Welcome to my Sabbatical Project: Wisconsin State Parks Poster Series

I was fortunate enough to be granted a semester-long sabbatical from my teaching duties at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. To be considered for sabbatical, I had to submit a proposal on how I might use the time for a regenerating creative endeavor. On my proposal, I mention "an interest in printmaking, specifically silkscreen, combined with a love of landscapes which will lead to the perfect melding of fine art and design." I have been a Wisconsin landscape painter for about the past ten years. A few images of that are shown here at Phil Belair Northwoods Landscapes

I will use what I have learned via this discipline, now interpreted through the screen printed image.

I wrote up a project description for myself, as I can't get off and running without one. It states:

Develop a series of 5 posters, each promoting a different Wisconsin State Park. Take inspiration form WPA-style (Works Project Administration) and tourism posters from the 1930’s to 50’s. Consider final production methods. Silkscreen printing or 4/C process litho? Merge aspects of vertical landscape composition and typography relevant to the poster “vibe” and park identity.

Process:

• Identify State Parks that you wish to do a poster about. They should each have a visual characteristic easily recognizable to viewers of the poster at a glance

• Take reference photography at the various parks for use as compositional structural reference

• Be aware of the time of year the reference photography was taken, in order to be accurate with representation of flora and fauna

• Build a collection of reference of similar posters, studying composition, wording, hierarchy, color and contrast

• Makes notes on the styles of this reference, calling out what is working and what is not

• Explore techniques for the build of this art, to include online tutorials, sketch-painting, compositional drawing and specialized filters

• Study and sketch out typographic approaches to the poster headings

• Develop a commemorative “seal” identifying the designer, as done with WPA posters in the past

• Finalize production technique, relying on the advice and expertise of others. If pressed with time or budget constraints, do giclees and offer them for sale individually on the web

• Source out the best way to sell these posters. (anticipated runs of 250 to 500)

• Document photographically all important steps and create and maintain a blog to post progress on a regular basis.

This project relies on having the ability to be a self-starter, each and every day. Keep a moleskin journal on progress and next steps and maintain it faithfully. 

I developed a specific schedule to take me through the time period but I won't bore you with that. I will have a show in the Fall to present these posters. They will also be offered for sale in limited quantities. 

This project is not sponsored by the State of Wisconsin  or Department of Natural Resources in any way. It is a representation of landmark natural spaces in the public domain.

Here are reference images found online. The top batch shows a printmaking style, and the bottom collection, a painted interpretation. Most of the designers names can be found by doing a simple google search on the poster name.