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Gail Gastfield
13123 47th Place West
Mukilteo, WA 98275
(425) 742-0796
gailgastfield@mac.com
Illustrator / art director / graphic designer with
over 15 years experience in managing pre-press
production for a national poster publisher.
EXPERIENCE
- Freelance illustrator, designer, consultant, 1995 to present.
Clients / Licensees: Leanin' Tree (cards), Hay House (oracle cards), Contempo Colours (t-shirts, mugs, other gift products), RisingStar Graphics (coloring posters), Walrus Productions (books), Starline (posters), Artecy Cross Stitch (needlework patterns), Angel Gifts (prints and posters)
- Art Director, Day Dream Graphics, Inc. (formerly American Arts and Graphics, Inc.), publisher and distributor of popular posters, Mukilteo, Washington, 1975 - 1995.
Responsible for all aspects of pre-press production - including design and illustration - for retail posters and other graphic products, national advertising, point-of-sale, catalogs and other promotional materials; facilitated the committee responsible for selecting artwork and photography for posters and for purchasing posters from outside distributors; maintained the company's art, film and sample archives; designed and maintained all office forms; supervised one assistant.
Accomplishments:
- Design and production of original artwork for over 150 poster designs distributed nationally to over 5000 accounts.
- Management of pre-press production for 80-100 posters per year, working closely with color separating and printing companies.
- Creation of a series of artwork which was successfully licensed to another company for use on their gift products.
- Purchase, installation and trouble-shooting of computer graphic equipment which added to our department's in-house capabilities and saved the company time and expenses.
- Development of artwork and package design for new product lines.
Hardware / Software Expertise:
- Macintosh OS, flatbed and film scanners, Adobe Creative Suite
Design
Traditional Media Expertise:
- Airbrush, acrylics, oils, pastels, colored pencils, pen and ink
EDUCATION
- B.A., Art and Visual Communication, Western Washington State University, Bellingham, Washington.
Gail Gastfield began her formal art education at the age of 10, studying charcoal and pastel drawing with a private instructor. She began painting in oils and acrylics at age 12. She grew up in an artistic family. Her mother took up painting when her children entered school and later taught art in their basement studio; her engineer father framed their work, first as a hobby and later as a home business.
While in college, Gail decided on a career in commercial illustration, because she preferred representational work and also thought that eating was important. After graduating from Western Washington State College with a bachelor's degree in fine and graphic arts, she worked for American Arts & Graphics, Inc. as in-house artist and art director. She produced artwork and layouts for catalogs, brochures, ads, newsletters and over 150 posters and other products. She uses airbrush, colored pencils, gouache, acrylics, pen and ink, oils and various computer graphic programs to create art.
As a poster artist, she created monsters such as "Death Dealer", unicorns, cats, teddy bears and other animals. Fantasy and space are her favorite subjects. She appreciates the work of Maxfield Parrish, Arthur Rackham, Mucha and other illustrators. A teddy bear poster series grew out of characters created by Gail for her Christmas cards. She has been collecting teddy bears since 1978 and now has hundreds, including several she has made. Another popular series was Roosevelt the Cat, a fat orange cat with Cattitude. He was named for Gail's alma mater, very appropriately (Teddy) Roosevelt High School in Seattle. You might say that he yowls loudly and carries a big stick. Another cat character Miss Behavin' wrote a book, A View from the Litter Box, with the help of Gail and her husband Richard Record. She has a slightly sweeter disposition than Roosevelt.
Since 1995, Gail has been freelancing, producing artwork for T-shirts, posters and other gift products. She lives in Mukilteo (pronounced "Muck-ill-TEE-oh", local Native American for "good campground"), a suburb of Seattle, Washington. Besides art and teddy bears, Gail enjoys reading, sewing, singing, acting, traveling and watching movies.
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