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Hedge trimmings

Hand-lettered "Hedge" alphabet by Chandler O'Leary

Look! I made an alphabet!

It’s funny—I almost never design an entire alphabet. In general, lettering projects just don’t really work like that. Most of the time, a letterer(erer) designs only the letterforms required for the word or phrase they’re lettering. That’s really the best way to create letter styles (which are not the same as fonts!) that really fit what the text is trying to “say.” You’re not designing an alphabet and then making it work for a bit of text—you’re taking that bit of text and giving it a voice.

Detail of hand-lettered "Hedge" alphabet by Chandler O'Leary

But this time, I did things differently. I wanted to create some botanical lettering, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to use it for—so I went whole hog and started with the entire alphabet.

Process detail of hand-lettered "Hedge" alphabet by Chandler O'Leary

Lately I’ve been doing a lot of work with a new (to me) medium: acrylic ink. It’s what I used to create the You’ll Like Tacoma and Love Birds series. What I love about acrylic ink is that unlike watercolor, it’s opaque—and infinitely easier to wrangle than the more traditional opaque medium of gouache.

When you work with watercolor alone, you have to start with the lightest colors first, and build up darker ones in layers. Whites are the white of your paper, and once you add pigment to an area, you can never return back to that pristine white. It teaches you to think in a subtractive sense, where you sort of “cordon off” the areas you want to stay white, and carefully build everything else up around them. I love working with watercolor, but it takes years and years of practice to feel proficient at it, and it’s not a medium that’s forgiving of mistakes.

I find opaque media to be far more freeing, and the look more crisp. (I also like to combine acrylic ink with watercolor in the same painting—the best of both worlds!) But what I love best about it is that I don’t have to work from light-to-dark—I can go in reverse! Many of the mid-century illustrators I admire (Mary Blair, Eyvind Earle, Walt Peregoy, Ralph Hulett, etc.) painted with opaque media, so I looked at a lot of landscape paintings done for animation backgrounds for clues on technique. That’s when I figured it out: dark-to-light, not light-to-dark.

For my alphabet, I started with a black hedge silhouette, and added leaves (above) in increasingly lighter greens and blues. I think by the end there were 9 or 10 layers of paint in the finished lettering.

Hand-painted lettering by Chandler O'Leary

I was so grateful for the epiphanies Earle and Hulett had given me that suddenly, what I wanted to do with the alphabet became clear: thank-you cards!

To hedge my bets (sorry) I’ve packaged them up both individually and in pretty little box sets of 8. You can find yours in the shop!

Hand-lettered "Hedge" thank-you cards by Chandler O'Leary

 

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Focal Point

"Focal Point" letterpress broadside by Chandler O'Leary and Jessica Spring

If you earn your living by drawing pictures, you have to spend a lot of time with your head down and your eyes on your paper. Yet at this time of year, with spring coming along fast (at least in the Northwest…), life hurries by at a frantic pace. I hate the idea of missing any of it—so I’m always happy for any reminder to stop and really look around me. So for our newest Dead Feminist broadside, we’re heeding the words of one of America’s greatest photographers:

The seeing eye is the important thing.  — Imogen Cunningham

This piece is a major departure from what we’ve done in the past—as you can plainly see. For the first time ever we’ve printed the broadside on black paper—which helped us “pull the focus” (if you will) onto the quote. It also provided a beautiful backdrop for a tribute to someone who spent her life creating black-and-white images.

Surrounding the quote is an intricate metallic silver filigree of spring botanicals and portraiture, creating a pastiche of the subjects of some of Imogen Cunningham’s most iconic photographs—while the color choice references the traditional silver-gelatin photographic process. In the eye of the storm of imagery is the all-seeing camera lens, looking out onto the world.

