Michael Gillette

facebook

2012-01-30T15:42:00.000-08:00

Follow me on facebook here

File magazine profile.

2012-01-16T13:41:00.000-08:00

My photos of some favourite San Francisco haunts here at File Magazine.

Alcatraz

2012-01-03T13:37:00.000-08:00

A Christmas present for my wife, our cat Alcatraz who passed on in 2011. He was a noble beast who left a lasting impression on all he met (mostly with his teeth). He's the first cat I've ever painted.

B is for Beatles.

2011-12-07T08:59:00.000-08:00

Available now at Print Process

James Bond Prints AVAILABLE NOW!

2011-11-19T08:40:00.000-08:00

HERE.
FACEBOOK.
BUY!

Amphenge Playstation Theme.

2011-11-16T15:08:00.000-08:00

Created with the fine folks at Studio Output, Amphenge is an animated, mystical celebration of the Spirit of Rock(s).

This is royalty only gig, so please buy it!

We all put a lot of time and love in to it. I'll link it when it's on sale.

What I know about video games could fit on a PONG paddle, so it was grand to work with folks who can to turn it up to eleven.

VIEW IT HERE

Cain Ain't able.

2011-11-13T19:32:00.000-08:00

Herman Cain. Desperate times when such sideshows are front and centre.

New York Times magazine full page.

James Bond Prints at last!

2011-11-11T16:51:00.000-08:00

I'm currently proofing prints, soon to be exclusively available through the Electric Works Gallery in San Francisco.
For the first time, we are making signed, limited edition, prints of the Ian Fleming Centenary covers, licensed with the estate. Available in 2 different sizings- 30 of each cover, in each size to be released per year.
They will ship before Christmas worldwide, I'm very excited to release them. More details very soon.

Memory Layne

2011-11-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

I Came across this Saint Etienne Top of the Pops clip from February 1993 on Utube. They were the first people I ever worked with, I did the logo behind them amongst other things.

During my last year at college, Foxbase Alpha came out and I loved it to death. I went on an exchange to Russia late '91 and listened to it repeatedly there, it fit the dreamy noir weirdness of Moscow, hell, it fit everywhere. Saint Etienne stood out to me like a splash of purple across a sea of drab grey. They had glamour, but not the horrid aspirational 80's kind, an attainable hepness of pop culture, formica Caffs and London psychogeography. They paid off my college overdraft and gave me a real leg up.

U!S!A!

2011-10-26T18:11:00.000-07:00

Painted to commemorate a decade living in good ol' Amerika.

Sketches from life

2011-10-13T16:59:00.000-07:00

Out of my mind sketches.

2011-10-13T16:08:00.000-07:00

Peace Beetle painting.

2011-10-13T15:08:00.001-07:00

Alber Elbaz for Wallpaper*

2011-10-05T15:28:00.000-07:00

Honey Badger Identity.

2011-09-16T16:20:00.000-07:00

Honey Badger is a forward thinking new production company based in L.A. for which I created their logo and logotype. Check their website/ portal to interesting cultural phenomena HERE.

Little White Lies Drive edition.

2011-08-22T18:57:00.000-07:00

Available as a print at very reasonable prices HERE.

more after the Jump.

Amy Winehouse Little Angel.

2011-07-26T17:20:00.000-07:00

A sad loss.

Sketchbook pages.

2011-07-05T15:24:00.000-07:00

When I did Listography Music I started to explore caricature in a way that I hadn't before and found that I really enjoyed it, it's a challenge. Here are some sketchbook works. I decided to do some bands I like and some I'm lukewarm on. Arcade Fire, The Horrors, Echo and The Bunnymen & Depeche Mode. Pen and Ink.

Rumer at Glastonbury

2011-06-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

Well I always knew I'd make it on to the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury!
This was originally an album review illustration that I did for an old friend at MOJO magazine. Here it is 40ft wider than originally intended.

Harajuku Girl

2011-06-25T22:34:00.000-07:00

Watercolour.

The Pigeon King

2011-06-21T15:07:00.000-07:00

Watercolour on Paper.

Tumblr

2011-06-17T21:26:00.001-07:00

Tumblr away me hearties HERE.

