TV screen watching cartoons. We spent most of the days as kids watching cartoons, which think was when the the seed was planted in my head in regards to a career where you get to draw all the time. Days were spent tracing comic books and drawing on walls (which got me into too much trouble). I was fascinated by who gets to draw these animated shows on TV.

I think a more definitive moment of what exactly it was that wanted to do was when I went to college. I got exposed to what creatives, in other countries, were doing and this is where I also realised that you can become an illustrator, which here in South Africa, was quite rare. There wasn’t a stable platform for it here at the time. The more I got exposed to illustrators the clearer it became as to what I wanted from a creative career, and what I could specialise in. 

In South Africa back then, most institutions, when it came to visual arts, focused mostly on Graphic Design and fine arts. You kinda had to create your path/narrative back then, if you wanted to be an Illustrator because the Industry was still small.

After a few years/stints in advertising, as a Graphic Designer/Art director, I decided to take the leap and pursue illustration full-time. It wasn’t easy but I am glad and grateful that I made the change and pursued it.

Describe your work in 3 words.

Urban, fun, bold

Commission or your own work?

My own work all the way. When I had just started, as a freelancer, I was trying to do as many commissioned jobs as possible. This most of the time tended to end up doing trend-based work which is normally referenced by a client. I was more so adapting to international visual trends, rather than being hired for my uniqueness or the value I bring to the table as a creative.

I prefer working on self Initiated briefs. This is very important to my growth process and it helps me put out work that I would like to do. These projects very much lead to the type of client work that I would like to do.

When starting out, clients used to reference other illustrators’ work as a visual guideline and now it’s really amazing when a client gives you free rein to create in your style. Most clients I have nowadays, often reference my work that they’ve either seen on Instagram or Behance.

Personal projects allow you to craft, explore and experiment in different ways. There’s amazing sincerity with personal work. Proactive work is YOU.

What mediums do you use?

My process is very much digital. I use my iPad most of the time cause of mobility and I can go sit somewhere outside and sketch ideas, using a program called Procreate. I use Adobe Illustrator a lot and that’s because most of the illustrations end up being scaled up and Adobe Illustrator can maintain crisp and clean line work.

With all that being said, I still believe the foundation and traditional process shouldn’t be neglected, pencil and paper. There’s something organic and personal when you are sketching ideas on paper and I think it keeps you grounded, especially in this age of technology. Software is one of many tools that help streamline the process, but nothing beats a blank piece of paper and a pencil.

I also buy art books which help from a fundamentals refresher post of view. I also carry field notes with me most of the time.

What’s your superhero alter ego?

I would say Spiderman/Peter Parker. I dig his optimistic nature and doesn’t take himself seriously. He’s also not afraid to try, make mistakes and try again. There’s a relatable human element within him. Spider is just a dude trying to figure out life while he saves people.

Typical Day?

I maintain a 9-5 type routine even though I work from my spot most of the time. This creates structure.

My day is broken down into 3 sections. I wake up around 6 or 7 am. Sleep has become such a priority for me because of how refreshed you feel after you’ve had a good night’s sleep…also I’m at the age where my day gets cloudy if I haven’t had a good night’s sleep.

Once I’m done eating breakfast, I then look at my “TO DO” list for the day. I prefer doing any admin in the mornings, which consists of emails, social media, Invoicing and quotes. This is also when I do my reach-out/lead engagement. This I call the “business development” time.

Around 11 am I start waking on client work, pending on what’s on my plate at the moment. It can be anything from sketching ideas from a client, prepping work and maybe upkeep on existing work. 

If there isn’t much client work, I continue with my proactive briefs. Overall this Time is primarily allocated to client work.

I knock off around 5 or 6 latest then go for a run or a walk. This lets me reflect on the day and to distress.

Evenings are mostly spent chilling and I try and keep my iPad close by should get a light bulb moment and need to sketch something quickly. I’m an avid gamer so I try and allocate some time for this as it also plays an important part in my creative process. I also try and spend an hour or so learning something new, be it a new program or a podcast. I’m currently experimenting with 3d software. Not sure where it is going but I’m having so much fun. Investing in yourself is important

I also make time to catch up with people and reply to messages on social media. I plan as much of the following day as possible before I sleep.

I also have random off days where you just need to get out of the house and do something fun.

Also, you never know where inspiration might come from. GET OUT and GET SOME FRESH AIR.

Plans for the rest of the year?

I’ve been working on a few amazing briefs lately and I’m grateful. 

I’m working on a few self-funded projects/briefs which are pushing me out of my comfort zone a bit. The main goal is to keep being consonant and grow even further.

