Art
...before there was music
Oh boy, did I love my comic books, cartoons, Star Wars, Dungeons & Dragons, and all things fantasy when I was a kid!
I was pretty sick growing up and expressing myself was made complicated through the fog of medications and fuzzy wiring. Escapism through art, crafts, and toys was my first real means of communication. I was fortunate to have a really supportive and crafty family, so I found myself always drawing, painting, or building things as a way of getting out all the noise that was inside me.
Although I took art and photography classes up through my high school years, the interest waned as I fell head over heals in love with the allure of the drug that was Music. I still dabbled with art here and there, though I never pursued it beyond music related posters and album artwork and other for-fun endeavors
By chance, I fell into my first professional Art related situation at the beginning of 2012, hired to make some fake book jackets for The Alliance Theatre's production of God Of Carnage. One thing led to another and I struck up a great relationship with the Theatre's Props Department that has enabled me to do both Music & Art simultaneously (something I had never even considered before). Being very lateral in terms of creativity, it allowed me to focus on different aspects of each while never burning out completely on the other. A perfect match. As a bonus, it opened up other facets of creativity that I've allowed to grow and foster in both my art and music worlds.
Here's just a small portion of things Art related to peruse... just keep scrolling... and scrolling... and scrolling...
theatre
God Of Carnage - The book covers that started my journey at the Alliance Theatre!
WWII era passport for Harmony. Ive made quite a few passports.. is that legal?
Pinnochio! Someone else ended up finishing him so I never got a completed pic.. his nose grew too!
Signage for Ghost Brothers Of Darkland County. A musical by Stephen King, John Mellencamp, and T-Bone Burnett
More signage for Ghost Brothers Of Darkland County. Signage for Ghost Brothers Of Darkland County. A musical by Stephen King, John Mellencamp, and T-Bone Burnett
One of my favorites! Radio console and desk for Troubadour!
One of my favorites! Radio console and desk for Troubadour!
One of my favorites! Radio console and desk for Troubadour! I also did the hanging wall art and pics.
Kristian and Brandon Bush are the real money! From Troubadour.. probably not legal.
Labels and stuff for a show I dont remember.
Wired & remote controlled lanterns for Moby Dick.
Another favorite.. Unicorn handle wands for the Ice Queen in Lion, WItch and the Wardrobe.. My design.
Lion, WItch, and the Wardrobe. My design.. shhh I kept it!
It spins! Marios fireball for a youth show.
More Mario inspired stuff.
...and more Mario.
I made all the crap on the wall.. The Prom, I think.. I believe this stuff may curently be on Broadway??
I made most the crap on the wall.. The Prom, I think.. I believe this stuff may curently be on Broadway??
I made a bunch of the crap on the wall.. The Prom, I think.. I believe this stuff may curently be on Broadway??
Added a flash and rewired this for.. some show.
Added a flash and rewired this for.. some show.
This is a label. I made it. Wow.
For Shrek???
Cinderella and Fella? Maybe?
I've made a bunch of fake iPhones over the years.. these were either 3's or 4's.
Steel Magnolias stuff. Huffing the Aqua Net was a great way to pass the time.
Ahhh, my go-to generic "Champaire" label.. 2nd only to "Champipple"
I even did some 2D puppetry with the fine fellows of the Center For Puppetry Arts for the Alliance's version of James and The Giant Peach.
Beer, beer, beer, beer.
Bull Durham. Fuck that show.
Bull Durham. Fuck that show. My stuff looked good though. I think that may be my faithful recreation of the board from the movie.. or the one some hack redid.. whatever.
I've lost count of how many pianos I've dissassembled, taken the cast iron soundboard out of (to make it lighter) and given them a 2nd life on stage. 8 or 9 easy.
Look ma, it lights up.
Makin' a red hot harpoon tip for Moby Dick.
my little buddy from Moby Dick.
I really like Star Wars. I put it in almost everything that needs text. Like Newpapers and other stuff.
Rolling corn stalks.
I'll cut you. For a kids show.