Little White Lies Exhibition: THX1138

2011-06-16T18:14:00.000-07:00

Prints of my THX1138 poster available HERE.

Mike McInnerney Draw it Out.

2011-06-16T15:40:00.000-07:00

Mike McInnerney is seared to Pop culture consciousness through his visionary sleeve work for The Who's Tommy. His work has always had a seekers perspective, and he continues to paint beautifully and frequently. Read the interview HERE.

DUM DUM GIRLS part 2.

2011-06-09T18:19:00.001-07:00

Click on image to see full picture.

For Students

2011-06-02T18:24:00.000-07:00

I get a bundle of questions from students, sadly I don't have time to answer them all, though I love you dearly and really appreciate that you seek me out. The first questions came from Sophie Irving in Manchester, and following on is a compilation of other hopefully relevant info. If there is anything specific, that is not covered here that you want to ask, feel free to contact me and I'll add it to this post.

What and who inspires your own work?

Initially, music was my biggest inspiration - trying to translate the visceral thrill of rock and roll in to images.

The Beatles have been a huge influence, I discovered them aged 10 and they opened the gateway to all kinds of cultural learning. I found Peter Blake through them and fell in love with Pop Art. I love designers/illustrators who were/are at the nexus of art and music, like Barney Bubbles, and the poster artists of San Francisco (Victor Moscoso and Rick Griffin particularly). After a while, one becomes attuned to inspiration everywhere and it becomes less easy to pin down. Inspiration is really like a radio playing in your head, it's always on but is sometimes swamped by ones internal dialogues, so it's really important to learn how to tune those voices out. That is something I'm very much still figuring out. I work whether I'm inspired or not, sometimes you have to keep showing up regardless, like an athlete training on sand.

What are your favoured techniques/media to work with and why?

Techniques and media can be a trap, so I try and keep moving and trying different things. Out of college I worked almost solely in acrylics, but it was so time consuming that I had an hourly rate on par with a Nike shoe stitcher. I basically had to give it up, painting long hours against the clock stifled experiment. I then started making images digitally, late 90's. It was a godsend because I could do many different things, and it was really fresh, exciting and experimental. I was lucky to catch the first wave of digital work, after a while it became a very commonplace way of making art and less interesting to me. Then I started painting in watercolour. I chose to paint in watercolour because it's so tactile and I'd missed painting, it's also much quicker than acrylic. I've been on jags of just pure drawing, I guess I fall in and out of love with techniques, I burn out on them, a groove can become a rut. Recently I've been using a Wacom tablet, something a couple of years ago I'd vowed not to touch, but those kind of rules are foolish, it's good to experiment. I'd love to do some etching and I'd also ultimately like to try oil paints, but I'm not in a space where I can use those media.

Who are your favourite illustrators/artists who you feel influence you in your work?

Illustration has mostly been a secondary influence, it's primarily been painters and designers. I love the golden age of Victorian illustrators though, Edmund Dulac, Kay Nielson in particular, and 60's & 70's illustrators like Bob Peake and Richard Amsel, Milton Glaser and the Pushpin folk. The last contemporary illustrator who I sat up and noticed was James Jean, he draws so beautifully. My favourite artists are David Hockney, Peter Blake, William Waterhouse, John Singer Sargant, R.B Kitaj and Ingres.

What has been your most enjoyable brief to work on, or which piece of work have you most enjoyed creating?

I think the most enjoyable work is where I have had a breakthrough or managed to voice something that has so far been elusive,

Last summer I did a poster for MGMT and I loved doing it because it was different to anything I'd done before, and recently I did a painting for a show of movie posters in London of the film THX1138 and that was technically interesting to do.

Do you think your surroundings and where you live has an effect on the way you work? If so, how have the different places you have lived had an impact on your work?

I think that ones attitude is foremost in importance, but I guess this can be influenced by your surroundings. I spent my teenage years in the countryside in Somerset and I used art as an escape, a way to imagine who, what, and where I was going to be after I had the freedom to move. I then spent about 12 years in London and that was a very fertile time. Big cities attract interesting people. Then I moved to San Francisco, I wanted a different way of life, I guess I wanted to settle down. I don't know what impact San Francisco has had, I love the look of it and I take lots of photographs. There is an openness here both physically and mentally which I love and that's really important to me as a person, and hopefully my art reflects some facets of that person. I have no doubt that the more present and attentive to wherever you are, the more inspired your work is going to be.

