Illustration Friday w/e 25/11/2011 - Vanity

This is the first of my (hopefully many) illustrations for IllustrationFriday's weekly illustration challenge. (A topic is posted every Friday and then participants have all week to come up with their own interpretation). I'm hoping to produce a drawing most weeks in an attempt to polish my rather rusty drawing skillz.

This week's illustration is on the theme of Vanity, natch.

Occupy the wallspace!

The global Occupy movement is inspiring many designers and illustrators to create posters promoting their cause. Printmag has a great selection in their article here, including the fantastic poster above designed by Favianna Rodriguez. I so wish I knew someone in NYC to procure me that copy of The Occupied Wall Street Journal. There's also a great gallery here on the International Business Times site. (Irony much?)

Those two selections are far more illustrative than many of the others I've seen online, which seem to be largely typographic. The Occupy Together website has a range of posters to download, and the Occupy Britain site also has its own downloadable selection.

Visit Crouch End & Hornsey screenprint

Screen print - Visit Crouch End & Hornsey by regular railway and motor-bus services. No Underground. Get over it.

Yes, it's the third in an ongoing series of screen prints in the style of London Transport's glorious posters of years past, featuring a few of London's off-underground and oft-overlooked neighbourhoods.

An open edition, hand printed on white Fabriano 5 "Liscia" paper. Paper size 300x400mm, image size approx. 250x360mm

CLICK HERE TO BUY FROM THE BEYOND THRILLED ONLINE SHOP

Bikes bikes bikes

Maybe it's the current trend for all things hipster, but everywhere I look I'm seeing screenprints (or giclee prints) of bicycles. The Little Friends of Printmaking have great prints here and here for sale on Etsy, as does Strawberry Luna whose print is below. Then there's Dan Funderbergh's "New Hope Assembly of God" print, and this great series of photo screenprints by Ralph Stollenwerk. And then there's this fun project from Rob Matthews, who created a life-size screen-print of his bike which he chained up and left in different locations around Minneapolis.

I'd best get on my bike and join in.

"People Who Died" series by Tim Gough

I imagine it's been an unusually busy month for illustrator Tim Gough, whose series of "People Who Died" drawings caught my eye recently. Recent weeks have seen the demises(?) of so many international figures - Gaddafi, Steve Jobs, Smokin' Joe Frazier, Heavy D etc. Sadly there's no drawing of the late Sir Jimmy Saville - but I guess he wasn't that well known in Philadelphia.

They're a great series of drawings anyway, I love the marks he makes - remind me a little of Ben Shahn's drawings. Tim also puts out some very tasty screenprints. This one below seems particularly appropriate right now.

A little bit of inspiration - part 1

Sometimes I find things by the most circuitous route. I wasn't aware of Kristyna Baczynski's Etsy shop despite spending hours browsing similar shops. But I came across her via the InkyGoodness blog plugging Test Space in Leeds and seeing the poster she designed for their Dead Good Halloween show. Then I tracked down her blog and only then noticed her shop. Glad I did though - I really like her work and particularly love this "Malaise" image.

A broadening...

Okay, so as I post here so rarely - well actually I've only been producing a new screenprint every few weeks and that's all I've been posting about until now - I've decided to broaden the scope of this blog/website to include all manner of nicely printed goodness. Prints I like, prints I want, prints I stumble across, prints on the web, prints in shops - all that kind of thing. Here's hoping the items I find will appeal to others as much as they appeal to me!

In love with these Lovebirds

Just noticed on Twitter that SOMA Gallery has more of Tom Frost's beautiful hand printed Lovebirds in stock, and had to buy a pair. Screenprinting on wood always looks good and is something I'm meaning to get around to myself at some point soon.

Anyway, may end up buying a few of these as xmas presents...