Art of Records 3

 

 

Rough sketches

Initial concept

For the second time this year the "Art of Records" premieres a group show featuring artwork inspired by two highly claimed and collected records. The "Art of Records 3" hosted by DJ Low Key and the Denver Solution was held on November 8th, marking the 20th anniversary of "Enter the Wu-Tang 36 Chambers" and "Midnight Marauders" album release dates, considered by many as classic albums, "36 Chambers" is ranked #387 on the top 500 albums of all time. 

I chose to create a custom version of the Wu-Tang album, and after a few different thumbnails I ended up falling on a concept based on a skit contained within 36 Chambers. In this clip Wu-Tang members are doing a radio interview, and Method-Man says "We form like Voltron, and Gza just happen to be the head". The reference is to the members of the group coming together to form a larger, stronger and potentially more dangerous entity than the individuals as a whole.

This small excerpt from the album inspired me to create this illustration, using elements from the Voltron cyber-mech from the 1980's and a serious, but caricaturized portrait of Gza. To further finalize the product of an album cover I collaborated with my good friend and designer, Dan Castillo who created the full vinyl layout and design. In this post I have also included a concept that I had initially wanted to paint, but scrapped it for the "Voltron" variation. 

I worked up the sketches and process in Photoshop and the final painting was executed in acrylic on board at 13" x 13". The painting consists mostly of glazes with some direct painting thrown around in the half tones and core shadow area. 

The final twist to the concept was the full custom designed vinyl cover, which Dan and I wanted to have a feel reminiscent of a Mad Magazine cover. All the elements to the design and illustration had this end goal in mind, focusing on a caricature style GZA and the layout elements of Mad from the font to the "tagline" at bottom. The final design is printed on vinyl and paper elements made for folding and housing the vinyl record. Very pleased with the final product from this collaboration project on a short deadline. The artwork is on display at Family Affair in Denver until Dec.13 if you want to see the painting and the rest of the other great works from the artists below:

Here is a write-up from the Westword about the show:

Tonight at the Meadowlark, the Solution is presenting the third installment of the Art of Records, its unique artistic series, which combines music and art in a compelling way by having local artists offer up their interpretations of classic hip-hop albums. This time, the talented cast of artists include Xencs L Wing, Jaime Molina, Thomas Evans, Karma Leigh, Triston Minton, Aisha Renee, Michael Coriano, Tiredpirate, Joseph Martinez, Delton Demarest and Dunn the Signtologist. The albums: Midnight Marauders by Tribe Called Quest, and Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), both of which came out twenty years ago on November 9, 1993.

Thanks to DJ Low Key and Denver Solution for the opportunity and thank you for stopping by to view the posts.

Here are links to the previous Art of Records shows:

AOR 1

AOR 2

Art of Records 2 Mega-Sean

was my second time showing at the Art of Records curated by Dunn the Signtologist. Here is the initial sketch and the final painting as it was displayed at the opening, and some process and detail shots. I was also asked to take a photo with the work by the Westword photographer, so you get a sense of scale for the painting. I chose to re-create Sean Price Monkey Barz in a more realistic manner than the original cover art by Romeo and Raphael Tangal. Sean Price is among my favorite artists and one who constantly has hand made cover artwork, so it made complete sense to re-envision this particular cover art. Completed in acrylic on wood, at the scale of the original vinyl, this painting was time consuming and gratifying to complete in this fashion. Many more amazing works were created for the show, take a trip to the Denver Solution to see more. You can view my first Art of Records piece by clinking on the link here. Thanks for stopping in to view the work, more posts this coming week on current projects. 

5 Years of Album Art

is a very deep and sacred post for me. I have to say, it is a real honor to be asked to create album art through this period of time, and within an industry which has drastically changed while creating for it. I am taking the time to reflect on the work from these years because I recently completed another album cover and it dawned on me. I never envisioned myself getting involved with album art, but having the pleasure of knowing so many young and budding musicians in those formative years simply equated to creating album art since I was in my fledgling stage during the same time. 

I think it shows in the work that I did learn and get better with each album cover. As time progressed other designers got involved in the projects, and you can see the different formats many of these albums eventually took. The other aspect that I have attempted to maintain was the idea of a "painted" cover in which I create original artwork that is then scanned and utilized within the digital finish. I have also included the works from "Art of Records" which have been a great way to pay homage to the love of album art. 

Some may appear as the same album cover, but were completed as variations on a theme as the great Prime Element went through a name change. I have also included a preview of the new album artwork. You may also notice a cover that never went to print that was always one of my favorites, and one album is missing, can you guess which one?! 

I want to say THANK YOU to all the artists I have had the pleasure of working with, from huge world famous artists to those that are still working and making a name for themselves!! Not only have I had the opportunity to work with these amazing artists, many I now know as good friends. It has been an honor and a pleasure to undertake the visual problem solving for so many different visions, I hope I have done the best I possibly can to fuse your ideas with the final imagery! And thank you to everyone reading and viewing this post, I hope you have had a chance to listen to these albums, and if you have not please check the links to do so! 

