Okay, Ray Fenwick is not my boyfriend. I really just meant that as a general expression of love and affection for his art. Sorry. For the confusion. Sorry Ray. Sorry Ray’s possible significant other. Sorry everyone else. Sorry co-editor Tricia for soiling Stickers & Donut’s image as a reputable source.
Anyway, so I’ve been scouring Ray’s bright and beautiful web-site ever since my friend bought me some fantastically funny bookplates he made for Tiny Showcase. (He is a master of hand-lettering.) Then I realized I had admired some of his work on Threadless, and elsewhere on Tiny Showcase. Then I realized I was in love, which was also about the time I wrote the title of the post.
I love Ray Fenwick’s web-site, but there are several issues I have with it: (1) I want everything, (2) I cannot have everything, (3) I need help locating the things I could, potentially, have.
SO, to increase the problems presented by 1 & 2, and hopefully solve 3, I’ve collected some places where you employed people can purchase Ray Fenwick’s work so you don’t have to merely look at it lovingly on your computer screen, sighing occasionally.
By the way, the Ray Fenwick logo at the top of the image is from his webpage which you should visit. Because it has more stuff than I can possibly post here.
I love reading, but I also adore books as physical objects. This is why I am in love with Penguin. Especially today. In fact, I can barely contain the love I feel for these bright, beautifully designed book sets & their matching posters (HINT: Scroll down for some Shepard Fairey). SWOON!!!
I was reading The Penguin Blog, which is UK-based, and found out about these awesome Penguin Sets. There are 13 sets of books which contain a bunch of novels of a similar theme or by the same author, and each set has covers designed by a single artist.
What’s more, FIVE of the sets also have an accompanying poster (or two). The BEST of which is the George Orwell set because it includes TWO posters (1984 and Animal Farm) designed by Shepard Fairey (of Obama Poster fame).
Each Penguin set includes 2 to 16 books (and 0 to 2 posters) and run from $40 to $380 (the priciest collections aren’t necessarily the ones with the most books).
Click to see the rest of the posters and details of the most expensive “luxury” books. (Also, more of my rambling.) Or, check out the UK Penguin Sets page (I can’t find a US Sets page, but you can order to the US)! (more…)
Which do you like best? (Some of my favorites listed at the bottom of the page.)
CLICK to open the related page or product in a new window.
Am I missing anything? Let me know! I’ll update the page through election day as I find more relevant links! Wordpress is having trouble with all of the added links, I’ll add links to Part II through election day. Lots more there!
Obama & voting prints, merchandise, blogs, web-pages, posters, maps, and more. Click on each images & it will open the related site in a new window.
Have a favorite? Here are some of mine:
Web-Pages
Clothes
Prints/Posters (besides every other one from AIGIA, also these were quite hard to choose):
Other
Although I found many of these through my own ventures, searches, and a significant number were posted on multiple “big blogs”, I did find a handful of useful links in the following locations: notcot.org, Urban Outfitters Vote Blog, Urban Outfitters Store, SwissMiss, SeriousEats.
PS VOTE!!!
PPS If you want to link to this post, I’ve got some cool images you can use:
A couple of weeks ago, my friend and I tip-toed (him, metaphorically; me, literally) across the Gehry bridge to see the Chicago International Poster Biennial exhibition. My favorite poster was by Tomasz Boguslawski, a Polish artist and master of assemblage art.
Delicious.
In addition to being one of my favorite bands, Titus Andronicus is an often overlooked Shakespeare play. With this fantastically grotesque composition, Tomasz supremely captures the play’s gruesomeness. I love how he expertly molds the head based on the natural strata and contortions of the meat. The bone at the base of the neck suggests a spinal cord, and the strands of adipose tissue add further facial definition. The marginally sanguineous laurel serves as an integral component, and perfectly complements this piece. Complementary like sprinkles and icing. Or barnacles and whales.
This print is available at the Polish Posters Shop
An interview to make your Monday brighter!
You guys loved the Mad About MAD MEN post, collecting contemporary Mad-Men-esque products and other Mad-Men-related finds, and since one of those finds was the popular Mad Men desktop wallpaper and prints by Dyna Moe (the prints commemorate scenes, characters, or their drinks!) I thought you might enjoy a closer look. Or, okay, I wanted a closer look, but hopefully you’ll enjoy it, too!
