While coming up with a concept, I was listening to and thinking about a few Foo Fighters songs...particularly "Learn to Fly" and "The Sky is a Neighborhood". I was thinking on themes of flight and space exploration and silliness (similar to many of their videos). The poster depicts a paper airplane launch being taken in by a fascinated girl in the foreground. I decided to use my daughter, Zella, for reference and was later convinced that was meant to be when I learned that Dave Grohl put his own daughters in "The Sky is a Neighborhood" video. I also thought it would be interesting to depict the band performing on the top of a shuttle launch station...a la the Beatles on the Apple building in 1969.
The title of this illustrations is "Finding Love in the Sun Grove Village", and here's the story within the poster:The poster is 18" x 24" and a Five Color Screen Print.
There once was a village that was built into a series of hills – each hill was a layer resting upon the hill below it, stacks and stacks of hills. And along each hill layer were little homes, built right into the ground. The people who lived there would walk out of their doors and climb the layers of hills until they reached the top, where they tended to their crops and their flowers.
But these weren’t ordinary crops – the trees looked like lemon groves, but they weren’t lemons at all. They were little suns!!
Most of the suns never grew past the size of small fruits, and they were very useful at that size, providing light, energy and health to the village.
But, as the legend goes, when two people fall in love and pick one of the little suns, it grows and grows, until it lifts off into the sky to join the universe. And so here is a scene of two of the villagers who have just fallen madly in love, and are joined by this sun, creating a supernova in the sky above the village.
I also thought I'd talk a little about this design. Since I was a little kid, my Dad had a vintage Seeway jukebox in his living room. I was always fascinated by it and played it incessantly. He introduced me to a lot of music via this jukebox. He would also change out the records to reflect the season (such as Halloween records around Halloween, Christmas records around Christmas, etc.) which I loved. Basically, I've held this jukebox in high regard for a long time.Also wanted to note that the dates and cities of the Never Ending Summer Tour are listed in the spaces where song titles would normally be. In fact, there are a few song selections in there as well...all chosen by the band.
I therefore thought it would be interesting to depict my son, Oakley, standing in front of the jukebox...just as I did as a kid. On one level it's sort of a passing of time concept, which I thought would be fitting given 311's longevity. I find it compelling that so many fans are now able to share their affection for their band with their children...as my Dad did with me. On another level the design is about feeling youthful, curious and passionate about music. All beautiful things that I relate to 311 and their fanbase.
Do Androids Dream of Electric sheep? is the starting point of the film we all love (Blade Runner), written by Phillip K Dick, published in 1968, the film is pretty faithful to the novel, with a few differences, the biggest of those to me was the use of Animals, in novel the full story is pushed along by Deckard wanting a proper animal, the ultimate status symbol after the nuclear war that has killed most of them, he riles through a catalogue from a pet store, phoning the pet store and keeping count of what he can afford if he kills all the replicants and gets the associated bounty's. I focused the main part of my print on this; the ostrich, being one of the desired animals, while the spider is related how the replicates treat animals near the end of the novel, without empathy.Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
At our house, we're celebrating how our daughter, age seven ("AND A HALF", she adds) has gone from being a capable reader last year to now being a true READER who basically picks up a book any time she stops moving. She's plowing through chapter books like her father goes through iced mochas and donuts. Perhaps you know someone like this.These prints measure 18 by 24 inches, made with five colors, in a signed and numbered edition of 170. Available at https://thebirdmachine.com/
"The conception of both paintings rattled inside my mind for a few months before the image gelled. I spent some time watching footage of NASA missions and looking up at the stars at night, just thinking what if, and maybe.
I was stuck in indecision for a long time whether or not to make these paintings. The setting in space was so foreign to my previous work. I worked on some other paintings, but the idea of deep infinite space kept creeping through my thoughts. I guess the turning point was just to dive in and see what would happen. I was aware of Jeremy Geddes beautiful astronaut paintings, and wanted to find my own voice for working with this subject matter.On sale Friday July 20 at NOON EDT at 1xRUN.com
I think they are successful in that I accomplished what I set out to express. I would enjoy revisiting this theme in the future. I think the imagery is interesting and wacky, and when I look at the print, it transports me someplace far, far away. I like art that leaves me slightly confused and with unanswered questions. If you need another reason, the paper and printing quality are top notch." - Josh Keyes
It's always fun to create Saratoga Springs pieces inspired by my time living there. I lived in the Algonquin building on Broadway and I remember sitting on my windowsill watching people up and down broadway all day during the summers. So this piece is a tribute to that beautifully unique time capsule of a town."Don't Block the Light" is a 12" x 36" 5 color screenprint for the Dave Matthews Band Show in Saratoga Springs on July 14th, 2018. The original edition of 1100 sold out at the show. These prints are signed and labeled "AP" in an edition of 120 and will cost $100.
"When I was approached to do this, a TON of ideas and concepts flew out of me, but none really hit the mark. The original one sheet of this film is iconic and a play off that was where my mind went. I also knew this poster would have to pop and have COLOR! Since all my work is hand done, on paper, this task came down to creating each individual image ( the earth, the arm, planets, logo, etc) separately and breaking each color layer down manually as I went. The poster had a final total of 55 single layer scans and 13 colors overall making it the most colors I have ever worked with. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed working on it!"There will be 3 flavors.
