2015 – THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS

Apologies for the crazy length of time since the last blog but been away a lot organising various projects for 2015. More on that later …

Kept in touch via the inescapable Twitter @andieairfix
with #MoodOfTheDay and #AirfixArchives. Twitter feed and follow …

 First … The Holidays. I hope you all had a wonderful time …

Secondly … I’d like to thank everyone who had The Inclination and The Taste to buy Airfix Editions over the holiday period.

Thank You all.

Some Prints and Editions are still available of course …
METALLICA, BOWIE, MADONNA, ROLLING STONES, DEF LEPPARD, LED ZEPPELIN, JIMI HENDRIX and more. Go on … you know you want to … andieairfix.com

To welcome you into 2015, I’d like to take the opportunity to thank my followers on Twitter and those loyal to my blog with a quote I love from the wonderfully anarchic and irreverent world of one of America’s greatest novelists and comic writers.

“HELLO BABIES. WELCOME TO THE EARTH.
IT’S HOT IN THE SUMMER
AND COLD IN THE WINTER.
IT’S ROUND AND WET AND CROWDED …

AT THE OUTSIDE, BABIES, YOU’VE GOT
ABOUT A HUNDRED YEARS HERE.
THERE’S ONLY ONE RULE
THAT I KNOW OF, BABIES
– GOD DAMN IT,
YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIND.”

More quotes at KURT VONNEGUT

A Happy, Healthy, Prosperous and Peaceful New Year to You from Andie Airfix at

 

I will leave you with an image commenting on the tragedy in Paris yesterday. It is poignant, wonderfully direct and implies hope and defiance in equal measure. Brilliant.

 

More very soon on Plans for 2015 … including taking a one-man show to Japan (and maybe more places!)
Finally on the road to publishing a novel
‘ I N V A G E N T S ‘

and a design book entitled – yes you guessed it
‘B*B G#LD*F STOLE MY SUNGLASSES’

Later and soon,
As ever
&ie

AC/DC Logo Explodes

It’s that time of year again …
(sssshhhh) – 

and so, naturally, you’re out there looking for ideal gifts to shower on your loved ones to celebrate the occasion. And can you find anything that’s cool enough. Of course you can’t – it’s all predictably dull and boring for us music fans.

Well – look no further – problem solved …

Sticking very firmly to the belief of creating …
art that DOES NOT match the sofa …
Here’s a solution for all you Rock’n’Rollers.

Click HERE to see Limited Editions

Andie Airfix Limited Editions bring something unique to Christmas. They’re cool, very affordable and ideal for music fans. Here’s a brand NEW edition.
available from November 18th 2013 …

Created from original pen and ink/pencil drawing of the logo for the Ballbreaker World Tour in 1995. This is pre-computer and was completely hand-drawn (very tricky to do!)

Don’t forget the recently released  ‘Ninja Star 1′ & Ninja Star 2’:  2 METALLICA editions created for the AIRFIX LOUNGE last March, editions Lars Ulrich, METALLICA’s drummer described as ‘AWESOME!‘ …

Editions also include:
LED ZEPPELIN  DAVID BOWIE  JIMI HENDRIX
THE ROLLING STONES  THE BEATLES  MADONNA
DEF LEPPARD and LITTLE RICHARD.

CLICK HERE to see Limited Editions

Order NOW to guarantee Christmas delivery worldwide.

All Editions are printed on the highest grade, heavyweight art paper by the latest digital technology to ensure the richest colours and to maintain the finest of detail.

Problem is – and I feel obliged to inform you – that many who purchase Andie Airfix Limited Editions, somehow forget (?!) to send them on to the people they bought them for. Shocking behaviour. The solution is obvious of course – buy one for yourself too – and everyone will be happy.

More very soon …
As ever
&ie

ART: METALLICA, LED ZEPPELIN, HENDRIX, DEF LEPPARD

Archiving always throws up some oddball artwork ….

OWN SOME ART THAT DOESN’T MATCH THE SOFA

With literally 1000’s of items to catalogue there are always a few items that don’t really fit into categories: they arrive late or unannounced, are stuffed in some envelope or stuck to the back of something else. They certainly have value but can be released more randomly than through the AIRFIX ARCHIVES (GALLERY ONE opening in September by the way).

To give fans a chance for a real bargain – a few of these Little Rogues have been dropped into e-Bay.

Click here to see them.

High quality photographic proofs for Metallica, artist proofs editions of Zeppelin – and more.

Check it out. Best of luck.

Over the next few weeks I’ll do the same – getting stuff out for FANS. Stay in tune with twitterings and bloggerings.

As ever – &ie

FREE EXHIBITION – METALLICA and MORE

For those of you heading to Brighton for The Great Escape

… Visit the AIRFIX LOUNGE at BRIGHTON FRINGE
(open 10-6pm Friday17/Saturday18/Sunday19 May) …

SPACE@CREATE, New England House, York Hill, BN1 4GH. (Fringe Venue 19)

to see original Metallica artwork … LIVE SHIT, GARAGE INC, LOAD/RE-LOAD and my tribute ‘painting’.

This 6 foot wide 5-panel multi-media piece, dedicated to Cliff Burton, comprises of photos, muslin, metal wires and staples.