THE AMAZINGLY FABULOUS DYNA MOE INTERVIEW
1. What inspires you about MAD MEN (or at least inspires you enough to create all of your drawings)?
Obviously, it’s a beautiful and meticulously designed show and it just happens to mesh with the style and era of illustration of which I was already a huge fan.
On a more selfish and practical note, I started doing this project because I had the drawings already so I was “making lemons out of lemonade.” Rich (from the show) commissioned me to work on this little illustrated recipe book to get printed and give to the cast and crew as an “end of shoot” present, but through bad communication and a lack of time, it fell through. So I had a stack of drawings and just put them up on the internet.
What inspires me to keep going is getting overly-kind attention from the public in huge numbers and the nice things the cast and crew of the show have said. I feel like I have to do a better job now that so many people are checking them out.
2. What’s your process for creating a drawing? What tools do you use?
They’re all done in Adobe Illustrator with a mouse, carpal tunnel be damned. I take screenshots of the episodes and characters I want to do and have those open as reference. I only trace face shape and mark the distances between eyes nose and mouth — otherwise it starts to look like the “Vector Cliche” portrait. The body and clothes are all made from simple shapes, warped and merged together… like colorforms.
I usually will have some period photos or drawings on hand two for inspiration. For a lot of the women I like to take poses from vintage sewing patterns, for example.
3. Do you have a favorite of all of your MAD MEN drawings? Does the “public” seem to have a favorite?
Sally Draper’s Cocktail Cheat Sheet got 6,000+ views on the first day it was up. It was very heavily twittered and blogged and is currently the one with the most views.
Joan and the Xerox which was the first one in the series does pretty well and I’ve sold the most prints of it.
The one you put in your own blog before might be my favorite — Paul in the neckerchief with the cognac glass.
Of the full-sized ones, I like the Jimmy Barrett one a lot, too — I liked doing the TV equipment and that weird bar shelf as white on black. I’m doing them at an average rate of four illustrations a week so no “favorite” reigns very long. I can’t be sentimental… PRODUCE!
4. Favorite episode. Favorite character. Least favorite character.
The single criterion by which I judge all episodes as good vs. bad: did someone throw up in the episode? “Red in The Face” and “Nixon vs. Kennedy” both top my favorites for last season by this standard — copious vomit in both of them.
This season there’s a slight upchuck at the end of “The Gold Violin,” so I guess that is my favorite this season.
My least favorite character is Betty. My favorite character is Dale, who only appears in one episode this season… he’s largely discussed by the other characters, like Godot.
5. What’s your favorite non-Mad-Men art project you’ve done?
All these questions assume I like my own work, which is difficult for me. I’m a real gloomy gus.
Earlier this year I did the CD packaging for kiddie pop legends The Kung Fu Monkeys which came out really nice and was a huge challenge since I had to fit an 11 page interview into a tiny booklet.
In terms of not-client work, back in 2004 I did a portrait exchange where I’d draw anyone who drew a portrait of me, just for fun. (MARIA’S NOTE: These are so funny. Go take a look!)
What are you currently obsessed with?
The British quiz show “QI” hosted by Stephen Fry
Making new episodes of “Welcome to my Study”
Korean Fried Chicken
TO CONCLUDE - LINKS
Mad Men Wallpapers (desktop & iphone) on Flickr (also, you can get an icon set here!)
Mad Men Prints for Sale on Zazzle
Nobody’s Sweetheart (She does not just design Mad Men wallpaper!)
Give three cheers (or more!) illustrator Ian Dingman is here!
(Okay, so I guess I wouldn’t really want someone saying I wasn’t cryptic & enigmatic anymore, but you know how we writers like to twist words to sell our journalistic tell-all article, er, wait, I don’t work for Vogue. Anyway, my title didn’t come out of nowhere, you can find out what I mean in a tag-team Currently Obsessed post coming to you tomorrow.)
Hopefully by now you’ve perused my favorite Ian Dingman pieces, realized he is the man behind the new cover for Wes Anderson’s Bottle Rocket, and are now ready to enjoy an entertaining interview with the art-star himself.
