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.

My friend Hugues took these pictures of my Coke glass in the gift shop in the Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta last week. There are only 2000 of this limited edition collector glass by Ritzenhoff. In all, four designs by four artists from Europe and North America are available. I was inspired by art toys and mascots when I did this design. The creature that looks like a fridge is actually a frog! I enjoyed placing the Coke logo in original ways as well. I also hand painted several boxes for a corporate gift which you can see in my portfolio. It’s aways fun when people say they saw your design in another country. Thanks, Hugues!

I received my book “Beguiled by the Wild” today on the art of Charley Harper, the American animal artist and illustrator from Cincinnati, who passed away last year. Thanks to my friend illustrator Rob Dunlavey (www.robd.com), I was introduced to Harper’s art a few months ago and finally I can see it up close! First of all, lots and lots of animals. Secondly, they are all done in a wonderful mix of abstract art and scientific realism. I especially appreciate the use of geometric streamlined shapes, dynamic lines and visual complexity. I can see that there is renewed interest in his work by the number of licensed products that will be coming out. I’ll be putting the 2009 wall calendar on my wish list. You can see plenty of Harper’s images on www.charleyharper.com