We were delighted when we discovered Mark Dingo Francisco’s Wes Anderson-inspired postcards. The beautifully illustrated scenes showcase Dingo’s love and fascination for Wes Anderson’s signature cinematographic style: those gorgeously compositioned, colorful buildings and landscapes that make you wish you could immerse yourself in Anderson’s fairytale-like imagination. We spoke to Mark about his work and love for Wes Anderson’s films:
What especially about Anderson’s work is appealing to you?
It all began when I fell in love with The Grand Budapest Hotel – the witty dialogue, the overall narrative, compelling characters, the cinematography, and Wes Anderson’s unique visual style. I decided shortly after to watch the rest of his films in reverse chronological order, and I definitely wasn’t disappointed. This was also the order in which I made each postcard. I love his visual style and how he can portray whimsical and melancholic moods. I wanted to do the same with the postcard series in my own illustration style, as homage to Wes Anderson.
What inspired you to illustrate Wes Anderson’s locations rather than his characters?
I wanted to challenge myself in doing scenery instead of character portraiture since I haven’t dabbled in it much until recently. Also, the places were all so characteristic of each individual film’s overall personality. That’s what I wanted to portray; each locale as characters themselves, teeming with personality.
Is that why you decided to represent these places as postcards accompanied with stamps?
I thought an appropriate way to represent a place was through a postcard and postcards give the notion of being able to visit them as real travel destinations. I also wanted to do postcards as a way of marrying my illustrations with an aspect of design and to illustrate with a concept in mind. The stamps were made as a traditional accessory to a postcard. They also emphasized the concept that these places are like real places which one could visit; these postcards coming from those locations.
How did you go about illustrating these scenes? Are they exact copies or did you add your own details?
I wouldn’t say any of them are exact copies. Definitely, they were inspired by images from the movies from which they came from, but of course I wanted to put my style and personality into each one. Subtle nuances such as texture or line detail, or playing with colors to emphasize that melancholic mood that Wes Anderson is known for in his movies.
