Phone covers and other merchandise

February 2, 2015 Matt Bannister

I'm happy to announce that you can now buy all sorts of merchandise featuring my designs, via the Art Rookie website. T-shirts, mobile phone covers, ceramic plates, bags and more. New products will be added as the days go by, but to begin with there is (mostly) a Crystal Palace theme with the current releases.

Gallery with a drawbridge

October 9, 2014 Matt Bannister

It's been a while between posts, reader. I know that. However, that little part of south London known as Crystal Palace is back on these pages again. I can't ignore the place (but I'm not becoming obsessed, I assure you). This time, I'm writing about a weekend's art exhibition I was part of called 'Inspired by the Subway'. Regular readers know my artist associations with the place, and during Open House Weekend, I was asked to join in with the display in Crystal Palace Park.

The venue was once a concert platform for open air gigs and shows but thanks to a few leaky design errors, it's now unused and derelict. On arriving to set up, I was thrilled to see that I had to cross a drawbridge to get in. The whole venue is surrounded by water! It's known to some as The Rusty Laptop.

To coincide with the exhibition, I created three new works (inspired by the subway, like it says on the tin). These were oil on watercolour paper, with watercolour red added afterwards. Alongside, I showed some of the old favourites too.

Art work showing the Crystal Palace Victorian subway

As well as the art exhibition, other areas of the venue were transformed into a recording studio, a screening room, an immersive piece of sound art and a giant model replica of what the railway, that used the subway, used to look like.

Also, to help with the smooth running of the event and to help any lost stragglers in the park, I did some little illustrations of Crystal Palace landmarks to add to their map:

If you'd like to read more about the design of the venue itself, and see some far better photographs, James Balston has a great post on his blog about the weekend. http://thetrianglese19.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/the-concert-platform.html

Crystal Palace Overground Festival - Inspired By The Subway

August 25, 2014 Matt Bannister

Back at the end of June, I joined the masses at the Crystal Palace Overground Festival, and helped out on the Friends of Crystal Palace Subway 'Inspired By The Subway' stall.

Regular readers of my blog will know my interest and artistic connections with the Victorian subway at the edge of Crystal Palace Park. The stall was there to promote the existence of the structure to people and also as a small platform for artists to sell their artworks inspired by the wonderful arches down there.

Despite the odd downpour, I found it great fun working with the other artists and volunteers throughout the day. Some of the artists selling their wares on the day included photographer James Balston, Sinead Taylor and Julian Davies.

I found being able to meet people who like your work face to face was really inspiring, and not something you can appreciate if you sell work via the web (or through other shops).

One of Sinead's prints. Photo © Jules Hussey.

Thanks to everyone who let me use their photos, including Joel Antunes who took the black and white shot of me on my own. Keep your eyes peeled for some Subway related art at the forthcoming Open House Weekend in September 2014. More details can be found on the Friends of Crystal Palace Subway website. If you can't wait until then, you can always visit my online shop: bannisterimages.bigcartel.com

Comedy at the Cafe

July 21, 2014 Matt Bannister

Whilst flicking through some recent images of the Crystal Palace Overground Festival 2014 on Facebook, I came across these great pics. A bizarre selection of faces smiling and gurning at the audience, from the recent "Comedy in the Cafe" evening of stand up at Brown and Green Cafe, Crystal Palace station. I then noticed that the temporary stage for the evening had featured my framed prints as a little backdrop. The jaunty angles the pictures have ended up at, suit comedy I think! The images were taken by Ally at Stonelock Photography, and has kindly let me reproduce them here. Unfortunately I did not attend the event, but Ally assured me that some of the photos that didn't make her final edit were a bit blurred, as she was laughing so much. For more info and clips of the comedians, their homepages are here: John Kearns, Jenny Collier, Dan Green, Beasts.

If you fancy getting your hands on your own print to tell jokes in front of at home, click here.

The Creatures That Keep on Giving

June 9, 2014 Matt Bannister

Dinosaur Wedding

I was approached last year by a couple - Liam and Nasreen - who asked if they could use my 'Crystal Palace Monsters' image on their wedding invitations. A few email exchanges later (and a fee, of course), the were distributed and their wedding was a great success, I understand. They are both fans of the Crystal Palace area, the dinos and my work. Win Win Win!

New cards and packshots

Some new cards arrived from the printers (available now from my website store or in person from Brave Girl Gifts if you live near Crystal Palace). I decided to take them out for a walk and take pictures of them. Residents of SE19 may be able to identify where I took them.

Brown and Green Café

I also popped into the Brown and Green Café with a mission. I decided to swap one of the prints featuring sphinxes with a nice new version of 'Change Here for Evolution'. I really like the image and I think it's much better than the one I removed. Also the 'story' behind the piece is set on one of the platforms nearby. If you are ever in the area, drop in for some lovely food. Here are some pictures to help you find where the new print is. He he.