INFOS

Who is Charlie Adam ?

Charlie Adam

Considering the worrying number of you who actually believed all the fantastical stories previously written here about Charlie Adam, we thought that we should finally reveal his true past, this time without exaggerations...
So, the illustrator wasn't born on the "Love Boat", didn't grow up in Rio de Janeiro, wasn't the lucky survivor of a plane crash on the Mont Blanc mountain, and doesn't travel in a private jet or submarine around the world to make art exhibitions...

The truth is much simpler.

From an architect father and a "Charlie's Angels" mother, he was born indeed in 1975, excellent year for Bordeaux wines, Funk music, swedish tennis, and should not have known much about the places and times he likes referring to, neither about the roller disco era ( to his regret)...

But thanks to the discovery in 1995, in a garage sale, of a magical pair of glasses which allow to see into the past or the future, and that he wears everyday, he can find all the inspiration he needs to create his pictures.
The low accuracy of his glasses might explain some unprecisions in the references made to the 1950's, 60's; 70's or 3000's ... Charlie enjoys reviving old school graphic styles, and it doesn't really matter if they sometimes overlap or contradict each other, as long as it creates visual fun...

Of course, the potential of his special glasses interests secret services of powerful nations worldwide, which allows our man, under his laid-back artist cover, to make a comfortable extra income as a double agent, but obliges him, for safety reason, to live secluded in an ultra-secret base, hidden underneath a glacier in the french Alps...

To be continued... on www.bungalowgraphics.com

About Artwork

A mix of influences...

Since I was a teen, I have been admiring artists like the Di Rosa brothers, Combas, Keith Haring, Speedy Graphito, Robert Williams, Shag, Reg Mombassa, who ignore the boundaries between painting, illustration, graffiti, comic strips and popular culture, as well as records sleeves graphics or rock, jazz, funk concert posters, and also Jim Phillips or John Severson's "surf art", "street art" or the more recent "lowbrow" American art movement, which blatantly mixes all of the art forms without any complex.

Being more into underground comics and TV soaps than conceptual art, I'd rather express myself through fun, figurative, and quirky graphic design than through some serious theoretical art form.

From pencil to Mac...

Although I love paintbrushes, it is my job as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer that led me to work with a computer (of which I used to hate the idea !) because of the need for rapidity, clearness, and mostly because of the endless modifications you are always asked to do on your designs in this profession !

But by spending more and more time working on the Mac I started to enjoy it, and realised that it could actually help me to do a lot of things I had always wanted to do, and also it develloped my skills in terms of colors and composition for example...

By making cleaner drawings, with accurate lines, I still wanted to avoid the temptation of cold perfectionnism or "special effects" that a computer can easily draw you into. Au contraire, I'd rather use it to simplify my drawings, and take them towards a more friendly, "cosy" style, by giving them that retro feel, which reminds us of the illustrations of the 50's and 60's, which I like very much for their "out of fashion" and yet timeless look, and sometimes completely kitch colours.

Being born and raised in a family of architects and interior designers, I used to flick through a lot of architecture and design magazines, which maybe explains all the references I like to make about space-age constructions and the design of the last 30 years.

My conception of popular art...

Because I create these images on my computer, there isn't really a proper "original" picture, which is why I can only offer them in the form of series of prints, (except for the one-off special orders), which makes them more accessible, at affordable prices, and actually suits perfectly my conception of popular art, addressing to people of all ages and all backgrounds, and not just to an elite few!

I like the simplicity of old picture books by Alain Grée, just as much as the crazy scenes of photographers like David Lachapelle or Terry Richardson, Jim Flora swinging designs as much as Grant Wood's still compositions, Roger Broders as the Freak Brothers, Disco as Mambo, James Bond as Bob Azzam... As many references with no connections whatsoever, apart from the fact that they inspire more joy into my work everyday.

I hope you will find the same pleasure browsing through my drawings that I got whilst making them...

Charlie Adam.

Charlie' services

What I do...

Whether you are an advertising agency, a magazine, a holiday resort on the Moon, a maker of supersonic boats or miraculous fruit juices, a wine or erotic films music producer, a festival organizer or ice-cream vendor, don’t hesitate to ask for a price quote for any visual creation. Big or small projects, all the domains are worth exploring !

• Touristy posters
• Mural frescos/ Bar or shop decoration
• Press illustrations
• Record covers
• Advertising design/Events posters
• Boeing 747 painting  ( expect a bit of delay ! )
• T-shirts design or various merchandising projects
• etc...

Free quote, design of specific themes on request, adapted to your needs, delivery of digital files, printing solutions and supervising depending on printing support and size.

What I won’t do...

Private commissions : Portraits of individuals or family, private house pictures, wedding invitations, custom made birth or birthday cards, commissions for private gift, helmets, skis or bikes painting, tatooes on butt cheeks (actually, maybe...) !
- Why ?
Because high visibility projects already take most of my time, and one original picture in one living room isn’t seen as much as an event poster or a published illustration.
Any project, even small ones, with good visibility, will be prefered instead of a private commissioned picture visible only in one person’s house.

For any design project, a confirmation deposit will be asked after acceptation of the quote, before starting any work.
Whatever your project, big or small, urgent or non urgent, whoever you are. Please, if you have any troubles with this point, don’t even bother calling .

Exhibition spaces

If you would like to suggest your place or a specific event, as an exhibition space, please don’t hesitate contacting me.
Again, it will depend on the potential visibility, and calendar availabilities.

Dealers/ Shops

For any new shop suggestion, please check www.bungalowgraphics.com, to see our existing range of products, and contact us on the following address :
info@bungalowgraphics.com

For any other risky top secret mission, or simple question, please contact me :
info@charlieadam.com

Charlie.