Follow Mpumelelo on Instagram, here.

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Multi-faceted creative Keith Vlahakis blends a juxtaposition of his skills – street art, illustration, pop art and graphic design, into a hybrid of work that references popular culture and his cultural history. We chat with him about his journey.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your life.

My name is Keith Vlahakis. I’m an Illustrator, Pop Artist, Letterer, Graphic Designer and Street Artist. I like to identify myself as a creative pluralist, I’m constantly chasing the creative high that I get from working on multi-faceted creative projects. I’m inspired by, and influenced heavily by street culture, pop culture, comic books and urban sports. I collect toys, vintage comic books, old sportswear, streetwear jerseys and any form of pop cultural paraphernalia that’s related to my past or that I find inspiring. I spend most of my time drawing and creating in my studio with my cat Rhubarb.

How did you get into your line of art?

I’ve been drawing my whole life, but I really started taking my craft seriously in 1995. I was given an official Marvel Comics Calendar in 95, and I tried to copy all the illustrations in that calendar to make my own posters and decorate/ cover the walls of my room, I consider that moment in 1995 as the inception of my artistic career. School holidays were super boring growing up in the 90s, and I had close to nothing as far as entertainment when I was young, besides reading/drawing comics and watching VHS movies on the weekend if I was lucky. I’m a huge introvert and going outside to hang/play with peers my age didn’t really excite me. The choice was either to waste the days away watching Verimark adverts and Dr Phill/ Judge Judy or to dedicate my life to drawing and making art. I chose art.

I constantly drew and painted as I grew up and experimented with all types of mediums. I studied graphic design after high school and went on to work in the advertising industry for a couple of years. Advertising taught me a lot in terms of marketing, public relations, and how media works. My goal was to win a few awards in the advertising industry, and then use that momentum/buzz to kick-start my freelance illustration career. I won two Loerie awards, 1 for packaging design and the other for hand-crafted typography in 2014, I then left advertising, worked in an illustration studio for like 6 months then resigned again and started my own studio. Thankfully, My studio is doing well and I’ve managed to work on many illustrations and pop culture-related jobs both in SA and overseas. I still work a lot with Advertising agencies, both in SA and abroad, and I have had the opportunity to work on and be part of many international campaigns.

Describe your work in three words.

Neon, Nostalgic and Detailed.

Commissions or your own work?

The sweet balance is when I get to work on a commission that feels like I could have briefed myself on, or that feels like a proactive job.

I’m a firm believer in the notion that, whatever work you put out into the world, people will reference it, and ask you to re-create it or something similar. As long as the content of the job is within my interest, I will enjoy it. This Quote by Confucious has always kept me grounded in my artistic career… “Find a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”.

How do all your facets of art (street art/lettering/illustration) influence each other?

Street art and graffiti influence my typographic style and vice versa, the handcrafted, and digital typographic work influence street artwork because it juxtaposes the norm. Studying old typographers, and the history of type and font designers made me better at painting letters onto walls because my eye and observational skills got better. The range of letters I can spray paint is super vast because I don’t adhere to the rules of graffiti, or new york styled bubble lettering. For example, I could paint a mural inspired by Art Deco-styled typography and Batman “the Animated Series”, when the super gaudy/ art deco styled letters are sprayed large on a wall it juxtaposes their initial meaning and the so-called “rules” of Graffiti and thus creates something new. Something new to me the creator and something new to the viewer/consumer of the art.

The abstract colour and rebellious nature of street art help to keep my design work fresh and upbeat.

Street/ urban culture has always been at the forefront of contemporary creative culture, as long as I stay connected to street culture and focus on what I love, I know my work will be relevant and stand out in a sea of mediocrity. My obsession with comic book characters and comic styles is a huge juxtaposition to what’s trendy in graphic design or commercial illustration, so it stands out and is unusual in an interesting and intriguing way. I try to look at each difference as a strength, my mistakes and nuances in one field are my biggest strengths in another.

What’s your superhero alter ego?

In a superhero landscape, my alter ego would definitely be a Batman Villain. Either the Scarecrow, Carmine Falconi, The Riddler or Bane. Tom Hardy’s Version of Bane though, not the Bane from Batman and Robin.

Typical day in the life of Keith?