Other work includes …

original drawings for Scary Guy …

Metallica logos for LOAD & RE-LOAD project …

and the 2 editions Lars Ulrich of Metallica called ‘Awesome!’

GET ON DOWN …

Details of Exhibition at andieairfix.com

CHECK IT OUT.

Enjoy the weekend in this fantastic town

&ie

Files, Drawers and Boxes

Well … approaching launch of AIRFIX LOUNGE very quickly.

Firstly … Thank you all for your support in helping us with the AIRFIX LOUNGE.
It’s appreciated hugely – to make the event even bigger and more exciting. Bloggers please feel free to contribute. To see Sponsorship details and see the advantages of being A Friend of the AIRFIX LOUNGE, CLICK HERE.

For the Exhibition at the LOUNGE I’ve been looking through files, drawers and boxes and one helluva lot of original artwork. Constant surprises abound.

Coming next on the blog …
METALLICA art revealed
and details of the DEF LEPPARD and METALLICA weekends.
STAY TUNED

… but before then I thought I’d give you a glimpse of what I’m finding … and what you’ll see when you come to the Exhibition as part of BRIGHTON FRINGE …

AC/DC Pencil drawing of logo …

THOMPSON TWINS triple picture disc …

DEF LEPPARD Circuit drawing for ‘Hysteria’ background …

METALLICA Close-up of original logo for ‘LIVE SHIT’

LED ZEPPELIN Hologram test for DVD label …

DEF LEPPARD award for back to back Platinum discs …

MOTLEY CRUE hand-drawn logo …

METALLICA Award …

LED ZEPPELIN original idea for ‘BBC Sessions’ approved by Jimmy Page …

ROBERT PLANT original for BBC Sessions …

DEF LEPPARD Original illustration for ‘Hysteria’ Picture Disc …

LED ZEPPELIN DVD printer’s proof of digipak

DEF LEPPARD Original art for ‘Love Bites’

And that’s just scratching the surface!

Enough Airfix – get back to your archiving. Oh my God what’s that?

MORE GEMS REAL SOON

&ie

38. ‘ZERO-ONE’ – an exhibition

‘Zero-One’ at BRIFFA – until January 23, 2011

A new Andie Airfix Limited Edition Series (only 50 of each) is launched at BRIFFA this week as part of the London Art Fair, 2011.
(BRIFFA: 306 Gallery Level, Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Street, Islington, London N1 0QH)

Due to numerous requests for larger editions from andieairfix.com, I’m pleased to let you know your 6 most popular images are now available printed on A2 (22 x 16ins) Hahnemuhle Fine Art Paper – paper designed to maximise the vibrant colour and high definition of professional digital printing. Only the best for you guys! The first of each edition (01/50) has been mounted and framed exclusively for the exhibition. Each edition is signed and numbered by me and every purchase includes a certificate of authenticity and mounting and framing suggestions.

The mounted and framed 01/50 Limited Editions are available at BRIFFA until January 23rd and unmounted editions are for sale exclusively at andieairfix.com. Visit the site for more details.

Here are your favourite six …

NOTE: The last edition – METALLICA – ‘4 Scary Guys’ is a ‘work in progress’ and will be released to coincide with the next blog-post – 39. METALLICA – Part Two. It will be an awesome addition to your METALLICA collection!

Intro

From the first opportunity I had to design an album sleeve, with no knowledge of graphics whatsoever, I instinctively knew it would be an extreme and exciting experience. Thirty years on, the extremes and the challenges thankfully remain.

Many things have changed; the music industry, the introduction of computers and digital recordings, the means to communicate ideas over vast distances in the blink of an e-mail, even the relevance of sleeve design in the music download age.

Some over-riding positive factors remain however; the search for innovation and challenge, impossible deadlines, and most importantly of all – the joyous idiosyncracies of the musicians I work for and the characters who inhabit their world.

I have never felt the need to promote or encourage a particular style in graphics – only a need to communicate with musicians to find a solution which satifies my appetite for experimentation and their very real need to be represented visually in a way which complements their music and their talent. I suppose what I have always worked for is to be comfortable with compromise.

Compromise is too often a dirty word for designers and musicians alike but, by definition it’s a worthy objective. “To yield to reach agreement’, ‘to resolve difficulties’, to ‘give and take’. What better aim can there be in anything we do? There need be nothing negative about compromise – it can provide astonishing results beyond individual egos – solutions unimagined by designer or musician. Pretentious twaddle? Not on your life. The proof is in the pudding, as they say, and the ingrediants to create it have always been surprising, exciting and fun.

Behind the designs are numerous stories. There have always been stories. Whether they are about the Thompson Twins, Metallica, Def Leppard, Paul McCartney, Led Zeppelin, the Geezers Of Nazereth (who? – just listen), Tori Amos, The Rolling Stones, or my current obsession – The Perils, the stories are the thing which provide insight into how the design process works.

I have reached a point where experience and the joy of how I have achieved a satisfying degree of success should be shared. It’s a strange, hilarious and entertaining  journey, but without doubt it’s an affirmation of the only thing that matters – enjoy your life, and whatever it is that provides opportunity to be creative.

Should we start at the beginning? I think so …. Remember Sector 27 …. I doubt it.