Minimalist Modernity

The other day while googling for something, I was once more reminded of the beauty of Mats Gustafson’s watercolour fashion illustrations when one of them appeared in my picture search.

His mastery of the medium is just so sublime, the way he conveys the essential characteristics of garments using such simple, minimalist shapes. Extraneous details such as facial features, garment construction and embellishments, and context are washed away – and indeed are rendered superfluous – with luxurious swoops of his paint-laden brush. What works so beautifully too is his minimal colour palette – his illustrations ultimately just look so modern and elegant.

I also discovered he had another beautiful monograph Mats Gustafson: Watercolors published in 2013, but am weeping because it is currently unavailable to purchase in any form (a fact at which I am not at all surprised – who’d want to sell one secondhand?). You can read a review here. However, in better news, the book he shares with other illustrators Unified Message: Fashionable Photography Meets Drawing is available secondhand (I already own that one and can recommend it).

Scroll down and enjoy!