Chicago artist Diana Sudyka creates absolutely gorgeous nature illustrations on vintage “sent” envelopes from the early 1940s. The envelopes feature nostalgic drawings of the flora and fauna Sudyka encountered in her childhood in rural Illinois to which she seemingly wishes to pay tribute.
Sudyka spoke with Colossal about her work.
I am drawn to the beauty of the handwriting on the envelopes, and the variation in the inks used. I often think about the wildlife that I saw as a child in those rural areas, unaware at the time of how much agriculture had already altered the land. And now as an adult, so much of both wildlife and those family farms are gone. The envelope paintings are my homage to both.
via Colossal