As every artist is always evolving, are there any particular projects or areas of design/illustration that you think you would like to be involved in in the furture that you haven't had the opportunity to do yet?

Yes very much so. I'm working on a retrospective book which will draw a line under a lot of what I've done. I have a daughter now, so I keep thinking about doing a kids book, and I have an idea for an animated show. Illustration is changing, mainly because of the delivery of so much media becoming digital. I don't know where I figure in the scheme of that, so I'm open to evolving. I've resolved that in some form or another I will make images for the rest of my life, that might not be illustration though. Drawing is a primal task, going right back to the cave, it's a necessary part of my life.

Here are some thoughts on the perennial question of Digital/ handrawn.

Before digital work came to the fore, illustration was in a very quaint marginal place. Artwork had to be delivered to the designers and then sent to a scanning house and put on a drum scanner. It was inflexible, often laborious, involved couriers, phone calls, faxes and was pretty uncool on the whole.

With the advent of digital work, designers and illustrators were on the same page, something that had been a long time coming. The flexibility and general convenience of a digitally supplied image was a real boon to the industry. Initially, pre late 90's, computer generated images were, more often than not, a triumph of computer savvy over aesthetics. As the technology became more affordable & reliable(ish) more skillful artists started to use it as a tool and the work produced was fresh and new (and advertising etc. loves fresh and new because it allows their product to stand out). So, there was something of a rebirth.

Now we are at a point whereby that fresh digital art has a overly familiar look.

I think that pretty much everyone has to deliver their work in a digital form nowadays no matter how handcrafted it is. So the hand crafted/ digital is a debate is kinda irrelevant.

I produce work ranging from completely hand crafted to entirely computer generated and all mixes in between, it's allowed me to create work that is more experimental and varied. It also allowed me to move to America and continue working seamlessly. It's life changing.

I think that drawing is a primal instinct, the act of doing it fires all kinds of sensors in your brain, releases seratonin, can almost be meditative in the concentration required to produce it. For these reasons drawing will never go away. Also in this ever more frenetic, media soaked world, the brain still responds very strongly to the still image, maybe we're hard wired that way.

I have a different mindset when I am creating err.. acoustically to electrically. I am more at peace, at once I am back to being a 12 year old, whilst tackling an eternal craft that if I lived to 200 I'd still be learning to do. Surely some of this feel must be passed on to the viewer?

When I create digitally, I'm watching you tube, answering e-mail, listening to i tunes, etc., etc. I'm like a kid with A.D.D. In short I need the composure of just sitting down and facing a piece of paper. I'm happier that way, but still need the computer to fully realize my vision, or experiment and take that vision new places.

Creating solely digitally is a pseudo experience,

but without the computer I'd be much less broadly creative.

Here is an Interview with the ever lovely It's Nice That. çlick to read.

And here are some core thoughts, NO FEAR, NO HATE, NO ENVY.

Sketchbook pages

2011-05-31T14:00:00.000-07:00

Wall Street

2011-05-11T13:40:00.000-07:00

I made this after watching Inside Job.

Experiments/ Dum Dum Girls

2011-05-10T15:45:00.001-07:00

Recent experiments using a Wacom. The second is of the Dum Dum Girls, a really great band

Bitten By Wolves released

2011-05-02T10:58:00.000-07:00

The Keys debut album, is out now. I created the image (the CD is stickered to leave her intact).
I love this band, check them out HERE.

Eco modernism

2011-05-02T09:03:00.000-07:00

Illustration for an article about modernist furniture made from sustainable wood resources.

Tees

2011-04-26T15:44:00.000-07:00

Recently licensed designs by Graniph in Japan and Airside in the UK.

Original Art

2011-04-21T18:28:00.000-07:00

This ended up used as a Fillmore poster for St Etienne.

Inspiration Blog.

2011-04-20T17:28:00.000-07:00

An occasional series in which I ask folks who have influenced me 10 leading questions.

