illustrations

Planting Carrots

Going back to work after a looooooooong summer weekend is never easy, so I was tickled when I came across Kitt Santos‘s amazing blog, Little Bunny. Big World .

The name is pretty accurate. Santos depicts a little rabbit going through the stuff we humans feel every day.

This particular illustration, entitled “You’ll get there,” resonated with me.

I’m not exactly a patient person. I like to feel like I’m always in motion, working towards my next goal or latest project. It’s not always easy for me to accept that some things are out of my control, and that sometimes I have to wait—and find peace in those moments.

ButВ I’ve found a way to help myself through those times. I’ve long used the expression “planting carrots” to describe planning fun things to look forward to—especially trips and vacations. Knowing that I have an upcoming getaway helps me throughВ life’s ups and downs, likeВ the annual long slogВ orВ a super-busy period at work. Anticipating those carrots makes me feel as zen as that bunny.

And speaking of carrots, I’ve actually planted a few more in the past week: In addition to my upcoming Chile trip, I also booked a weekend to visit my dear friend in Indiana, and an end-of-summer trip to London and another TBD destination with my best friend. Hooray for carrots!

(Illustration by Kitt Santos)

Archie’s Press’ Circular City Maps

Here’s another map I stumbled upon and loved, this week: Manhattan, as interpreted by Archie Archambault, a designer from Portland, Oregon.

My eye was drawn toВ the clean lines and the simplicity of the circles. Plus, he did a nice job calling out most NYC neighborhoods. (Though he could have included my own little ‘hood, Hudson Heights, in that blank spot between 180th and 190th, between the river and Broadway!)

On his site, Archambault explains why he uses circlesВ in his maps:

New research indicates that GPS’s are hindering our ability to create mental maps of our surroundings. My maps aim to install a “Map from the Mind” for each city, simplifying structures and districts in the simplest terms. The circle, our Universe’s softest shape, is the clearest graphic to convey size & connection.

Archambault has also mapped San Fran, DC, Boston, PortlandВ and many other cities. See them all on his Etsy shop.

(Image viaВ Archie’s Press; found via Pinterest)

Aldo Crusher’s Amazing Cityscapes

Aldo Crusher‘s illustrations just make me happy.

The Mexico City-based artistВ has two gorgeousВ series, CosmГіpolisВ andВ CosmГіpolis Pt.2, where he depicts cities around the world in whimsical, colorful detail.

They’re incredibly wanderlust-inducing.

IВ don’t think I need to say more about how awesome they are—the images speak for themselves.

(Images by Aldo Crusher; found via Design Taxi)

New Yorker Beach Covers

Though I haven’t taken any other summer trips since LBI, I’ve made a point to hit the beach at least one day eachВ weekend. Like I’ve been saying—the sun and surf are so refreshing after a week spent in an air-conditioned midtown office building!

Sure, NYC-area beaches don’t have the cleanest sand or prettiest water. And yeah, they can get crowded. But I do love seeing my fellow New Yorkers, from all walks of life, basking in the sun and splashing in the water.

That’s why I love this week’s New Yorker cover, byВ Mark Ulriksen,В celebratingВ summer on Coney Island: It’s a vibrant and accurate depiction of New Yorkers taking advantage of their beach within the city. (Funny, I’ve been to Long Beach, Rockaway, Robert Moses and Jones, but not Coney Island, this year.)

The magazine also has a gallery of past covers that featured the beach. I loved this one, from 2009, of a couple wading in the moonlight:

And I really got a kick out of these two, from the 1930s:

It’s amazing how little a day at the beach has changed since then. The styles and technology are different, but packing a picnic and/or eating hot dogs and battling crowds are still part of the experience!

(Images via the New Yorker )

Gorgeous Gifs

When I think about.gif"turntable cat" href="https://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8dynhbpJ01qbbs8oo1_500.gif" target="_blank">this variety.

Which is why I was so blown away when I came across Rebecca Mock’s.gif"http://rebeccamock.com/index.php?/nytimes/the-quiet-ones/"> the quiet ones

This one is my absolute favorite. It so reminds me of sweltering NYC afternoons in the summertime. (How much longer until it’s that hot?)

Check out more of Mock’s amazing illos on her site, as well as her Tumblr.

(Images by Rebecca Mock; found via NPR)

Skycats

This week has been pretty crazy (in a good way, though!), so I was thrilled to stumble across Gemma Correll’s genius “Skycats” series in the midst of all the madness. Her comics are so cute and witty—I couldn’t help but laugh out loud and smile at her illustrations.

Some of my favorites:

Check out Correll’s complete “Skycats” seriesВ and be sure to follow her Tumblr for more awesome illos!

(Images via Gemma Correll’s Tumblr)

Foreign Words

With my trip to Buenos Aires just a few weeks away, I’ve rekindled my Spanish studies. I’ve dug out my notebook filled with conjugations, grammar rules and definitions, and resumed listening to the “Coffee Break Spanish” podcast, every day on the subway. I can feel my slight grasp on the language returning.

Studying Spanish every day has reminded me of this wonderful Maptia blog post I came across a few weeks ago. It contains 11 illustrations of words in other languages that have no English equivalents.

Some of my favorites:

The comments on the post are just as interesting! Readers have noted other fantastic words that we could use in English—like mahmihlapinatapai, which is “a look shared by two people, each wishing that the other will offer something that they both desire but are unwilling to suggest or offer themselves,” in theВ Yaghan language of Tierra del Fuego.

I’ll try to drop that one into conversation!

(Illustrations via Maptia)

NYC Expeditionist

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