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.

You can't discuss Diela Maharanie's art without praising her prismatic, high-gloss, candy-like use of color. But, it's the colored noses of her women - a mere dab on the face - that somehow command my attention even amidst a wild assortment of patterns and animals. It's as if their skin has saturated the vibrant world they inhabit.

You now have the chance to color her work yourself - Diela is one of the 60 artists featured in our new coloring book!

I drew the image above almost seven months ago, but it feels more fitting today than it did then. In the last week, Instagram went from being just a popular iPhone photo app to becoming the most popular photo sharing tool the world has ever seen.

A few days ago they released an Android phone version and just yesterday Facebook bought them for one billion dollars. They boast well over 30 million users and now with Facebook on their side, I expect that number will quickly double.

Like any huge network that hosts people sharing things, you get a lot of crap. A lot of garbage that finds its way onto the "popular" page too. If that's your objective, follow the steps above and you'll get there sooner rather than later. But if you ache for the creative and the inspired, I've been putting a list together of some really cool artists that hang out and share what they're working on.







It's a good resource if you're just joining the community and I expect to be adding more along the way (feel free to share it with others). You can find parts one, two and three here and while on Instagram, stay in touch, follow me by searching OKAT or DOODLERS.

This is our most ambitious project to date -- almost a year in the making. It's the culmination of over 130 submissions, over 2,300 votes, and an infinite amount of creativity. We launch our 2012 DA Calendar with overwhelming pride, not only in the beauty and originality of the artwork, but in the fantastic support of our community. We truly could not have accomplished this feat without you, our supporters and friends.

If you love what we are doing at Doodlers Anonymous, help us fight the good fight. Buying a calendar not only promotes independent artists and helps to support this website, but more importantly, saves you from those overcrowded malls this holiday season.

Give the gift of art »

The world of John Malta is in another realm. His shaky uneven lettering, his colorful yet dark and eerie illustrations, his fascination with punk shows and pet lizards - they all make for something that's weird and wonderful at the same time.

To this day, John's cat doodle (I'm still not quite sure if it's really a cat but I love him anyway), which you can find inside our DA coloring book, remains as one of my favorites.

For his feature, John answered a few questions for us in doodle form. His answers, as you will see, are full of character, full of texture, full of awesome. He also sent over some photos from inside his studio in NYC, where he is living now.

Moldy Magic. That's how he refers to his work. And really, I couldn't have come up with a better pairing of words to describe John Malta and his sultry craft. It's bound to grow on you, if it hasn't already.

If I were to envision Doodlers Anonymous as a published book, it would look damn close to the one I am about to give away.

Julia Rothman is an illustrator and pattern designer who runs the popular blog Book By Its Cover, which features a different art-related book every weekday. We've been fans of the site since day one and especially love the weekly sketchbook series.

Her latest book, Drawn In, is a peek into the inspiring sketchbooks of 44 fine artists, illustrators, graphic designers, and cartoonists. It's an incredible read, filled with insightful q&a and beautiful full-color photographs of sketchbook pages that were quite possibly never meant to be seen.

We are fans not only of the content, but because it features some of our favorite artists. Of the 44, at least 10 have been featured on Doodlers Anonymous, including the amazing Ted McGrath.

Friends of DA, we are giving this great book away. To be in the running, just leave a comment with the title of a book you bought because of its cover. We'll pick a winner from the hat. Comments close June 15th (Wednesday) at 2pm Eastern. Good luck everyone;...and for those of you that can't wait, get your hands on the book today. It deserves to be on your coffee table.

And the winner is: Robyn Wells. Congrats!

Israel is inspiring: the history and culture, the sand and sea, the light and grace. Bezalel, the Jerusalem-based Academy of Art & Design, has cultivated a bounty of talented and progressive artists across the disciplines. Because I’m aware of Bezalel’s reputation, I expect a certain caliber of work from its students. But I was, admittedly, sucker punched. Gabriella Barouch’s sketchbook is mature and elegant—the composition, the colors, the delicate patterns. There’s innate talent, and there’s training. Clearly Gabriella was blessed with both. Hard to believe she still has a year left of school.