The Ambushers 1967

This poster for "The Ambushers" with Dean Martin probably dates from the late 1960's. I love the hand-painted quality, you can really see the artist building up the images from simple gestures. Look at the area around the motorcycle tire, how the artist uses rough strokes of ochre to suggest the ground, and how those strokes contrast with the smooth, airbrushed surfaces of the figures, and the flat colours of the title. It's a real mix of techniques. The overall effect is both glamorous and kind of gritty, in an oddball way. It's this combination that makes the poster so appealing. For me, this poster shares something with the work of James Rosenquist. Both artists combine commercial art techniques with more expressive, painterly gestures to create images that are both seductive and a little bit unsettling. It reminds us that art is often about bringing together different ways of seeing and experiencing the world.