Practitioners - Craig Atkinson Lecture

After an Essay-based break from the Zine, I have returned to the project with more progress into the general workings of the product we aim to produce as a result of the Unit X project. 

Recently, Various working practitioners came to speak to us about  their work, and how they have progressed in their field. 

Craig Atkinson - Cafe Royal

Cafe Royal (Click Here)

A graduate of Leeds Metropolitan in 1999, after studying Fine Art, Atkinson has become a publisher / editor /contributor of his  art book publisher, Cafe Royal as of 2005. 

He visited us and gave a talk on various tips, and how he generally progressed into starting his venture into creating his publisher, speaking of how it became available worldwide, and the kinds of work he created in previous years, to get where he is today. 

Taken from my notes on the lecture: 

Key Points: 

• Began making large abstract works to expand knowledge and gain experience 
• Decided to move away from standard painting 
• Began an early website to advertise presence, and took a larger interest into drawing 
• Spent a few years as a commercial illustrator 
• "Heads for a Fiver" project became somewhat interesting 
• Looked into character design 
• Worked with Galleries 
• Started Cafe Royal, focusing on it 100% 
• Works as an artist, illustrator, publisher and Lecturer, with some photography too. 

Looking into the Cafe royal books, I feel inspired by the general way he talked about breaking into the industry after his degree, and how he actually progressed in terms of publishing, and the content he produced. He also gave some handy tips during the talk: 

Tips: 

• Plan your future 
• Have a supporting job 
• Take Work head on 
• Find and problem and find a solution 
• Work 100% 
• "Publisher - Book Maker" 
• "Maker - not a publisher as such" 
• "Distributor - dissemination for £'s" 
• "Copyright- Them and me" 
• "Legal deposit - Obligations etc" 
• "Commission - Sale/return 40/60%?" 
• "Selectivity - What's published?" 

Overall, his published works show a variety of artists and their work, allowing them to use his setup as a playground for their ideas. 

I think this creative playground idea is the best way to fully express any thoughts or works, without too much restriction on specific traits.