The Artist: Andy Council was born in Bath but now lives in Bristol,

Andy Council England. Andy studied animation at Bournemouth Art College, and has
Illustrator/Graffiti
Artist/Muralist diverted many of the skills he learned towards illustration. Drawings are
the main focus of his work, they are very detailed and colorful. He draws a
design, scans it into his computer, and then colors the design in with a
program. However, not all his work is done using a computer he also uses
acrylics, inks, and spray paint. He is heavily influenced by street art and
he creates a lot of murals. Most of these murals use architecture as a
focus but he puts the detailed buildings and structures together to create
animals such as rhinos and dinosaurs. It is a direct mix of natural and
man-made things and with it being so colorful it really catches the viewer’s
eye. It is not all buildings and nature, miscellaneous objects he draws can
make up words too. His style is very versatile and can be applied to just
about any subject.

He donated the money from one of his murals to a homeless charity in his community and he
remarks: “Much of my work features the houses and buildings of Bristol but for many people in the
city the streets are where they live. “Everyone should have a roof over their head, especially in the
current cold weather.”

Art Criticism: Quotes About Council

“He has one of the most munificent, open-minded, sharp-eyed takes on the art world.”
“Dinosaurs and buildings are a common feature of Andy Council's images” –BBC
- New York magazine senior art critic Jerry Saltz
Bristol News
“As a Bristolian of almost three years, it would be impossible not to have been wowed
Read more at http://observer.com/2012/01/art-net-the-life-and-times-of-walter-
by Andy Council’s intricate and prehistoric art works.” –Jenny Pearce, WesternEye
robinson-01242012/#ixzz3EfoKTOOA
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Andy Council takes objects and mashes them together to create new figures. The architectural
structures, roads, nature, objects, and people all influence his art. This brings the community into
the work as a viewer as well as part of the piece. It is important to capture the energy of the world
around him and give it a new life. His colorful graphic design work and murals capture the eyes of
many and causes them to interact with the piece. The precision of his lines and accuracy of the
subject matter just shows how talented of an illustrator he is and in his murals the experience of
spray painting shines through. By creating dinosaurs out of landscapes he highlights the rapid
progression of society and the environment as a whole. Not only does he care about the community
and what surrounds him enough to put it onto a canvas or giant wall, he cares enough to donate
money from commissions to local charities and hospitals.
The Artwork: Council’s work is a mashup between street art and illustration. The bright colors and bold lines
that he uses is similar to a graffiti artist and he says that is where he gets a lot of his inspiration from. His artwork
mimics life and addresses issues such as global warming, modernization, and advancements in technology. The
viewer takes away a new perspective after looking at his art and that is what makes it so interesting. By raising
awareness to the sensitive topics on what overworking and overuse of technology can do it makes people
uncomfortable and that makes it easier to stick with them. The line work, color schemes, and overall
craftsmanship of the works are truly amazing.

Climate Change Illustration Consumerism

Cultural Frame: What is Council bringing to our attention through his work? How? What
does he try to say about society through his artwork? What associations in your own life can
you make with these images?
Postmodern Frame: What is Council trying to do in terms of style? Why do you think it is
important to him that he uses an urban style?
Structural Frame: In what way does color play an important part in Council’s work? How
do compositional elements (the use of eye movement, framing, use of color, proportion,
contrast, and emphasis) play a part to tell a story?
Vocabulary:
Dimension-the emphasis of length and width of an object
Contrast-the differences in dark and light areas to add depth
Craftsmanship-the quality of a work
Focal point-the emphasis on one certain area of the composition
 The World: While Council’s work is based off of his environment when he uses buildings and other local things
to create his work, a lot of the subject matter is found around most of society every day. His use of food and
objects to create machines, vehicles, words, and other message sending pieces is relevant in our society. The
picture of the man made out of burgers, fries, hot dogs, and other food is relevant in most places all over the
world. Not to mention, his piece on consumerism because most of the world focuses on material objects
(Both by Andy Council, Trinity Fox)

The Audience: Who is Council’s work addressing? He

makes it easy for different people from different cultures to
relate to his art because the subject matter is so broad. Most
of the artwork that includes buildings from London appeal to
their society but the illustrations that touch on deeper
subjects such as the CO2 piece can be relative to all
humans because of global warming and our effects on the
environment.
Sam Taylor, NIKE

Similar Artists:

Sam Taylor is an illustrator based in London and his

bright colors and high contrast in bold black lines is
similar to Council’s style. How do you think living in
London effects their artwork? Would you be able to Gangloff, Untitled, 2008.
distinguish their works just from these few pictures?

Hope Gangloff is an American woman based in New

York and she also shows the audience a peek into her
environment and everyday modern life. Why do you
think her art is so drastically different from Council or
Taylor? What does location and gender have to do with
her style? Do you think her color choices are as
effective as the others, why or why not?
 Resources

“Andy Council.” WesternEye, 26 Oct. 2011, westerneye.net/music-entertainment/2011/10/andy-

council/.

“Blueprint Magazine - Architecture & Design.” Blueprint RSS,

web.archive.org/web/20120402034612/http://www.blueprintmagazine.co.uk/index.php/art/a
ndy-council-urban-scrawl/.

Council, Andy. “Andy Council.” Andy Council, 1 Jan. 1970, andycouncil.blogspot.com/.

“PROJECTS.” Sam Taylor Illustrator,

www.samtaylorillustrator.com/projects/ffm2seabmwjk55z504zar1z0zm3c3w.

“Two Bristol Artists Make Mural for M Shed.” BBC, BBC, 3 Dec. 2010,
news.bbc.co.uk/local/bristol/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_9252000/92521
47.stm.

“Untitled, Hope Gangloff.” Artspace, www.artspace.com/hope_gangloff/untitled.