While getting thru the threshold for a cosmetics design project I came up with this one, it actually helped me through to a really good idea, but on its own, FAIL.. Couldn’t help add it to my blog.

Todays blogs image is a short list of 24 inked variations of the 5 pointed star. compressed for web viewing, with a little bit of cleaning up done around the white areas.

This one was a tutorial from my TAFE 09 class of digital media, it was supposed to take 1 hour, but due to in ability to airbrush it took me close to a full day’s work.

It was a tutorial, step by step instructional piece, however a lot was left up to the airbrushing to make or break it, your call on how I went.

Born July 15th, 1937 as “Robert Wesley Wilson” in Sacramento, California, Wilson was a American Artist and leading designer of the American psychedelic posters in San Francisco. Wes was synonymous with the peace movement, and the psychedelic posters of the 1960’s. Wilson is most well known for a font which made the letters look like they were moving or melting.

Wes Wilson was a student of philosophy and religion, and did very little reading before the age of 18 when he discovered there were books on the subjects he craved to learn about. His mother was a school teacher, and generally saw himself as an outdoor child. Wes saw freedom as experiences highly sort after and regarded it as a valuable asset. He served compulsory service duty for the military during the Korean War, and his schooling included electives of philosophy.

Wilson had an interest in Technical things, and in 1959 worked in an architect job. In 1960 enrolled at the San Francisco State College, and had interests in aeronautical engineering, architecture, forestry, eastern religion, and philosophy at the time. During this time had an creative impulse to become an artist. Since he had been drawing on and off during his life decided it was an option. 1964 Wilson studied Painting and Life Drawing, and took acid with Bob Carr.

1964 saw Wilson work for Contact Printing Company, where Wes learnt the basics of graphic layout and camera work. Wilson preferred to do a lot of free-hand lettering, while most jobs were black and white, or one color due to budget restraints. His work for Contact Printing, consisted of San Francisco Film Festival, and Influential Trips Festival, some promotional material for Mime Troupe, and a Diet book titled “Zen Cookery”.

While Wes Wilson was creating graphic art works that were getting notice by an emerging counter-culture, the rock scene was doing some serious developing in 1965. This was the year Wilson designed a full color poster that was trying to warn the American public of ‘policies of dictatorship’. The year also saw him designing his own wedding invitation.

Chet Helms worked with Wilson to create music handbills, while Contact Printing did the flyers for the 1966 Trips Festival. The same year Contact Printing closed its doors which enabled Wes to start freelancing. Wes saw himself as a traditional artist and was a member of the ‘Bay Area Figurative School’ who were the ‘new realists’.

In the 1960’s Commercial Art was simple and neat for businesses and poster art was the opposite and was generally an underground affair. Wes generally learnt on the job with poster art; however Wes took advantage of any circumstance. Wilson always worked by hand to assure what he was doing was a work of art. Wes was constantly experimenting with design form, and color in an attempt to energize, create dynamics, expression and a high spirit.

Wes Wilson’s posters would usually consist of imagery of the human female figure, in an often thoughtful treatment. He was known for his serious, positive portrayal of the feminine image of the modern era. His style usually had the ‘fill-the-sheet” style, especially in his Fillmore designs. Wilson’s typography was used in dense ‘blocks’ of text wrapped into a sculptural form. Wes Wilson’s style was and is still today; emblematic and iconic style of the 1960’s.

The style of Wes Wilson in general ignored the basic rules of poster design, created works of art related to ounter-cultural sensibilities. Wilson was given an extraordinary amount of artistic freedom while working for Avalon and Fillmore Ballrooms. Wes decided he was not satisfied with commercial-art and stopped working in poster design in 1967.

Around 1969 Wes started working with water color with people remaining his primary subject. After water-color Wes started working in colored glass with enamel paints which gave him more freedom. By 1976 Wes Wilson had found a property in Southwest Missouri and started a small beef cattle farm. He continued improving the land using new techniques and created a ‘farmscape’ around 2005 Wes converted a barn into a spacious painting studio.

External Links & Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wes_Wilson

http://www.wes-wilson.com/bio.html

http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/k-type/wes-wilson/

http://www.dking-gallery.com/store/Wilson.html

Vivid Commercial Effect Tutorial

 
Well 2009 is off and running,

The first project off the rank was the Vivid Commercial Effect tutorial done in Luke Sucrae’s class of digital imaging. This tutorial was done in around 4 hours, and was straight from a sheet using pre-determined imagery. So I can’t take credit for the design, however it was my execution, and I guess a few decisions that was mine to make.

Cheerz
Paul Stevens aka lacedrabbitdesign.com/blog