Star Wars Annual blank – painted for a private collection of Marcin Łuczak.
Who’s the hooded man?
Star Wars Annual blank – painted for a private collection of Marcin Łuczak.
Who’s the hooded man?
Here is a short story of a poster. I’m gratefull to Joanna Kos-Krauze for trusting me and Cristian Loghin (designer) with this project. We were both deeply inspired by the movie – typography reflects subtle and complex movie structure. Illustration, actually painted on canvas, 100 x 80 cm, was inspired by a frame from the movie. Little girl, running along the road, escaping. Caught in the headlights of the car. Birds Are Singing in Kigali is a great movie. Don’t miss it.
The illustration from the poster also appeared on the cover of a book, an interview with Joanna Kos – Krauze, movie director (published by Wydawnictwo Znak, 2017).
The whole set of re-published novels by Gaja Grzegorzewska / Wydawnictwo Literackie.
Cover design by Marek Pawłowski / Wydawnictwo Literackie
Re-published by Wydawnictwo Literackie, “Grób” – dark crime story by Gaja Grzegorzewska with my illustration on the cover. Released on November, 2016.
An illustration for the special edition of Zwykłe Życie, a life-style magazine published in Poland. This doggie became a part of a series called “Gumowe Ucho” – illustrated short stories, pieces of dialogues and situations picked from the street by Agata Napiórska, the editor of a magazine. Also, it is my personal tribute to Kazimierz Mikulski, cracovian painter and scenographer, who created “Ferdynand Wspaniały” – a character from the book by this title written by Ludwik Jerzy Kern. Of course – the dog from the picture exists for real – his name is Piorun (Thunder) and he’s a VIP.
Re-published by Wydawnictwo Literackie, “Topielica” – dark crime story by Gaja Grzegorzewska with my illustration on the cover. Released on August, 2016.
The re-published set of Gaja Grzegorzewska’s novels.
Design by Marek Pawłowski / Wydawnictwo Literackie
All books of the Author, published by Wydawnictwo Literackie.
Design by Marek Pawłowski / Wydawnictwo Literackie
Re-published by Wydawnictwo Literackie, “Noc z czwartku na niedzielę” – dark crime story by Gaja Grzegorzewska with my illustration on the cover. Released on June, 2016.
Brand new book by Gaja Grzegorzewska! “Kamienna noc” with my illustration on the cover. The book was released on May, 2016. I was really happy and surprised when I’ve found out a small, yet funny trend in Gaja’s fandome: girls were making themselves selfies, wearing sunglasses and hoodies – like on the cover and posting the photos online. Le plus Ql.
Beautifull and tallented – Gaja Grzegorzewska with “Kamienna noc” / photo: Wydawnictwo Literackie.
Re-published by Wydawnictwo Literackie, “Żniwiarz” – dark crime story by Gaja Grzegorzewska with my illustration on the cover. Released on February 2016.
Design by Marek Pawłowski / Wydawnictwo Literackie.
I’m happy to be on a team of “Grain of truth”, the second film of Borys Lankosz, director of “Reverse” Polish candidate to OSCAR ACADEMY AWARD® in 2009, awarded at the film festival in Moscow, New York and Seattle. The film is an adaptation of the bestseller thriller by Zygmunt Miloszewski , “A Grain of Truth” was awarded the High Calibre Prize for the Best Polish Crime Novel of the Year 2011. It was published in 2012 in Great Britain and USA by Bitter Lemon Press. On January 2014 the book was published in Israel by Pen / Jedijot Sfarim
So, what is it all about?
A big shot prosecutor Teodor Szacki divorces his wife and leaves Warsaw to “start a new life” in picturesque town in southeast Poland Sandomierz. After a short while he is called in to investigate a strange and mysterious murder case. Alienated in provincial reality he struggles to find a killer, when he stumbles upon more victims. While the investigation continues he realizes that all murders are connected to alleged historical Jewish ritual killings. Those murders prompt a wave of antisemitic hysteria in the town. In his investigation Szacki must wrestle with the painful tangle of PolishJewish relations and real findings of his work that roots of some legends arefantasy, not a grain of truth… (source: Studio Rewers).
My work included: making the clay model of the underground and then the storyboard for an underground sequence.
“Grain of truth” was promoted during Berlin International Film Festival. Below, a promotional leaflet, with my illustration on the front and back – it is a travesty of an infamous painting by Karol de Prevot, depicting Jews slaughtering Christian children. Since XVII century the painting decorates the wall of a catholic cathedral in Sandomierz – sadly for years it was left without any commentary or just covered – a shameful sign of anti-Semitism, hidden deeply in our consciousness, functioning (even till now) in a form of a gruesome urban legend.
UPDATE: I’m proud to say that this illustration became a part of collection of Museum of History of Polish Jews POLIN in Warsaw. Read more.
De Prevot’s painting. Source: Wiki Media,
Martim Monitz is a band from Poznan, Poland, founded by three musicians playing from years in various independent formations. The story begins in early ’90 when we started playing together in noise band Ciastko. Along the way they played in other bands from punk to free improvisation music. In 2012 they met again in Martim Monitz to play something that sound like post-noise, post-punk and post-hardcore. I made an illustration that ended up on the cover of their LP Vinyl. Proud to participate in a great project. Powerful sound. Wanna listen?
Original artwork was painted with acrylics, on canvas, 40 x 40 cm.
Yup. We (The Band and my cover) were noticed and ended up amongst the best vinyl covers of 2015.
Again, my hero Anubis. This time painted on paper (my fav, canvas texture). This painting is a kind of an hommage to “Spirited Away”, one of my favorites anime by great Hayao Miyazaki.
