Three Artists Inspiring Me Right Now (July 2026)
I'm a little late posting my July inspirations, but here are 3 artists who's work has inspired me to implement changes in my own art practice over last month!
June was a really busy art month for me, organising an event, planning and hosting 2 workshops (one lino printing and one tote bag painting), and lots of markets in between. Because of this more event-based work I've been inspired by more illustrators than painters in recent weeks, enjoying their stylisation, narrative capabilities, and use of form / colour.
Wednesday has been an artist I've followed on instagram for years, since before I ever pursued a career as an artist. While I've followed more of a painterly path, I still enjoy graphic design and illustration.
I love the way their linework and colour feels accessible and readable while still having lots of visual stimuli to keep you searching throughout the artwork! The messages they are able to convey with hope and energy are exactly how the tool of illustration can be used to better humanity!
Wednesday is an artist who works digitally, which I haven't done in a while but intend to continue using for more graphical artworks such as posters or flyers. Each artwork is so united in style, reflecting the personality of the artist and inviting viewers to engage with the artwork with optimism and a feeling of unified humanity!
Wednesday uses their art to inspire people, and the strong focus on togetherness and justice for a greater world have done exactly that for me!
Takeaway - optimistic bright colours, maximalist fullness of each piece, digital technique
As I've been designing posters and flyers recently for events, I've been looking into printmaking on a larger scale again. It had been a while since I made new prints but I really wanted to branch out and work in Riso, and I found Lauren's work especially inspirational for that.
I love the way that she lays out a scene to make it full and bright, and the lack of linework, contrasting the artist before, feels very flat in a riso printing or screen printing way. The style looks so fu and joyful! I also love the use of colour to feel harmonious and full all while keeping very simple.
I find that the main difference I notice between 'paintings' and 'illustration' is the use of composition and framing. Where a lot of painters aim to capture a real sense of space, illustrations warp, flatten, or layer space in a way that conveys more within one piece. It's a brilliant example of playing with the scene, and I've always wanted to use my imagination to create designs more as a way to break from feeling like I have to exactly capture a reference as I see it.
I've always wanted to try my hand at mural painting as well in the future. This example, utilising the layering of objects to create an unrealistic and fun sense of space, is exactly the sort of thing I want to keep in mind for a project like that should it come my way!
Takeaway - layering of objects, stylised sense of space, simplified palettes of colour.
This artist speaks more to my painterly side, in contrast to the two illustrator / graphic artists previously listed. Her use of pastels to create highly saturated and bright scenes of food and flowers in a loose style are in line with my recent desire to force myself to work in less detail!
Something that Hannah is able to do with her beautiful pastel paintings is capture the brightness of the light and inject energy into a still life by leaving the ground slightly visible between the strokes of colour.
Hannah also utilises composition in a way I like doing myself, but in a looser style. Having a box of oranges in a way room with it trailing off to the side creates a focal point in the top right third of the painting.
I especially love her unapologetic use of bright blues for the shadows, reminding one that shadows are often way more saturated than we think, and can even often skew to be brighter than highlights!
Takeaway - saturated colours, visible ground between strokes, injection of energy
SUMMARY
What I'm learning though posting these blogs about my inspiration is that I understand better why I feel like I have no solid style. I often get inspired by something I've never tried before and want to explore a new technique / medium / style / function!
For example, while I adore painting in oil, the functional art I've created this month for marketing (posters, flyers, instagram posts, etc) means I am now finding an interest in creating art from a concept rather than from a clear reference.
I think this is helping with my ability to create a piece with a narrative, telling a story, and can be incorporated into my future paintings if I curate a reference and plan it in the way I plan marketing material for a greater purpose!