Ink mixing photo by Chandler O'Leary

Jessica has her own secret-sauce recipe for gold ink, and while we’ve used it before in our series (like in Gun Shy), nothing makes it look so fabulous as a dark background. The gold ink looked amazing on press—we kind of wished we could just leave the ink on there permanently, because that’s some serious bling. (It almost made the Vandercook feel like some sort of super-cool Bond gadget.)

In-progress photo of "Focal Point" letterpress broadside by Chandler O'Leary and Jessica Spring

As always, we donate a portion of the proceeds of the series to a nonprofit that aligns with the message of each piece. To help sharpen the seeing eyes of the artists of tomorrow, this time we’ve chosen Youth in Focus — a nonprofit that puts cameras in the hands of at-risk youth to “teach them how to develop negatives into positives.”

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

 

Focal Point: No. 19 in the Dead Feminists series
Edition size: 164
Poster size: 10 x 18 inches

Printed on an antique Vandercook Universal One press, on archival, 100% rag (cotton) paper. Each piece is numbered and signed by both artists.

Colophon reads:
Imogen Cunningham (1883 – 1976) graduated from the University of Washington in 1907, earning a degree in chemistry with her thesis on chemical processes in photography. Shortly afterward she was hired by photographer Edward Curtis, who taught her platinum printing and portraiture. She opened her own successful studio in Seattle, and published an article entitled “Photography as a Profession for Women.” In 1917, Cunningham and her husband and son relocated to California, where she gave birth to twin boys. Her children and the plants in her garden then became key subjects of her work. Her experiments with double exposure throughout the 1920s and 30s contributed to a growing appreciation of photography as art. She was a founding member of Group f/64, a collective of influential west coast photographers including Ansel Adams and Edward Weston. The group mounted a 1932 exhibition at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, united by a manifesto declaring “photography as an art form by simple and direct presentation.” Cunningham’s vision came through in both her personal and commercial work: unvarnished celebrity portraits for Vanity Fair; documentary street photography; nudes and botanical images — a lifetime of work that continues to challenge and intrigue viewers.

Illustrated by Chandler O’Leary and printed by Jessica Spring, grateful for artists who remind us to focus.

Available now in the Dead Feminists shop!

Detail of  "Focal Point" letterpress broadside by Chandler O'Leary and Jessica Spring

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Packaging, pencilling

Thank You cards by Chandler O'Leary

I’m working on several new things this week, including some new cards and another Dead Feminist broadside. Stay tuned!

Detail of "Focal Point" process pencil drawing by Chandler O'Leary

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My crafty Valentine

"Love Birds" illustrations by Chandler O'Leary

Painted Bunting illustration by Chandler O'Leary

Here they are! My new line of bird illustrations has arrived, just in (the nick of) time for Valentine’s Day.

Detail of "Love Birds" illustration by Chandler O'Leary

In the shop you’ll find snazzy new postcards…

"Love Birds" gift tags by Chandler O'Leary

…gift tags (I’m particularly excited about these)…

Painted Bunting temporary tattoo by Chandler O'Leary

…and even fun temporary tattoos! This is all just a taste of what I’ve got planned for this year—look for more soon.

In the meantime, head on over and see if something catches your fancy. Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Cold studio, warm palette

Detail of "Love Birds" illustration by Chandler O'Leary

For the past few days I’ve been painting while wrapped in a thick wool shawl and wearing fingerless gloves—but howl as it might, no polar vortex can dim my bright tropical paints.

Detail of "Love Birds" illustration by Chandler O'Leary

I’m putting the finishing touches on a few new goodies,

Detail of Painted Bunting illustration by Chandler O'Leary

just in time for Valentine’s Day. If you’re local, you can find them at my table at the craft fair this weekend! Here’s the skinny:

Tacoma is for Lovers Valentine Craft Fair
Saturday & Sunday, February 8 & 9
11 am to 4 pm both days, free!
King’s Books
218 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma, WA

Detail of "Love Birds" illustration by Chandler O'Leary

If you’re not local, they’ll go online in the Etsy shop this weekend, too. I’ll be back with an announcement post when they’re up. In the meantime, stop by the fair and say hello!

