Interview with Jon Burgerman Part 2

(Above: a print made for Kid Robot by Jon Burgerman)

Here is the second and final part of the interview with successful cartoonist/illustrator Jon Burgerman.

Above: Flyer for the Galerie Revolver, Dusseldorf by Jim Avignon

What other illustrators and artists' work do you admire?

erm there's a list on my site and it goes something like this:

Javier Mariscal, Jim Avignon, Yoshitomo Nara, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Barry McGee, Mike Mills, Phil Frost, Keith Haring, Kurt Schwitters, Chris Ware, Cy Twombly, Picasso, Geoff Mcfetridge, Paul Davis, Devilrobots, Gary Taxali, Mari-chan, Aki, Adam Neate, Alex One, David Shrigley, Martin Creed, Kris Martin, Keith Tyson, Dave The Chimp, Josie Long, Larry David, Sarah Silverman… I’ll add more as I can think of them..

Above: U-ki-yo-e, by Yoshitomo Nara

Above: Untitled, 1986 by Keith Haring

Above: "Bad Haircut/Stupid Haircut" by Gary Taxali

You're based in Nottingham, did you ever feel the need to move to London for example, where there are more opportunities for work, or do you feel Nottingham is a good creative place to work in?

Nottingham is fine, people should set their sights beyond London, there's a whole wide world to exploit, I mean explore.

Yes there are much more opportunities in London, that will always be the case but you can still apply for those opportunities whilst not living in London.

The trains to London on the whole are pretty good. If they just put Wi-fi on there and cleaned up the carriages a little it'd be even better. The just under 2 hour trip down is nothing really and often a good time to read or catch up on things.

I did think about moving years ago but then I started to get work from all over the place and saw it wasn't necessary. Hard work and good work etc can do the traveling for you!

What projects are you currently working on?

I've got two exhibitions in New York coming up. One opens on the 12th of February at Factory Fresh in Brooklyn and the other is a residency at the Scoop Art Fare, which i think kicks off on the 1st of March.

When I get back to Nottingham I hope to eat at Desi Downtown and then go to sleep for a week.

Above: Little Best Friends belt

- Thank you Jon! You can see more of Jon Burgerman on his website or Flickr.

Photo Project Week 2: Signs

The 2nd part of me and Adam's Photo project is now up, our theme was Signs, you can see our pictures here! (Above: an additional image I took for the theme)

Interview with Jon Burgerman Part 1

Well I'm pleased to announce the Illustrator of the Week this week is none other than top doodler and fellow Nottingham resident Jon Burgerman. In case you haven't seen his work, Jon designs amazing characters and doodles and has done work for some big names including Sony Playstation, Computer Arts and the Science Museum (and has appeared on Blue Peter to top it all off!) I first saw his work in Derby, where he drew a mural outside the Quad building as it was being built, featuring Derby residents (including my aunt, seen below, next to her portrait.) Here is Part 1 of the interview, with Part 2 coming later this week.

Above: Mural outside Quad in Derby

1 How did you get started in illustration?

By accident really - I was asked to come up with some ideas for an album by Charles Webster.
So I did, my work was eventually used and from then on people have asked me to make artwork for them. I'm not much of an illustrator the truth be told. I have the style I work in and if that doesn't fit the job I can't do it.

Above: Jon working on a drawing for the YCN (Young Creative Network)

2 What are your inspirations?

I like music and nature and nature music and music nature. It's a wide scope of inspiration. I like the things everyone says they like. Music, films, comic books, toys, art, books etc.. I also like salads, brightly coloured socks and total silence.



3 What is your favourite personal project to date?

www.biro-web.com I feel like I don't spend as much time working on it as I should but I'm glad it's still around and people still enjoy visiting it from time to time.

- Thanks Jon!

Blue Moon

Just wanted to say hello to the new readers who may have joined having seen a link on Drawn and let you know there is another brilliant illustrator interview coming up in the next week! Hurray.

Also wanted to share these gorgeous pictures of Your Personal Moon. In case you haven't seen them already some Russian designers have made a huge light box in the style of the moon so you can now have the moon in your own front room.

FunStupid: A photo project across the atlantic

The other week I was speaking to my friend Adam in Chicago and we started talking about how we never get around to taking enough photos. So we have started a project between us, in which we take photos using a chosen theme every week, then pick two of our best shots and post our images up at the end of the week. The first week's theme was Cold, which I found more tricky than Adam (Chicago won on the cold stakes!) but you can see our first week's efforts here. This week's new theme should be up this coming weekend.

(Above: One of Adam's additional Cold shots)

Czech & Polish Posters

I found Terry Posters via Grain Edit, it's full of wonderful Czechoslovakian and Polish posters from different decades, some of which you can purchase from the site. I love the children's posters best. Especially the ones featuring quirky cats and other animals! It's a good design resource even if you aren't in need of a poster to brighten up your room.

Learning to Love You More

Today I revisited artist turned film-maker Miranda July's site, Learning to Love You More. In case you haven't seen it before, it's a site featuring 70 projects or "assignments" that readers are invited to take part in. Readers then submit their finished project to the site. I love looking through some of the results, and two new projects have recently been added. Number 69 is to Climb to the top of a tree and take a picture from the top (seen below). Number 63 asks you to make an encouraging banner (seen above). More can be seen here.

Silja Goetz Interview - Part 3

Here is the final part of the interview with one of my favourite illustrators, Silja Goetz.

(Above: Advertisement for Estrella Damm by Silja Goetz)


What materials do you use in your work?

I have a variety of styles. Sometimes I start with a pencil drawing, sometimes with ink and brush, sometimes with a collage. and it always ends in Photoshop.

What is your favourite personal project to date?

Maybe this here. (below)

What other illustrators and artists' work do you admire?

My preferences are constantly changing, right now come this to mind: Maurice Sendak, René Gruau, Jenny Bowers, Sara Fanelli, and Klaus Voormann, for making the Revolver-Cover, for me one of the most beautiful record sleeves of all times.

Image from Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Moulin Rouge by René Gruau

Illustration by Jenny Bowers

Mythological Monsters of Ancient Greece by Sara Fanelli

Revolver Cover by Klaus Voorman

- Thank you Silja!

Happy New Year!

I will put up some new posts very soon, starting with the final part of the interview with Silja Goetz! Here is a new year image by Maral Sassouni til then!