I discovered Delphine Durand (and her entourage of weird animals) when she was teaching a workshop at Ilustratour. I couldn't go and was left with the desire. Since then, I follow her work from the distance.

I love her magic and bizarre animated monsters that walk around her drawings and on her books and travel journals.



And thanks to her, I know about "Les Cahiers de L'Articho", a French illustration magazine that's got me blown away. She also has an amazing pinterest page where she uploads everything she likes.

Miguel Herranz (aka freehand) is an Urban Sketcher with an incredibly detailed hand and a complementary story to go along with each sketch. The stories range from memories to the people, places and things he comes across. Below is a snippet of his text for the drawing above:

"…I keep on drawing... I wonder what happens behind the third window of the second floor on that brick building... I imagine a filter that tells me with some color the places where people laugh joyfully, with some other color where they shout angrily, with other where they make love, where someone just died... I know I'm drawing all this."

It's a must that you take the time to read the captions behind each drawing. You will fall in love not only with his skilled hand, but how he describes what he sees.

I recently found out that Kitty Crowther is from Belgium with a British father and Swedish mother. In fact, it was in Brussels where I first discovered one of her books, the one that shocked me most, "Petite home et dieu" (Little man and God).

What I like most from her is the lack of digital retouching, the spontaneous drawings, the feeling that she has done them very quickly (non-stop), and the way in which she uses colour, lights and blacks above all. I also like the fact that she uses colour pencils, it makes me think that someday when I get older, I could be like her.

Some issues or themes can be difficult for a kid to understand, but her subtlety makes it all very easy.

I hate that she doesn't have a website, because I couldn't find all the images that I wanted, but here are some.

These images will make you look twice, and maybe two more times after that. Joseph Martinez paints inside matchbooks with such precision and patience you wont believe it until you watch the video for yourself. The art is often times smaller than the size of a dime.

I can't imagine anything more fascinating than seeing these matchbook paintings in person. Fortunately, those of you in San Francisco will have the opportunity at his upcoming show, A Little Piece of the Bay.

Scroll down, and you'll be asking yourself again and again how he's achieving such depth, shadows and detail.

I love these story-driven artworks by Dave Zackin. Of course it's the colors and bold lines that first catch my attention, but then I quickly get caught up in the hand-lettering and drawn narratives. I'd gamble to say that even the most humdrum day in my life would look fascinating if documented like this.

Everything is said when you look at Ricardo Cavolo's work. With its strong colours, his pieces are powerful, fast and fresh. This guy's got the lot.

I saw that DA featured him in a post a few years ago, but I think that he deserves a refresh to see the evolution of his work.

Plus, I finally got to meet him at my last exhibition in Madrid and can honestly say that he is a lovely person.

I met Miju short after I moved to Barcelona through an exhibition at Duduá and I was blown away.

I don't really know how she does it, but in her drawings there is no noise, just peace. It's just her and her imaginary friends. It's so special and different from everything nowadays. When you meet her, you understand her illustrations are just an extension of her own personality.



Born in Busan (Korea), studied Product Design in Seoul and then moved to Barcelona to make a living out of her illustrations. She also has a trademark called Mee and Zoo where she sells handmade cushions from Busan.

And please, don't forget to check out her animated gifs.