Conception Studios

Conception Studios produce superbly retro posters for the entertainment industry. I suppose the rest of us can only envy that job. Some great looking stuff there. Head over to www.conceptionstudios.com.

Oh, and that’s an SX-70 on that poster too….!

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Echo Chernik

Echo Chernik is a spectacular Art Nouveau illustrator – her work is in demand from all sorts of quarters, and it’s certainly inspiring to browse through. Take a look at: http://www.echo-x.com/

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I’ve also just taken delivery of some PX600, which is faster (600 ASA as opposed to 100 ASA), and should provide some different results. The packs need customising to work with the SX-70, which is designed for the 100 speed film. Some scalpel-whittling to make them fit, and the addition of an ND filter to the top of the film pack to ensure correct exposure.

I’ve also got some of the Impossible Project’s TZ Artistic Paul Giambarba Edition colour film. Results of that to follow once I’ve finished this pack of PX100.

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The Sonic Happening poster

The brief for this one was “Something like the 1960s, San Francisco, Psychedelia scene”. That’s a bit of luck – it’s the kind of thing I like to do. So, this was the result. Actually designed and artworked while sitting in the local pub, and fueled by that great mind-altering substance – ale.

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The way the camera opens up, and then closes neatly back into an oversized zippo-esque oblong of brown leather and brushed chrome, together with the satisfying clunk of the reflex mirror and the reasurring mechanical whir of the motors as it ejects the resultant print make it a joy to use and an object of fascination. They certainly don’t make things quite like this anymore.

Unfortunately, the supply of available film is a little limited. Since Polaroid went to the wall a few years ago, supplies of film became scarce. It was only when a group of artists and ex-Polaroid employees stepped in to save the world’s only Polaroid instant film manufacturing plant from the receivers’ hammers that a future of any kind was preserved for the medium. The Impossible Project, as it became known, aims to reproduce the old film and allow the format to continue on.

These shots are taken using The Impossible Project’s PX100 Silver Shade film. It’s an unpredictable old Hector, highly sensitive to light, even for a few minutes after exposure, and with evolving colours and saturation, depending on temperature and storage conditions of the print… It’s nice to experiment with, but unfortunately at £2.50 a shot it’s going to cost me…

Each pack holds 8 shots. Here’s the first. More results to follow.

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World cup at the Wardrobe

I hate the world cup. Or, more accurately, I hate the rubbish that goes with it, and what it brings out in people.

However, The Wardrobe in Leeds asked me to do them a poster for the England matches they’ll be showing. Being a nice sort of place, they wanted something a bit classier than the usual football-fayre. Cue the monochrome and Helvetica.

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Hexa - Open mic

This month’s open mic was looming and I’d simply been too busy to do a poster. Thought I’d be honest, and let everybody know!

It’s really good to have HEXA back, and I didn’t want them to be un-billed. I think they liked the poster as it turned out… They stole a few away with them anyway, which is always a good sign!

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The next 3 months...

We were in need of another poster to bill the next few months of bands, and so James and I had a collaborative session over a couple of ales to come up with this. It’s good to get someone else’s input and bounce a few ideas around. The ‘Communist Propaganda Poster’ theme was chosen, and then embellished upon with progressively more bizarre ideas… Welly boots, dead birds and bananas. All good fun.

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Open Mic Poster - Christmas Special

This one took a while. The guitar illustration mainly, which was inspired by the artwork at the Hand Drawn Creative. He’s done a series of guitars, and has a great vintage style. Thought I’d tribute my Fender Jag for Christmas…

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