Posted by Jake Mac |

For those lucky enough to follow us on Instagram, you will have seen our bi-weekly BLinked series blossom. We’ve named the series BLinked for obvious reasons - we are Black Lines and we sure are lovers of ink. With a name nicked from the abstract work of Kandinsky, it would be pretty strange if we didn’t. Back in February, we stopped DM’ing each other snaps of artists or cool pieces that had caught our eye and decided it was high time to start creating a collection. Before we knew it, the BLinked Instagram series was born; a series of features that highlights artists & pieces that all have something a little bit special about them. We can’t post photos of pretty drinks all day, everyday can we?

Art is a place where boundaries are pushed and constant experimentation takes place; we know as well as any other artist, things must go wrong before you achieve something great.

Art is a constant in most people’s lives. It is a place where boundaries are pushed and constant experimentation takes place; we know as well as any other artist, things must go wrong before you achieve something great. Art is anything that moves you; we want to share the art that has really moved us.

Though illustration takes lead, the BLinked features so far have ranged artists & stories across a multitude of disciplines, cultures & locations. We started the series in February with a group favourite, Kiwi artist & painter, Gina Kiel. Painting city murals, all the way down to miniature postcards, she truly defies scale. To follow her, we travelled to Europe to see the illustrative work of Southern Germany’s Gabriel Holzner & Sweden’s Andreas Samuelsson. Gabe takes on the social climate through bold, physical print while Andreas, an art scene evergreen, creates beautiful illustrative moments, boasting a very enviable client list.

 

We’ve also taken a look closer to home. Marnie Cox, the artist behind the Aperol Spritz illustration, who uses geometry and sharp lines to create soft, charming characters. We also had the pleasure of speaking with Bristol based painter Amber Griffin about her process and interests after her beautiful depiction of our Pear & White Tea Fizz . And finally, we couldn’t ignore the father of our little Negroni strong man, another Bristolian, Jamie Muck. His early contortionist characters have quickly grown in to full scale scenario illustrations earning him a recent spot in The Telegraph; we love his stuff.

It’s not always illustration that takes our eye. Recently we’ve been drawn further afield to the likes of Azar Kazimir, a man armed with big ideas rather than just pens. Likewise, Jeremiah Shalo of Chicago, is neither an illustrator nor a graphic designer; instead he’s a perfect mix of the two, bring illustration and animation together in harmony. Sometimes art is more than the artist; art can be a movement. As people, we are active and aggressive supporters of Black Lives Matter; for us, art has never been restricted to any specific gender or race. But the events unfolding around the world have finally given space and time to a number of black artists who were previously underrepresented and created a new wave of moving work. As such, we featured some of the most powerful work we had seen, including pieces by Quentin Monge, Banksy, Reuben Dangoor, Ryan Adams, Nicky Smith & Dai Sugano.

 

Here is a roundup of some of the best BLinked bits so far:

 

 

Get Involved

We’re always on the look-out for new, exciting artists to work with and feature as part of the Blinked series. If you think you might be a perfect fit or know someone who would be, please hit us up at jake@blacklinesdrinks.com. Or for a closer look at our artists, head over to our Illustrators page.

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