I have admittedly certain go-tos definitely when it comes to design--vintagey elements, diagrams, collage, animals, more graphic things than photographic. Usuallly, you can probably totally tell the difference between in-house designed chap covers and done by others (which I think gives us a little bit more of an interesting spread when it comes to cover designs.) I also have certain go-to colors,--aqua, slate blue, gray, orange, pale green. I love using things like vintage wallpaper, oil paintings, old advertisements. A couple months ago, I was all about rabbits.
One of my other loves is playing with vintage postcard images--the scenic kind you would get on vacation--either photographic, or even better, rendered by an artist. . When I was in high school, I started a postcard collection. Somewhere, I have cache of collected cards from both places I visited (which at the time was like Florida and Wisconsin) and cards sent or collected by other people for me from various destinations.. By then, such postcards were glossier, slicker, more photographic. Over the years I wasn't very good at keeping up collecting on my very infrequent travels, but besides, it was older postcards, reminiscent of a time I never traveled, that were interesting to me, I hoarded various samples over the years and would use them in artwork or display them as-is--old books of Paris sights, unknown lakes and rivers and landscapes. I had one set of black and white postcards that seemed to be from a soldier in Europe back to his parents here. Between what I have squirreled away in boxes , in collage work, stuck in random books, and on my walls and bulletin boards in various places, I probably have hundreds. If you hear me squeal in an antique store, it's probably because found their ephemera collections and I'll usually spend a few bucks if something catches my fancy.
The internet of course, gives me much greater access to scenic postcard imagery, and I make use of it often. My recent the animals series is based entirely using vintage cardss, as have been a couple recent dgp covers. I realized, looking back through older stuff, how often I employ them, including the UFO collage that will be on the cover of little apocalypse, as well as several pieces in that series and, style-wise, for the promotion of our APOCALYPSE, USA programming last spring. I especially love the ones that are rich in color and sort of linen-like in texture rather than glossy. while I appreciate blank cards, I like even more if they are written on and postmarked and giving a peak into the adventures of strangers past.
