Posts

Raise a Beer Glass

Steve Forney’s Raise a Glass Beer Poster

Raise a Glass Central Coast Brews

Raise a glass to the brews from California’s Central Coast.  This image was created as signed limited edition print for the Just Looking Gallery in San Luis Obispo, California.   It is available in three different sizes: 12″ x 18″ on paper, 24″ x 36″, and 40″ x 60″ both on canvas.  Click the link to contact the gallery. Read more

Naturally Elegant

Steve Forney’s Naturally Elegant White Wine Poster

A red gloved hand holds a glass of white wine from California's central Coast

Naturally Elegant is the companion piece I created to pair with Simply Sophisticated. It celebrates the magnificent white wines from California’s Central Coast. This image is of a red glove holding a glass of white wine, Read more

Simply Sophisticated Wines

Steve Forney’s Simply Sophisticated California Wines

simplySophis-blog

“Simply Sophisticated” is a new image I created for the Just Looking Gallery in San Luis Obispo, California. Everyone is familiar with the Napa Valley and their world class wines.  California’s Central Coast is an up and coming wine country with wines that rival those from Napa and Sonoma counties.  Read more

Mission Brand Oranges Lettering

Mission Brand Oranges

Having grown up in southern California in the 60s and 70s, I can still remember the last vestiges of a once thriving citrus industry. Walking to school one could smell the oil-burning smudge pots and hear the whirling propellers that kept the precious fruit from freezing. By the 1980s most of the groves were cleared for houses and strip malls. Somewhere in my subconscious an imprint was made and years later I felt the urge to create a series of labels representing the citrus era. Here I’ll demonstrate how the lettering was created for the label “Mission Brand Oranges.”

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Steve Forney’s Yosemite National Park Posters

Two Yosemite posters

Yosemite National Park is one of my favorite places in this world. I’m an avid backpacker, so I’m lucky to live around 3-4 hours from the park. A recent visit inspired me to create these posters. Read more

Mt. Whitney

 

Mt. Whitney night and day

Standing at 14,497 feet, Mt. Whitney is the highest peak in the lower 48 states. It was named after Josiah Whitney, the California State Geologist in 1864. If you’re up for a challenge then go for the 22 mile (35 km.) round-trip hike to the summit starting at Whitney Portal. It’s on my to do list.

These images are inspired by the great WPA National Parks posters of the 1930s. Both were created in Adobe Illustrator using a minimal palette of flat color, similar to the traditional silkscreen process.   At first I created the daylight version but then thought that a nighttime full moon version might work.  Speaking as one who started his illustration career using an airbrush prior to the digital revolution, it was nice to be able to clone the original work and adjust the colors instead of creating a whole new separate piece of art.

Both Mt. Whitney night and day images are available at Steve Forney’s poster store

Casablanca Lettering

I love lettering. Some people like to sketch animals, some like to sketch people, some prefer to sketch landscapes. I like to sketch letter forms. Predominantly mid-20th Century lettering. Sometimes these letters don’t amount to anything legible, but sometimes they do. Who knows where these ideas emerge from when you are just letting the pencil flow while the mind is in a state of flow. Read more

Sequoia National Park

giant sequoias

 

Sequoia National Park is one of my most favorite places I’ve visited.  I love to backpack and I have been thinking of a series of National Parks posters.  From Alpine peaks with clear blue lakes to flower covered meadows to giant Sequoia trees, this park will never cease to amaze the visitor.  There’s even a tree you can drive your car through.  Pretty cool!

This poster is influenced by the great WPA National Park posters.   This image was created in Adobe Illustrator and used a minimal palette of under 10 colors.  Solid shapes and blocks of color are used, similar to the silk screen process.

Steve Forney’s Sequoia National Park is available in several sizes at art.com

bighorn sheep

Kings Canyon National Park

bighorn sheep

 

An elusive bighorn sheep stands guard in the shadows at Kings Canyon National Park.  Kings Canyon and Sequoia actually border each other and may be considered to be one park.  I’m eager to get back there and hopefully I’ll be lucky enough to spot a bighorn sheep.
This poster was created in Adobe Illustrator using a minimal palette similar to the WPA National Parks posters of the 1930s.

Steve Forney’s Kings Canyon National Park is available in various sizes as a giclée print at art.com