Just imagine Ian (who looks exactly like Ben Folds) and me sitting down at a nice cafe in Chicago eating chorizo and drinking Coca-Cola. I have a Moleskin reporter-style notebook and a UniBall pen and Ian is obviously carrying Rapidograph pens and some notebook which is actually exuding coolness in visible, describable colors (but I won’t describe them, because you wouldn’t believe me anyway).
I ask incredible, thought-provoking questions that cause Ian to divulge his coolness in such a way that now I can use watercolors with such mastery that, like Ian, I’m asked to create a DVD cover for a Wes Anderson film.
Alright. So that didn’t happen. It was actually an email interview. But he does look a little like Ben Folds. And he does exude coolness, even over email. (PS He reads Stickers & Donuts! My heart melts!)
And now, the interview (there are MORE WONDERFUL IMAGES, so scroll on, my friend!):
1. Your life story. In a paragraph. Location. Education. Family. Crappy jobs.
I grew up in northwestern Illinois (Orion), went to college in the heart of Illinois (Illinois State University), and currently live in northeastern Illinois (Chicago). I have one brother and one sister, neither involved in the art. At one point we all lived about as far away from each other as possible within the United States (Portland, OR, Miami, FL, and New York, NY), but now we’re all relatively close again in the Midwest.
Until I finally got to the point of doing what I’ve always wanted to do, every job has been lame. Of course, the worst of the bunch came during high school. That said, I suppose vacuuming the “greens” at a mini golf course wins out.
I often incorporate the moon into my work as well, always thinking, “I haven’t drawn a moon in awhile,” when in actuality, I probably just did two or three pieces beforehand.
2. How would you describe the visual aspects of your artwork to someone who hasn’t seen it? How would you describe common themes in your work to, say, an English major?
Visually, I think my work tackles simple subjects and presents them in a mix of objectivity and subjectivity. My ink lines are usually precise. My watercolor is a little more on the awkward side. I try and let the medium run its own course (bleeding, striations, etc.) which I think produces a nice semi-controlled effect.
I believe my “stock” biography states my work has themes of humor, melancholy and season. I suppose these are all still valid, but more and more I think my work is centered around nostalgia and romantic ideals. I often incorporate the moon into my work as well, always thinking, “I haven’t drawn a moon in awhile,” when in actuality, I probably just did two or three pieces beforehand.
3. What are your favorite art supplies?
The essentials: Arches hot-pressed watercolor paper. Arches watercolor brushes. Rapidograph pens. Technical pencils. Dr. Ph. Martin’s concentrated water color. The fun stuff: Electric eraser. Cotton balls. Rolled paper. Vintage pencil sharpener. Crayons.
The first piece I ever had in the NY Times is probably my favorite commercial piece. It’s a relatively small drawing of a man floating on a lime in an imperfect block of blue water.
4. What’s your favorite piece of commercial work you’ve done, and your favorite piece of non-commercial work?
The first piece I ever had in the NY Times is probably my favorite commercial piece. It’s a relatively small drawing of a man floating on a lime in an imperfect block of blue water. (Maria’s Note: See first image in collage above.) I like it because I think it set a precedent or benchmark of how I wanted my style to look, so I’m always looking back to it as a reminder.
My favorite non-commercial piece I’ve done is probably a self-portrait that I completed in a day’s time. (Maria’s Note: See top right image above.) Again, it captured what I want my work to look like, so I sometimes find myself studying it. The work I’m always happiest with seem to be the pieces that I crank out without overthinking and overanalyzing.
5. If you were another version of yourself, and you could buy one piece of your own work that’s currently on your “Art for Sale” page, what would it be?
That’s hard… I suppose it would be the small drawing of a vintage medium format camera. (Maria’s Note: See top row, middle image in the collage above.) It’s pretty hard to screw up a drawing of such a pretty little machine.
6. What are you creatively inspired by?
Painters David Hockney and Luc Tuymans, and also photographer Uta Barth. I’ve always felt a connection to Hockney’s work whether it presents itself in my pieces or not. His compositions have always interested me as well as his color palette. Tuymans and Barth are influential in a more subliminal way. The atmospheres they create are genuinely moving, and I try to capture that in my work.
Things to look forward to [in the Criterion Collection release of Bottle Rocket]: on-screen menu pages galore, my awkward hand-drawn version of Futura, and among other things I’m leaving out, a 24-page booklet that might interest even the most casual Wes Anderson fans.
