Eight Welsh artists have produced a £5 pack of postcards for leading homelessness charity, The Wallich, as a love letter to a everyone staying in the UK over the summer holidays.
At just £5 for eight cards, all profits from the Postcards From Home initiative will go to The Wallich to help people experiencing homelessness across Wales.
With non-essential travel in place and many people either staying put or exploring the UK, Postcards From Home is encouraging people to stay connected, no matter where they are, to combat summer blues and loneliness.
I Loves The ‘Diff’s own postcard is an image by Ian Johnson, taken on 1 May 2020.
“It was really just a quick snap I took on my phone as I headed into work last Friday morning,” says Ian, who works at the BBC.
The photograph, showing a Cardiff Bus on Park Street, with its “Cheers Drive” message, struck a chord with many people online who were missing Cardiff and also wished to convey their gratitude to the key workers who were out there keeping things going.
It also shows the Principality Stadium, converted into Dragon’s Heart Hospital, cementing the image as a specific mood at this moment in time.
Cardiff-born artist, Pete, works in illustration, painting, design and sculpture.
With a distinct style, Pete has created recognizable images for rock band Super Furry Animals’ albums, videos, and merchandise.
Legendary local illustrator, Phil Morgan’s street art style is well loved and instantly identifiable.
Soaked in music and skateboarding – and sometimes Welsh cultural – references, Phil’s work takes well-known elements from worldwide pop culture and repurposes them with a wink, a smile and – fairly often – a middle finger.
Suzanne is one half of the Cardiff-based, wife-and-husband creative powerhouse that is Patternistas, an award-winning creative studio with “a passion for pattern and the uplifting power it has to transform products and spaces and put happy smiles on faces”.
Matt is a freelance illustrator based in the UK, specialising in illustrated murals, animations and maps.
His illustrations mix bold lines and bright colours with humour and a loose, hand-drawn aesthetic.
Rohanne is a graphic designer and artist based in Cardiff.
Using her degree of graphic design and self-taught passion for traditional art, she enjoys combining these two skills together to create contrasting pieces that focus on expression and colour.
Freelance illustrator Sophie has a background in Japanese and French language and culture, and specialises in illustrations for businesses, packaging and editorial.
Sophie’s work is often characterised by flora and fauna, interesting objects and bold colour palettes.
Frank was born in Scotland but grew up in northeast England and trained as in graphic design there before coming to Wales to study wildlife illustration. Work brought him to Cardiff where he settled in Penarth.
After a short career in printing, he now paints. Primarily a landscape artist working in both watercolour and oil, he prefers to paint directly from nature, working quickly with a limited palette whilst endeavouring to capture the image before him in the most economical way.
During the initial three-month COVID-19 lockdown period, The Wallich adapted its services to continue supporting people by:
