Trent Pettit Layers Up

All work by Trent Pettit
Arts School Poster: 2007 LA Tech. Univ. Student Art Show Poster

Trent Pettit is a graduate of Louisiana Tech University's School of Art, where he earned a bachelor's of fine arts degree in 2007 in communication arts. He has had his art featured at Design Related and is the winner of the 2006 Louisiana Peach Festival poster contest.
Pettit accepts commissions and may be contacted at trentpettit@gmail.com
See more of his work at:

Design blog
Design Related

Gig Posters

As the creator of the 2006 Louisiana Peach Festival poster, how did you come up with the concept?

They had an original run that was signed and numbered and then sold as collectibles. As for the concept: they provided us with the theme "Life is Sweet." From there, I made some observations about the nature of the festival and Ruston itself, eventually leading to the rustic and timely aesthetic of the final piece.

John Reuben: Selection from various merch projects

What media do you use in your artwork?

All of my work is outputted digitally, but I often utilize a lot of 'hands-on' processes before actually getting those things to a digital form. That's basically just scanning a lot of found materials gathered from various sources (be that vintage book art, garbage or stuff I burned when making breakfast this morning) or drawing my own sometimes.

"Greenbacks" Selected page from a personal book project "Apathy in the Gallery," an illustrated exploration of early photography's documentation of the Native Americans during early American western expansion.

Have you exhibited anywhere? Exhibiting anywhere soon?

Louisiana College Student Art show 2002 and Louisiana Tech University Student Art Show 2004 and 2006.

What are your plans for the future of your art?

I try to keep learning and experimenting with new processes and styles, so hopefully it'll all continue to evolve as I learn new things. I'm looking forward to eventually investing some more time screen printing.

The Photography of Mike Leblanc

All photos by Mike Leblanc

Editor's note: Wow! There are more photographers at hand in north Louisiana than I realized. But coming up in short order are hand made goodies that I can't wait to post about. Until then, here is the wonderful photography of graphic designer Mike Leblanc. He's the coolest.

What would you say your photographic style is?
Being that my main passion is graphic design, I find that design elements find their way in my photography. A designer's work usually adheres to a grid system or hierarchy. Those methods seem to creep their way into my work.

What kind of camera do you use?
My camera isn't all that flashy--no pun intended-- *warning bad joke area*... I use your run of the mill Canon Rebel 8MP SLR/18-55mm lens. I feel having great equipment is fine, but the most important attribute to posses for creating good photography is having a great eye for composition and color.

What is your art background? (formal training, years practicing)

Like I mentioned, I am at heart a graphic designer, but of course graphic design and photography go hand-in-hand. I graduated from Louisiana Tech University in 2004 with a Bachelor's of Fine Arts in graphic design. Since then I have worked as a freelancer. I took a couple of photog classes as an undergrad and never thought that I would shoot more than what was necessary for my graphic work. Man, was I wrong. A quickly fell in love with the medium.

What music do you listen to when you work (on art)?
Currently I'm listening to Radiohead, As Tall as Lions, Iron & Wine, Bjork, Thievery Corporation, MIles Davis... anything mellow.

What inspires your art?
I find inspiration in multiple places. I like finding beauty in old decrepit buildings... the color that they leave behind after the structure starts to crumble. I also do a lot of Web surfing. The Internet is a vast source for information and inspiration. Some of my favorite artists sites are:
--James Jean (amazing illustrator)
-- Sampaints.com (Another great illustrator, his work is very haunting. It definitely stays with you)
--Jill Greenberg (A great commercial photographer. Chances are you've seen her work in magazines and other productions. She really knows how to use the power of Adobe Photoshop to achieve the final image she wants).
-- Aestheticapparatus.com. These guys epitomize the idea of doing what you love and loving what you do. They are a two man company that screen prints gig poster for bands. Their work is utterly amazing.

If you could work with/ study under any artist, who would it be?
Scott Hansen (iso50.com). His work is awe inspiring The colors that he uses in his prints coupled with his "vintage poster design" style make for really interesting compositions. On top of creating his work he also finds time to produce music (http://tychomusic.com/)