Christmas Island 2020 stamp issue

Posted on May 26, 2021May 26, 2021 by Sonia Kretschmar

Last year I had the privilege of creating my second stamp / mini sheet issue for Australia Post (the first being the 2016 traditional Christmas stamp). This time I was asked to design for one of the more ‘niche’ issues in the world of stamps – the Christmas Island Christmas stamp issue. The theme for this year was to be a musical one – Santa conducting a choir of native birds, and a not so native Rudolf leading a band of crabs and lizards. I loved researching the beautiful scenery of Christmas Island – a far cry from the usual negative press we get here in Australia. I wanted to bring some beauty and levity to what is a traditionally absurd theme, and I am really happy with the result. (First Day cover pictured above)

The team at the Australia Post Design studio also did a fantastic job with packaging the stamp booklet – gold foil stamping and varnish highlights made for a gorgeous keepsake; (I created a short video to try and capture the effects):

Fortune Magazine ‘Most Powerful Women Summit’

Posted on December 18, 2019December 18, 2019 by Sonia Kretschmar

Recently I was asked to provide the artwork for a backdrop at Fortune Magazines ‘Most Powerful Women Summit’ which was held in Washington in October 2019. I’ve always been fascinated by the design legacy of the magazine, particularly with the classic covers of the 1930s-50s, so it was a tempting prospect to work on this project. Ten female artists from around the world contributed artwork, printed on banners 10 feet high by 5 feet wide; the main challenge for me was to translate my painterly style into vectors in Illustrator (to print at various sizes whilst keeping file sizes low)- something I’ve always have been meaning to do, but my general indifference to Illustrator always got in the way (I’m a Photoshop gal).

A crash course in vectored gradations meant that I was able to send the artwork off as requested, and the panels will be used again at upcoming conferences as well.

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Fortune Magazine ‘Most Powerful Women Summit’

Shout Out!

Posted on February 22, 2018May 29, 2018 by Sonia Kretschmar

A sneak preview of one of my portraits featured in the upcoming ‘Shout Out to the Girls: A Celebration of Awesome Australian Women’ to be published by Penguin early next year! This one, of course, is of Vali Myers, who I would see occasionally when I had my studio in Carlow House and she had her studio in the Nicholas Building (a block away from each other on Flinders Lane, Melbourne). Unfortunately I was always too scared to actually ‘meet’ her :0

This is my second contribution to the upcoming ‘Shout Out to the Girls: A Celebration of Awesome Australian Women’ to be published by Penguin early next year… a portrait of Alice Anderson, a pioneering car mechanic who worked as a ‘chauffeur to the stars’ of Melbourne in the 1920’s, as well as establishing her own garage in Kew.

From the Penguin Australia website:

Let’s hear it for the Australian women who have shaped our history and are expanding our future!

Shout-outs to 50 awesome Australian women with easy-to-read biographies of their incredible achievements. From Cathy Freeman to Turia Pitt, Edith Cowan to Julia Gillard, Mum Shirl to Vali Myers, plus rally car drivers, molecular biologists and more, this book is a celebration of women in all fields, from all walks of life, and from Australia’s past and present.

Brought to life by colourful illustrations from female artists, Shout Out to the Girls is the ultimate inspirational read for young and old.

All royalties from sales of this book go to The Smith Family.