Prime Element 
AG Flux

Pirate Signal 

ManeRok

Maneline

Stay Tuned 
En Stereo

Ichiban

King Foe

Inkline

Atmosphere

The Art of Records: LootPack

Process shots of my work in progress for The Art of Records show curated by Dunn the Signtologist and DJ  LowKey at Family Affair Denver 6pm, you can see all the details of the show on the flyer. I am going to get back to painting as I am typing this with brush in hand. Come to the show tomorrow to see what I am sure will be some really nice flip-ups of classic album covers. I chose the Lootpack Soundpieces: Da Antidote, one of my all time favorite covers and albums, look for the finish tomorrow. 

The Art of Records Recap

Photos of the final works hanging with their accompanying 12 inch at Family Affair Denver. Twas a great show with some cool takes on the original album art. This album cover was a great challenge to undertake with such limited time and the vision that I saw for the final piece. Ever since I was a kid I have greatly enjoyed getting new music and always loved when musicians used artwork for the cover. It tells a different story than a well taken photograph, or even the best digital artists rendition, in my opinion. So when I was approached for this show I had a few ideas in mind for covers that I had always considered my favorites, both musically and cover art wise, but had yet to fully decide on one, there are so many. You can see a few of those in the thumbnails from the initial post. 

When push came to shove, I wanted to re-create the Lootpack cover, even if it meant giving up some sleep. Hailing from Oxnard, California the Lootpack is comprised of Wildchild, Madlib, and DJ Romes. I have had the priveledge of traveling to Oxnard and painting there, it is grimy to say the least. This album was released in 1998 I believe, and I first saw a video for it on a late night public music channel around the same time for "When I'm On Da Mic" which is absolutely hilarious. In short it has Lootpack as MIB and then finding aliens in the desert in shiny suits, check it out. I instantly knew that the music from this group was going to be something. Madlib of course has gone on to become one of the most sought after producers in Hip Hop, if not the most talented, also my opinion. 

With all this in mind I set out on creating the cover for this album that I always had envisioned, not to downplay what the artist had produced before, but a super hero hip hop version of yourself should be pretty cool looking.  I honestly think that Madlib or other members probably produced the artwork themselves. I really wanted to add a sense of classic realism, and a strong sense of the likeness/superhero feel, but also in a classic vibe. The results are seen above, I am very happy with this piece, and will most definitely send it out to Oxnard. All the challenges and difficulties of including small details to overall impact were achieved in less than 24 hours, I am proud of that. Other works seen are from Stereo-Abstract, Dunn the Signtologist, and Michael Coriano. Special thanks to Dunn for the invite, and Es Nine for hooking the original 12" for display and play for the night. Thanks for taking the time to read if your into that, and to view the work. More tomorrow. 

The Art of Records Final: LootPack v.72

Final painting of the Art of Records piece, little over 24 hours straight, typing is not very appealing right now. Come see the work in person, I will talk about it in another post. 3 figures, five logos, and Comic call box all acrylic by hand, lettering was a 3 color stencil w spraypaint. Thanks for viewing the finish, more tomorrow. 

"Soundpieces: Da Antidote - Attack the Wack v.72"

Acrylic on Board 16" x 16"

(I apologize for the upload problems, should be fixed now.)

WESTWORD RUDE REC SPOTLIGHT

On the final two painting sessions at Rude, our friend and advocate journalist Jared Jacang Maher came down to the mural site to interview and speak with the participants of the project.

Here is his write up on the project which can be found by scrolling over the key word WESTWORD RUDE REC PROJECT.

I got a call a few weeks ago from Jolt, local graffiti OG and head of the graffiti advocacy group Guerilla Garden.
"Hey, man," said Jolt, aka Jeremy Ulibarri. The background was noisy, like a freight train or an... indoor swimming pool? "We're doing that project I was telling you about today. You should come down and check it out."
When I've gotten invited to watch graffiti writers work in the past, the location has usually been some "permission wall" in an alley that no one ever sees (or a very non-permission spot on a rooftop in the middle of the night.) Jolt, though, always seems to have random projects cooking that involve teaching kids the more artistic, evolved side of graffiti. But working with businesses, non-profits or the city is a difficult line to walk, particularly since Denver -- as one of the first municipalities to make it illegal for minors to possess spray paint -- has been operating a very expensive battle against graffiti vandalism for years. The last thing officials want to do in most cases is put spray cans in the hands of unpredictable teens, no matter how structured the program.
Double whammy: Jolt's latest wall is not only actual city property, but the kids painting it are juvenile offenders serving time in the state youth corrections system. The $10,000 mural in the Rude Recreation Center near the Sun Valley housing projects is an experiment in restorative justice, explained juvenile parole officer Martin Friedman. The idea is to engage young offenders in public service to the same community that they had ostensibly harmed with their crime.
The fifteen-by-seventy-foot mural in the center's pool area was designed by Jolt and graffiti artist/illustrator Delton Demarest to look like a series of portholes looking out onto an underwater seascape. After writing a letter and submitting works of art, twelve teens were chosen to take part in a series of classes led by Jolt and Demarest on basic graffiti art techniques such as shading, color-matching and style. It's not easy stuff, which is why many teenage graffiti writers never progress beyond the crappiest of scrawled tags and wavy pot leaves.
But with a few sessions at Rude rec, many of the program's participants were fully painting their own characters and forming styles, clearly locked in the artistic process of experimentation and critique with their peers -- then stepping back and trying again, week by week. And at the end, their creation stays on the big wall of the community center for all to see. As one of the teens said to me, "It sure beats picking up trash on the side of some highway."
On the last day of the project, Westword intern Alexis Johnson made a quick video of the action (above). We weren't allowed to show any of the teens' faces or use their full names, since juvenile criminal records are supposed to be sealed and all. But you get the picture. A grand opening for the mural will be held at Rude rec, 2855 W Holden Place, on June 27 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Special thanks to Jared Jacang Maher and Alexis Johnson for the time and effort.

