Michael Gillette
Born and raised in Swansea, educated in Taunton and Kingston, Michael has been a commercial artist since 1992.
Early collaborations coincided with the rise of Britpop, working with St Etienne and Elastica, whilst lampooning the scene in Select magazine. Music has always been the central inspiration to his work, and a love of all things psychedelic led to his relocation from London to San Francisco in 2001. Here he has continued to work for amongst others; Beck and The Beastie Boys. His work can also be found adorning t-shirts in stores such as Levi’s and Urban Outfitters. Most recently he completed Penguin’s re-packaging of the classic James Bond novels, showcasing his harmonic use of illustration and integrated typography. The limited edition hardback now having sold out, Michael is eagerly awaiting his promised shipment of the 14 titles as miniature dolls house books… proving that Bond pervades everything.
Michael’s sketchbooks provide him with source material for his commercial projects and exhibitions. He has exhibited his work at the Levi’s stores in San Francisco and Los Angeles, as well his personal project, a series of watercolour paintings, entitled ‘Little Angels’ at the Montessori School, in San Francisco. These painting are childhood portraits of deceased rock stars, including Kurt Cobain, Tupac Shakur and Alliah.
Michael’s work has evolved over his career, quickly moving to use Photoshop when it first became available, he was also one of the first to give it up. “I like to start with an idea, and voice it in a manner that expresses it most forcefully, rather than working in a catch all style or media”.
Clients
Apple
Levi’s
X.L. Recordings
Sony Music
The New York Times Magazine
W.W. Norton Books
Capitol Records
Penguin
MTV
Greenpeace
J&B Whiskey
Nokia
Ocean Pacific
Los Angeles Times
Old Navy
Fullcircle
Urban Outfitters
Chronicle Books
James Frost / Zoo Films
Manchester City Football Club
Links