7. How did you get to do the cover art for Bottle Rocket’s Criterion Collection? Will we see your work just on the cover, or is it on the booklet, too? (Also, do you have a favorite Wes Anderson movie?)
I received a message from Criterion outlining the “Bottle Rocket” project and asking if I was interested. Of course I was interested as well as excited. I had seen the movie a long time ago and have always been a fan of Wes’ movies as well as Eric’s artwork. He unfortunately was unavailable for the project.
The assignment turned out to be a massive undertaking that was slowly crafted over eight months. Wes was involved in every aspect of the project and nothing made it to final art without Wes’ approval. Things to look forward to: on-screen menu pages galore, my awkward hand-drawn version of Futura, and among other things I’m leaving out, a 24-page booklet that might interest even the most casual Wes Anderson fans. Favorite Wes Anderson movie? Rushmore, hands down.
8. What do you have on your walls at home?
I’ve got prints by Evah Fan, Justin Gabbard, Luke Ramsey and Amanda McCorkle. A fantastic collage by Rod Homer. A couple of Edgar Allen Poe postcards that are framed. My centerpiece is a print by an unknown artist (thrift store!) of two pink flamingos at night beneath a starry sky.
Above: An an entirely made up image of what is probably not actually on Ian Dingman’s wall. See below for image credits. (more…)
The Odeon by Ian Dingman, 6×9, $35 with shipping
This is post ONE of THREE featuring illustrator Ian Dingman. TODAY I will introduce him as an artist & show you why I like (love) his work.
TOMORROW I’ll feature an exclusive & fabulous interview with lots of pretty pictures (he will tell us wonderful things about the new Criterion Collection release of Bottle Rocket and reveal the secret to his success. Okay, maybe not the second part.).
THE NEXT DAY Ian will tell us his current obsessions. I am super-excited-thrilled about this series of posts so I really hope you enjoy them!
Ian Dingman illustrates for the likes of The New York Times, Real Simple magazine, WES ANDERSON, and people like us (you and me!), who just want an Ian Dingman print on our walls (who wouldn’t?!).
I admit I’m a little stuck on the whole cover-of-Bottle Rocket thing. We know that Wes Anderson has impeccable taste, so his choice of Ian Dingman for a cover artist for a special edition of the filmmaker’s first-ever feature film certainly has meaning. Ian’s style expresses a lot of the same themes as Anderson’s movies: sadness, humor, awkwardness. But all of it, even the awkward parts, are beautiful, cartoonish, detailed.
Just one wonderful thing about Ian’s work is that it’s super affordable. You can own his ORIGINAL ARTWORK for less than $100. Or, if you are kind of poor, you can lie in wait until Ian does another print for Tiny Showcase (previous prints there have been a mere $20). (He will be doing something for Tiny Showcase! He wouldn’t reveal what, but I hope it’s a Learning Print!)
“Getting Late, Early” for Tiny Showcase
If you can’t wait for Tiny Showcase, and you are sort of poor, you can buy the first print I featured on this page for only $30. ($35 with shipping. I know this because, in my total indecisiveness and parsimoniousness, I’ve clicked on the “buy” button several times.) If you are REALLY, REALLY poor you can steal someone’s New York Times. You are bound to find an Ian Dingman reproduction somewhere in there.
For now, you can admire some of my favorite Ian Dingman works here:
Left: Look at that grass! Just look at it!
Right: This drawing actually gives me the fuzzy feeling I would have if I drove by this building on the street and, noticing its purple-ness (in a fall sunset, perhaps), pulled over to just look for a minute. Then, of course, I’d try to take a picture and wouldn’t capture the feeling at all, but Ian has.
Deloitte Review “Healthcare Revisions”
Art Director: Matt Lennert
It’s so amusing to look at all of the details in the picture above. I love that when Ian’s work is funny, often the people in the work themselves are straight-faced, unaware of the ridiculousness that surrounds them. (Another Wes Anderson similarity!)
Right image: Miscellaneous Wardrobe From
The 2002 Film Secretary, No. 1,
2008, ink and watercolor on paper,9.5 x 9″, $180
Left: You know how I love cupcakes.
Right: Can we talk about how funny the title is? Yeah, I know.
