30 Aug 2011

News: Riot Cleanup Charity Auction!

As we all know, and probably a few narrowly escaped, the spontaneous looting in England caused all sorts of devastation. Both physical and social scarring fresh from the oppressive blight festering in today's society... Or something like that, whilst the politicians were sifting through the ashes trying to appear cleaner than clean, the real hardcore came out. Riot cleanup was all about putting things right and nothing could send out a better message of solidarity than the sight of broom brandishing twitterati and locals alike cleaning and dusting, making a point as they cleared away both the rubbish and the trauma. Here at the Rally we stand in support of the artistic community and their response to these events. 


So in response to this illustrator Emmeline Pidgen has produced a limited run of 75 amazing A2 4 colour screen prints.




A little more about the project from Emmeline:


"I recently I illustrated a poster supporting the riot clean ups across the UK. The poster had a jaw-droppingly positive response on the internet, with over 19,000 views in two days.
Prompted by it's success I have organised (with the help of Riot Clean Up Manchester ) getting it made into screen prints to be auctioned for charity. We've had an amazing amount of support from the press, Manchester City Council and businesses affected by the riots.

The auction's on now and absolutely all the money raised from the auction of them goes to Reclaim Project and Leap Confronting Conflict charities who do amazing work with disadvantaged young people.

25 other prints are being donated to people who helped with the clean ups in Manchester and to local businesses that helped by providing free food, drinks etc to the clean up people.
"

So, please support her and get bidding here, and you can get a little more info from Manchester Confidential here!

24 Aug 2011

Artist 107: Tena Letica




Something a little bit tasty now from self confessed food Tena Letica. Our latest artist hails from the beautiful city of Zagreb and gives us fun and slick work with more than a hint of a designers touch.Tena's work is packed full of humour and sweetness but rendered in a slick and sharp style. She has some great characters harking back to vintage cartoons, giving a fifties flavour and also giving her a great standpoint for her commercial practice even as she explores into paper-cut and construction. Her work is curious and evolving, but all the time her practice is solid and stylistically cogent which is a great asset as she grows further. Her paper-cut work is both delicate and at the same time sharp with great strong lines that really stand up to her crafting. It's great to see her work bursting from the page but it's also great to see her sweet fun characters. whichever way she takes her work I'm sure she will continue to surprise and delight. With the best wishes for the future it's Tena Letica.

Who are you:
Hi, my name is Tena Letica. I live and work in Zagreb, Croatia.

What do you do:
I am a freelance graphic designer and illustrator with a degree in Industrial Design. Foodie and avid traveller in my spare time.

How did you start:
Even as a child, I was the "creative" one in our family. My favourite toys were Legos, felt pens, paper, my parents' books and glue. I was making art installations out of them. The School of Design in Zagreb, from which I graduated in 2007, seemed like a logical next step after high school. Before graduation I worked as a designer in a graphic design studio, where I did my first illustration projects. It was love at first sight. Now, as a full-time freelance illustrator, my work still includes loads of felt pens, x-acto knives, books, paper and glue.

A Personal statement about you or your work:
In my recent work, which consists mainly of paper toys, papercut illustrations and pop-up books, I try to keep things handmade as much as possible. This way, each piece is somehow unique. Despite my love for the modern technology, my works are done by traditional techniques and paper, due to its versatile character and reasonable price, acts as the perfect material of choice.

Links:
email
portfolio
@tenaletica
facebook

Typography: Happy Birthday No. 2






23 Aug 2011

Typography: Hand drawn No. 8





Exhibition News: Origin by Stuart Whitton

Hello everyone, we have some exhibition news now, with the first solo show of Stuart Whitton. Stuart is showcasing both new and old work in his upcoming show 'Origin' at the Exposure Gallery London. We have a preview video here so check it out.







If you like what you see don't forget that the private view is on Thursday the 6th of October. So then, plenty of time to make a date and get yourself down to 22-23 Little Portland Street London for a must see event!



