By the way...

Dean's got a new blog up. http://deangorissen.blogspot.com/ So far it's jam packed with practically no insight into the working process whatsoever, but does have the odd robot plus a few new items of interest. Drop in and drop us a line!

Long Story Shorts

The 3rd collection in the Affirm Press series designed and illustrated by Dean has been released. Emmett Stinson's Known Unknowns is a chronicle of post September 11 Washington DC and the disconnected souls within.

AFP: Street Drugs

Dean illustrated the street drugs feature theme for this months Australian Family Physician. (And welcomed the opportunity to do something with a bit of grit)

CLEMENGER EXHIBITION/ Christopher Nielsen

Chris Badger, Head of Art at Clemenger BBDO advertising recently invited me to exhibit my work in Clemenger's Sydney offices in a new space devoted entirely to showcasing interesting art to their art directors and clients. In an environment designed to showcase new and exciting artists as great campaign options, Clemenger are asking illustrators and photographers to participate on a monthly basis.

Chris said "this way we get some great work to look at and the artist gets the chance to get their work seen and sold".

I'm really excited to have my canvases up in front of such a great potential art buying audience who can not only purchase original work but also commission illustration for campaigns.

Ben on your Desktop

Bens' illustration adorns the cover of the August Issue of Desktop Magazine, and inside is a nice little story about his career, and some general good hearted banter. You can read the first couple of paragraphs on the Desktop website, or you can enjoy the experience of having a real magazine in your hands and read the whole interview, by popping into your local newsagent.

Nigel Buchanan/ Plansponsor

The excellent art Director SooJin Buzelli asked me to illustrate an article in Plansponsor magazine about executive's pay packets being scrutinized more closely. It was thought the zebra in the original sketch may be checking out more than the flip-top lion's pay packet!

SECOND GO ROUND'S THE CHARM/ Christopher Nielsen

This was a recent job for SooJin Buzelli for the online mag ai5000. It all started out as a completely different job for PlanSponsor magazine which SooJin also art directs. I submitted 5 ideas including the one below for an article on healthcare reforms but we ended up going for a different concept. However she really liked the skull and said she would keep it in mind for something else if it was appropriate.

Normally when an AD says this I don't get my hopes up too high and never hear about the rough again. To SooJin's credit she came back a couple of weeks later and said she had an article on Equity which would be a perfect fit for the concept but there was one hitch...The format was different and I had to reshape the layout. I said no probs. I've always found coming up with concepts to be the hard bit of the job. Resizing an existing concept was a breeze.

Here's the final layout


And here's the finished piece.

Shanghai Expo / Nigel Buchanan

Another booklet cover for Screen Australia, this time for a China / Australia co-production event at the Shanghai Expo. I was very mindful that this was pushing the boundaries of cuteness, but it went down well in China.

The Three Loves of Persimmon - Sonia Kretschmar

Happy to announce that the latest book for Cassandra Golds, for which I have done the cover, has just been released by Penguin Australia (I also illustrated the covers of her previous novels "Clair de Lune" and "The Museum of Mary Child".

"Persimmon lives a solitary life, pouring her passion into the florist shop she owns in the underground railway station. Her only companion is Rose, a talking cabbage. Intriguing young men come and go but Persimmon has yet to find the love of her life.

Several levels beneath Persimmon's shop lives a mouse called Epiphany. Epiphany has a questing mind. She wants to know what lies beyond the dark tunnels of her home. As in all good fables, Persimmon and Epiphany are destined to meet. And when they do, life will never be the same again."

Stuart mclachlan-APA book awards 2010

The Australian Publisher's Awards just recently passed and I was happy to be awarded winner with Mel Feddersen , designer of "Best designed Fiction Book ", as well as coming second for "Best designed cover". The title of the book is "A True History of the Hula Hoop- a novel ". The designer gave me the freedom of hand illustrating the cover type in tandem with the illustration which was a rare treat for me. The rest is just a alcohol induced enjoyable blur. Also , good onya Sonia Kretschmar for the great illo on Tensy Farlow's book, congrats!

Tensy wins an APA Award - Sonia Kretschmar

At the 2010 Australian Publisher Awards announced last week, Tensy Farlow and The Home for Mislaid Children won "Best Designed Children's Fiction Book" for designer Tony Palmer / Viking Penguin. I illustrated and helped develop the cover concept and internal lines drawings - it was a lovely project to work on and I'm glad she has fared so well!

Dawg drawn.

This is the cover art for the latest doggy detective thriller novel by American writer Spencer Quinn I have done, following 2009's Dog On It. Having made a character for the main protagonist Chet the dog detective, the ideas were much easier to formulate, bit noir, it could be turned into a strip I think!

Book him Danno, WOOF!

Illustrations and Ramblings by Ben Sanders

I've just started a bit of a blog detailing what's happening inside The Milk Agency studio. Come on over, and chew the fat or just have a peek at some of the latest pics at Ben's Illustration Blog. (But only after you've sniffed around Picture Pig first!)

Childhood Emergencies-Dean Gorissen

Dean illustrated this months's Australian Family Physician magazine focus is on childhood medical emergencies, opting for a light touch on a very serious subject.

Chinwagging / Ben Sanders

Another year of "Schmoozing" in Melbourne with this retro-inspired illustration being used for invitations to the events. Thanks to Piers Buxton at Tommy Gun for the commission.

The excellent Screen Australia / Nigel Buchanan

The wonderful people at Screen Australia have been keeping Nigel busy during the run up to the Cannes film festival. There have been booklets, posters, banners, magazine ads, invitations galore for all sorts of different events. The brief called for a completely new approach to the marketing push, which is usually dominated by stills from one or more of the competition films. The images had to stand out from the marketing frenzy.

AADC "Killer Ideas"

These bar coasters are part of the "Thinking About Drinking?" campaign for MAC South Australia, developed by the fine people of Clemenger BBDO (Art Direction by Jane Keen / Illustration & Design by Ben Sanders). At the recent 33rd (AADC) Adelaide Advertising & Design Club Awards the illustrations were Finalist in 4 categories including Best Poster, Art Direction & Press, and ultimately captured the gong in the "Other Print" category... So next time don't take the car!

Lew Keilar- 10 Big Ideas to Grow NSW-website

Link to the '10 Big Ideas' website....

http://www.10bigideas.com.au

Lew Keilar- Business Connect magazine cover

The brief:
"Business concerned, and a little daunted, about backed-up Legislature.
Keep it simple and clean."

Lew Keilar- 10 Big Ideas to Grow NSW

Five illustrations from a series of ten.

A commission from the NSW Business Chamber illustrating the document '10 Big Ideas to Grow NSW'.
A really enjoyable print project with an unusual, wide format.
The illustrations ranged across a double page spread in an A4 booklet and were visual metaphors for the 10 strategies.

Imaginary Friend - Ben Sanders

This is one of three new illustrations for Readers Digest. The story is about celebrities and their imaginary friends. A good read and a fun job too... This one is "Spike" the childhood friend of author Di Morrissey.

What the Flax!? - Ben Sanders

This illustration I did for Prevention Magazine is nearly enough to scare you into eating flax seed with your cereal... does it strengthen your bones, or does it dissolve the right side of your body?

Long Story Shorts

Dean Gorissen is designing and illustrating a series of six short story collections for Affirm Press. The first two of the series, the extremely unsettling darkness of 'Under Stones' by Bob Franklin (of ABC's 'The Librarians') and 'Nineteen Seventysomething' a hearfelt requiem for bygone days by Barry Divola (Rolling Stone, Who, SMH...) were launched this month.

Striking a blow for out-of-shape, unshaven, middle-aged men with an impossible dream and a needle and thread everywhere, Dean's picture book (written by the super talented Matt Zurbo) 'My Dad's a Wrestler!' has been selected for this years Communication Arts Illustration Annual.

The Ol' Lady That Keeps On Givin'

He's not one to blow his own trumpet so I thought I'd toot for him. Nigel's cranky ol' lady image just got selected for this year's Communication Arts Illustration Annual. Congrats Nigel! That lady just keeps on givin'!