Blog: Illustration

Alphabets, Letters & Numbers

Pin this on Pinterest View large image

Appropriated Alphabet no.7 (2013) © Peter Blake. Courtesy CCA Gallery, London

Pin this on Pinterest View large image

Appropriated Alphabets No.4 (2013) © Peter Blake.

Pin this on Pinterest View large image

The Letter F (2007) © Peter Blake.

Peter Blake at the De La Warr Pavilion.

Blake has personally curated Alphabets, Letters and Numbers to showcase three series of editions: Alphabet (1991) a 26 piece series of silk screen prints with a print for each letter of the alphabet - I is for Idols ("a collage of screen legends, artists and musicians"), An Alphabet (2007) a series of found ephemera, illustration and handwritting collages - one for each letter of the alphabet. , and Appropriated Alphabets (2013) a series consisting of 12 individually collated alphabets.

"Throughout his long and prestigious career Blake has created several series of works based around the alphabet related to his enduring interest in childhood innocence and nostalgia, and Victorian and Edwardian graphic illustration. Using vintage cards, magazines, books and other found ephemera, he assembles collages that are at once whimsical, humorous and fascinating. He began using found letters and commercial lettering in the 1950s and, as a young artist, allied himself with decorators, sign painters and commercial artists."

The exhibition is free and runs until Sunday 27 November 2016. You know it's also the rule when you visit the De La Warr that you have to have a cream tea sat out on the terrace!

Three reasons to visit the De La Warr Pavillion this weekend

1. Bridget Riley - The Curve Paintings 1961 - 2014

Not long left now to see this wonderful exhibition of paintings and studies spanning Bridget Riley’s 50 year career all, “illustrating the artist’s close dedication to the interaction of form and colour by looking at a single motif” - the curve.

The exhibition coincides with the start of celebrations marking 80 years of the Pavillion becoming the first public modernist building in the UK and has been curated to “directly connect with the building’s elegant architecture, opening out the interior space towards the sea”.

The exhibition runs until 6 September 2015 (free entry).

 

2. Towards an alternative history of graphic design: Schmuck, POP, bRian, Assembling

A slice of graphic design history from the late 60s to the mid 70s, shown through the development of four innovative publications; Schmuck, POP, bRian and Assembling - all created by artists with no design or typographic training, who embraced technological developments and exploited them to publish their own content.

“Artists were now in control of content and the form of a publication could be explored, creating a new energy and enthusiasm for print.”

The exhibition runs until the 4 October 2015 (free entry).

 

3. The Cream Teas

As gallery cafes go, this one is pretty special. There’s nothing better than one of their homemade scones, a bit of clotted cream, a dollop of jam and a lovely pot of tea sat out on their first floor terrace overlooking the sea.

Summer Screen Prints

Pin this on Pinterest View large image

True Romance Cassandra Yap

Pin this on Pinterest View large image

American Werewolf in London Steve Wilson

Pin this on Pinterest View large image

Do the Right Thing Rose Stallard

Pin this on Pinterest View large image

The Last of the Mohicans Claudia Borfiga

Print Club London's Summers Screen Prints opens at Somerset House today. We were lucky enough to grab tickets for the preview last night and can definitely recommend it. 

This years show consists of fifteen film-themed screen prints by selected Print Club artists, including two of our personal favourites Cassandra Yap and Steve Wilson. Each print is an edition of 200, signed and numbered by the artist and available exclusively through Print Club London.

The show runs until 23 August in the West Wing Galleries, so there's plenty of time to pop in and see it.

Quentin Blake Rareties at Castor + Pollux

Signed, limited edition Quentin Blake prints and sold-out rareties at Castor + Pollux, Brighton.

Our favourite seafront gallery is showing a wonderful selection of Quentin Blake limited edtion and previously sold-out rarely available prints all signed by the man himself. Recognised and loved by all ages from the pages of Roald Dahl' s equally wonderful books, these illustrations bring back happy childhood memories and I can't wait to see them.

The exhibiton runs until 4 January 2015 at Castor + Pollux, seafront gallery and bookstore, 165 King's Road Arches, Lower Promenade, Brighton BN1 1NB

All images copyright Quentin Blake.

Instagram Experiments by Javier Perez

Fun Instagram images for a Friday afternoon.

These little minimalist collages using everyday objects are photographed and posted regularly to instagram by illustrator Javier Parez.

You can see more of them here or follow him on Instagram to see his new pieces as he posts them.

 

Via Colossal.

Rare & Important Travel Poster Auction

Pin this on Pinterest View large image

Sunshine and Surf / Australia. Circa 1936. Designed by Gert Sellheim.

Pin this on Pinterest View large image

Swissair / By Swissair To The United States / Douglas DC - 6B. Circa 1952. Designed by Henri Ott.

Pin this on Pinterest View large image

Swissair. Circa 1952. Designed by Henri Ott.

Pin this on Pinterest View large image

Europe / United States Lines. Circa 1952. Designed by Lester Beall.

Pin this on Pinterest View large image

S.S. America / United States Lines. Circa 1952. Designed by Lester Beall.

Pin this on Pinterest View large image

To U.S.A. / United States Lines. Circa 1952. Designed by Armengol.

