By illustrator, designer and Le Cool Cover Competition winner, Lorraine Monagle.

Lorraine, co-founder of the  ‘Crying in the Textiles Toilets’ facebook page, writes:

When I was in NCAD [National College of Art and Design], most of my work consisted of 3D compositions made from old wood. Now that I consider myself more of an illustrator, I’ve tried to take that interest in compositions, texture and colour, and translate it into digital. The piece (above) is also a nod to 1960s Graphic Design and the Memphis style, which i’m obsessed with!

This week’s Le Cool Dublin issue

A chat with Lorraine

Nativity.

By Dublin-born photographer William Hamilton.

William writes:

This picture was taken in County Mayo, in the lead up to Christmas. As I drove by I laughed, and I had to turn the car around, pull in, and take the shot. To me it is a uniquely Irish scene. There was obviously care taken assembling the figures, and its got the religious element, but sometimes over here we might not be the best with the finer details. The old car trailer parked in a mucky pathway was the funny part for me. Also it kind of looks like it may have been abandoned there. But I like the fact that someone put this together, for the passers by…

This week’s Le Cool Dublin issue

A chat with William

The first Le Cool Dublin cover of 2015.

By street artist Jess Tobin aka ‘Novice’.

Jess sez:

“Trying to capture an expression in the eyes of the people that I draw is a challenge that I enjoy & the lines from the eyes are there to emphasise this, this started to appear in my work a few years back when I started to leave in the construction lines. I am a fan of traditional, I guess it’s called old school tattoos and their composition, hence the heart. I often use a heart motif in my work. My first street art piece was one. The flowing lines of the ribbon and balanced composition of this style of tattoo appeals to me & my leanings towards OCD. These two parts of the illustration are kind of like the two sides to my art.”

This week’s Le Cool Dublin issue

A chat with Jess

Aww.

By photographer and film director, Conor Horgan.

Conor sez:

“I was at the end of the South Wall a few weeks ago, thinking about how Dublin can be such an intimate city – there’s something about the scale of it that lends itself to us being at ease with other, most of the time anyway. I saw two young Brazilian guys enjoying the sunset, and quietly shot a few frames of them. They noticed me and came over, and I showed them what I’d done. One of them asked me to do a shot of both them, and this is what happened. It hadn’t been apparent until then that they were a couple. I love this picture.”

Le Cool Dublin

Old school downloading.

The second Le Cool Dublin cover by Dublin native, Waterford-based illustrator and designer Colm O’Connor.

He sez:

“I moved out of Dublin when I was 18 so I have quite a nostalgic view of the city whenever I go visit. This is a throwback to the weekends myself and Pat, with a couple of weeks’ pocket money on us, would get the 78A in to town, go see a film in the Savoy, drop in to Peats, HMV, Champion Sports, Marathon Sports and anywhere else we couldn’t afford at the time. We were only 11/12 and it was well before iTunes, Spotify, even Napster, but after graduating from taping songs off the radio this was the guy to get your bootleg tapes off. Standing outside McDonalds on O’Connell Street with a box full of dodgy tapes you could get all the latest hits. The days would end with missing our bus on the Quays, spending an hour in Virgin waiting for the ‘next one’, and chatting about the film, video games, and what we were going to spend all our millions on when we made it. Good times.”

This week’s Le Cool Dublin issue

A chat with Colm

More of Colm’s work here.

Thanks Kate Le Cool

It’s The Food Issue

By Waterford I.T. graduate (currently interning and soon to be available) Colm O’Connor.

Colm says:

This cover was designed especially for the Food Issue. I had a bit of a panic attack when I was told this issue usually trends but I got my act together, jotted down a few ideas, and decided this was the one. You can’t beat a payday when you don’t have to make your own packed lunch!

Le Cool Dublin

Wake up!

Le Cool Dublin Issue 251 cover by stylist Kieran Kilgannon and photographer Andrew Nuding featuring Avice Maughan from Morgan the Agency.

Kieran sez:

“The inspiration came from being a teenager and being so tired on your way to school that you could just sleep anywhere. So we took the beautiful Avice and shot her sleeping anywhere and everywhere.”

Andrew adds:

 “We worked  with Avice on a really sunny Sunday afternoon. We went to get my car washed so Avice could lie on the car. We also had her lying over a bin – but that didn’t make the cut.”

Fair enough

This week’s le Cool Dublin issue

A chat with Kieran and Andrew

The 250th Le Cool Dublin cover.

By Edinburgh-based Irish illustrator and designer, Mica Warren.

Mica sez

I thought that something number based would be fitting for the 250th issue, I used that as my starting point. I’ve been reading a book about Islamic Patterns recently and the geometric grid structures that underpin them. So I thought geometry, maths, numbers, savage, I’ll have a whack at that. Using one of these grids I created the type for the cover. What’s amazing about these patterns and grid structures is that they can potentially repeat and go on forever, I would like to wish Le Cool the same kind of longevity. Happy 250th!

This week’s Le Cool Dublin issue

A chat with Mica 

Thanks Michael and Kate Le Cool