What would make a 52-year-old woman sell 255 of her own paintings, board a ship with only her daughter for company, and sail to a rainforest on the other side of the Atlantic? For Maria Sibylla Merian, the answer was simple: she needed to study insects. 

Decades before the birth of cinema, a Belgian physicist built a spinning disc that convinced the human eye it was watching motion. That device, invented in late 1832, was the phenakistoscope, and it remains one of the earliest true forerunners of animation and cinema. Today we're taking a closer look at how it worked and examining some beautiful examples.

We may consider animal painting as a minor tributary of art history, something decorative, a background element. D’Hondecoeter invites us to look carefully at other creatures, to resist the habit of treating them as a background or supporting characters, and to find in their behaviour something that reflects our own. 

Hendrick Goltzius was a Dutch engraver and painter whose astonishing technical skill shaped the work of his contemporaries and generations beyond. Today, we’ll look closely at two of his signature engraving techniques, the swelling line and the dot and lozenge method, exploring how they work, why they matter, and studying some beautiful examples along the way.

Tattoo artist, illustrator, and printmaker Billy Bernert is known for his blackwork and engraving-inspired tattoos. His practice channels the aesthetics of old woodcuts and copper engravings, drawing on the legacy of Albrecht Dürer and his contemporaries from the 15th century. Working from his studio, Sulphur Tattoo, in the German countryside, Billy captures and reimagines the visual power of the Old Masters while weaving in modern influences. His practice spans disciplines, from bold, one-off tattoo designs to illustrations and woodcuts he carves and prints himself, all rooted in the tradition and texture of historical printmaking.

It’s autumn for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, and this time of year is especially inspiring for artists and designers; the sunlight flattens and cools the day’s colours, nights darken and draw in earlier, and the trees slowly turn from green to gold. It’s the perfect season to explore themes of transformation, texture, and impermanence in your work. If you’re feeling inspired by the shifting light and fading colour, here are five ideas for you to get started

Sydney-based tattoo artist and painter Celia Dunne specialises in black and grey realism, dark metal lettering, and abstract ornamental design. With 12 years of experience in the tattooing industry, she has established a reputation not only in her native Australia but also internationally, traveling for guest spots and conventions. Known for her relentless work ethic and dedication to the craft, Celia’s creative practice seamlessly transitions between tattooing, painting, and merchandise design, often collaborating with brands and fellow creatives to continually push her creative boundaries. 

Georgina Leung is a London-based tattoo artist, illustrator, and maker, born to Hong Kong immigrant parents and trained in Jewellery Design at Edinburgh College of Art. After nearly a decade working in commercial fashion as a senior jewellery designer, she founded Chop Stick n Poke (@chop_stick_n_poke) in 2020, a joyful, tattoo-inspired project born from creative burnout and a desire for something more personal. Her work blends playful flash tattoo-style illustrations with colourful nods to the Asian diaspora and everyday life.

Yuko Shimizu is a multi-award-winning Japanese illustrator based in New York City, with over 20 years of experience across a wide range of disciplines. In addition to her illustration practice, she is also an instructor at The School of Visual Arts. Her clients span major media, publishing, tech, and cultural institutions. Yuko is also a two-time Hugo Award nominee (2019, 2020) and a recipient of multiple Clio Awards (2023). She was awarded the Caldecott Honor in both 2021 and 2025 for her work on the children’s books ‘The Cat Man of Aleppo’ and ‘Up, Up, Ever Up! Junko Tabei: A Life in the Mountains’. In 2009, Newsweek Japan named her one of the “100 Japanese People the World Respects.”