Roger Law is the first HERE.

A visit to Sea Ranch.

2011-04-18T15:01:00.000-07:00

Sea Ranch is a 10 mile stretch of the northern California coast developed as an experimental community in the 1960's. With the credo to live lightly on the land- it's part Dharma initiative, part modernist eco fantasy-on- sea and wholly fantastic. The Recreational centers designed by William Turnball Jr. in 1965 are beautiful. Super Pop graphics to make the mod in me weep. I was snap happy.

THX1138.

2011-04-13T15:46:00.000-07:00

A poster for a Little White Lies exhibition of 70's cinema classics. I chose THX1138, George Lucas's first film, shot in San Francisco's then unfinished MUNI system. The story is of a dystopian future in which humans are drones taking pharmaceuticals to deaden their true nature and buying corporate products for the same reason (though there is little evidence- you'd think they'd at least all have loads of hats). I painted Robert Duvall on old accountancy paper, seemed fitting for the rigid conformity of his life.

The show will be at the Khemistry Gallery in London this June.

A tryppe in time.

2011-04-13T14:14:00.000-07:00

I recently returned from a lightning fast trip to Britain.
Whilst there, I was lucky enough to see the Syd Barrett painting show at the Idea Generation Gallery.
Looking at his work was a revelation, I understood that he was an Artist temporarily trapped in the machinery of the pop world, who excused himself with a psychedelic sick note.

It's been a decade since I last visited Hoxton Square. I had my studio there in the mid 90's before rents went thru the roof. At that time Hoxton was a bleak, freezing, gulag, now it's like Soho, New York, and my old studio has a penthouse built atop of it.

Nudie roundup

2011-04-06T17:34:00.000-07:00

Let's just call it the Bond effect.

17 Years ago.

2011-04-06T13:35:00.000-07:00

Kurt Cobain died 17 years ago. Hunting this image down on the internet, I discovered it won a D&AD award in 2003.

Note to self 2.

2011-03-19T09:49:00.000-07:00

This occurred to me whilst watching this fascinating documentary.

Brighton Studio Visit.

2011-03-17T08:31:00.000-07:00

The delightful folk of Brighton University, led by Roderick Mills and Martin Andersen.

Drawn In Stereo dummy.

2011-03-07T14:05:00.000-08:00

Here is a mock up for the pitch of my retrospective book.

Eleanor

2011-02-08T08:28:00.000-08:00

A collaboration with my daughter Eleanor- two and half. Crayon and Watercolour.

4 Trees.

2011-01-25T09:58:00.000-08:00

An experiment I sold a while back at an open studio.

Son of a pitch.

2011-01-23T19:37:00.000-08:00

This was a lightning fast pitch for a well know fashion house, Character designs to be made in to animated 3D holograms. The future! The harder they come the harder they fall.

My Bookshelf.

2011-01-10T15:36:00.000-08:00

Wanna know my favourite books? Then head on over to the delightfully revamped It's Nice that here.
Thanks to my dad for building these.

Anonymous was a Lady

2010-12-18T17:49:00.000-08:00

A magazine cover story for Yale University.
The article proposes that the majority of Anon quotes, previously assumed to be by men, can be attributed to women.

Long Gone John.

2010-12-08T13:21:00.000-08:00

Sidewalk drawing with my daughter.

Nimue.

2010-11-30T17:24:00.000-08:00

Note To Self.

2010-11-19T16:50:00.000-08:00

Linocut Guitree.

2010-11-18T17:57:00.000-08:00

Hand printed Linocut, each unique. Image size 9.5 inches by 11.75 inches. $100 Inc. Shipping. U.S.A. only.

Available in my shoppe.http://www.michaelgillette.com/#/shop

Prints Charming.

2010-11-17T16:47:00.000-08:00

http://www.michaelgillette.com/#/shop

Dem Bones

2010-11-08T17:59:00.000-08:00

Recent experiments posted on the 115th anniversary of the discovery of the X-ray.

Rumer

2010-10-12T13:23:00.000-07:00

This is a portrait of the singer Rumer for Mojo magazine. Her new album is called Seasons Of My Soul and she's very Carpenteresque, Richard Carpenter must be reaching for the phone. Painted in watercolour without any digital intervention.

