Posters for the Marches

In addition to working on my latest series, I've been making posters for the various marches in San Francisco for myself and friends.  I looked at the work of Stuart Davis - there is a show currently at the DeYoung Museum and it is inspiring.  What I love about his work is the collage feel of it and I was surprised to find out that the work is not collaged.  In fact, it is painted in oil - another surprise because that meant that he had to wait a good amount of time for each layer to dry before painting the next steps.

But what I wanted to understand was his use of colors and their combinations.  His work really catches the eye and that was what I wanted in my posters.  Of course, I didn't want to do anything too complicated because the posters are about the message which had to be clear, concise, and readable.

So, my first attempt was simple:

This was a topical poster for the Tax Day March held on April 15, 2017.   I referenced the United problem and the bombing of Syria with the "mother of all bombs" .  I attached a couple of images of Trump from my postcards, fixed the misspelling of accommodate (two ms) and it was ready.  It didn't have much pizazz but the colors were good together.

My second poster was a little more lively.  We marched from Civic Center to the Ferry Plaza, and then, ended up at the Palace Hotel for drinks and snacks.

So, now, it was time to get ready for the next march - the Science March, April 22, 2017.
One thing I learned is that it is important to have messages on both sides of the poster - it just looks better than looking at a blank side.  So, now i have two images for each poster.

I made this for a friend.

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 This was made for my husband.

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 And this is what I held up.  (it says "funding Basic Research Boosts Innovation)

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I learned that if you want the colors to be more vibrant, then gesso the cardboard.  Also, it takes a chunk of time to make these!  

And what do you know, there we were in a photograph on the Politico page.  Unfortunately, i wasn't holding my sign up but my husband's sign was prominent, behind the orange stormtrooper.

A bird's eye view of the Science March in San Francisco

I don't know what the number of participants was but it looked like quite a few of us marched.  In the above photo, it looks like solid stream of humanity from the Ferry Plaza to Civic Center where the rally was held.  We skipped the rally and retreated to the fabulous  Zuni Cafe for a little liquid refreshment and munchies.

 I am feeling a  little "march fatigue" but I will try to rally for the Climate March  this Saturday April 29, 2017.  Just in case, I will have posters ready for the holding.