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Focus On Art Cards News
Emotional Framing Show Jumping The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition (13 June - 20 August 2017), which has been held every year without interruption since 1769, is the largest open submission exhibition in the world and is curated this year by Eileen Cooper RA. Card publisher ArtPress feels incredibly privileged to have been working with the Royal Academy since 2013 and is now in its fifth year of creating an annual range from artwork submitted to the Summer Exhibition (a mixture of work from both esteemed academicians and artists who have submitted for the first time) for its licensed Above: ‘Fruit Provence’ by artist Dr. Leonard McComb RA, recently printed on Royal Academy card collection (of everyday singles cards by ArtPress. Below: Installation View of the Summer and wallets and Christmas wallets and packs). However, it’s an incredibly tight two week turn- Exhibition 2017- Photo © David Parry. around from the Summer Show’s artwork entries to the completed RA card collection hitting the shelves to coincide with the incredible buzz that surrounds such an iconic event in the Art calendar. Every year the ArtPress team first visit the RA’s show is to take note of potential artworks to publish, the second is to check the works are still in situ during the Royal Academy’s intense editing process, all of which is highly confidential. Then, having selected the artworks the scramble to publish begins, as there is only a fortnight from art selection to greeting card print. “The artist’s permission has to be sought, colour proofing is done by literally comparing the proof to the original artwork on the wall, approval from the artist is gained, the cards are printed, and a quantity are packed and in the RA store all in time for the Previews of the Show," explains Linzi Russell-Watson, director of ArtPress. The of the eight new RA designs can be seen at www.art-press.co.uk. l ArtPress also ran a competition for those who placed an order at PG Live for two special tickets to the RA’s Summer Exhibition and to partake of a rather fabulous afternoon tea at The RA Grand Café. The winner was Tim Wearing from Brighton retailer Pen to Paper.
Most greeting card designs are ‘little pieces of art’ as the creative process behind the finished item stems from a designer’s imagination and talent. However, art cards embody the genres of art such as printmaking, painting and photography, which at their best ignite an emotional response. Focus On Art Cards ‘expresses’ the news and freshly launched art card ranges in this area of the market.
Advocate Royalty Jo Parry has been described as the "Queen of Christmas" by an art director at Hallmark, a title duly earned as for 20 years Jo has been creating charming Christmas card designs, well for, pretty much everyone around the world. Her work has in fact now reached a milestone, with 100 card publishers having licensed her work to date! She was originally spotted at Bournemouth Art College back in the summer of 1997 by Advocate Art founder Edward Burns, and has been with the agency for 20 years now (and she just gets better and better!) "We’ve been with her every step of the way and have watched her blossom into the fabulous artist that she is Above: A winter scene by Jo Parry. today", says Ed. If you’re interested in Jo’s work, don’t hesitate to visit her online folio at http://www.advocate-art.com/jo-parry.
‘Are You Ok?’ asks campaign thortful, the creative online platform for card publishers, has collaborated with fashion designer Gary James McQueen, the nephew of the late Alexander McQueen, to create a collection of limited edition cards to increase awareness and communication about mental health in a campaign called ‘Are You Ok?’ Gary himself has suffered from depression and anxiety in the past, which is one of the reasons he approached thortful to create these cards as a way to get people talking to each other: “I wanted to create cards that said ‘I’m looking out for you’, cards you might send a friend to demonstrate that you are there for them. A way to reach out with love”. 100% of profits from the range will go to mental health charity, Chasing the Stigma. Above: The limited edition Gary James McQueen cards from thortful. PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
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