I was commissioned by old friend Ian Harrison, we used to do a 3 panel strip together for Esquire called Chancers back in the mid 90's.

It reminded me of an experiment from a while back, similar groove but more graphically executed.

Take me here.

2010-10-06T18:55:00.000-07:00

This is a direction I'd like to revisit, sunny pop.

Meher Baba.

2010-09-28T16:51:00.000-07:00

Following on from the last post, a portrait of Avatar Meher Baba. I first heard of him via Pete Townshend, for, he was the inspiration for Tommy and much else. Painting a portrait is like spending quality medative time with someone, and this was a very peaceful work to undertake.
This is a fairly large painting, I had to scan it in 5 sections.
A fascinating film of his life can be seen here

Smashing time.

2010-09-22T12:01:00.000-07:00

Now that my website is up and running, this here blog can spread out a bit. I've been enjoying taking photographs since starting the Sun Francisco blog. My two year old daughter recently channelled Pete Townshend and here is the end result.

New Website.

2010-09-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

I have a brand new website, thanks to the hard work of Darren and Dan at keepsmesane
Please point your eyeballs towards here

2010-09-02T13:47:00.003-07:00

2010-09-02T13:47:00.001-07:00

Sun Francisco Blog

2010-09-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

I have started a new photography blog of Sun related architecture here in San Francisco.
Take a look HERE.

MGMT at Radio City Music Hall.

2010-08-16T16:59:00.000-07:00

A double poster for MGMT's Radio City Music Hall shows. The poster is printed on silver stock, spliced in twain to provide individual souvenirs for each night. The image is a play on RCMH's world famous Rockette's taken deep in to the Universe. Initially, I was going down the Can Can route, before hitting on the final solution. Before I started drawing this way I was never one for roughs or development, just not really part of my process, but that's changing.
I hope to get some extras printed for sale, so if you are interested, contact me, and I'll make a reserve list.

2010-06-09T17:52:00.000-07:00

More freeform drawing.

2010-06-09T17:48:00.000-07:00

Shit Poster.

2010-05-10T18:41:00.000-07:00

This is for the upcoming Cannes premiere of Cam Archer's new film. I've done the posters for all his films so far.
I painted Ellen Barkin life size and made no edits. The film is black and white and unvarnished. Serendipitously, there are 12 drips and 12 lines of type in the credit block.

2010-03-31T11:54:00.001-07:00

Madonna, New Coke & Tommy Lee for Spin.

2010-03-31T11:47:00.000-07:00

These were done as part of a large job for Spin magazine's 25th anniversary. I did 21 illustrations, some in the Listography style, others in full watercolour mode. I spoke recently with a fellow illustrator that our career paths were founded on the fact that as kids, we could draw Coke cans slightly better than our classmates- hopefully this is still the case. The day I painted the Tommy Lee sex tape, I had a high fever of 103. I'll post some of the other pieces later.

A visit from my ol' Alma mater.

2010-02-09T15:09:00.003-08:00

Here are 40 or so students from Kingston who visited recently all shoehorned in to my studio.

New James Bond.

2010-02-09T15:06:00.000-08:00

Quantum of Solace for a publisher in Portugal- Arteplural/Contraponto.

Freeform drawings.

2010-02-09T14:56:00.000-08:00

Recently I've been drawing with my daughter. Usually I start off doodling for her, (she likes cats) then, when she loses interest I draw her instead. She's in perpetual motion so I have to sketch like lightning. When she disappears I doodle out some music related scenario off the top of my head.

San Francisco view.

2010-01-28T14:35:00.000-08:00

This was the view from my first apartment in San Francisco located at Hayes and Fillmore.

Heartists.

2010-01-28T13:51:00.001-08:00

A couple of fellow artists at Heart, one painted in watercolour the other drawn in charcoal.

Craft corner.

2010-01-12T16:10:00.000-08:00

I stopped short at donning an apron, It's probably been a couple of decades since I last cut a block print.

I Am The Cosmos.

2010-01-04T16:16:00.000-08:00

Here are 3 experiments completed recently. Souped up collage.

