Frank Lucas was the first African American illustrator and photographer in Boston's advertising industry. He graduated from the Vesper George School of Art, after being an illustrator and photographer for the Army during the Korean War. He also made a career as a Graphic Designer and Art Director during the 1960s. Read more about the interesting career of Frank Lucas at The HistoryMakers' website.
It's been raining in Chicago for the past couple of days, and although the sun comes out, the rain-clouds can tint the sky a bit gray. So, I decided to stay inside and look through some of my design magazines. I was flipping through an old Dynamic Graphics and suddenly stopped when I saw this beautiful flash of color and rich texture. After being mesmerized for a bit, I realized that this was the work of artist Rafael Lopez. His work is absolutely stunning! What I love about it, in addition to the color and rich texture, is the story or message. I see some recurring themes in his work. Flight/Freedom, Growth. Do you see them? What other themes do you see?
He has an impressive bio, creating paintings for Oprah's school in South Africa, a Latino dance stamp for the U.S. postal service, and his Voz Unida was selected to be an official poster by the Obama/Biden campaign at Artists for America.
Check out more of his work at RafaelLopez.com (you'll want to see his murals) and his blog rafaellopezstudio.blogspot.com. Thanks Rafael!
Left: Dream – Image for Shift Magazine
Right: Mind Traveler – Painting for Oprah Winfrey and her School in South Africa
Left: El Diseñador
Right: Diversity at work
Left: Latino Film Festival – Poster for the 2007 Latino Film Festival
Right: Chamber Music Festival – Poster for the 2009 Chamber Music Festival in San Miguel
Left: Poster for the California Teacher's Association
Are you a Designer/Creative who has become hypnotized by your computer monitor? Do your pencils, Prismacolors, chalk, or whatever creative media you used to use have dust on them? Are your drawing skills looking a bit sketchy? (sketchy: not meaning a rough outline, but I mean a bit questionable) Well, guess what I discovered on DRAWN.ca? 75 Ways to Draw More! Illustrator Michael Nobbs has created a booklet to get you started. And...the booklet's free! Download the book from his Flickr site, 75 Ways to Draw More.
Donna Wilson of Etsy shop Butterflies Kiss creates wedding stationery embracing diversity, whether it's ethnicity or lifestyle. Her richly textured prints with the watercolors are my favorites. Also check out her web site.
I was struck by the rich texture and color of artist Andrew Daniel. You can find more of his work on Etsy.
Tabitha Brown is a talented artist I discovered through her Etsy shop, thepairabirds. Her work is elegant, contemporary, and detailed. Some are simply images that represent a beautiful moment or image in time, while others are more are pieces with a message. Check out her Etsy shop or her Flickr page to see more of her work.
Treat: What's your canvas?
thepairabirds: Graphite and acrylic paint on any archival flat surface.
Treat: How and when did you learn about your skill at drawing?
thepairabirds: I became interested in drawing when I was about eleven. I tried to emulate the drawings in the comic-books I was reading. The interest bloomed as I began to realize there were very few men and women of color in these comic-books and other works of art. I figured if I want to see women that look more like me, I would have to create them myself.
Treat: What do you love about drawing? Like the least?
thepairabirds: I like the thought of creating a person, a personality and an environment, with just a few pencil lines or a few brushstrokes. What I like the least is that my brain has too many ideas, that my hand cannot draw them all out.
Treat: How do you pick the subjects you are going to draw?
thepairabirds: I don't think I consciously pick a subject. I may have a composition all planned out in my head. But, once paper and pencil meet, the piece chooses its destiny.
Treat: What inspires you?
thepairabirds: Humans and how they relate to their environment is inspiring me more and more everyday. I'm also inspired by music, specifically 70s Jazz, Soul, and Funk. The juxtaposition of smooth and gritty found in these genres is very intriguing.
Treat: How did you come up with your Etsy shop name?
thepairabirds: The "bird" part was a nod to Jazz musician Donald Byrd. The "pair" ties into the two symbiotic layers of humans; their inner-self and their outer-self.
Treat: More and more schools are taking way art education. What do you think are some of the benefits of art and/or design in the education of today's youth?
thepairabirds: It gives students a way to express themselves. It gives students a way to escape from life's pressures.
It teaches them about there world. Schoolhouse Rock and Sesame Street's cartoon and musical shorts taught me everything from how to count to 12 to what a congressional bill is.
Treat: How has art/design helped you personally?
thepairabirds: I am a pretty shy and private person. Art gives me a way to express myself and share my thoughts without me every saying a word.
Treat: Any advice for other creatives?
thepairabirds: Practice, Observe everything, practice some more, and observe some more.
One of my favorite areas in design is handlettering. I did a lot of it when I was younger and dabble in it every now and then now. When I worked at Hallmark, I absolutely loved watching the lettering artists create their beautiful handwriting, and it was interesting matching their lettering styles to their personalities. When I discovered lettering artist and designer Crystal Kluge online, I had to find out more about her own hand lettering experiences. Check out some of her lettering and illustrations below and her fonts on MyFonts.com.
