I say let's take a short break from the lovely t-shirts that we see all the time and let's focus on an illustrator that has been on my mind for a long time. Today is the day when I will make room for him on the blog to show you how great he is.
Besides being an illustrator and designer, Tad Carpenter is also a teacher which explains his many posters and children's books. He lives in Kansas and has been featured in numerous magazines regarding illustrations and design.In 2006 he put together a screen printing studio with Dan Padavic – Vahalla Studios. They are successful enough to have worked for Myspace, Polo,John Mayer or Neil Young among others. This is from his about page but I enjoyed reading his blog because he gave me that homely feeling that you get from people that do something from passion. You can tell he loves what his does, just by looking at a few of his prints.
The style is a very playful one, with deep meaning and surprising details. Nothing is just for decor, every line has a meaning.
Here is the poster he did for Radiohead:
Speaking of posters he also did a lot of them for Conan O'Brien, for when he was on his summer tour last year. The posters featured the talk show host, as well as the musical guests Kesha or Bitbull.
Here they are featured in a sketch as well:
He also left his print on the design of a burger restaurant Yeah!Burger. You wouldn't expect this from such a restaurant but it looks amazing!