Out the Door

Cover illustration by Nellie RyanSo this is my last issue of Outline magazine as editor. I feel regretful to let it go, but it must be done. I have too much work on, and need to concentrate on building my illustration business, although I still have the part-time graphic design gig (that pays the bills).

It’s been a privilege to run the whole show, and getting to know quite a few Australian illustrators in the process – not to mention learning a lot from them. Obviously I love to write, although being a managing editor is a little different from writing blogs or other personal stuff. It has its own challenges, planning and researching each issue, wrestling with headlines and standfirsts … but it is very satisfying once an issue is wrapped and delivered.

This last one was themed on surface pattern design, and I interviewed three illustrators who incorporate pattern into their work, two of whom design their own. I also wrote a story about creative block (and enjoyed putting together a little collage to illustrate it) and a very ‘timely’ (considering how stretched I’ve been in the last six months) story on time management. And when it comes to pattern design, how could I go past the great and bold Florence Broadhurst for the Nostalgia page?

Profile on ‘start up’ illustrator Bronwyn Seedeen The Blank Page – what to do when you have creative blockTime Sucks – tips on juggling that most precious commodityA mini profile on the inimitable Aussie icon Florence Broadhurst

Eye-Catching

The Family Dog ‘Gloria Swanson’ poster by Alton Kelly and Stanley MouseI love it when random Googling will turn up really interesting things. In my case it wasn’t so random, as I was doing picture research for a story on the 1920s actress Theda Bara. This amazing poster image caught my eye: for the colour and graphics, and not least for the arresting stare of Gloria Swanson.

The poster came from The Family Dog, the promotions company attached to rock-promoter Chet Helms and a bunch of other hippies who in 1966 teamed up to put on some of the ‘greatest rock events of all time’. The artists were Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelly, part of the famous ‘San Francisco Five’, a group that created hundreds of the world’s definitive rock art posters. Mouse and Kelly became legendary collaborators, creating a distinctive psychedelic style of design – ‘riffing off each other’s giggle’, to quote them.

Gloria Swanson’s eyes are here advocating patrons to purchase tickets to hear Big Brother & the Holding Company, and the Sir Douglas Quintet at the evocatively named Avalon Ballroom.

Gloria Swanson, photographed by Edward Steichen, 1924As though the graphics and colours were not eye-catching enough, this picture is more than remarkable in its original form. It was taken by master photographer Edward Steichen in 1924 for Condé Nast. The taut lace forms a veil between the viewer and Swanson, obscuring her from us as the fretwork of Oriental architecture divides the inhabitants of a harem from the male gaze.

Swanson stares impassively past the net, is indifferent to us, yet we can’t look away. 

Beardsley Blown Up

A model of the set. Image: MTCA couple of months ago I had to produce some enormous wall decals for the Melbourne Theatre Company’s VIP room, based on Aubrey Beardsley’s illustrations for the theatre. The MTC’s current play, The Importance of Being Earnest (starring Geoffrey Rush) has an amazing set: a giant book with pages that flip over, changing the backdrop of each act. The set is a loving copy of Tony Tripp’s original set from the 1988 production.

My brief was to use Beardsley’s illustrations and create two decals. The only daunting aspect was the sheer size: one wall was 4m wide, the other 8m. It was a little like creating a collage, only using Beardsley’s drawings. I felt a bit sacrilegious doing this. 

It was a little like creating a collage, only using Beardsley’s drawings. I felt a bit sacrilegious doing this.

Obviously I did not create the artwork at actual size, but the Photoshop files were so enormous I could not produce press-ready PDFs, as the printers requested. (Photoshop’s response to this outrageous demand was to immediately crash.)

I was concerned about how well the illustrations would hold up when enlarged 1000% (or thereabouts), but when I finally saw them hung in the room, I was impressed. 

There was an additional amusing aspect to the job: I needed to create a cardboard cut-out of Geoffrey Rush costumed as Lady Bracknell – with a hole cut out of his head so punters could stick their heads through and vicariously (and hilariously no doubt) wear a dress. Originally the cut-out was going to be partially hand-drawn, in Beardsley style, but what with the enormity of the decals, and the concern the cut-out would disappear into the background (sort of like camouflage), it was decided to go back to a gilt-framed portrait that was used for some other promotional collateral. Even Geoffrey had a chuckle over that one. 

Green Fashion

Canadian Vogue, 1948Green used to be my favourite colour. I still really like it, although I don’t wear it so much. This Canadian Vogue cover from 1948 certainly caught my eye though, in a random Google search. The light filtering through the tree overhead is just beautiful, immediately evoking lazy summer days. It reminds me of Javier Vallhonrat’s photography. 

The cover prompted me to search out a few more distinctive and equally green vintage Vogues. And what do they all have in common (besides the obvious)? That’s right: virtually NO COVERLINES! Those vintage editors let the beautiful imagery do the talking.

Sigh. They just don’t design ’em like they used to, do they?

An irresistible illustration by Cecil Beaton, apparently executed on wrapping paper, Vogue 1395The tail end of the Belle Époque, Vogue 1913Divine Art Deco minimalism between the Wars, Vogue 1932Newly minted green, Vogue 1961

I’ll Be Bound!

Image from Rebecca Newport, found on Flickr. Click for link.Yesterday at work I had a slightly unusual task: I had to create the book binding for some nineteenth century books used as props in MTC’s upcoming production of The Importance of Being Earnest.

This entailed printing onto canvas, using our large-format printer. The special roll of canvas is coated in paper in order to accept ink. This means that over time, if the objects are handled a lot, they will lose their matt appearance and become glossy.

I was given image files from the Costume Realiser Tracy Grant-Lord, but it proved no easy task to reproduce the desired ‘warm, peachy look’ that director Simon Phillips so admired, for the colours that came out of the printer in no way matched the laser prints I had been given for reference. I spent the entire morning colour-correcting in Photoshop and printing test samples, before finally managing to print very reasonable facsimiles that Tracy was thrilled with.