Nora Aoyagi

Spirit Rabbit

nora — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 03:46:24 +0000

I’ve been playing around with texture lately, trying to incorporate my love of nice tight lines with a looser and more painterly feel. I’ve been doing washes, droplets, and here I even used splattering for a little bit of the “galaxy” effect that is all the rage these days. This small piece was for a friend’s birthday, so I included a constellation for good measure. I’m currently in love with this process.

(First layer of washes over a pencil sketch.)

(Splattering and the beginning of an outline.)

(The final piece!)

Back by Popular Demand: Hello Stranger!

nora — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 19:08:56 +0000

The fourth and final edition of the “Hello Stranger” print is now available in my Etsy shop!

The Sweet Potato

nora — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 15:31:22 +0000

I recently worked on a series of illustrations for our family friend, Reiko Odate Matsumoto’s children’s story, “The Sweet Potato”. I was initially drawn to the project because it takes place in post-war Japan, a time that my dad experienced as a child growing up in Yokohama. The story focuses on Tetsuo, a poor but much loved boy, and his encounter with two much more unfortunate beggar children. Below are a few illustrations from the project:

Below are a few photographs that I used for inspiration. Regretfully, I did not note their sources.

Southern Escape: Part 4

nora — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 05:11:40 +0000

Next Stop: Birmingham, Alabama
Soundtrack: Hank Williams
Eating & Drinking: boiled peanuts, BBQ chicken and ribs with white sauce
Shop: What’s on Second?, Charms
Visit: The Civil Rights Museum (We foolishly did not go here.)

We left town after two nights at the historical Redmont Hotel, heading for Pigeon Forge, home of Dollywood. On the way we stopped at The Lost Sea, a cave and underground lake ride attraction, which despite its resemblance to a certain scene in a certain book featuring a boy wizard, was a little sad.

Charms boutique, Birmingham

What's on Second?

Peanut Roasters at the Peanut Depot, Birmingham, AL

Finally we made it to the end of our journey with two days in Pigeon Forge, a wonderland of go-carts, miniature golf, airbrushed t’shirts, and of course Dollywood!

Next Stop: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Soundtrack: all things Dolly Parton
Eating & Drinking: foot long corndogs, wine purchased from the next town over (There is no wine or liquor sold in Pigeon Forge!)
Shop: Gatlinburg Package Store (liquor)
Go See: Dollywood

In The Smokies, Tennessee

Dolly Parton Museum, Dollywood

And finally we came back to Nashville for one more day. And I’ll leave you with my final photo from the trip: a wonderful, random local band sticker.

Copper into Steel, Nashville

Southern Escape: Part 3

nora — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 17:55:29 +0000

Next Stop: New Orleans
Soundtrack: zydeco, blues, The Young Fellaz Brass Band
Eating & Drinking: beignets, gumbo, crawfish etoufee, hurricanes
Shop: Trashy Diva, Magazine Street, endless tourist traps
Visit: the swamps, The Abita Mystery House, Frenchmen Street, haunted sites/ cemeteries

I can’t wait to get back to New Orleans! It was something of an adult playground of delicious food, spooky places, gorgeous old buildings, live music, and drinking on the streets. (I have resisted posting a zillion cemetery photos.)

: Beignet at Cafe Du Monde

St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans

New Orleans Homes

Lafayette Cemetery

The Garden District, New Orleans (I think this was Anne Rice's house)

Swamp Tour

The House of Shards at The Abita Mystery House

Southern Escape: Part 2

nora — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 04:54:13 +0000

Next Stop: Memphis
Soundtrack: all Elvis satellite radio, Stax artists
Eating & Drinking: Gus’s World Famous Chicken (no kidding!), Soul Burgers from Ernestine and Hazels
Shop: every Graceland gift shop
Visit: The Crystal Shrine Grotto, The Stax Records Museum, Graceland, Victorian Village

We loved Memphis! There’s much more down there than just Graceland! On our way out of town we went through Jackson, Mississippi and stopped at Bully’s for some classic Southern food. We stayed the night in Vicksburg in a creepy casino hotel. On our drive to the ghost town of Rodney, Mississippi, we got stuck in the mud and had to push dead leaves and sticks under the tires to get out! Still covered in mud, we went on to the Winsor Ruins, and then continued south.

Graveside at Graceland

(arguably the most amazing stuff at Graceland)

The Crystal Shrine Grotto, Memphis

child's playhouse at The Victorian Village, Memphis

Rodney, Mississippi

Winsor Ruins, Mississippi (an old plantation home)

Next up: New Orleans

Southern Escape: Part 1

nora — Thu, 31 May 2012 05:37:50 +0000

After a few years of dreaming, scheming, and scouring the internet for roadside attractions, my friend Sara and I finally took our road trip in the American South. It was amazing! It was hard to catalog, much less photograph all of this roadtrip, but here are a few notes and images from our adventure:

First stop: Nashville
Soundtrack: classic country covers, The Fisk Jubilee Singers (Centennial Park), The Roland White Band (Station Inn)
Eating & Drinking: Potato and Pea Pizza from City House, pancakes from the Pancake Pantry, whiskey gingers
Shop: Vintage Savant, Imogene and Willie, Wonders on Woodland
Visit: Centennial Park, The Station Inn (great music venue), Hatch Show Print (operating print shop since the 1920′s)

Hatch Show Print, Nashville

Imogene and Willie (denim shop)

On our way to Memphis we stopped by Loretta Lynn’s ranch (!) and the Patsy Cline memorial crash site.

Loretta’s Ranch

Hello New World!

nora — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 06:53:41 +0000

Hello and welcome to my brand new website! It’s been a very long time since I gave it much love, and I’m very pleased with the new, streamline style. Many thanks to the good folks at AMFM Design for the fresh look!

What can you expect from this new site? Current and most favorite artwork, and much more regular updates on me and my work, right here on the blog. Also, expect poor grammar and overuse of Instagram. Thanks for stopping by!