Matt Kaufenberg Super hero Illustrator
I tracked down the wonderful contemporary illustrator Matt Kaufenberg currently living in Minnesota, and fired a few questions at him.
Can I ask your age and how you got into illustration in the first place ? I’m 30 and I’ve pretty much been drawing since I can remember.
What attracts you by the era and style that your work depicts ? I think the simplicity of designs from the 50’s and 60’s really speaks to me. The illustrations from that time period convey so much energy and playfulness and they do it with such minimal detail.
How long have you been drawing in this style ? I’ve been developing this style for about 2 years.
Is illustration your full-time profession, if not what else helps to pay the bills ? Freelance illustration is currently my full-time job.
I see that you’re attracted by super heros and well known characters Woody, Yogi, Spiderman etc have you ever thought to illustrate children’s comics or create animations of your own characters ? Although I loved animation growing up, I never really wanted to be an animator. That’s starting to change though and i’m starting to dabble in Flash and After Effects.
What is in the pipeline for new projects this year, any fresh illustration that we’ve not seen yet that I can reveal in my blogpost or new ideas that you’ve not previously mentioned ?
I’ve got a children’s book that I’m very close to finishing as well as the 3rd issue of the all-ages comic book, Team S.L.U.G. I also have a few other big things that I’m not allowed to talk about just yet.
How do you go about giving your characters the retro look ? what stages are most important, colour ? texture ? subject ? I think all of the stages are important, but I think it really comes down to simple, eye-pleasing shapes and color
Thanks Matt for giving us a quick insight into your illustrative world. Love the style keep up the great work. Thanks for having me as a guest, great to be included in your blog. You can learn a little more about Matt from another interview I came across from last year here.
If you like more of a’comic feel’ to your illustration. you might like The Autumn Society. There’s plenty of links there too.
Fishink Easter Weekend
Apart from packing boxes this easter weekend, in preparation for my moving house, I also managed to visit some of my old school friends over on the wirral. I’ve said it before and I’ll happily say it time and again, that I feel so lucky to still have such really solid friends from my school days around me. You know who you are, Gill, Chris, Marie, Louise, Claire, Ian, Elaine, Ann, Anna, Sarah and their partners and families too. Such an amazing set of friends, some who’ve shared my life since I was about 5 years old ! God help them.
Four of us went for a walk around Royden Park and up Thurstaston Hill, both on the Wirral. Some of the party like climbing, whether it’s trees or rocks, they’re not too fussy.
What a smart stile, and the sandstone rocks were so worn that they had footholes all the way up to the top.
We also stopped for a cup of tea and rest whilst the sun was out.
Whilst I was over on the Wirral I popped in to visit the newly opened Staacks Gallery Shop in West Kirby. It’s still on Banks Road and looks pretty amazing with it’s blue and white counters.
They stock a lovely range of Fishink products, including cards, prints, ceramics, stamps etc and some framed prints that are exclusive to the gallery. plus a wide selection of other peoples’ work including ceramics, textiles and jewellery.
Hope everyone had a great Easter break and managed to also catch up with friends and family too. Ah well back to the packing (sigh).
Happy Easter Fishink Collage
Continuing on from my recent workshop with Chris Haughton, and thinking more about collage, here’s a few of my recent trials.
I also added another illustration to the Little Red Riding Hood idea that came out of the illustration masterclass. Not for the faint hearted ! lol
One last word on the subject of paper cutting, have a look at this wonderful video of my friend Sarah Morpeth at work. It packs a weeks work into 1.22 minutes. That girl has tremendous skill and patience !
Have a very Happy Easter. I’m planning one too as I have a house move on the horizon and need to do some serious packing. Catch up with you all after the break. Enjoy. Whilst I’m away feel free to catch up on some older posts that you may not have seen, and as always please tell your friends about Fishink Blog and help spread the word. Thank you.
Mr Finch lives in Leeds. Finch is actually his surname but everyone calls him mister Finch so he named his business just that. He is almost completely self taught in his sewing and creating skills and when he’s not making things (which isn’t often), he likes nothing better than to watch an old movie or read a book.
He has a collection of dead insects, which provide inspiration as well as being first hand research material for some of his more insect based forms.
He has a flair for hares, and it doesn’t stop there. These wall mounted heads are quite wonderful.
He says ” My main inspirations come from nature and often I return to certain ideas again and again. Flowers, insects and birds really fascinate me with their amazing life cycles and extraordinary nests and behaviour. British folklore is also so beautifully rich in fabulous stories and warnings and never ceases to be at the heart of what I make.”