Remember how I said the people in Ian’s work don’t always notice the humorous situations they are a part of? Well, sometimes inanimate objects in his work give you this same feeling. Like, it’s just a shoe. Standing there. In all seriousness. But it’s funny.
For Social Gatherings Only
2006, ink and watercolor on paper, 8.375 x 5.125″
Like the Doctor’s Office drawing, this image is full of details. Maybe it’s the fiction-writer in me, but I love a drawing with details (and great titles).
So, as you can imagine, I recommend a perusal of Ian Dingman’s web-page. You can purchase work or just look. Or, if you want, you can touch it. But you might smudge your computer screen.
TOMORROW: INTERVIEW WITH IAN! NEXT DAY: CURRENTLY OBESSED WITH IAN!
Tricia’s poster party is over. The end. Archives. History. Gone with the wind.
Are you hungover? I am.
In case you want to re-live the past (I do), Click here & scroll to take a trip down poster-party-memory-lane, or just use this post as a kind of poster party table of contents!
Tricia & I thought it would be fun to bring the poster party to a close with a summary which embraces and connects all of our wonderful poster party artists. In Tricia’s brilliance, she came up with the following:
Pete Cardoso recently acquired some notable Elvis recipe magnets, and a wall of Kevin Mercer’s home features a velvet Elvis. Kevin Mercer loves Robert Rauschenberg, whom Tad Carpenter strongly supports. Tad Carpenter happens to be inspired by Golden Books, which Mike Laughead cites to describe his design aesthetic. Perhaps as wee tots, Mike Laughead could have compared Ninja Turtle sketches with Leia Bell (and Sean of the Bubble Process). Leia Bell and Mike Klay cosmically both own a few Jay Ryan prints, which (if the stars were super aligned) might be the same prints. Mike Klay is inspired by the Pacific Northwest, which Sean might also enjoy since he is currently obsessed with the woods. Sadly, Sean does not get to see his teammate, Rez, very often (Rez described this unfortunate situation as QUOTE “SAD< CRYING RIGHT NOW>”) because he lives in Brooklyn, New York. This great state happens to be where Jason Munn made his best recent purchase: Japanese design books. Whew.
To recap:
That’s it! Stickers & Donuts may be slightly hibernated (I know, that’s grammatically & scientifically incorrect) for a week or two, as our editors (all two of us!) have to take (1) GRE and (1) LSAT. But we do have some fun things planned (ie Tricia’s first currently obsessed! How to dress like a poet!). Yay!
So, Tricia just completed her AMAZING series on poster artists (see all the poster party posts here! scroll!). I’m not just saying they’re amazing because they’re on Stickers & Donuts. They actually ARE amazing. From the posters, to the interviews, to Tricia’s hysterical pop-references (if you only looked at the pictures seriously go back and read the posts!) — I loved every bit of it! In fact, I was jealous of the superiority of Tricia’s interviews to some of my recent posts. (A pink laptop bag? Come on Maria, you can do better than that in the midst of poster interviews! Although, it is a pretty sweet bag…)
That being said, I love all of these artists and am going to squish on into the fun with my two cents (slash 142 dollars).
There was one small problem with Tricia’s posts. She made me want to purchase A MILLION PRINTS! After a little research, I soon learned that I COULD own a poster from each artist for less than $145 (plus shipping & framing, see the receipt I invented below). As you can see from the image above (posters not to scale, frames from my favorite free stock photography site), this is a really good deal. If you have a new apartment, you might want to consider decking-out your place in these guys.
Below are the EIGHT poster-party prints I choose simply to prove that you can own art, and it can be lovely, and it can not cost you hundreds of dollars! Go, look! (more…)
The end! The end! The end is here! Before you take off your party hats (…and start digging into that party fruit) (oh michael scott!) one last exclusive interview with…MIKE LAUGHEAD.
HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A MORE ADORABLE GENE SIMMONS? Fact. Mike Laughead is foremost an illustrator. However, he also designs posters (which is why he is being included in our series) with his friend Tyson under the name…wait for it…wait for it…MIKE TYSON. Har har. Although Mike Tyson Design has not designed an extraordinary number of posters (PS what a strange sentence…Mike Tyson…posters…), it has released some rad-a-ma-tazz prints. Quite (cannibalistic-y) fierce.