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In the news

"You'll Like Tacoma" article featuring illustration by Chandler O'Leary

I woke up this morning to find a big article about my You’ll Like Tacoma exhibit in the News Tribune! Huge thanks to Rosemary Ponnekanti for interviewing me and for the kind review of my show!

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You’ll Like Tacoma

You'll Like Tacoma sign illustration by Chandler O'Leary

The Pacific Northwest is a treasure trove of vintage neon typography, preserved into the modern landscape of our cities. Despite the best preservation efforts, however, there are still many examples that have long since passed into history. These ghosts of Tacoma are the ones I’ve chosen to resurrect for my You’ll Like Tacoma series of paintings. Some photographic records still remain, so from among them I’ve chosen my favorite signs to recreate in living color—each one of these is hand-painted with acrylic ink on black paper. My entire body of reference material is in black-and-white, though, so while I have done my best to represent color accurately, a fair amount of artistic license has been necessary. Since neon signs fascinate me equally by day and by night, I’ve depicted these as paired diptychs.

I’ll start with the first set, above. This “You’ll Like Tacoma” beacon is an early example of electric signage. The sign ran as an advertisement (touted as “the longest shoreline electric sign in the world”) during the 1909 Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition in Seattle, in hopes of getting out-of-state visitors to move to Tacoma. Its exact location is unknown, but the sign was erected along a shoreline—most likely along Lake Washington, near the AYP Exposition site (now University of Washington). The sign pre-dates the advent of neon technology in the U.S. (French neon tubes were first introduced in California in 1923), so it’s likely the sign was lit with a series of white bulbs.

Vintage Flying Boots Cafe sign illustration by Chandler O'Leary

Located on South 38th Street in Tacoma’s Lincoln District, the Flying Boots was a popular tavern for 75 years, until it closed its doors just last year. The bar’s days ended on a sour note when patrons looted the place for mementos on its last day in business.

Vintage Flying Boots Cafe sign illustration by Chandler O'Leary

The Flying Boots was purchased in December 2013, and reopened just this past April as a country-themed sports bar—complete with restored sign.

Vintage Viking Restaurant sign illustration by Chandler O'Leary

Okay, this guy was my favorite, and not just for the viking in short skirt. I mean, come on: “Cheese!” Any sign that just randomly screams “Cheese” is a winner in my book.

Anyway, this midcentury icon was formerly known as the Viking Smorgasbord, and specialized in Scandinavian-American food. The Viking once stood at 9702 South Tacoma Way (along former Highway 99—the West Coast’s answer to Route 66)—on a lot now home to a modern (and totally depressing) strip mall.

Vintage Happy Days sign illustration by Chandler O'Leary

The Happy Days was one of many taverns to call Tacoma home over the years, though this one appears to have been rather short-lived. Located at 1302 Broadway, this place had its heyday in the 1930s.

Vintage Happy Days sign illustration by Chandler O'Leary

What I love about this one is that it’s sort of the 1930s equivalent to what a hipster establishment might do today—the whole place is one huge pop culture reference. The name is a nod to the famous Depression-era song, while the proudly-displayed beer mug celebrates the end of Prohibition—which at the time had been newly repealed.

Vintage sign illustrations by Chandler O'Leary

Both the giant Federal Bakery rolling pin and the “Shop K Street” sign occupied the same block in Tacoma—though that stretch of K Street has been renamed Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. Oh, how I wish I could have been a customer of the Federal Bakery—the place was open for almost 100 years. (I missed it by a decade, though.) That whole block, sadly, was demolished in 1998 to make way for a Rite Aid pharmacy—which is now sitting empty. (I can’t even drive past that corner—it makes me too angry.)

