Don Brandes, a former Hallmark artist and current Ringling College faculty member, is the illustrator of the 2015 Bradenton Blues Festival poster. Brandes worked with graphic designer Paula Murray, principal of Artefact Design, on the finished design. The poster, which depicts a musician strumming a guitar on the railway bridge crossing the Manatee River, is being printed by Manatee Printers Inc. Proceeds from sales of the limited-edition, artist-signed poster, and original artwork, will benefit Realize Bradenton's music and youth outreach programs, including "Blues in the Schools." Starting the week of September 11, a limited number of posters will be available for $30 at Keeton’s Office and Art Supply in Bradenton and online at the link below. The poster will also be available for purchase at the 2015 Bradenton Blues Festival on December 5. Brandes, who has been teaching in the illustration department at Ringling College of Art and Design since 1988, says that his design for the 2015 Bradenton Blues Festival poster is, "my attempt to get sound out of an image. A combination of contrast in color and movement creates a feeling of energy resonating from the blues guitar. All of this is set on the railway bridge across the Manatee River—a perfect backdrop for the blues." 

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