Shiny

Oho, I think you're going to like these. Featuring some fantastic WPA-style design, these five posters have just been released by someone or other. If you're a fan of Serenity/Firefly, then you'll get the references; if you aren't, why not? That's some good viewing right there.

Visit Historic Serenity Valley National Park: Birthplace of Unity

Experience Persephone: Gateway to the 'Verse

Visit Tranquil Miranda

Londinium: The Past, Present and Future of Humanity

Experience the Beauty of Sihnon

See America

A small selection of the fantastic WPA National Park Posters, produced during the mid-1930s or so. The Works Project Administration, one of those New Deal things, apparently produced about 35,000 posters to promote various all-American things and get people enthusiastic about the economy again. (Is this all right? I'm more or less making this up; I don't know history.) Only two thousand posters survive now because they're so fragile.


The WPA churned out a whole bunch of posters to produce America's National Parks, of which only about 14 survive, with two 'See America' prints for the United States Travel Bureau also. The artists are unknown. I, of course, had to track down images of all of these, and I found 14 including the 'See America' ones, which is annoying. Where are the missing two?! I was sorely tempted to put up all 14, but that seems a bit excessive, so I've uploaded the parks I've been to, and a couple of other favourites. I think they all use 8 colours because of the newly-invented 8-colour serigraph technique - correct me if I'm wrong, or if you count more than 8 colours...

Yosemite National Park, California


Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho


Glacier National Park, Montana


Zion National Park, Utah

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

Sequoia National Park, California

These last two - Mesa Verde and Sequoia - are contemporary versions produced along the same WPA pattern. They aren't bad, but still nowhere near the originals. They aren't as subtle or detailed, and the colours are rather garish. (Picky...)


I have a few of these up on my wall, by the way. I picked up postcards of the Grand Tetons, the Grand Canyon, the 'See America' above (showing Arches National Park, Utah), Petrified Forest National Monument, and Yosemite while I was visiting the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest in Arizona. I love 'em.

Over-expensive Print Crazy

Oh Suse, your timing is amazing. NOT. For weeks I've been meaning to post about this artwork showing in Norwich, and now I notice that the exhibition finishes today. I had been hoping that the free publicity for the show which my blog could give might persuade the owners of the gallery to let me have some modest little print in return, for free instead of for literally tens or hundreds of English pounds. Alas, it is too late, and I am certain that said plan for a freebie would have worked beautifully.

The exhibition was showing the prints of Anja Percival, and it was running at the Saint Giles Street Gallery here in Norwich. (that's at 51 St Giles Street. Just check out the free publicity! You could at least give me a free pen or something!) Just gorgeous prints of street scenes, moody interiors, cityscapes with misty lighting effects. I really would like to know exactly how Percival did a lot of her prints. The colouring especially was very well done, and my one print class' worth of expertise didn't get me nearly close to working that out, or the layering, or the embossing, or much else really. So here's a few images pulled from Percival's website, enjoy:

Window light IV, etching and collograph, 2007

Window light IIIcolour, etching, 2006

Cafe Light VIII2, etching and monoprint, 2006

Urban light 1, etching, 2006

Wall light, etching and collograph, 2003

Station Light X, etching, 2007

I'm going to have a look out for what they're showing in the St. Giles Street Gallery next. Hopefully it'll be something good. These private galleries, the more expensive ones anyway, often have interesting artwork in them. And just because you are a scruffy student who could never afford a single thing in them doesn't mean you don't have the right to go in and wear out their carpets.

Slightly Mysterious Artist

So here we have Eduard Wiiralt, 1898-1954, another print artist and fellow of Aino Bach, so I am told. Born in Russia of Estonian parents, he studied in the Pallas Art School, and produced woodcuts, etchings, linocuts and book illustrations. He generally drew people with a kind of bizarre surrealist style which I'm not a big fan of, but his illustrations of animals I like.

Berber Girl With Camel

Mystery Artist

These prints below are all the work of Aino Bach. I have no idea who this dude is. I can't remember where or how I came across his work. I don't even know if it's a dude or not; Aino could be a girl's name. All I know is that he/she is Estonian. I can't find anything out about this person on the internet, or not in a language that I can read at least. Annoying: the internet fails me. Rather nice prints though:







That last vase one is my favourite I think. Can anyone find anything else out about Aino Bach? I'm stuck. Artistic mystery! Exciting, ha?

Rose City of My Heart

Well I have just come back from 10 completely wonderful days in Portland Oregon, possibly THE BEST CITY EVER CREATED. Seriously, I love that place. A lot. Right now I'm too jetlagged to write much about what I got up to, but I feel like putting up a few pictures that remind me of PDX.




All of these pictures are from Red Bat Press, a Portland-based company that sells cards and whatnot. Kaia sent me a postcard of the Steel Bridge print (6th down, below) a week or two ago, and I liked it very much. (Acquired from Powell's, or what?) So look out for their stuff; it's all woodblock, letterpress and watercolour here. Aah, the Portland bridges! The mighty Willamette! This set of simple yet effective bridges here makes me very happy. I think their version of the Fremont Bridge is my favourite, with that delightful shade of green. Sad they don't have the Sellwood bridge; Kaia tells me it's going to collapse imminently, so that's exciting.










The Ross Island Bridge is the one I'm used to taking into the city by bus or car. You get such a great view of the city from it! Goddammit, I miss Portland already. Again.