2010 Already.

2010-01-04T16:00:00.001-08:00

Here is the cover of my agent Heart's 2010 diary. It unfolds across 4 sections, (a double gatefold, none more Prog Rock!) The brief specified the Kraft paper stock and the use of 3 colours, one of which had to be white. The Black hole on the far right is the Heart logo.

Keep Karmic and Carry Om

2009-11-10T15:05:00.001-08:00

Surely there must be a book in the works of variations on this theme? Here's my take using some new watercolours.

Classic Rock Little Angels.

2009-11-10T14:56:00.000-08:00

It's taken a long time to get around to these folks, Brian Jones, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. The Little Angels project is ongoing.

Bond (slight return).

2009-10-14T10:47:00.001-07:00

Recently I turned the Goldfinger book cover in to a poster for a screening by The Flicker Club in London. The club raises funds for the Make a Difference Trust; established to support people facing hardship as a result of HIV and AIDS in Africa. Honor Blackman, Miss Pussy Galore herself, was the guest of errr.. honour. Somehow this lady is 84.

The 3 Disgraces.

2009-10-14T10:44:00.000-07:00

For a Fashion magazine named Centrefold, front and back cover. Out now in the U.K, fantasized by Tom Lardner. Some beautiful spreads, I especially love the lady Syd.

FEMMY.

2009-10-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

This is for an upcoming charity auction in aid of Movember supporting prostate cancer. I'll post the details soon.
I have the ear of one of Lemmy's people, and I asked him to show it to Mister Kilminster. He thought he'd take it the wrong way however, which is a shame because it was all done with love. The Ace of Spades was the first single I ever owned.

sketchbook 2008

2009-10-06T14:46:00.001-07:00

It's Nice That #2 Interview.

2009-10-06T13:25:00.000-07:00

Here's some chit & chat from a great new publication. You can view more here
It's produced by a couple of diamond designers whom I first met when they were students at Brighton. They are a real force of nature and are creating interesting work with a lot of passion.

End pages.

2009-10-01T15:46:00.000-07:00

This will be the end pages of a novel I recently Illustrated the cover for.

The Secret History.

2009-10-01T15:19:00.000-07:00

This years Penguin books student competition was to design a new cover for The Secret History. I saw the winners on a blog and very nice they were too. I love this book, and it got me thinking what I'd have done.

2009-09-11T19:05:00.001-07:00

Adebayor portrait.

2009-09-11T19:03:00.001-07:00

Ade in the Arndale! - Video - Manchester City FC

Shared via AddThis
The largest thing dimensionally I've ever done.

Music Listography.

2009-08-16T13:28:00.002-07:00

Out now published by Chronicle.

Version 2

2009-08-16T13:28:00.001-07:00

New meedja.

2009-08-16T10:08:00.000-07:00

A portrait of actress Carrey Mulligan- star of "An Education". Drawn in chalks on a chalkboard, a first for me. Ultimately the job ended up going a more tried and tested route, but I enjoyed the challenge of this solution.
The second version will be the cover of the next Little White Lies publication. This UK independent film magazine is really beautifully produced and well worth seeking.

Piller

2009-07-01T12:52:00.000-07:00

Lolita

2009-06-18T15:13:00.001-07:00

Drawn in charcoal pencil- clutched real tight. This was done for Penguin via Pentagram in the U.K.

2009-06-03T12:52:00.001-07:00

The Egoist

2009-06-03T12:15:00.000-07:00

Watercolour on paper.

Work in progress.

2009-05-29T16:41:00.001-07:00

Sketchbooks 1999

2009-05-07T12:30:00.005-07:00

Other Scenes

2009-05-07T12:30:00.003-07:00

I've been designing some characters for a charity website, these were deemed a little too abstract.

Less Oblique Strategies

2009-03-30T16:54:00.000-07:00

For a feature about the failing General Electric.

Oblique Strategies

2009-03-26T10:53:00.001-07:00

Rhinemaiden

2009-02-15T18:39:00.000-08:00

The last entry reminded me of a similar spookytooth. Sadly this was unused.

'tis the season of red & green

2008-12-22T15:37:00.000-08:00