Ratatat
2 color screen print
This Ratatat poster was my computer background for four months. The scarfy banner that is tangled up in the beard is great! This poster reminds me of Día de los Muertos (perhaps it’s the cool skeleton?), which is coming up soon. ALSO, THE (semi) KNEE SOCKS ARE SUPER TIGHT. I love stripped knee socks! I even wear my old soccer ones for shit and giggles. Sometimes. When I’m nostalgic for my youth.
One of Mike’s strengths is his ability to integrate halftone effects! For those curious kiddies who dream of one day creating their own photoshop compositions with halftones, Mike has an ultra-helpful halftone tutorial on his website. In ADDITION to that, his website includes a pictoral guide to his illustration process! Wee!
…section four of a particularly CHARMING Mike-comic, Unicorn Girl. Mike is inspired by comics, and has quite a few on his website!
What a lovely way to end! Mike Laughead is a brilliant illustrator, who has impressive credentials. From designing winning shirts for Threadless and La Fraise (like Threadless, but foreign) to book covers for Scholastic (see above!), Mike’s work transcends age demographics and geographic boundaries. His compositions are best described as playful and cute, always full of bold lines and saturated colors. Mike goes into more depth about the Mike Tyson Ratatat poster, and his describes his passion for Meximelts after the jump. (more…)
On this penultimate day of S&D’s poster party, I present to you the great KEVIN MERCER.
Spoon
2 color screen-print
As previous poster party posts suggest, I think overprints are magnificent. One of the most special aspects of screen-printing is the capability to create overprints! I love the layers of color, and the partial opacity of the ink. This exclusive get-to-know-Kevin-Mercer is an extra special treat, because HE IS A MASTER OF OVERPRINTING. The above poster was inspired by the Spoon song, “My Little Japanese Cigarette Case.” The asiany lion is slickity slick! It reminds me of Chinese New Year parades and lion dances.
TV on the Radio
3 color screen-print
THIS POSTER IS OUTRAGEOUSLY AWESOME, and proves his strong command of complementing colors. Hardly afraid of using S&D-bright colors, Kevin creates wonderful compositions full of stellar textures and graphics.
Arcade Fire
4 color screen-print
Kevin’s compositions have an exalted aesthetic, and are characterized by delicate hand-sketches.
(left to right) Fortune Magazine illustration, book jacket design
Those who want further affirmation of his heightened sense of style and unarguable talent should take a peak at his commissioned pieces. Kevin has done work on behalf of large clients, and has demonstrated great versatility. Above are samples, an editorial illustration (for FORTUNE MAGAZINE!) and a book jacket. Wee!
In 2006, I received a CD sampler from Polyvinyl Records (note visual above). I immediately fell in love with the CD sleeve. Not only do I get to listen to a band with “Boris Yeltsin” in its name…I get to own a pretty CD case too? Woah. TOO MANY COOL POINTS TO COUNT. Thus began my obsession with Kevin Mercer. Kevin designs under the alias Largemammal Print, his delightful design company. Although Sydney Bristow may be able to survive a North Korean(<insert any other minority here, because TV shows like playing the racist card..cough cough 24 ..cough>) firing squad, in terms of impeccable art, she has nothing on Kevin. Learning more about Kevin Mercer is only a skip-it count away.
Ever since last week’s introduction teaser, I’m sure you’ve been wondering, “who is that glorious male adjacent to a giant elvis chicken? He must as cool as Skeeter Valentine.” Well worry not, little one. You are about to meet the elvis chicken man. Pete Cardoso.
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
2 color screen-print
…HOW ADORABLE. Three years ago, Maria and I (and another editor of the Public Journal) watched the fourth editor leave our upstate-new-york-cafe-meeting on a moped. With her boyfriend. What followed this event was an echo of “sighs.” This poster reminds me of that panda-precious moment.
Elvis Costello: 3 color screen-print
I love, love, love this. The colors are great and the portrait of Elvis is perfect. Oh and I love Elvis Costello! Triple score! (Confession: I started listening to Elvis Costello when I became a Gilmore Girls watcher. I was a wee young one who had big aspirations to be as cool as Lane Kim.)
(clockwise) The White Stripes: 2 color screen-print, Th