Hand lettering doesn't get the recognition it should. Why do you think this is so?
Like most handcrafted work, I think it’s gaining more recognition. August’s issue of HOW magazine is all about handmade design, and how’s it’s influencing modern trends. That said, with the range of fonts available now, many people just don’t think of letters being created by hand. Every month or so, I receive a inquiry about which font I used for my logo & website, a number are surprised to find out it is handlettered – not a font.
Why do you think hand lettering is important?
I think for the same reasons drawing by hand is important.
How did you learn to create such beautiful lettering?
I discovered a calligraphy pen at Grandma’s house when I was a 11. It was a Sheaffer cartridge pen, I still have it.
What type of writing instruments do you use?
Simple dip pen w/ steel nibs
How would you describe the personality of your hand lettering?
Whimsical, romantic, modern
Is your natural penmanship very similar to your hand lettering?
I’m often asked this question. When I was younger it was. Currently, it’s not even close. The stronger I develop my calligraphic skills, the further my regular penmanship declines. It’s barely legible.
What inspires your lettering?
When I’m working with a client, I’m inspired by their personality, the context and special details of the project or event. The more I know about it, the more my work will assume that spirit.
I’m drawn to expression types of lettering, kanji, arabic, vintage fashion advertising headlines & logos. But I also respect the skill of traditional broadpen calligraphy, from old medieval texts to the amazing St. John’s Bible currently being scribed.
Any advice for those who have the gift of beautiful hand lettering?
Enjoy your gifts!
I don't usually post on Saturdays, but I wanted to wait until Monday when I could give you a headstart—on a weekend —for this fabulous opportunity!
Designers, I recently got word from Free People that they are having a Design-A-Bag contest! Yeah! So, take out your sketch books, pens, and get your creative juices flowing! The winning design will be created into a Free People bag, plus receive a $200 gift card that may be used at any Free People store or online, plus 10 cloth bags with your winning design on it for you and your friends! Read the guidelines here.
All e-mail entries of your design must be received by Friday June 27th, 2008 and all regular mail entries must be postmarked by Friday June 27th, 2008 and received by Friday July 5th, 2008. Make sure to read the guidelines carefully, and good luck! =)
Every once in a while I stumble upon an illustrator whose skill makes my mouth drop. I recently discovered Sterling Hundley and was in awe. The emotion in the subject's faces—it's like I've seen those expressions before. I also love his type skill, and he uses interesting color combinations.
Since I'm going back to posting three times a week, this is the last post this week. Enjoy, and have a great weekend!
I love birds—and Joom in San Francisco does a fine job creating simplified, beautiful birds. Find pillows, greeting cards, and display art of birds singing, flying, and observing in beautiful pastels mixed with bold colors.
Did you know that Jackie Ormes was the first African-American female cartoonist?
Ormes was born in Pittsburgh, PA as Zelda Maven Jackson August 1, 1911. She started her career as a Proofreader for the Pittsburgh Courier—a weekly black newspaper, and moved to Chicago in 1941 where she wrote articles for the Chicago Defender—which was the largest and most influential black weekly newspaper during her time. Ormes continued writing for the Pittsburgh Courier and later started illustrating characters who became known as Patty-Jo, Ginger, Torchy Brown, and Candy.
Ormes was part of Chicago's black elite, and it is said that she modeled some of the cartoon characters after herself—"beautifully dressed and coiffed females, appearing and speaking out in ways that defied stereotyped images of blacks in the mainstream press" (credit: from jackieormes.com website).
During a time when the only option for a black doll was a mammy doll, Ormes developed the first American black doll that had an "extensive upscale wardrobe" (credit: wikipedia). Ormes contacted the Terri Lee doll company in 1947 to produce the doll, which lasted until the end of Ormes' two year contract. Production ended in 1949, and now, the dolls are considered valuable collector's items.
Ormes illustrated and wrote about topics that affected her time as well as issues that affect us today: "fashion, modern life, racial injustice, foreign and domestic policy, educational equality, the atom bomb, and environmental pollution" (credit: from jackieormes.com). Check out Ormes' book, illustrations, and doll creation below.
Click image below to view larger.
Patty-Jo 'n' Ginger illustration and Patty-Jo Doll.
Bernadette Sipkes, a printmaker and illustrator from Auckland, New Zealand—and blogger of Sugarloop—creates these one-toned contemporary prints that are simple and fresh. She draws her inspiration from textiles, mid-century kitchenware, vintage wallpapers, and other mid-century modern designers.
I've been diggin' the artwork on the walls at Starbucks for quite some time. Though Starbucks has many types of illustrations in its brand, I had to find out who the creative was behind one in particular—and I did! I love the organic, colorful illustrations of Zaara (Marta Windelsen), a freelance graphic designer/illustrator who started her design career as a Graphic Designer for Starbucks. She was inspired enough to develop her own style of illustration, which she named "KittenChops."
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