Featherston's work was always remarkably detailed and imaginative, and he particularly appeals to me because of his excellent lettering, which often drew on the styles of Art Nouveau master Alphons Mucha, although Featherston's art was stylistically much grittier and realistic than Mucha's preferred approach. Featherston was also a master of his medium, using clever techniques to provide texture and depth to his monochrome images.
I wish I could direct you to a web page for Featherston, but his site which was previously hosted by Threadgill's restaurant seems to have gone offline. However, if you want to see some nice samples of his work he's heavily featured on fillmoreposter.com where many of his designs are available for sale or at least for viewing. Tragically, he died in 1975 while working as a bouncer at the Armadillo, so although his output in the early 70s was prolific, it's all we'll ever have.
For someone working in the graphic arts and with a fondness for the music and visual vision of the 1960s discovering these posters was a real opportunity to look backwards and remember an artistic heritage which many designers are still trying to recreate today. It was a discovery which I had to share, so enjoy these outstanding examples of Ken Featherston's work and remember the music and the art which still live on.
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