MANIFESTO
Hydro74 Show :: Odessa Gallery Memphis
Last month I was graced with opportunity to attend the Hydro74 gallery show in Memphis at the Odessa Gallery showcasing the work of designer Joshua Smith. What makes this such a big deal is that being located in the dirty south, its not very often that events like this take place. Be it bands I like, or gallery shows such as this… it hardly ever happens.
After a 2 hour drive I was stoked to see everything was hopping on Broad street. The show was a damn good time. It was really cool to see a lot of the work that Hydro had been posting on facebook over the last few weeks. Even better that I was able to purchase a large bear illustration on wood (remodeling house, remember) and a number of prints.
Joshua Smith’s work was one of my main sources of inspiration when I started designing. I was trying my hand at starting my own clothing line and in constant search of where the designs were coming from for all of the major brands. Eventually, I ran across his work, sometime around 2000 or so. In my opinion, Hydro74 is one designer who has pushed vector design into the spotlight over the last few years. Like many others, I am huge fan of his work.
After meeting Joshua for the first time, I can’t say enough about the guy. Although he is shorter than I thought (joking), he is a blast to talk to and has a great sense of humor. Coming back to Memphis later that weekend I was able to talk to him for a while. He is an extremely humble person with amazing skills and definitely easy to talk to… Oh, and the gallery was handing out free PBR… good times.
…but right now, I need some sleep.
So its been a while since my portfolio was up. Originally, I had every intention to leave the old one up, but as luck would have it my server was hacked and my site was deleted (by me, by accident). However, I did take some time off to do some things such as remodeling my house and re-evaluating my work.
I hit a point 2 years ago where I turned away from the things that most inspired me and started exploring design in isolation. I quit looking at portfolios, books and any other source of inspiration that I had pulled from in the past. Not that they no longer inspired me, but I needed to pull from inside myself and try to develop my own style.
The result was trying new design techniques, and a lot of sketching and vectoring without being so critical behind the computer. That said, I currently have at least 6 personal projects in the works with more concepts I want to create all the time.
The BOOK OF LIONS concept was derived from a need to present my work in a different format and open the door for new ways to experiment as well as promote my work. There are a number of things I have planned for BOOK OF LIONS so check back often. Verses 8-10 will be posted in a few weeks. Thanks for checking the site out. I hope you enjoy it.