Kid Canaveral's Christmas Baubles IV

Hello December!

Kid Canaveral's Christmas Baubles returns to Edinburgh for the fourth time, bigger and better than ever. The event at Portobello Town Hall on the 14th has already sold out. With artists like The Pictish Trail, Rozi Plain and Edwyn Collins (bloody hell!) on the bill, it's no wonder. More info over at Lost Map.

I'm chuffed to have been asked to design this year's poster (I also did the first one). It's a simple affair that came together really quickly. Kinda works upside down too.

Putting Edwyn's name on a piece of work felt pretty good.

Monoganon's FAMILY Gathering at CCA, Glasgow

Tomorrow (Sat 9th November), Lost Map's own Monoganon will play at the CCA here in Glasgow to celebrate the launch of their brilliant album F A M I L Y. I'm very much looking forward to this.

Support comes from Eugene Tombs and my good friend The Pictish Trail. You can buy tickets from the Lost Map Ticket Shop (only £6 adv!). As you'd expect, there's a Facebook event with more info.

Don't know Monoganon? Here's a wee introduction:

Say hello if you can make it along. I'm pretty deaf so, if it's noisy, please forgive any inappropriate nods or headshakes when I play guess-a-response.

The above poster was battered together by myself using a photograph by Sebastien Marciak.

Half Man, Half Woman Hallowe'en Costume

I dressed up for Hallowe'en this year. I had a fairly scraggly beard on the go and figured I could make use of it in my costume. A baseball cap, a wig and a pair of scissors are a really easy way to do the half-man, half-woman hair. Pretty happy with how it turned out.

The top photo shows the full costume. The bottom two are either side duplicated, flipped and retouched in Photoshop. Giant version here.

Don't shave your leg(s). It's itchy as hell.

Jim Henson on Making Muppets 1969

I love the way he says "tubes" at 4:59. Jim Henson made the world a better place.

Lost Map

Last week, my good friend Johnny (aka The Pictish Trail) announced that he is finishing up things with Fence Records, a label he has headed alongside King Creosote for many years, and is starting a new project with many of the artists involved. Today he launched Lost Map, a record label from Eigg.

To fans of Fence Records and the Scottish music scene, this is big news. It's big news to me too, having worked on a whole bunch of different odds & ends for Fence over the past wee while. Posters, album artwork, music videos and, um, Hott Loggz have all put food on my table (at least a couple of Mars Bars-worth).

More than that, I've been a fan. A big fan. Not as big a fan as some (there are some giant fans out there), but a good fan. An honest fan. A hairy fan. I bought my first Fence 'record' in 2000, Fence Sampler #03, from Avalanche in Edinburgh. It's still one of my favourites. That CD got me through college. From there, I bought albums, read zines, attended dozens of gigs (+5 Homegames), made friends and, eventually, got on the books. Fence has been a part of my life for 13 years and has influenced my work, my taste in music and helped me pass my driving test.

The what-the-hell-is-even-going-on events of the last few days have unsurprisingly caused much (mostly positive, I'm happy to say) a-twittering and a-beefering (?), but I don't wanna talk about that. I'm sad to see the end of this iteration of Fence, but I look forward to seeing whatever direction Kenny Creosote steers it in next. I also look forward to seeing where Lost Map goes too (hopefully to the Bahamas) because, if Johnny's involved, it'll be bloody good. You can like 'em both, y'know, that's ok.

So aye, Lost Map. I'm involved in a pretty major way. I could probably give myself a proper title but I can't handle the pressure / scrutiny, so I'll go with Chief of Winging It. I'll be working closely with Johnny on all the visual stuff - doing a fair amount of it myself and hopefully also getting some other artists involved where I can. We do have an art-direction direction, but fully intend to stay loose and playful as we go. The last thing we want is something cold and clinical so please forgive the wonkiness.

What you see on lostmap.com right now is our starting point. The above animation is hidden behind the main banner and will play when you click. It was made incredibly quickly and features a wee snippet of music from the upcoming Monoganon album, F A M I L Y, which is set to be the first full-length Lost Map release. It's brilliant, by the way. Incidentally, John B. Monoganon (MonogaJohn?) is good value on Vine.

From here on out, things'll get colourful.

Visit the site to download a free sampler, featuring music by Monoganon, Rozi Plain, The Pictish Trail, Kid Canaveral, eagleowl, Seamus Fogarty and Randolph's Leap. You can also follow @lostmaprecords on Twitter and like Lost Map on Facebook.

Stay tuned x

Flickrin'

I've started using my Flickr account for posting 'proper' photographs again (it had recently become a bit of an Instagram dump). Alex got me a spiffy new camera for my birthday and it's encouraged me to try to get better as a photographer. I'm not very good, but I enjoy it.

Have a look / add me if you'd like to follow my learning process (advice welcome!). See sillier stuff on my Instagram.

GFT: For All

Here's something bonkers. I've been working with the amazing Glasgow Film Theatre on a series of simple animations to accompany For All - a project discussing what cinema means to the community.

