Detailed Art – Johanna Basford

When it comes to having a childhood-story-related complex, Alice in Wonderland syndrome is probably your best option. (For ones that are a bit more problematic look under Peter Pan syndrome, see:Michael Jackson). Afterall, it just means a fascination with all things whimsical, fantastic and slightly macabre. As someone with an Alice fixation, Scottish artist Johanna Basford, does signature black and white illustrations which play with all these elements. Her work is devastatingly detailed and what is most surprising is that it is done the traditional way-by hand, mainly using paint, ink and paper.This fact makes the depth and scope of her work even more impressive.

A self described ‘creative catch-all’ Johanna Basford is not content to have her designs featured on, or limited to, only traditional surfaces like stationery and wallpaper. Her artwork pops up on bed linen, is printed on the clothing of designer Graeme Armour, graces the album cover of a Danish electro pop band and provides ornate packaging for eco beauty products. Oh and let’s not forget her most unexpected surface to date-human skin. She is currently involved in a project where her designs are being tattooed on a lucky volunteer. She even manages to incorporate technology into her art without compromising her hand drawn approach. She is the founder of the TwitterPicture Project and created the first Twitter Picture with ideas suggested by followers.