Every month, I profile an artist that inspires my own art, in several segments.
What sets Ursula Vernon apart from other artists, besides her flawless technique, is the uniqueness of her subjects. One of the categories on her portfolio site is “Oddities”, which I will be talking about today. These artworks can be alternately described as whimsical, random, weird, freaky, and cute – and these are the qualities I most appreciate and wish to cultivate in myself as an artist.
Squishy
Squishy is a neurotransmitter. He delivers messages to brain cells and is super adorable. Squishy’s environment is rendered in squiggles, which is a fantastic way to insert texture into otherwise boring backgrounds without making them overwhelm the main subjects.
Pearaphim
Again with the weird fruit, huh? Well, Ms. Vernon’s bunches of weird fruit for you. This one just happens to be punny. Click on the link to see the entire work, including an awed squirrel!
A Fish for Eve
This one, part of the Gearworld collection, shows off Ms. Vernon’s talent in realism. It’s obvious in her other works, too – that pearaphim looks delicious – but sometimes the oddness of a piece distracts from the fact that Ursula Vernon is pretty damn good at drawing stuff as it is in real life.
Zebra Egg
Something else I really need to work on is landscapes – and moreover, landscapes that don’t get in the way of, but add to, the main subject. This image is just so cool – the color scheme, the outlandishness of the egg, the intriguing detail of the waves (they look like slate), the animal gazing up at the egg. Good stuff.
There’s more oddities coming up the rest of May!
Other parts in the Ursula Vernon artist profile series
Introduction
Anthro
Bestiary
Comics
Sketch by Sketch 
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