There’s a quiet peacefulness about the sleeping, curled up animals and even if you’re not the worlds biggest fan of moths, you must admit that their furry, velvety textures and florally wings capture the essence of the creatures perfectly.
” Humanising animals with shoes and clothes is something I’ve always done and I imagine them to come alive at night. Getting dressed and helping an elderly shoemaker or the tired housewife. Making things has always been incredibly important to me and is often an amazing release to get it out of my system. It’s a joy to hunt for things for my work…the lost, found and forgotten all have places in what I make. Most of my pieces use recycled materials, not only as an ethical statement, but I believe they add more authenticity and charm. A story sewn in, woven in. Velvet curtains from an old hotel, a threadbare wedding dress and a vintage apron become birds and beasts, looking for new owners and adventures to have. ”
Mr Finch’s creations sell on Etsy or you can follow him on Facebook or on his Blog.
Storytelling creatures for people who are also a little lost, found and forgotten… aren’t we all ?
If you found this interesting, you may also like my post on Vraid Lee and Michael Sowa. The animals also reminded of ‘The Science of Sleep’ a film with Gael García Bernal and Hartley Hare from ‘Pipkins’ from my childhood memories.
Isabel Hojas Illustration from Chile
Isabel Hojas was born in 1977 and lives in Santiago, Chile. She creates wonderful narratives with fluid movement in her work, using beautiful tones and a skilled control of her inks and watercolours.
She has always wanted to create books and has experimented with posters, puzzles and T-shirts in the process. I love her perspective here of the riders in the snow.
There’s a sense of humour in her style, but it’s subtle and sophisticated.
It’s great that through her blog she shows us some of her preliminary drawings too.
I feel her 3-D collage work has a sense of calm and serenity to it.
Another rather talented all rounder.
Sebastião Rodrigues Mid Century Portuguese Graphic Designer
Sebastião Rodrigues (1929-1997) was born and raised in Dafundo, Portugal. From a very early age he learned the design trade from his father, whilst running errands for a graphical advertising service newspaper, The Voice. Sebastião devoted his life to the world of visual arts and culture. In 1940 and 1941 he studied at the Industrial School Marquis of Pombal, with amazing teachers such as the architect and painter George Frederick Calvet Magalhães. By 1945 he was working at Atelier Advertising Arts (APA) where he met his future co-worker Manuel Rodrigues, who worked alongside him for 30 years. From 1948, they executed posters, flyers and window displays for the National Bureau of Information (SNI). The ‘sixties’ style that was used on these jobs formed the nature of his later works.
Sebastião Rodrigues was a perfectionist. The area of the entire design process, from concept to final product was done with all with vigor. He worked with everyone who was part of the larger process of graphic production and they all exchanged knowledge and experiences. From 1959 to 1961 he was responsible for the graphic design of the monthly publication called ‘Almanac’. Below you can see some of his quirky covers and artwork from within the magazine. I think his animals are magnificent !
With a scholarship from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (1959-60), he travelled for half a year in the North Country to collect inspirational graphic material. It was during this and other trips where he collected material that would constitute the raw material for his future work. He searched for a deeper understanding of the roots of the Portuguese popular culture, which became a key quality of his work. You can see this clearly in the posters and book covers he created to advertise his love of Portugal.
Somewhat shy and introspective, but with a talent and unsurpassed rigor, Sebastião was meticulous and attentive. He was also fascinated by ethnography and anthropology, he studied and gathered masses of information, which he processed, pondered and reflected upon, to extract even the tiniest details. He was responsible for creating book covers, logos, brochures, studies for brands, billboards, shop windows. He participated in magazines, newspapers, organized exhibitions, among other activities. A founder member of the Portuguese Association of Designers.
He received several awards and honors, a lifelong medal and Grand Officer of the Order of Merit, awarded by the President of the Republic in 1995. The “Diploma of Honor ‘poster for the Olympics in Helsinki in 1952 and the’ Award of Excellence 1991 ‘by the International Council of Graphic Associations. He was also a founding member of the Portuguese Association of Designers in 1976. Some fascinating and amazing work, I think you’ll agree.
Originally from Bristol, Celia Wilkinson studied for her B.A.Hons at Central St Martins between 1985 and 1989. She moved from London to the Isle of Wight in 2001 and spent 12 years devoted to painting only fish. Initially dead fish… but then, slowly, the movement developed.
Elements of pattern crept into Celia’s work.
Along with the movement came colour too.
And still the fish swam freely around in her canvasses.
Pattern combined with colour to produce wonderful vivid pools of layered, spiralling fishes.
This beautiful Heron, for me, marks the end of Celia’s fish period and the start of Celia’s move into a new area… landscapes. Some of the spiralling elements move along with her work too.
