A couple of weeks back I was thinking what am I going to create for March? As always it begins with my resources, digital files, and curios. Then the rush of ideas start to come.
First you should see this series of matchbook covers advertising the Prague Zoo, circa 1963. They’re wonderfully simple and would look great as silkscreen art. In this month’s Free Digital Art, I started to create a matchbook cover inspired image with a flying fish because, come on, flying fish are amazing. They’re the perfect example of how biology adapts in meaningful ways. Nature, like creativity — and fire for that matter — can be wildly unpredictable.
In my headphones I was listening to Pink Floyd’s Meddle. The song San Tropez had me thinking: What does San Tropez look like? Answer. And Do flying fish live in the Gulf of San Tropez? It turns out they don’t. They’re found primarily in the warm Atlantic waters around Bermuda. Okay, YouTube show me a flying fish in action… And this is where “meddle” turned into “mettle.” Watch this two-minute, 30 second video of how and why this fish flies.
Definitions:
Meddle: interfere in or busy oneself unduly with something that is not one’s concern.
Mettle: a person’s ability to cope well with difficulties or to face a demanding situation in a spirited and resilient way.
Back to the design. The geometric water splash by the fish’s tail was inspired by the love I have for E. McKnight Kauffer’s ad: The Early Bird for the Daily Herald. It came out in 1918 and was fueled by the modern design aesthetic and response to World War I.
This what I like about this exercise of giving away free digital art.This exercise provides an opportunity to create and explore beyond my week-to-week helping growth-minded clients with their branding and marketing. We use our neural network to react to problems, solve mechanical tasks, or to hammer-down against deadlines. Creativity is the exercise of letting your mind wander openly without critical judgement. It’s how ideas flow. It exercises the curiosity muscle.
This 12″x18″ piece is a frame-ready, high-resolution digital design. Download it before April 1.
Suggestions for printing.
You could have download this PDF and sent it to a one of the following vendors like you would a photo. It’s just that easy.
I’ve used each of the vendors below. The costs are low and set up is easy.
VistaPrint | Shutterfly | Canvas Champ | UPrinting
And Groupon sometimes offers deals on cheap printing.
Try RedBubble!
Going forward I am going to push Free Wall Art pieces to RedBubble instead of Etsy. The market is ready- made meaning if you want a print, pillow, smart phone case, tapestry, wall clock — you get it and you can get it from them at affordable prices. Check them out.