Pin this on Pinterest View large image

Jet Your Way By B • O • A • C / Around The World. Circa 1960. Designer Uunknown.

Swann Galleries, New York are holding a 'Rare & Important Travel Poster' auction on October 18th. They always have an impressive selection of posters in their auctions and this one is no exception.

"From the deserts of the Mideast to the alpine resorts of Europe, this auction offers images of diverse geographical locations, in addition to bold depictions of trains, ocean liners and airplanes."

For me it doesn't matter about rarety, importance or designer. It's the bold, bright, graphic ones I like, however I will need significantly deeper pockets to be bidding on any of these.

See the full catalogue here.

Abstract City Maps

I do like a map and these abstract city maps by Jazzberry Blue are no exception with their blocks of colour and graphic shapes they're definitely ticking all the right boxes.

It's really interesting to see the street plans in such a simple form. I love how crazy and random the London streets are compared to the others and the New York one is grid heaven.

Jazzberry Blue have a great body of illustration work, including more maps for New Delhi, LA and Jerusalem all available as Giclee art prints here.

Images copyright Jazzberry Blue.
Via Colossal.

Wed 24 Jul 2013

Posted under: Things to buy , Illustration , Map

0 Comments

Sicilian Fruit Tissue Wrap

Colourful illustrations, charming but lo-fi print and wonderful lettering all come together on these Sicilian fruit wrappers to turn an unremarkable, everday item into something beautiful.

I'm always amazed at the level of detail on packaging like this, that for the most part goes totally unnoticed.

Images copyright  Italian Ways
Via FFFFound!

Fri 19 Jul 2013

Posted under: Design , Illustration , Packaging

1 Comment

The Lancashire Coast

I was thrilled to see this Daphne Padden poster on Quad Royal this morning. I'm a Lancashire lass and know the Lancashire coast has some wonderful seaside towns; St Annes with it's Victorian grandeur, Fleetwood steeped in fishing history and my favourite, Blackpool with it's mixture of faded glory and tacky arcades.

As much as I love these towns though, I never remember any of them looking as lovely as Daphne illustrates them!

Image from Quad Royal.

Thu 06 Jun 2013

Posted under: Design , Ephemera , Illustration , Posters

0 Comments

Final weekend of AT Open House


This weekend is your last chance to wander over to AT open house, have a snoop around their beautiful little terrace, sit in the garden, eat lots of delicious cake, drink plenty of tea and of course check out the huge selection of work from 13 artists, designers and printmakers.

To whet your appetite a little more, here are my favourite Petting Zoo & Collectables screen prints available at the house and also in the web shop.

Dave Thompson Sussex Prints


Our friends at Castor & Pollux have a great selection of Dave Thompson's Sussex giclee prints in stock at the moment. Based on mid-century travel posters, this nostalgic range highlights iconic buildings and landmarks in and around Sussex. These are my favourites, but check out the full range here.




All images copyright Dave Thompson.

Fri 10 May 2013

Posted under: Design , Prints , Illustration

0 Comments

AT Open House 2013 Line-up


It's almost that time again, in less than a week AT Open house will fling open it's doors for the first Artists Open house weekend.

We'll be there with a selection of letterpress prints, cards, notebooks, totes, vintage circus prints and some new linocuts, as will AT regulars Dead Methods, Snorkus, Alice Pattullo, Petting Zoo, Mr Wingate, Hello Dodo, James Sawyer, Nathan James, Natalie Martin and Winsome & Saucy.

In addition this year, we have a new artist joining the AT gang - fabulous illustrator Claire Scully aka. The Quiet Revolution.

Claire describes her work as, "a mix of strange utopian worlds and parallel universes with juxtapositions of the unexpected, playing with scale and narrative".

I had a sneaky peek at the Giclee prints she's selling at AT open house and believe me, they look good on screen but when you see them up close and full scale, the detail in astounding.





AT open house will be open 11-6 every weekend throughout May. So be sure to pop down and say hello, there's always a fresh pot of tea/coffee on the go and lots and lots of cake!

Fret not, if you can't make it over, you can keep up-to-date on the AT blog and once the show starts all the work will be available in their online shop.

Images copyright Claire Scully.

Peskimo






We've been checking out The Mighty Pencil's new site and are loving the work of Bristol based illustration duo Peskimo. So many fun characters, lashings of retro styling and lots of bold, bright colours what's not to like - a perfect bit of Thursday afternoon inspiration.

All illustrations copyright Peskimo.

Thu 18 Apr 2013

Posted under: Prints , Inspiration , Illustration

0 Comments

The love of imperfection






I'm a huge fan of vintage circus posters, with their simple illustrations, bold type and garish colours. The fast, cheap production meant the print was a crude, but for me that's their charm and when you zoom in on small sections the imperfections are exaggerated making them even more wonderful.

From the reference box #136

#136 - "Farmhouse Teas' Recipes leaflet by Summer County Margarine, circa. 1950. This lovely little leaflet is packed with margarine based recipes illustrated with some fine 50's food photography, but I bought it purely for the giant 't' and the leaves on the Summer County ad!



Welcome

Welcome to the Delicious Industries blog. We're an independent design studio based in Brighton, UK and this is our scrapbook packed full of design, illustration, photography & typography inspiration. Check out our work here.

Blog archive