I usually wake up super early, sometimes 3 am or 4 am in the morning on a good day. I run or lift weights first, pray and thank God for being alive and the talent I’ve been blessed with, and then start drawing at like 5 am or 6 am. I try to work on my sketchpad for at least an hour every day or second day, as long as I can carve out time. After I work on my sketchbook I get onto the commissioned work. I prefer the early morning or late night to create, as it’s quiet and super peaceful. Mid Morning to later afternoon I’m answering emails and dealing with clients/suppliers while simultaneously watching NBA highlights or NFL highlights. I Lived and worked in the USA for a while and still gravitate more to American sports and urban sports. The NBA and NBA Africa are one of the “dream come true” clients I get to work with, so I try to stay locked into what’s going on in the league. Nighttime is purely for indulging in and consuming good cinema, with friends or sometimes just me and my cat Rhubarb. I love a good movie or comic book podcast, a few pints of beer or bottles of wine, while something is cooking slowly in the background. That’s basically a day in the life of Keith.

How do you rework and incorporate your favourite characters and add your own artistic flair and style into your designs?

I’m constantly thinking about my favourite characters and how their stories can have a direct influence on my work. It’s all about perspective and I ask myself often, “Would you buy this artwork/product you are creating? Would you wear this garment you’re designing? Have I added part of myself into this work or part of my story?”

A good recent example is the character of the city of Gotham. I had a huge studio space earlier in the year but the building I was in was getting old and started to become decrepit, some super scary, dodgy characters roamed the hallways during load shedding, but instead of letting it get me down, I used the building as a motivator to start drawing my version of Gotham. Frank Miller, one of my favourite comic book writers and illustrators, would use the city of New York as a character in his comics. He would open his studio windows wide open to let in the sound of traffic and police cars, turbulence in the city etc. He would try and add that essence into his noir comics, which then gave them an amazing sense of urban grit and realism. That story always stuck with me and I try to use all the elements around me to help give my work greater depth.

Do you have any cool illustrators on your radar in SA?

Illustrators to watch/ on my radar in SA are Mpumelelo Bhengu and Andrea Liang.

What are your plans for the rest of the year?

I have a huge collaboration with a sportswear giant/brand that I’ve been working on for the last year or so. It’s my Magnum Opus. The biggest collaboration project of my career, blending elements of all my artistic disciplines and interests, that is fashion, illustration, street culture, breakdancing, basketball, typography, storytelling, and underground electronic music. This collaboration will be my main focus and I’m super excited to launch it with the partnering brand.No Spoilers but it’s going to be “Massive”. It’s a dream come true and I’m super excited to share it with the public at large. I will also be working on my comic illustrations, I plan to draw a comic chapter of “Vampirella”, my most recent comic venture, that I hope to share at ComicCon 2024.

Follow Keith on Instagram to check out more of his projects, here.

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Grootbos Private Nature Reserve has long been known for luxury eco-tourism. Now it’s adding a bold, ambitious, pioneering new collection of botanical art to its portfolio.

The practice of botanical art dates back to the Romans, with the Codex Vindobonensis being the earliest example on record. Botanical paintings were used during the medieval period to document important medicinal plants, and over hundreds of years the expensive, time-consuming art of painting rare and unique plants transformed into a status symbol, with kings and nobles commissioning collections of painted or sketched specimens found growing in their private gardens. These collections are known as florilegia; among the most renowned are the Highgrove Florilegium in Gloucestershire in the UK, and the Transylvania Florilegium in Romania.

Sean Privett is the conservation director for the Grootbos Foundation and, along with resident botanical artist Chris Lochner and project leader Vicki Thomas, immersed each of the artists contributing to the new florilegium there in the diverse ecology of the local biome in preparation for their work. “I did a presentation for all of the artists, as a background story on Grootbos and the research and conservation we’re doing here. For many of them, it was quite mind-blowing,” Sean says, reminiscing about the start of the florilegium project back in 2019.

He and Chris prepared a “hit list” for the artists of the top 150 plants that they wanted included, which were chosen because of their relevance to the area and their special characteristics – or because they existed only there and nowhere else in the world. “We’re trying to tell the story of fynbos and the Cape Floristic Region, using Grootbos as an example,” says Sean.

Together with Sean and Chris, Vicki – a local resident and a renowned botanical artist – took the first group of artists into the field to select plants for the paintings that would form the basis of this exciting new collection. Vicki’s credentials speak for themselves: she co-founded the Botanical Society of South Africa and has had her work published in scientific journals, and her paintings can be found in collections around the world. The scope of this florilegium will include renowned botanical artists from all over the world, with painters Mieko Ishikawa of Japan and Maria Alice de Rezende of Brazil just two of those planning a trip to Grootbos to add their talent to the project.

