Marywood University Masters of Fine Art
Study Tour – Baltimore
Interview with David Plunkert
by Daryl Stevens
3504 Ash Street
spurdesign.com
davidplunkert.com
Our visit to Spur Design, the studio of David Plunkert and wife Joyce Hesselberth was the highlite of my study tour in Baltimore. When we arrived, David began giving us a tour of his studio and showing us lots of his poster work for various clients. His studio is filled with interesting quirky things that he’s collected over the years and uses in his DaDa inspired illustration style.
In addition to his print work, David showed us some stop motion animation projects he worked on for They Might be Giants and explained how his experimental process works. The visit was a peek behind the scenes of one of the most creative individuals that I have ever met and I came away feeling inspired.
David is one of the few illustrators that I have met who is staying active and has steady work for major clients. His style of design and illustration is a nod to the DaDa collage era but feels current and timeless. It seems as if his style never goes out of style. This may be in part to how he recycles history and objects from the past in a unique direction.
“It takes a lot of confidence to just print your sketch.” -David Plunker Process Notes:
- His line drawings are done small
- Then enlarged, blurred, filled, etc.
- Keep the “character” of the line
- Reflex 072 makes drawings look better
- Keep a simple line
- Scan textures from everything you find
- Build your own personal database of images to use
- Find stuff in public domain
- Look at flea markets, antique shops and yard sales for inspiration
My Takeaways:
- Look close at your influences.
- It’s good to be inspired by historical design movements.
- Recycle history.
- Use materials you enjoy.
- Look at the “character” of the line.
- “I try to do it like a 10 year old in a 50 year old body with Photoshop.” – David Plunkert
“The enjoyment you get out of doing them should be the enjoyment of doing them.” – David Plunkert