Celia says ‘ I live on the south side of the Isle of Wight, where the landscape is still very unspoilt and rugged, almost prehistoric. I am particularly drawn to the winter landscape with its harsh lines and a sense of being against the elements.’ There’s a beautiful fresh, crispness here. An icy portrayal of the countryside as it stretches before us.
Sometimes the seasons warm in her work and we are treated to beautiful fields of yellow rape seed, orange barley or red poppies.
I feel Celia has found her true calling and it was fascinating seeing the journey through her work to where she is today. Thanks to Celia for contributing to this blogpost and also to the British Women Artists site for some of their images of Celia’s work. If you enjoyed this post you and if you;re new to my site, you may also like these posts on Michael Morgan and George Birrell.
What a weekend it’s been. Fun and busy at the same time, always a great combination!
Friday evening, I went to Blank Media Collective to listen to a talk by children’s Illustrator Chris Haughton. Here’s Chris doing much pointing and explaining.
Apart from his amusing books, Chris is also working with a couple of Fair trade organisations. People Tree for clothing and more recently Node, which was based in Nepal.
Chris created with Node, a range of toys and products to go with his books and a beautiful collection of rugs, which other illustrators designed, helping to expand Chris’s own range. You can see some of the rugs below and get an idea of how complex the weaving work really is, from the video.
On Saturday I was lucky enough to be selected to attend a days Illustration Masterclass with Chris and 8 other artists, held at Blank Media Collective again. The brief was to bring along samples of two different styles of work that we liked and one folk story. During the course of the day we had to mix the two styles together into a scene from the folk story and illustrate it. Here’s a few images of the artists in action.
With Chris overseeing and tutoring, we gained some great experience and shared stories with one another about illustrating books in general.
Here’s some examples of the different artists work produced during the day.
For my inspiration, I chose Pacific Island designs and combined them with a little 1950’s and textures that I’d previously created. I think you can guess the folk story.
The leaves on the trees and the swirls on the fox, derived from this inspirational source. This was my finished piece.
A little more Pink than Red Riding Hood, but no one seemed to mind. I called it artistic licence !
I was pleasantly surprised with the results as I haven’t tried much collage work previously either. All in all a thoroughly productive and inspiring couple of days. I wish to say a huge vote of thanks to the peeps at Blank Media Collective for giving me the opportunity to get involved and to Chris for being so informative and chilled in his approach to the masterclass. Smiles all round.
Vintage Children’s Book Covers
I get many requests for blog posts on Vintage Book Covers, so I thought I’d put together another one. Starting off with a few for the younger readers.
This lovely Mary Blair pink cover below and the foolish fishermen with illustrations by Bernice Myers.
One from Alain Gree above and another from the talented Roger Duvoisin below.
Some for an older audience.
And some for those enquiring minds.
I particularly liked Merton and his Moving Van with illustrations by the talented Art Seiden.
Fishink Bits ‘n’ Bobs
It’s not everyday that my work gets called ‘delicious’ so I figured it was worth mentioning the lovely blog post from last month on Pattern Prints Journal.com. It is wonderful to have my work featured on such a fab site, many thanks to Barbara for the feature.
Secondly I wanted to thank Peter Boyle who works at Innovation Central in Manchester, and who invited me to exhibit my work in their combined ‘one year in business’ and charity fundraising event, held at 2022nq in Manchester last week. Here’s a few snaps from the event and the great design centre it was based in.
There’s a couple of my framed pieces above (rabbit and pigeon). Some of my favourite pieces were from local illustrator Emma Reynolds and Manchester artist Paul Reid.
I recently also got a little mention on my friend’s lovely blog you can view here Sarah Morpeth. Well worth a read.
Lastly I’m excited to reveal that I’ve been selected to attend an Illustration Masterclass at the weekend, which is being run by Blank Media Collective. I’ll be working with children’s book illustrator Chris Haughton. Myself and nine other illustrators will be spend saturday together, hoping to finely tune our creative skills and swop ‘illustrative notes’ on ways to improve our styles and create fresh and exciting books ourselves. It promises to be an invigorating weekend, watch this space for more news !
In the meantime please do carry on leaving your comments and thoughts and passing on my site and blog links to your friends. You can join me in so many ways. On Twitter, Flickr, Pinterest, Facebook, check out my Children’s Illustration, treat yourself, or a friend to some Fishink Stationery and on my soon to be updated Etsy site. I would love Fishink Blog to travel to as many new people as possible this year, so if you enjoy this space, please please pass Fishink onto at least one person today. Thank you.
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