A Parallel Planets piece by Unknown
Whimsy leaps from page to page as flora and fauna seamlessly merge through a barrage of lines and dots. Each tiny, well-placed detail compounds into a visual explosion of technical mastery and precision. Yet there is nothing mechanical in the fanciful illustrations of Anaëlle Clot. Instead, the seemingly obsessive exactitude creates pieces that are organic, fluid, and simply fun.
When I first saw Anaëlle's works, my interest was immediately piqued. The 26-year-old, Lausanne-based illustrator's pieces were light and refreshing; there was something rustic, almost quaint about them, and they were a breath of fresh air. Yet at the same time, the complexity and the thoughtful arrangement of outwardly haphazard details betrays a level of sophistication, of skill, that "rustic" just doesn't give justice.
Anaëlle's art is centered around organic shapes and natural creatures. Biology text books or museums of natural history are a constant source of inspiration and reference material for her vines, feathers, furs, scales, and varied animal faces. Despite the realism and attention to detail she pays her subjects however, her images are versatile and free-flowing; they couldn't be categorized so simply. Kaleidoscopes of plants and flowers over organic patterns over birds or foxes provide a rich, captivating visual narrative with every inch and every layer put to good use. The spontaneity and free-willingness her artworks evoke made them so easy on the eyes and light on the heart for me that I found myself studying them with childlike interest.
After graduating with a degree in art and communication, Anaëlle worked as a graphic designer for Swiss design firm KO Yverdon. Her artistry has also graced the surface of everything from serigraphy T-shirts for l'Age d'Homme and Fantasky, to book designs for Journal Moin and Monsterbox, to magazines, to webzines, and even to countless festival and exhibition posters. She has since started a quarterly fanzine with friends Laura Morales and Vanessa Besson called Le Devaloir (a Swiss-French term referring to the path in a forest where logs are rolled down, or a garbage chute in a building - you decide). It's fifty pages of Swiss art, illustrations, comics, interviews - basically artistic candy for the eyes and soul. It's available for free in Switzerland and Paris.
A collection of Anaëlle's works can be viewed at her website. Her Facebook and Tumblr are all active for some art-stalking too. Her zine, "Le Devaloir," can also be found on Facebook and Tumblr. Of course, everything is in French, so prepare your Google translate if you want to do some reading.
In the end, despite the language barrier, Anaëlle Clot's works speak volumes of her skill, style, and vision. The lightheartedness and fun seeping through her forest animals, fish, and flowers have a perfect balance with the seriousness of her execution, creating complex illustrations that are as pretty as they are masterful.
After graduating with a degree in art and communication, Anaëlle worked as a graphic designer for Swiss design firm KO Yverdon. Her artistry has also graced the surface of everything from serigraphy T-shirts for l'Age d'Homme and Fantasky, to book designs for Journal Moin and Monsterbox, to magazines, to webzines, and even to countless festival and exhibition posters. She has since started a quarterly fanzine with friends Laura Morales and Vanessa Besson called Le Devaloir (a Swiss-French term referring to the path in a forest where logs are rolled down, or a garbage chute in a building - you decide). It's fifty pages of Swiss art, illustrations, comics, interviews - basically artistic candy for the eyes and soul. It's available for free in Switzerland and Paris.
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A collection of Anaëlle's works can be viewed at her website. Her Facebook and Tumblr are all active for some art-stalking too. Her zine, "Le Devaloir," can also be found on Facebook and Tumblr. Of course, everything is in French, so prepare your Google translate if you want to do some reading.
In the end, despite the language barrier, Anaëlle Clot's works speak volumes of her skill, style, and vision. The lightheartedness and fun seeping through her forest animals, fish, and flowers have a perfect balance with the seriousness of her execution, creating complex illustrations that are as pretty as they are masterful.
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