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YAY ABE

@yay_abe

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⭐️ Illustrator & Artist making beautiful things in Cape Town.
⬇️ Painting and Print Drop Newsletter ⬇️

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😍 if anyone has a 5m wall, I’d love to paint one of these faces really biiiiiiig!

Alsoooooo, new paintings and prints will be released soon, sign up to my newsletter (link in bio) to be the first to know when they drop! 🫡 by @yay_abe

We made a new bench and it’s a beauty 😍

I’m always so excited to collaborate with @wiid_design because each time it’s pure magic. Look at this craftsmanship 😭😮‍💨 it’s a true labour of love.

Where would this live in your home?!
Because it’s available for purchase! Enquire through @wiid_design 🤝 by @yay_abe

In my happy place. One more to go and then this little series is complete 🥹😭

Over the past few months, I’ve tried to “mature” my style a bit. It’s been super fun and rewarding. It introduced new colours and simplified shapes which has been super fun to see.

The next experiment is going to be playing around with a looser/less controlled approach to my work. lol, very very scared but let’s see what happens 😮‍💨😂 by @yay_abe

“I can buy my own flowers”
2026

A fun experimental piece from me. Playing around with texture and form a bit and I’m pretty excited to show you the end results. Breaking away from my clean lines was a bit frightening, I won’t lie.💀

May the rest of the year be filled with more experimentation! For all of us. ✌️ by @yay_abe

“Birds of a Feather” was a super fun series to paint! Really enjoyed the addition of birds to my figures. Felt like a good evolution of my work. ❤️

Back in studio soon and v v excited to work on the next batch of works.

Also, textures, we all want to see some textures right?!! 🥳😭 by @yay_abe

Studio was on fire this past month. Ya boy cooked.

Studio is a mess but that’s good

Celebrating @heykriscross is my hobby

New birds have found their home.

Wish I still had this one 😭

Tikka gang

Never selling this cool guy

#organized

That red is delicious

❤️😍

🫰

The texture on this piece gets me everytime by @yay_abe

So excited to show you the next Birds of a Feather painting. This series has been super fun to paint 😭❤️

A little evolution into the world I’ve been building over the past few years. This painting along with its pair are currently on their way to Miami to a very special home. 🏠

Hope you enjoy the process as much as I do 🕺🏽🕺🏽🕺🏽 by @yay_abe

“Birds of a Feather 2” warms my heart up every time I look at it 😭 this painting is sold but if you follow the link in my bio you can shop prints of the original 🕺🏽 Or grab the original painting of “Birds of a Feather 1”

Big big hugs to everyone for the crazy amounts of love and good vibes 😭🥹🫵🏽 by @yay_abe

Comment ‘ YAY ABE ‘ if you want a link to the full episode!

@johnniewalkerafrica Presents @theinside_show hosted by @georgeavakian

Russell Abrahams, better known as @yay_abe, is one of Cape Town’s most distinctive creative voices. What started as a childhood obsession with drawing has grown into a visual language recognised far beyond South Africa. From massive murals to collaborations with Adidas, H&M and some of the world’s biggest brands, his work is unmistakably bold, colourful and African. Now, Russell is entering a new chapter stepping away from commercial illustration and into the world of fine art.

#KeepWalkingAfrica by @yay_abe

A new bombshell has entered the villa 🤭🥵

One half of my latest series titled “Birds of a Feather”.

If you’re keen to purchase this as a print or scoop the original painting, sign up to my newsletter :) dropping on Monday! Newsletter subscribers get early access 😉 by @yay_abe