Putnam CT – With the new season of First Fridays events rapidly approaching, members of the First Fridays committee are excited to announce the winner of the 2017 First Fridays poster contest. This year’s winner is artist, illustrator and graphic designer, Doug Chapel. Inspired by the 2017 theme, First Fridays Feature Films, Chapel’s work will serve as the cover art for the First Fridays program, which will see 5,000 copies printed and distributed throughout the state.
Over the last several months, the First Fridays committee has been eagerly awaiting the results of the 2017 poster contest. For a fourth year in a row, the contest invited artists from around the region to draw, paint, and digitally create an original piece of artwork, inspired by the 2017 First Fridays theme, First Fridays Feature Films: A Celebration of Cinema. This season’s poster contest challenged artists to present work that captured the essence of six distinct film genres, including: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Classic Films, Musicals & Animation, Westerns, and Horror. Just under a dozen artists participated, and after a difficult deliberation, the First Fridays committee chose Chapel’s work to represent the seventh season of events. First Fridays Chairperson, Sarah Mortensen stated, “Once again we were blown away by the quality and creativity of the submissions. This year we had several pieces that engaged with the theme in fun and unique ways and it made for a difficult decision. Mr. Chapel’s work was clever, creative and playfully captured the film genres the season will explore.”
Doug Chapel is a pop-culture-inspired artist/illustrator/graphic designer who resides in Worcester, MA. Crumbling factory buildings, idealized ideas of the future and all manner of modern day commercial culture (toys, comic books, fashion, music, film, etc.) lend a hand in the substance of Chapel’s cartoon/photo hybrid illustration style. Not long ago, Chapel self-published NONSTOP ACTION, a 100 page, full color art book collecting together 15 years’ worth of creativity. Chapel has had his “Action Geek” editorial cartoons published in several area newspapers, had many solo art shows in galleries, coffee shops & eateries and has his Robot DJ art in mural form on the side of a radio station building in Worcester. For more information or to see more of Doug Chapel’s art, visit his website at: www.dsquared.org
As the cover artwork for the First Fridays program, the winning poster will introduce a new look to the go-to-guide for the 2017 season. The program is the perfect companion to assist visitors to the monthly First Fridays events. For those unfamiliar with First Fridays, the program gives a brief history of the annual event, as well as an overview of what to expect for the upcoming season. Each First Fridays has something new to do and see, and the program gives a sneak peek of monthly entertainment, art performances and installations, community art projects, and vendors. As well, the program previews events hosted by such downtown galleries as: Arts & Framing and the Sochor Art Gallery, Flying Carpet Studio, Silver Circle Gallery, and The Stomping Ground. Each season, the program has grown thanks to the generosity of local sponsors who recognize the positive impact First Fridays has on the community.
The kick-off to the seventh season of First Fridays is on Friday, May 5th. Stay tuned as more details of the 2017 season emerge. Be sure to visit www.discoverputnam.com/firstfriday for the latest information on First Fridays.