View from the Zoo

Audrey, my daughter who is still in Europe, sent me these lovely stamps as a birthday gift. Firstly, the very modern looking stamps from Luxembourg that celebrate their status as one of the European Capitals of Culture of 2007 and which displays the caribou or elk which was part of their logo. The other cheerful set hails from Ireland, illustrated by Steve Simpson, is a series of happy patchwork animals intended for greetings such as thank yous, love notes and congratulatory messages. Steve describes the very interesting design process on his website.

Good news! I have the pleasure of announcing that three of my illustrations have been given an award of excellence in the 2008 edition of the Lux illustration and photography competition organised by the AIIQ , CAPIC and Infopresse. Every year Lux chooses the best among projects submitted representing work produced by Quebec illustrators and photographers. Congratulations to my clients La Presse, laglisse.ca and Ritzenhoff! All the awards can be see in the Lux special issue of Grafika magazine on the stands now or on the Lux website soon.

The beer mug I did for their Seidelbier line shows a bar scene in the woods. The raccoon seems to be a tad worried sitting there between the two larger animals. One of the aspects of Ritzenhoff that I particularly appreciate is the possibility of using gold and silver in the designs. I try to use those colors whenever I can – in this case the color of the beer and the crowns – because they give a luxurious quality to my cartoon inspired animal characters. I think it is a bit like pop art, elevating the everyday to another level.