This artwork is a part of a series of illustrations on paper with Anubis – leitmotive: travel.
Joanna Karpowicz / “Anubis in Hakone I”, 25 x 35 cm, acrylic on paper, 2015
Joanna Karpowicz, “Maddux Air Lines”, 25 x 35 cm, acrylic on paper, 2015
Maddux Air Lines, established in the late 1920 operated in California, Arizona and Mexico. Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart were among the famous aviators who were involved with Maddux.
And here is Anubis with a Lady, who plans to spend her winter holidays at Agua Caliente Casino, sipping coctails in the sun.
Joanna Karpowicz / “Parkersburg X-Mass”, 25 x 35 cm, acrylic on paper, 2015
“Anubis in Cancun”, 25 x 35 cm, acrylic on canvas, 2014
Summer plenair with Galeria Stalowa, Kazimierz Dolny / Polska.
On spring, 2015 “Wysokie Obcasy’, women’s extra with Gazeta Wyborcza (every Saturday) had launched a new short stories series, called “About Love”. For a few months I was illustrating those life-style stories gathered and written by Magdalena Lankosz, Magdalena Kicińska and Jerzy Ziemacki.
Here is a few examples of my work.
It has begun! My work as a storyboardist for “Grain of truth” (movie directed by Borys Lankosz, based on the bestselling novel “Ziarno prawdy”, by Zygmunt Miłoszewski) had started unexpectedly from an improvised construction of the dungeons. This underground location plays a significant role in the movie. Models, made out of 30 kg of clay, cardboard, tons of duct tape, empty plastic bottle and a lot of weird little objects, were created after the sketches prepared at the scenography department – lead by a superb Polish scenographer, Magdalena Dipont. We made a lots and lots of photos, trying to get the best frames, using candles as a source of light.
A model of chamber made by me (with Borys help), based on the sketch (early stage).
Clay “actors”, standing arround “the hang man” – made out of piece of cardboard
Precious experience, interesting conclusions. Somebody might ask: why not use 3D renderings? Well, I’ll tell you, this paleolitic method worked very well for us. It moved imagination, brought some cool ideas. I’m proud to work as a part of the team.
Building the large scale undergroud for the movie. fot. Edwin Wolski
fot. Edwin Wolski
Freshly painted portrait of a “Duck playing skat”, 33 x 27 cm, acrylic on canvas. I painted it as a gift to my Step Father, famous duck collector and skat player.
What animal would you choose to be painted as?
Joanna Karpowicz / “Player”, 33 x 27 cm, acrylic on canvas, 2014
I also painted a “lucky duck” on my Step Father’s skiing helmet.
“I am the grass; I cover all”
I always wanted to paint figurines, but I didn’t until Marek Kasperski, a collector of comic original artworks and owner of ArtKomiks.pl – first professional on-line comic artwork gallery in PL, send me two little Munnies. Oh it was fun. This is the first one, inspired by my Anubis painting series you can see in this post.
Gaja Grzegorzewska, Polish novelist, the author of crime novels about a female private detective, Julia Dobrowolska: Żniwiarz, Noc z czwartku na niedzielę, Topielica (awarded with Great Caliber in 2011) and Grób (2012). Her newest book, “Betonowy Pałac” is going to be released on 28th of August, 2014. It’s published by Wydawnictwo Literackie from Cracow. I’m happy to announce that my illustration is going to be on the cover of this, so anticipated by the fans of Gaja’s writing, book.
Photo: Wydawnictwo Literackie
Cover design: Marek Pawłowski / Wydawnictwo Literackie
From a long time Jubilat had been an inspiration to me. Here – in the second plan.
Joanna Karpowicz / “Nessie”, 50 x 70 cm, acrylic on paper, 2013
Joanna Karpowicz / “Bigfoot”, 50 x 70 cm, acrylic on paper, 2013
Joanna Karpowicz / “Anubis reading”, 35 x25 cm, acrylic on paper, 2014
“What we see
and what we seem
are but a dream…
a dream within a dream”.
14th of February, Valentine’s Day. Year 1900. Girls from Appleyard College go for a picnic at Hanging Rock. Peter Weir put a celluloid spell on those oneiric young ladies and locked them forever in a rocky labyrinth. They take of their black stockings and climb barefoot, free in white dresses. Time stops. Rock hypnotizes. Some time ago I made this box, a tribute for “Picnic at Hanging Rock”. Acrylic, cardboard, canvas. And mystery inside.
To design and create a hardcover book – a classic task at the faculty of book design and typography. I’ve chosen Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”, because…what will make a better hardcover than a wooden coffin? Abraham “Bram” Stoker wrote his gothic novel, “Dracula” in 1987. When I read the book for the first time I was in fear of the blood sucking monster. Today I pity Dracula and even sympathize with him sometimes (we tend to have common problem of insomnia). “Oh, the terrible struggle that I have had against sleep so often of late; the pain of the sleeplessness, or the pain of the fear of sleep, and with such unknown horror as it has for me! How blessed are some people, whose lives have no fears, no dreads; to whom sleep is a blessing that comes nightly, and brings nothing but sweet dreams.” Poor Dracula.
The book, presented on the photos is fully handmade. Typography (not my forte) is simplified. “Scratched” logo-like title appears both on the cover and in the book, on the title page. Illustrations (originally there is about 15 of them) were made with ink on pressed paper. I decided to not to bind them, just left them separated (so they rest in peace). Coffin is made out of plywood, inside I glued it with a silver satin. Dracula Hardcover is pretty old, it was made in 2000.