Window Frames - art along Sydney Road

Sydney Road Brunswick has been turned into an art gallery for a couple of weeks.

If you happen to be wandering along Melbourne's greatest shopping strip in between Albert Street and Brunswick Road have a squiz in the shop windows and you will find an assortment of art works. This is the Window Frames exhibition organised by the Sydney Road Brunswick Association.

I have a piece in Mocca Gigi's window, 165 Sydney road - a reinterpretation of the cover art I did for the Shopping and Visitors  Guide to Sydney Road, Brunswick. As it is presented in the window as an artwork I had to write an artist's statement to be displayed with it. First time I've ever had to do one of those!

'An illustrated response to a commercial brief, intended to appeal to an aesthetically literate Brunswick audience. Hand inked line-work, and confident, optimistic colours combine with the guide's tattoo iconography to present an adventurous visual experience.

Like a modern day Hansel and Gretel, a couple embark on a journey of exploration, seeking fashion, food and fun in an enchanted retail environment. Fortunately they won't need to rely on bread crumb trails to find their way home, thanks to the Shopping and Visitors guide they have a map!'

My favourite art works along the road are:
Lights Out by Brendon Taylor - a timber and resin angler fish in the window of Rommelik 141 Sydney Road
and Crochet Fruit by Cherry Collins in the window of Olive Grove 159 Sydney Road.
Both beautiful, fun pieces, and well worth a look.

There are plenty of other very cool artworks, so well done to all the local artists who participated. And a big thanks to all the traders who gave up some window space for us.

The Window Frames exhibition is on until the 31st of October 2011.

R :)

the Shopping and Visitors Guide to Sydney Road, Brunswick

Recently I had the chance to illustrate two maps and a cover for the Shopping and Visitors Guide to Sydney Road, Brunswick.

The cover and maps are designed to be casual, engaging and informative, to deliver a sense of adventure and excitement, and to appeal to the aesthetically literate Brunswick population. For my fellow font geeks out there, the typefaces used are Singapur Heavy (the tattoo typeface) and Urgent Telegram (the typewriter typeface). Both very sweet typefaces.

The guide was published by The Sydney Road Brunswick Association and laid out by Beyond the Page.

If you are living around the Brunswick area you can expect to have a copy delivered along with the Leader paper sometime in the next few weeks.

They say Sydney Road is the best thing ever to have come out of Sydney (that's a Melbourne joke), so here's hoping the guide inspires some exploring adventures of Melbourne's mightiest and most culturally exciting shopping strip!

Cheers
R

 

happy wanderer

I was at a loss with what to draw over the weekend, so I had a look in the garden and discovered the happy wanderer is flowering.
Oh, and here are some dugong sketches too.
R :)

narrative illustrations of a frog with a bouffant

Narrative illustrations for a class room reader about Billy the frog who is worried the pollution in their pond will inhibit the growth of his legs. Its okay, his legs grow. Phew!

dinosaurs asleep

Dinosaurs asleep!

The dinosaurs in this picture are kind of based on ones that roamed Australia and Antarctica.

Created in response to Illustration Friday theme 'asleep'.

illustration of kids and animals on a hotted up thong trike

A couple of weeks ago I did a quick line image for Illustration Friday of a cockatoo driving its friends around on a hotted up thong-trike.

I couldn't leave it uncoloured, so here it is in all its Aussie colour palette glory.

R :)

illustration of bicycles outside the Union Hotel, Brunswick

Bicycles at the hotel is available as poster or card art via my Redbubble store

Around where I live a lot of people like to ride their bicycles, and we are blessed with many excellent local pubs. These things combine very nicely.

Though I do recommend some moderation if riding home from the pub... and a helmet.

Drawn and coloured in response to Illustration Friday theme 'bicycle'.

R :)

Uisge beatha! We call it whisky.

Praise to the Celtic monks of old,

Who first the water of life bottled.

Distilled of grain mash frothing frisky,

Uisge beatha! We call it whisky.

'Uisge Beatha' is Scottish Gaelic for 'water of life', the name monks of the time gave to distilled spirit. Over time 'Uisge' became the word 'whisky'.

Is it too much suggesting 'old' and 'bottled' rhyme? Hope not.

I made up the verse and created the image in response to the Illustration Friday theme 'bottled'.

Here's some pics of the illustration process and materials.

weekend pen and ink sketches

I spent some time on the weekend sketching random items from around the house. For a bit of fun I thought I might colour them and post them here.

 

spoonbill stirring tea

A spoon shaped face should never be 
socially deterring. 
It is ideal at tea parties 
for doing all the stirring.