20 Aug 2011

Artist 106: Chrissy Foreman Cranitch








From the sunny land of Australia and creating straight from the heart it's Visual Artist, Chrissy Foreman Cranitch and she brings us a style full of natural inspiration and colour. Working in the community as well as on her own product's Chrissy produces ethically and sustainability minded works that give us an insight into her and her mindset. She is a creative and her work is spiritual in nature but also 
incorporates patterns and themes reflecting her native Australia which she uses to great effect in her community art. It's great to have someone who creates with such a carefree joy and you can really tell this about her work seeming only one step removed from it's environment. She describes her work as "a little bit tree hugging" but I think that her work is a statement of who she is and what she stands for, as much as a working artistic practice. Her art is full of colour and life and I for one wish her all the best and can imagine her making her dreams come true with her positive and friendly work. So without further ado it's Chrissy Foreman Cranitch.

Who are you:
My name is Chrissy Foreman Cranitch and I’m an Australian mixed media artist.

What do you do:
I make mixed media artworks inspired by fabrics, feelings, nature, love + motherhood. I specialise in creating original artworks, prints, stationery goodies, teaching art, murals and community art projects. My work is a little bit contemporary, a little bit vintage, a little bit whimsical, a little bit tree-hugging. All my artworks and arty endeavours are ethically and sustainably created.

How did you start:
I moved interstate to study visual art about 10 years ago, and when I got back home, I started working with community groups on arty projects, having exhibitions and basically putting my finger into as many creative pies as I could! The last few years I’ve opened a couple of online shops, set up a website and have begun stocking stores in Australia with my artworks and artsy products. It’s been a great roller coaster ride of trial and error and sticking to my integrity!

A Personal statement about you or your work:
Professionally, I’m enjoying creating lots of new fresh designs, prints and artworks to love and share. Ultimately I'd love to see my designs on homewares, fabrics and stationery items. I’d love to have my own shop full!

On a personal note, I'd love to move to a beautiful new home amongst nature with a veggie patch and a huge studio and chickens and children running around my feet ... I’m pregnant now with our first child, so I’ve already got one of those dreams underway! Bring on the rest!

Links: 

portfolio
blog
shop
@chrissyforemanc
facebook

Typography: Digital No.8


By Samantha Eynon
@littlegamgee
facebook
flickr

Do you want to submit your design for our Typography Rally?
then read here!

11 Aug 2011

Typography: Hand drawn No.3




Do you want to submit your design for our Typography Rally? 
then read here!

Artist 105: Thuraya Lynn







Feature time again, and a nice little treat now in the shape of Kuwaiti writer and illustrator Thuraya Lynn. Thuraya has a great originality created in a melting pot of culture and style, her work is at once reminiscent of Taiyo Matsumoto and her style resonates with the same feverish energy as Tekkon Kinkreet and her images cut with her beautiful multilingual text give a dose of pure authenticity that makes her work really stand out. Her work is strong and her characters stare out at you seemingly defiant and ashamed. Always with an inner tension her characters stand on the verge of insanity liable to love or kill her work has a great dose of sardonic humour, happy or dark her work is a real force and truly a rarity. It would be hard to place Thuraya's work in a box and this is one of the things that will stand her in good stead as she forges ahead. Great to find someone so unique with such an interesting style, so a without further ado it's Thuraya Lynn.

Who are you:
Thuraya Lynn, a Kuwaiti artist and writer. I was heavily infleunced by Southern Eastern culture, particularly Japanese music and movies. I grew up watching Japanese animations especially works by Studio Ghibli's creator Hayao Miyazaki, as I grew older my interest turned into the horror, absurd and surrealist genres, the likes of Seuhiro Maruo, Nakayama Masaaki, Kazou Umezu, Junji Ito became inspirational figures.

What do you do:
I'm a drawist.