The process of rendering fynbos specimens in pencil and paint is complicated. An artist can spend months (in some cases up to a year) with their specimen to understand the intricacies of its structure, function and relevance to the environment. While live cuttings are used as models, photography is also heavily relied on as a way of extending the life of each plant for painting. What’s more, some fynbos species are like ghosts: transient and ephemeral.

Aiming to preserve and document species of indigenous plant life that are being systematically erased from record through human activity, the Grootbos Florilegium is an ambitious and inspired story of firsts. Ground was also recently broken on construction of the Hannarie Wenhold Botanical Gallery, where the florilegium collection will be housed. The gallery will be the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere, and accessible to researchers and members of the public alike.

For more information, grootbos.com/en

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The collaboration sees South Africa’s Karabo Poppy and three other artists creating the official illustrations for a book that showcases some of our continent’s most influential women.

Leadhers: Life Lessons From African Women is a collection of inspiring stories and life advice shared by 19 women who’re breaking through glass ceilings across a wide variety of industries, such as media, entertainment, politics, education and business.

The book is available for free in digital and print formats – it’s geared to uplift future leaders. Each beautifully curated chapter shares personal stories of overcoming challenges and the various paths you can take to achieve your idea of success. Leadhers: Life Lessons From African Women is brought to life with a series of illustrations by women artists from across the continent. You can expect to see artworks created by Massira Keita from Côte d’Ivoire, Lulu Kitololo from Kenya, Karabo Poppy  from South Africa, and Awele Emili  from Nigeria.

5 000 Copies will be printed and available at Facebook’s local training partners in 15 countries, including South Africa, Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Liberia, Senegal and Kenya.

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From Ardmore’s online auction and hand-tufted textile artworks to a cute bluetooth speaker and classic movies reinterpreted as book covers, these are the top VISI picks of the week series – week 342.

1. Ardmore’s Online Auction

South African ceramic art brand Ardmore is hosting an online auction featuring a selection of 12 handcrafted pieces, until 28 July 2020.

2. Bongolethu Sandile Busuku’s Illustrations

Artist and illustrator Bongolethu Sandile Busuku is a visual creator based in Cape Town. His latest works, from a series called Goats, is inspired by South African television characters from popular TV shows that aired in the ’90s and early 2000s. Also featured below is an illustration from the iThemba series.

Image credit: @valela_arts on Instagram

3. Simone Saunders’ Hand-tufted Textiles

Alberta-based visual artist and actor Simone Saunders creates bright, bold textile pieces using rug hooking, tufting and weaving techniques to tell stories about social empowerment, upliftment and respect.

Image credit: @simoneelizabethtextiles on Instagram

4. Matt Stevens’s Good Movies as Old Books Project

Artist and designer Matt Stevens takes popular movies and reimagines them as old-school book covers. He uses his favourite feature films as inspiration to interpret the underlying themes into designs.

Images via hellomattstevens.com

5. Divoom Macchiato Speakers

The compact Macchiato by Divoom is a portable Bluetooth speaker that features 6W audio power and DSP technology. It comes available in a range of colours (Matcha Green, Nocturne Black, Airy Blue and Royal Pink).

Images via divoom.com

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From a brand-new boutique hotel in Joburg and a sustainable textile dying solution from PUMA to an art drive by local illustrator Christopher MacClements and reimagined furniture from the ’30s, these are the top VISI picks of the week series – week 338.

1. PUMA’s Design to Fade Collection

PUMA’s latest biodegradable lifestyle and performance collection “Design to Fade”, made in collaboration with Dutch design project Living Colour and Swedish design studio Streamateria, explores sustainable and alternative methods for dying and creating textiles. Living Colour makes use of bacteria to bring shades to fabrics, while Streamateria makes fabrics using a production chain with zero tolerance to waste. While it’s not yet available commercially, Romain Girard, Senior Head of Innovation at PUMA, says, “With Design to Fade, we are working on a future, which focuses on sustainable production methods and recyclable materials.”

Images courtesy of designtofade.puma.com

2. New Boutique Hotel: Daze House

Daze House, which opened its doors in February 2020 before having to close for the duration of lockdown, is a new 10-room boutique hotel in Joburg. The hotel features commissioned pieces from artists like Dennis Osadebe, Banele Khoza, Maite Maponya and Sinque. The hotel’s offering includes a swimming pool, unlimited Wi-Fi, secure parking, cooking classes and 24-hour security. It is now open to the public for essential and business stays.

Images courtesy of Daze House

3. MacClements Art Drive

Artist Christopher MacClements, known for his detailed architectural illustrations, is running an art drive, where his prints, originals and commissions will be discounted by 10% –15%, with 10% of each piece sold donated to one of three NPOs: Save a Business, Ladles of Love or Give a Home. You can find out more at macclements.com.

Images courtesy of macclements.com

4. Bottleship Mark 2 by Ernest Race for Isokon Plus

This 1963 redesign saw Ernest Race reimagine Egon Riss’s original 1930 Isokon Penguin Donkey and Bottleship. Today, the new linear shape also houses a secret drinks compartment. A limited number were produced in the 1960s with a resurgence in production by Isokon Plus in 2015. It is now available in walnut and birch.

Images courtesy of isokonplus.com

5. Cole & Son Paris by FormRoom

London-based creative design agency FormRoom is behind the look of luxury wallpaper brand Cole & Son’s Paris showroom, an Andalusian-inspired space designed to promote the brand’s Seville collection.

Images courtesy of formroom.com

Browse more like VISI picks of the week series – week 338 on picks of the week 44.

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Yuppiechef is hosting an Instagram art auction, featuring original illustrations by chef and artist Dylan Jones, in an attempt to raise funds for local establishments during lockdown.

“Dylan is an incredibly talented artist,” says Andy Fenner of Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants, who originally came up with the concept. “My idea was for Dylan to pick a few of his favourite venues across Cape Town and sketch them. If they came out anywhere near as good as we hoped, we felt people might buy them to help keep the doors of those venues open.”

Dylan, former sous chef of The Commissary in Cape Town and a former employee of Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants, has beautifully illustrated a series of detailed pencil drawings of, as it stands, seven Cape Town-based venues, namely Publik Wine Bar, The General Store, Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants, Clarke’s, Jason Bakery, Bao Down and Chefs Warehouse & Canteen.

“Once Andy got the ball rolling I couldn’t stop,” says Dylan. “The project was a way for me to keep busy but, more than that, it had such good intentions behind it. I got a few pics and got started with the drawings pretty much straight away.”

The works will be auctioned off on Friday 24 April (today) via @yuppiechef‘s Instagram account, from 9am until 6pm, where you will be able to bid for your favourite illustration. All proceeds from the various pieces will go towards supporting each establishment.

As Frankie Fenner is trading during lockdown, the proceeds for that particular illustration will go towards the Isabelo Charity, run by chef Margot Janse, which feeds hungry children.

Each 185mm piece is sketched using graphite pencil on 120GSM paper and will be delivered in a wooden Kiaat frame after lockdown. Once the auction is complete, prints will be made available and sold through each venue.

Go to @yuppiechef if you would like to participate in the auction.

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Using pen, acrylics and ink, Cape Town-based artist Kyle Jardine creates pieces inspired by local architecture and his surroundings.

“I have a love for history, design, intricate pattern work, shape and colour,” says Kyle. “It is therefore by no means an accident that Cape Town’s heritage buildings have drawn me in.”

Looking at his work, you can spot some familiar haunts from around the city, which he then translates into his own unique style. “From Cape Dutch buildings to the heritage sites of the City Centre, the intricacies and design elements that decorate and layer these historic buildings is something that has captivated me,” he says. “Historic buildings have a personality and character of their own, and it is either the shape, detail or colour that draws me to reinterpret a building in my own style.”

While art has always been a part of his life, Kyle really began sketching while on his travels. Now, he begins by photographing a site and using the image as a visual reference from which to work. He creates each piece in pen, with the “errors” bringing character to individual drawings. “From there, it’s the imperfection, interpretation and general impression of the work that takes over.”

“The joy, for me, is in the quirks,” says Kyle. “The patterns, the unexpected shapes, the squiggly lines. There is something that is awakened by giving these majestic buildings a comical style in the interpretation. I see it as the defining of each piece; giving it its own personality.”

See more of Kyle’s work on Instagram.

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Durban-based Studio Warburton, the brainchild of husband-and-wife illustration and design duo Chantelle and Hylton Warburton, creates colourful works for both local and international clients.

Priding themselves on being innovative visual communicators, Chantelle and Hylton focus on designing brands, experiences and detailed illustrations that connect with people through creativity. Their work, which is often vivid, playful and emotive, focuses on brand development and identity design, illustration, packaging, editorial design, environmental design and copywriting. They’ve worked with a host of impressive clients, including Fast Company, The Washington Post and Jamie Magazine. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzcpM9jpYMw/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Armed with a strong belief in the power of visual communication through illustration and design, Studio Warburton aim to approach design problems with a sense of empathy.

See more of Studio Warburton’s work here.

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