The 1848 Tricolour Celebration is a cultural and historical event, which commemorates the first unveiling of the Irish Tricolour flag by Thomas Francis Meagher at 33 the Mall in Waterford city. The highlight of the annual event is the official military flag raising ceremony, which will be held on Sunday the 10th of March, 2013. In the past 2 years, I have taken photos and helped out with the events design requirements. This year, I was asked to contribute an illustrated piece to commemorate the event. Initially, I wanted to illustrate the poster with lots of action, such as the flying of the tricolour flag from the window of 33 the Mall, the battle of Antietam and maybe some of his Van Diemens land experiences. As I ventured into it, I discovered that it became messy and lost impact. The version I went for was just about the man himself, with his striking appearance. I focused on detail and impact of colour. Also below is an example of the finished A2 poster. © Lee Grace