Were you one of the lucky ones to pick up a shiny new iPad at the international iPad launch earlier this week? We reckon the iPad’s slim design is let down by its dull monotone shell which doesn’t show your individual creativity and personality. Businesses have however been fast on tapping in on the new buzz with everything from “must-have” accessories to iPad bags and even an iPad dress?! Hmm… well, we decided to check the Gelaskins range.

The guys are back with a wide range of artist designed skins to add some colour and art inspiration to fit the Apple iPad with 3M Technology for easy application and clean removal. The skins provide durable scratch protection and customisation for the front and back including matching wallpaper. GelaSkins have used both contemporary and classic art including iconic images from the public domain, drawing from nationalistic pride and pulp fiction to sports and cultural social movements.

iPad Gelaskins photo gallery

Nanami Cowdroy was born in Sydney, Australia with close bonds to her mixed Japanese-European heritage. Growing up with such contrasting cultures and surroundings has greatly influenced her style of art, which she has further emphasized with studies in graphic design and visual communication. By intertwining complex characters and highly detailed objects into hypnotic and captivating scenes, her exotic pieces reflect juxtaposition between foreign and familiar entities and environments. Her imagination is illustrated and expressed through emotive works, which are edgy, elaborate, intricate and intuitive. She is drawn into subjects, that may on the surface seem delicate or fragile, yet is given strength and depth through her inky techniques and hand generated style.

Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) was an Austrian Symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Art Nouveau (Vienna Secession) movement. His major works include paintings, murals, sketches and other art objects, many of which are on display in the Vienna Secession gallery. Klimt’s primary subject was the female body, and his works are marked by a frank eroticism – owhere is this more apparent than in his numerous drawings in pencil. These female subjects, whether formal portraits or indolent nudes, invariably display a highly sensitised fin de siecle elegance.

Nicoletta Ceccoli lives and work in the republic of San Marino as Children’s book illustrator. She always loved picture books since when she was a child and her love being surrounded by them has simply never stopped. Her first published work came in 1997 and has illustrated many, many more since. Nicoletta work has garnered her many awards of the years including the Andersen prize, the Baia Delle Favole and a Silver medal in 2006 from the Society of Illustrators in New York. Her works have been shown across the US and Europe and contain several recurring themes. Loss of innocence featuring fragile protagonists living in paradoxical situations and theatrical solitudes in somewhere between classic fairy tales and 16th century Flemish paintings.

Si Scott is a graphic designer and illustrator who is the driving force behind the UK-based Si Scott Studio. His obsessively hand-drawn pen and ink illustrated typography, graphic design and illustrations pull from both modern and traditional influences. Some of his clients include BBC TV, Burton, GQ, Hugo Boss, MTV, Unicef and Volvo.

Luke Chueh (pronounced CHU) began his formal art education and ended at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obipso where he earned a BS in Art & Design (Graphic Design concentration). Before graduating, he was employed by the Ernie Ball Company, working in-house as designer/illustrator. While there Chueh was responsible for several award winning designs and was featured in the design annuals of Communication Arts and Print Magazine. At the same time, he also created, produced, wrote, designed, edited and published “E.X.P.”, a ‘zine dedicated to the “Intelligent Dance Music (IDM)” genre. In 2003, Chueh moved to Los Angeles to further pursue a career in design. However, a lack of employment opportunities left him resorting to painting as a way to keep busy (a hobby he picked up while attending Cal Poly). He got his start when Los Angeles’ premiere underground art show, Cannibal Flower, invited him to show at their monthly events. Since then Chueh has quickly worked his way up the ranks of the LA art scene, establishing himself as an artist not to be ignored. Employing minimal colour schemes, simple animal characters, and a seemingly endless list of ill-fated situations, Chueh stylistically balances cute with brute, walking the fine line between comedy and tragedy.

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