Vous le savez, nous avons à cœur d'utiliser nos bières comme supports de communication pour divers artistes du monde entier. Ce mois-ci, c'est l'illustrateur anglais James Mankievicz qui signe non pas une, mais nos trois éditions limitées hivernales, travaillées sous forme de triptyque.
On vous le présente à travers ce petit Q&A !
What's your name, where do you come from ?
My name is James Mankiewicz, I am from the South of England. Portsmouth
How did you become an artist, who/what inspired you then and inspires you today
I studied Illustration and Print at Plymouth College of Art. Back then my inspiration were artists like Jeff Soto, James Jean and Aj Fosik. They still inspire me! But right now I get mega excited when I see new work by Artists like Micheal Reeder and Iain Macarther.
Other than that, a good Juicy NEIPA or Imperial Stout tends to get the inspiration flowing!
How would you describe your style
Vivid, Symmetrical, Trippy Drippy & Weird.
What's the favourite design you've made
The chillin' Monkey on the Osaka can is up there as one of my Favourites! However, most recently I drew a Tiger and a Crocodile for T-shirts.
I wanted to change up my style and create something one colour, suitable for screen printing. I think they came out great.
How did you approach the "Ice Winter Wonderland" series ? What's your thoughts behind the 3 labels ?
As it was a series of three Styles, all to be released at the same time, it had to relate to each other in some way. Each style and city were very different, so I thought the best way for them to interconnect was the layout.
Geographically (to me) Montreal was to the West, Osaka to the East and Tuscany in the middle. Then from there it was about representing each Place.
My parents had visited Tuscany recently and had told me about the Boar in Florence - Perfect position for the middle. Tuscany has more countryside than urban buildings, mix this with the Affogato style...i thought rolling hills of Ice cream dripping with coffee.
Then after researching Osaka; it seemed to me to be a bright neon buzzing city, mixed with delicate Japanese traditional buildings. I thought if we are having a Boar for the Middle we need another Animal for Osaka. I always remember the Japanese Macaque monkeys in the Hot Springs, thought this would look awesome chillin' on a Cherry Blossom Tree Blowing snow onto the city.
Finally Montreal. I had initially thought an Ice Hockey player Skidding Ice/Snow onto the city would look cool. But seeing as i had sketched up animals for the other two, a Canadian Moose seemed obvious! Plus I love drawing Antlers, thought it lent really well to my usual style.
The colours had to be Bright and Fun! So I went with a limited palette of vivid colors that relate to the style and place. I wanted to ensure they stood out, but also worked well on their own - Plus the limited palette makes it easier to screen print, in case people fancy prints ;)
If you had to choose between the 3 beers, which one would you choose and why ?
Out of the three, I would go for the Maple and Chestnut Porter Just because I like my dark beers. But to be honest all three of these styles sound incredible!
What would be your dream artistic collaboration ?
I love working with other creatives, I suppose the dream would be to collaborate with all different types : Brewers, Film Makers, Music makers, Architects, Interior designers, Fashion designers, Furniture builders. Everyone and anything!
What are your next projects, where can we buy your art ?
Just in time for Christmas, you can buy Prints and T-shirts via my online shop: https://jamesmankiewicz.bigcartel.com/products
I am currently working on another core range Label design for a Local Brewery, Southsea Brew Co. The design is called "Low Tide" - The artwork is looking tasty, hoping to release it soon!
Any artist work you'd like to highlight ?
I am lucky to work with a number of very talented people at a Screen printers called Seadog Print Studio.
Go check them out :
https://www.emmanicolillustration.co.uk/
http://www.stulinfield.com/
https://www.instagram.com/allcaps.co/
https://www.instagram.com/m_i_l_h_a_u_s/
