Volunteers Needed for Crystal Palace Festival

May 13, 2015 Matt Bannister

I was commissioned by the Crystal Palace Overground Festival charity to create a recruitment poster for them. The 2015 event in SE19 is fast approaching, and they needed an image to go on flyers, A4 and A3 posters that would attract people. Most of the effort for the festival is provided by volunteers, so there is always a need to get more people involved. Of course, I returned to some familiar characters but gave them a kick up the bottom in terms of colour. Now all I need to do is get my hands on a poster for my archives!

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.

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.