"Quasimo-Dough" Final

painting for the 100 on 100 Art festival, presented by Birdseed Collective and 1/1 Magazine this evening at 841 Santa Fe. The 100 on 100 art show exhibits 100 artist from all works and styles, on the 100th day of the year. I was hyped to get a chance to render one of the "GhettDough" characters to full fruition. This particular character being one of my favorite from the StonesThrow collective and created by the amazing Jeff Jank, the art director at StonesThrow. My goal was to take the minimalist character Quasimoto and to render him in a fashion that breathes new life and emotion into his persona. The character's look for the most part is somewhat militant, with angry eyes and permanent smoke dangling from his mouth, so with this take I attempted to capture the character in a more cute, but also still dangerous fashion. Usually anyone wielding a brick as a weapon means business, so with the inclusion of the LP Rusto can and the brick, the cute look of Lord Quas face was intentional. This piece was a blast to complete and I hope you get a chance to come see the original work, and if not here is the digital version for your viewing pleasure. Thanks for stopping in to view the work, and look for more on many great projects in future posts. 

You might also enjoy: 

LootPack Soundpieces Art of Records 1

MF Doom 

Dan Tobin Smith BP3 Cover Artwork

Having been involved with the creation of cover artwork for the music industry, I saw the commercial previewed on Rhapsody for the new album Blueprint 3, with the recreated cover art as the premise and thought it was unique and different. Then to top it off I saw Dan Tobin Smith's "making of" cover artwork video. The use of projector painted, found object still life is a really fresh look, and is inspiring in many ways. Also I think the new album is good, worth giving a listen to. Here is the info and insight provided by those at OnSmash.

Dan Tobin Smith interview transcript from ItsNiceThat.com

Greg Burke, the creative director on the project at Atlantic Records had seen the Letter ‘E’ I had shot with the set designer Nicola Yeoman and I guess he had it in the back of his mind when he was thinking of ideas for Jay-Z’s new artwork for Blueprint 3. I think Greg and Jay-Z had lots of ideas about what the album meant and it seemed to be about taking it back to the source, in terms of the music itself and then subsequently the artwork. For the album and the idea was it was very much about the music and all the things that make music. The 3 is represented by 3 bars which is of course the old way of writing ‘3’ so that seemed to work really nicely with the idea behind the album and the set design that evolved. We all liked the idea that the installation was almost machine like, like all these things were interlinked. That’s why everything is packed and jumbled together. Like it had kind of grown out of this corner.
I think it was a brave approach for Jay-Z as all his previous albums have had him on them. I love still life, and the way I shoot is quite old school. It took 3 days to shoot, was all shot on 10×8 inch film, so the quality in the whites is fantastic, so much subtle tone. We worked long and hard on the colour work on the post and even in a single page mag advert I can see that effort. You could blow the image up to the size of a building and it would still hold up. It seems the album is about that old school crafted production so its nice that that same method went into the shoot.
The reaction has been really good. Kanye put it on his blog which was nice. I’m sure some people want to see Jay-Z on the cover but at least they will talk about it. I love the idea of this kind of still life photography being so looked at. When they see the rest of the shoot for the singles I think it will grow on some of the people who were maybe less enamoured with it. There has obviously been comparisons to the letter E, some people not realising it was me who shot it! It was great that we shot it and the whole experience was great, everybody worked together really well.

ROCK N LOAD: ARTORDER

Process thumbnails and rough comps for my first ArtOrder Challenge. The challenge was to create a concept for an upcoming video game themed with the idea of a leather clad rocker, bent on denying the evil General Records from shutting down his studio, set in Tool City. I focused on creating a concept that involved the idea of Jimi and Slash's child, fending off corporate suits. The concept for Tool City was one built of tool accoutrements such as screws, wrenches, screwdrivers, and drab colors.

The character design I put together include details about power ups in the game, such as guitar cord plug ins holding cyclops eyes, and electric chair caps, for use in later levels.

ArtOrder is the blog of Jon Schindehette the
Senior Art Director at Dungeons & Dragons® Wizards of the Coast. It is a very insightful and informative blog showcasing the amazing talent at D&D, and the priceless opportunity of having AD feedback, critique, and challenges that offer looks at multiple concepts of the same theme, and some that offer work, which is always a plus. Look into it, beneficial in many ways for artists at any level.