Between July and September, 9 writers will publish texts on the theme of 'For All' to encourage discussion and the sharing of ideas. Short extracts of each piece will be animated and shown onscreen at the GFT before films and on the Glasgow Film website where you can read the texts in full.

The first part of the project launches today. Pamwepo (at together), a poem by Tawona Sithole, beautifully sets the tone for what's to come. Visit the page, read the piece and share your thoughts.

(flip to HD for better quality)

Creating these animations (which I'm still working on btw - it's gonna be a hectic month) has been a learning process and no mistake. I may have dabbled before, but this is my first time working on anything on such a scale. Despite this, I'm determined to play around and enjoy myself. The turnaround on each clip is short so we're going for simple, effective little ideas and trying not to stress on getting everything perfect.

Music for the project is provided by two of my very favourite musicians in the world - Jonnie Common and The Pictish Trail. This makes me unbelievably proud. If you don't know their work, go check it out. Figurehead (by JC) and Michael Rocket (by Pictish) are good places to start.

So, if you find yourself in Glasgow over the next wee while, go see a film at the GFT. It's a beautiful cinema and they show brilliant films. The For All animations will play before the features and you can contribute to the project via the Glasgow Film blog, on Twitter using the #filmforall hashtag, on the Glasgow Film Facebook page and by using the post-it notes in the GFT foyer. Here's some more information about getting involved.

Emily Munro, Head of Learning at the GFT has written a response to Pamwepo on the blog. It's a good place to start.

I'll write more about the project as it progresses here and I'll toot about it on Twitter. Stay tuned.

David Galletly RSS

A wee reminder to Google Reader users that, come Monday 1st of July, the popular RSS service will be no more. There are many alternatives - some free, some paid. I've currently moved to Feedly (free / painless move) but this may change based on the recommendations of the MPU - Replacing Google Reader podcast, which I haven't finished listening to yet.

Anyway, long way of saying that, should you want to follow this blog via RSS, you should make sure that you've got my feed in your new reader of choice. Here's the link that'll deliver every post I make to your door:

Click here for the David Galletly RSS feed.

Alternatively, this blog has its own Twitter feed (@galletlyblog) which automatically sends out a single tweet whenever there's something new here. I don't post often, so it won't bug you too much if give it a wee follow.

Cheers folks. Hope you keep reading. R.I.P. Google Reader.

Daxflame

Daxflame, the YouTube sensation, resurfaced yesterday after years of inactivity with a link to Brushing Kevin's Hair, an animation by Augenblick Studios that tells the tale of Dax getting into trouble at school. I really enjoyed it.

If you don't know Dax's work, it's, um, complicated.

Kelvin Brawl

A couple of weeks ago, the God of Games himself, Robert 'Rab' Florence (Consolevania / Burnistoun), asked if I could design a poster for his spectacular pro-wrestling event, Kelvin Brawl (followup to last autumn's Oran War). Rab was looking for a layout with an old-school influence. Something tough. Something hard. I got to work.

Kelvin Brawl will take place at Kelvin Hall here in Glasgow on the 21st of June. A night of fighting, music and comedy with six bone-crunching matches between some of the top pro wrestlers in the country. To top things off, the evening will culminate in a bitter tag-team main event where Rab will throw down against his sworn enemy, Greg Hemphill (Still Game / Chewin' The Fat). There's certainly been no love lost between the two former friends with their dirty laundry aired for all to see in a very public feud of violence, rap put-downs and mothers.

Designing the poster was really good fun - a chance to revisit the kinda Art Chantry inspired style of the old Air3 Radio Poster I put together way-back-when. Lots of information and lots of energy in very little space without much concern for getting everything perfect. While it doesn't exactly look like the real deal, I tried my best to chuck ideas at the screen in an appropriately carefree way.

Thanks to Rab for getting me on board. Good luck to everyone involved. It's time to pick a side: #teamflorence / #teamhemphill

Recoating

A great wee video about the Recoat gallery, the work they do and their plans for the future. Amy and Ali are good people.

Remember that R.I.P. 323, the last ever show at Recoat's West End locoation, opens tomorrow evening (Sat 8th June). A bunch of us will be in and around the gallery today and tomorrow, finishing stuff off, sitting about in the sun and eating sandwiches. If you wanna stick your head in to see some work-in-progress, I'm sure nobody'll mind.

Failing that, come along in the evening or catch the show as it runs throughout June / July. More info over here.

R.I.P. 323 at Recoat

Here's a date for your diary.

In just over a week, Recoat will open the last show ever to be show'd at their West End gallery. R.I.P. 323, a collective and collaborative exhibition celebrates 6 years of events, projects and parties at 323 North Woodside Road. Featuring the work of Team Recoat in their entirety (I'm in that!) + friends of the gallery. We’re aiming to cover the space, floor-to-ceiling in artwork. It’ll be an absolute belter.

Recoat fans need not fear, though, they aren't packing it in. Far from it. Plans are already afoot for a whole heap of other stuff - murals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, pop-up shows, collaborative projects and (get this) a bigger and better gallery somewhere down the line.

