From Vintage to Modern
I follow quite a few designers over social media, so I can gather insight from as many places as possible. Most are really great at sharing their techniques and process updates of their art.
One in particular I quite enjoy is Joshua Redmond. He is from Dayton, Ohio and runs under the titles of graphic designer, screen printer, and hand letterer. Joshua also founded the R&W Co., which is a handcrafted design and fashion brand made in the USA. I have yet to get any of their product, but would love to someday.
On his artist account, Joshua started posting these vintage paintings that he would revamp and put typography over to to spruce up and add a more modern twist, making the old $1 painting worth over $60 in a few stylistic brush strokes. Getting super inspired by this, I decided to take a spin on it myself.
My first image was done with an old print a friend fished out of the dumpster for me. Literally. I decided to pick a phrase that I felt was appropriate with the imagery that was already in the composition. The quote I chose was, “Wherever you are, be all there.”, which is a phrase we can all stand to live by. With the impending technology apocalypse that has plagued our society, we all live by the love of our followers. I think it’s a beautiful thing to tune that out for hours at a time, to be present with the people you are with. Even on your own setting down your technology to just exist, breathe, read, drink coffee, and pray for a while, can be so intoxicatingly calming. If you don’t believe me just try it!
The latest one that I’ve done was a theme that resonates within my very bones, haunting me daily. My personality is that of one who does not like to let things go. I find it hard to let people go, let go of secure circumstances, and even the emotional hits that I might take throughout my day. So naturally my next phrase had to be “Let go”. In my process for these guys, I didn’t use much for reference. I ended up free-handing it with a small to medium sized brush and white acrylic paint. Because of the darkness and, or texture of the original print/painting the surface is too hard to mark out preordained type on. It’s mostly a wing-it-and-we’ll-see-what-happens kind of project. Lots of practice takes place, and some whole pieces have to be thrown out. Luckily the canvases cost only up to $5 at the thrift store, and you always get to begin with a new and exciting composition.
“Let God have your life; He can do more with it than you can.” Dwight L. Moody
Recent Comments