This giant birthday card illustration is for a recipient who turned 70 this year. The brief was to illustrate some of the events and happenings of the year 1953. Some of the images are personal to this individual’s life, such as their place of birth, star sign, and landmarks. Others feature world events that took place in 1953, such as the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, the discovery of the DNA double helix, Winston Churchill meeting Tito and Anthony Eden in London, the end of the sweet rationing in the UK, books published that year and the death of Stalin to name a few. 

 

The commission took two weeks to complete using a variety of mediums including pen and ink, acrylic, watercolour and Letraset. 

 

I really enjoyed this brief and relished taking the time with each individual component to form a narrative particular to the recipient of the gift, who loved it!

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A1.

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