Although I'll be sad to see the doors close at North Woodside Road, I'm super stoked for everything Amy and Ali are set to achieve in the future. I first worked with them back in 2007 as part of Recoat's first ever exhibition and they have been incredibly supportive, bloody lovely people and amazingly good friends ever since. Whatever they do, I back 100%.

If you can make it to Glasgow on the 8th of June 2013, you should come along to the opening (the opening of the closing, I guess) party. It'll be fun as hell. FUN AS HELL! Expect many faces from Recoat's past, present and future to be enjoying the work, having a drink and saying farewell to the space. Recoat parties are warm, welcoming and a good laugh. We'll all be heading to the pub afterwards too. Say hello! Say goodbye!

Full details:

R.I.P. 323
The final show at Recoat (for now).

Opening party: Saturday, 8th June 2013. 7-10pm (free entry, all welcome).
Show runs: 9th June - mid July, (Tues to Sun 12-6pm).

Featuring Team Recoat: Susie Wright, Kirsty Whiten, Elph, FiST, Mark Lyken, Al White, David Galletly, Syrkus, Death Rattles and Rue Five.

Plus special guests: Fraser Gray, Throne, Chris MacFarlane, Jamie Johnson and more.

Recoat
323 North Woodside Road,
Glasgow, G20 6ND
(near Kelvinbridge subway station)

Email: info@recoatdesign.com
Tel: 0141 341 0069
Web: recoatdesign.com

For more info, visit the R.I.P. 323 Facebook page.

Glasgow Smiles Better

What a weekend! Beautiful weather here in Glasgow. Spotted this guy floating above a garage in Shawlands. He was bobbing around like crazy - must've taken 50 photos trying to get him to look right at me. Caught him a peach.

Follow me on Instagram / Flickr.

CoasterMania

With the impending opening of The Smiler at Alton Towers, I've been going on one of my frequent theme park nostalgia-trips via YouTube.

Alongside Shoot for the Moon, CoasterMania, an amazing documentary from 1995 about roller coaster enthusiasts, must rank pretty highly on my most-watched-things-ever list. My mum taped it for me knowing I was a bit of a nerd for this kinda stuff and I'd pour over the VHS in the way that only kids can.

It's brills - tons of weird characters, great footage of top-of-the-line (well, for 1995) roller coasters and plenty of behind-the-scenes information and anacdotes. The 12-year-old me cherished the parts about Blackpool Pleasure Beach. I knew those rides!

It must be 15 years at least since I last watched this thing but, dang, I still know the dialogue like it was yesterday. Charles Jaques' slightly unhinged and breathless description of riding his first coaster at 01:25, Rev Nick Bralesford's very polite little anecdote about proposing to his wife at 03:40 and the Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain pretending to ride their bus at 18:40 all curl my toes just as badly as they ever did.

The best part by far, though, is old Bernard & Phyllis Buxton at the 43:30 mark sitting in their car, big flask to hand, watching The Big One being built 'piece by piece' for thousands of hours. His theory that all the wheels must leave the track (around 45:30) on the first hill is lovely.

Website Redesign!

My website (davidgalletly.com) has just undergone a little facelift. While not 100% complete, there is a bunch of new stuff to see (+ the old stuff looks better).

Aside from generally just keeping things up-to-date, the main reason the redesign was to move my site over to Squarespace 6, the most current version of the popular website platform. I had been using v5 for 18 months or so and, while I was totally happy with it (I actually kinda prefer 5 to 6 behind-the-scenes perspective), I couldn't help feel like I was stuck on a ship that was, not so much sinking, more, um, stationary. A stationary ship.

What Squarespace 6 lacks in letting you get down-and-dirty with the details, it makes up for in:

• Being responsive! Shrink your window - images should adjust accordingly, text should wrap to accomodate different sized screens and devices.

• Being Retina-ready! All thumbnails should look great on an iPad / other HD screens. (I'm still a wee bit reluctant to post super high-res versions of my full artwork for the world to download. We'll see how things go)

• Being actively developed! Because Squarespace 6 is the latest version of Squarespace, it's constantly getting new features / improvements.

• Being easy to update! Adding artwork and posting to my blog should be a lot quicker now. This means you'll see more rubbish from me.

Would I recommend moving to Squarespace? Um, maybe. With 5, yep, no hesitiation. 5 allowed you to easily tweak every single little detail. Squarespace 6 is a wee bit too templatey for my tastes. You can go all-out custom, but you need to know a whole lot more about web development than I ever care to learn. It took a fair amount of trial-and-error to achieve what I wanted (and I don't think I'm there yet). 6 is still really good, but I'm crossing my fingers that it'll get better.

Anyway, have a look around. Stay tuned. Subscribe to my blog (old subscribers should be fine but updating your RSS feed certainly won't hurt). All feedback appreciated - I'm sure there are a ton of typos / broken links to find. Christ, you can even 'like' my posts now if that's your bag.