Vintage Poodle Dog sign illustration by Chandler O'Leary

Of all the establishments represented in this series, the Poodle Dog is the only one still in business today, without changing hands. The Fife restaurant has been a fixture along old Highway 99 for decades.

Vintage Poodle Dog sign illustration by Chandler O'Leary

Though while the Poodle Dog recently celebrated 80 years in operation, you’d find that my illustration no longer matches its living counterpart. The original midcentury sign is long gone, replaced by a modern (and not nearly as good) facsimile.

Vintage Top of the Ocean sign illustration by Chandler O'Leary

I saved the best for last—every Tacoman, whether they were alive to see the real thing or not, knows about the Top of the Ocean. It’s easily our most famous ghost—and one of our saddest stories (rivaled maybe only by the Luzon).

Tacoma’s hottest restaurant and nightclub, nicknamed “the Top,” opened in 1946. The theme restaurant resembled an ocean liner, constructed on piers along the Ruston Way waterfront in Old Town (if you click that link and look closely, you’ll find another Top of the Ocean homage I made…). It boasted a sunken dining room, dance floor and music stage, a floating dock to accommodate up to 20 yachts, and even seaplane taxi service on Sundays. The building was destroyed by arson in 1977, the crime committed by a mentally disabled man hired by the mob. (Yes, the mob. You can’t make this stuff up!) A memorial stands in its former location, now a public boardwalk.

For me, the whole point of creating this series was to provide some sort of reminder of how much our city—and every city, really—has changed over time. I barely scratched the surface with my research. I chose eight signs, but there were easily dozens more I passed up—and who knows how many have slipped through the cracks, with no old photographs to prove they existed? To me, each one of these signs is a wonder of graphic design and typography, made by talented but unsung artists, who never signed their names to their work. If I can do my small part to bring them back into the world, even only in effigy—well, I feel like that’s time well spent.

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Yep, I like Tacoma

"You'll Like Tacoma" exhibit photo by Chandler O'Leary

Many thanks to everyone who braved the cold to come to the You’ll Like Tacoma opening last night! As always, I forgot to take photos—the only one I managed to snag was this crummy phone snap. But we had a great turnout of folks of all ages (“kids from 1 to 92…”), and lots of shared stories from people who remember these old neon signs. I’ll post each piece in the exhibit here soon—stay tuned!

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These little lights of mine

Installation of "You'll Like Tacoma" exhibit by Chandler O'Leary

It’s the new year—time to hang some new artwork. I’m pleased to announce that I’ve got a new solo exhibit opening this Thursday!

Installation of "You'll Like Tacoma" exhibit by Chandler O'Leary

The show is in the most unlikely of places: a dentist’s office. I kid you not. But Dr. Jamie Brooks (we all call her Dr. Jamie) is no ordinary dentist, and her space is no ordinary clinic—it’s an absolutely stunning piece of modern interior architecture, and twice a year she adorns it with new work by regional artists. Dr. Jamie really understands the value of adding art to the mix of our everyday lives, and has turned a utilitarian space into something really special—and supporting local artists while she’s at it.

Detail of "Poodle Dog" illustration by Chandler O'Leary

Once the show opens and local folks get the chance to see it first, I’ll post all the images here—but for now, here’s a little taste. Each of the 16 illustrations in the exhibit is a hand-lettered homage to Tacoma’s blazing neon history, told through iconic signage of days past. The images are arranged as day-and-night diptychs, painted on white and black paper, respectively.

"You'll Like Tacoma" exhibit by Chandler O'Leary

So if you find yourself in the Northwest in the coming months, be sure to stop by!

You’ll Like Tacoma: a solo exhibit
On display through June 30, 2014
Opening reception Thursday, January 16, 5 to 7 pm
Brooks Dental Studio
732 Broadway, Tacoma, WA 98402

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Clean palette, clean slate

Brush and palette photo by Chandler O'Leary

The holidays are done, and January is here—and that means it’s time to get back to work.

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready.