TASKED WITH CREATING FOUR DISTINCT THEMES, CLARE DEVELOPED HER INITIAL DRAWINGS INTO INTRICATE, FOUR-COLOUR LINOCUT DESIGNS
ON COMMISSION
Find out how art professionals create their latest commercial projects, from initial inspiration to fi nal work
Clare Curtis BRIEF: To illustrate the packaging for a range of new National Trust toiletries and fragrances
I
AFTER THE LINOCUTS WERE MADE, THE CLIENT DECIDED THAT SOME OF THE DARKER TONES WOULD BE REMOVED FOR THE FINAL PACKAGING
was initially approached by the packaging company who wanted to fi nd out a bit more about my work before commissioning me. I eventually
began working on the project in mid-October 2010. I had three months to develop the four-colour
linocuts, from initial roughs to fi nished artwork. Each colour means one more lino block. I was clear to them about how long that would take – you cannot do a good job with lino unless you have enough time. The client wanted me to come up with something
completely in my style and not restricted by any size or shape. They were to buy the copyright and adapt it to the packaging, so I didn’t have to worry about leaving space or the wording or anything like that. They were very free and relaxed – they said: “Treat
it like you would a piece for a gallery.” They might have thought of me as a gallery artist but I am used to illustration work with restricted briefs and deadlines so this was a very different approach for me. Normally I’d know the area I had to fi ll and where the typography was going to go. It was scary because I didn’t want to go too far and then have to change it. They had four different fragrances and each one
symbolised a different aspect of The National Trust: meadows, coast, woodland and English garden. Each fragrance was to have it’s own design and own colour palette. They gave me guidance on colour but then I’d go and choose and mix appropriate colours. However, they decided the colours were too strong. Linocut is graphic and I use a lot of strong black colours in my work but they obviously didn’t think it was suitable. They took a lot of the darker tone out but it’s lovely to see them on the products now. The toiletries and fragrance collection is available from
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/shop
Artists & Illustrators 35
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84