How did I start:
Drawing has always been an activity I enjoy, I found myself constantly doing it.. It took me longer than most people I know to realize this is I wanted to do with my future. The decision happened on my birthday last year, so it's been a near-year since I've indulged into the art industry and getting to learn and know of other fellow artists.

A personal statement about you or your work:
I'd close my eyes, think, rethink a preposition and after I get a clear vision of it in my mind, I allow it to dissolve onto paper. My works molds into a junction between unrealistic, messy and playful. Whenever I start sketching I have myself a laugh, I find my work is hilariously funny. I had feedback about it being strange, raw,
confusing and scary. I enjoy these outputs in contrast to those who tell me they're cute, they're missing the point.

Links:
portfolio
@thurayalynn
blog

Typography: Digital No.7




Do you want to submit your design for our Typography Rally? 
then read here!

10 Aug 2011

Typography: Hand drawn No.2




Do you want to submit your design for our Typography Rally? 
then read here!

Artists 104: Gabriella Barouch








It is with great pleasure that we can bring you a little bit of an insight into the wonderful Gabriella Barouch. We have a real talent on our hands with Gabriella, she has such a beautifully executed style it makes it hard to know where to start. Her work has a real attention to detail that makes you just fall into her images. The viewer can be lost in her worlds, as each delicate line draws the eye on a journey across the surface informing you and surprising as you track accross her complex highly rendered work. She is that rare creature capable of lifting you up with her work and giving you something to take away and treasure. At once though provoking and intriging it is as hard to delve into her flawless technique as it is to break into the past. Her vintage flavours render her work with a great authenticity that helps to secure it in any context. She has that real talent and a bucket of honed mechanical skill that will see her in good stead in the future and I'm sure there are doors waiting to open for her. So with the best wishes in all she does it's Gabriella Barouch.

Who are you:
My name is Gabriella Barouch.

What do you do:
I'm an illustrator, designer’s toys collector, and vintage lover, I take feeling and music and translate them to images. I'm also working on worldwide commissions.

How did you start:
By deciding to study in art academy, everything kinda rolled from there.

A Personal statement about you or your work:
I try to get to people's feelings by creating strong images.I feel I have a long way ahead of me, of learning and developing my skills.

But for now I give everything I get in every illustration :)

Links:
portfolio
@GabriellaBr
flickr


Typography: Digital No.6



Do you want to submit your design for our Typography Rally? 
then read here!

8 Aug 2011

Artists 103: Luke Brookes










Feature time again and we have some more eye candy for you in the form of the sweet and gentle work of Luke Brookes. freelancing for a mere matter of months Luke's tight style has won him a great breakthrough client list and I'm sure he is going to go from strength to strength with his easygoing approachable style. Luke's  style allows him the freedom to express narrative in his work with almost perfect clarity, making him commercially very useful as well as giving him a great platform for his imagery. Luke has a familiar style yet he takes it and makes it his own with his use of light and his attention to the natural world. His rendering of the night sky is elegant and belies some sort of interest in the cosmos. His work really comes into it's own when dealing with nature and natural scenes and he can capture the essence of an animal or landscape and break it down into clear cut but beautifully executed pieces creating a scene that speaks volumes. Having survived Staffs uni (which is no mean feat if you have ever been into the LRV on a night out), he is making waves and I can guarantee you will be seeing a lot of him in the future!  


Who are you:
My name is Luke Brookes and I'm a freelance illustrator currently living and working in a small village just outside of Birmingham, UK.

What do you do:
I started freelancing about 9 months ago after graduating from Staffordshire University. Since then I have worked with some really cool people and i am loving every minute of it!

Personal Statment:
My work is very narrative driven, I cannot help creating little stories in my head about the scenes or characters I create. I like to include as much depth in my work as I can, so when you come back and look at it you discover a new element. A lot of my work depicts scenes of nature and the beauty of a landscape. I use layered shapes and color's to create vast worlds and scenes ranging from a snowy wilderness to fantasy wonderlands that always engage the viewer.

Links:
portfolio
blog
@luke_brookes