Drawing pretty girls has been done for thousands of years. The Egyptians lavishly decorated the walls of Queen Nefertari’s tomb — which was the largest and most spectacular in the Valley of the Queens — in honor of her beauty. The Greeks went to war over the beauty of Helen of Troy, and the Romans practically invented wine fueled orgies. But, you know who else knows about beautiful women? Rik Lee, an illustrator and artist living in Melbourne, Australia. His illustrations of pretty girls with wondering eyes, tattooed features, flipped up hood caps, the color pink, and a general air of melancholia — leave you desperate and yearning for more.
His beautiful candy punk women may seem like the main focus of his illustrations, but you can’t ignore his pop-culture referencing animals, bright flowers, and soft hands holding cups of piping hot tea. The influences of tattoo culture, punk rock, hood babes, and skate culture mix with his themes of beauty, youth, love and emotion to create a style that is truly his own. When browsing his portfolio, you can’t help but get the feeling that, with each new piece, you discover a new favorite. The playful nuances of knuckle and throat tattooing on his women give them this rough and tumble exterior and leave you unsurprised when one of these babes jumps off the page, smacks you against the head, steals your bike, and thieves your bag of weed and spray paint cans.
Check out his artwork below, and be sure to stop by his site or scope his online store and order a print! We know we’re grabbing one. Don’t forget to follow him on Instagram with the name: rikleeillustration.
via: Rik Lee
