Let’s hear it for the girls…
Minnesota-born, Brooklyn-based US artist Samantha French’s dazzling works “explore the idea of escape, the tranquility and nostalgia for the lazy summer days of her childhood”. I particularly love her photorealistic, stylized underwater paintings which feature sunny blues that take me back to the outdoor swimming pool I used to go to in the holidays with my granddad – really, they’re that good they transported me right back there!
French says of her art; “I attempt to recreate the quiet tranquility of water and nature; of days spent sinking and floating, still and peaceful. These paintings are a link to my home and continual search for the feeling of the sun on my face and warm summer days at the lake. They are my escape, a subtle reprieve from the day-to-day.”
Professional doodler and magazine defacer Hattie Stewart has more collaborations under her belt than you can shake a sharpie at – she’s doodled for House of Holland, Marc Jacobs (the now defunct) Luella and tons of magazines. Her bold and bright art features a host of talismanic characters like her doe-eyed signature heart.
I love her work because it takes the everyday to a new level and breathes new life into homogenous glossy covers. Plus it’s accessible – it’s pretty hard not to like her stuff!
British artist Lynnie Zulu’s paintings owe more to traditional African prints than to old English studies but her colourful, Afrocentric style is infectious no matter if she may be residing in the wrong continent. Based in London’s hip East End her work is thoroughly modern and representative of your typical Dalston girl – eclectic and fun.
References are as diverse as The Fresh Price of Bel Air and Carmen Miranda and I love her technicolour mash-ups. Lustworthy stuff.
Irish illustrator Laura Callaghan has been on my radar for a couple of years since I went into overdraft territory buying a couple of her colourful prints at Pick Me Up London. Her busy watercolours feature the sassiest of girls navigating this f*ckwit modern world and bemoaning, amongst other things, work, dating, the gym and boring parties.
Tongue in cheek and with a razor sharp wit, Callaghan’s illustrations are more Broad City than Girls and I love them. Check out her work at her exhibition at Hoxton’s KK Outlet until the end of the month.
Chez Shez 
I love this piece – so many rad artists. Thank you for sharing!
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no problem x
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