I had to modify Green Eggs and Ham for The Magic Negro and Other Blackity Blackness.. Holy crap, what a mindfuck.. instead of convincing me to want green eggs n ham it wanted me to say ni.... uh nevermind.. but fuck me, yes, I had to say it. It was a Mind. Fuck.
Lordy, do I make a lot of newspapers. I usually fill it with either the scripts or Wiki entries for the Star Wars films or The Big Lebowski (Lebowski is in literally every paper prop I make.. somewhere).
stuff from What I learned in Paris.
Retro packaging.. forgot the show.
Some ticket, some show.
Signage for The Chalks.
Labels for The Chalks.
While my specialty is making 'Paper Props" (newspapers, magazines, Visa's, money, labels, posters, pictures etc), I make a bunch of other shit too. I hear I have some stuff on Broadway (but as someone that suffers from 'Imposter Syndrome', I can't wrap my head around its achievement).
Creatively, aside from Photoshoping the imaginary into existence, I actually print and handmake stuff like fake money, visa's, labels, food cartons, pictures, vinyl albums, books, and newspapers. I dabble in electrical wiring, puppetry, painting, sculpting, carpentry, and just general manufacturing stuff. oh, and I hate hand sewing.
All of these are from productions at The Alliance Theatre in Atlanta GA., 2012-2019.
music & album design
photoshoot for James Hall & The Steady Wicked's Electric Hex cover
Final cover for Electric Hex
...and doing the layout for Electrix Hex
Cover art for Tether by The Steady Wicked
Cover for True North, a single by The Steady Wicked
Packaging for The Futura Bold's This Is War record. Cover Painting by Suzanne Cooper Morris.
Assembling James Hall's Talking Freedom With The Jailer handmade discs.
A collaboration with Carley Baer for Love On Holiday Vol. 6
Assembling handmade Tether CD's.
Finished Tether with banding.
More handmade CD's being assembled.. Calling Out The Corners, talking Freedom WIth The Jailer.
Chris Piskun's custom The Futura Bold pick
My custom The Futura Bold pick.
Just a small portion of artwork, photography, layout and design for albums and other music related stuff. Some fun collaborations and solo endeavours in there. More to come as I comb through the harddrives...
guitar mods & refinishing
- Epiphone Les Paul Special before stripping the finish (and signatures.. from The Rock Boat maybe??).
- Heatgun and patience
- Headstock pre- shaping
- And reshaped with a '57 Gibson bookscroll.
- Going for that clear trans-cherry look. Bonus LP Junior "Blue Eyed Fool". Nitro finish.
- Ta-Da!
- P-Bass, before..
- P-bass stripped
- P-bass painted and getting Nitro clear coats
- P-bass DONE. This is still my main bass currently.
- Jazz bass for The Holiday Music Motel..
- Jazz bass Nitro clear coats
- Jazz.. Holiday Motel Bass decals close up.
- Jazz.. Holiday Motel Bass decal close up: Festival Logos
- My P-Bass and the Holiday Motel Jazz bass
- Epi LP Junior original finish
- LP Junior, reshaped headstock, slimmed profile neck. getting an Olympic white coat.
- LP Junior assembling
- The Morgan Rae Paul Junior!
- Morgan Rae Paul Junior and The Holiday MotelMaster!
The Holiday MotelMaster decal close up.
Oh yeah... I've discovered the calming joys of refinishing guitars. I'm not a gear person by any stretch of the imagination, I cant remember the names of this or that, don't care about the latest and newest innovations, but I do like deconstructing and modifying instruments.
It's peaceful and relaxing. Each new technique or skill learned has a relevant place somewhere else in life. Plus its fun (although a bit selfish) to surprise others with custom modded instruments.
the beard.
Before.
The horizontal stripes really show it in all its glory.
First the glue.
Then a little hairspray to keep it together.
After the glue and hairspray dried, I made an initial trim of the sideburn to show Lori the technique idea I had and then she took over.
The under fluff.
I had to do the mustache part myself. It was really pretty layered and solid with glue and fragile. The blade, by this point, was hot as fuck and we had to let it cool down. It was easier for me to do this because of the angles involved.
On to the chin.
At this point it was only connected to a thin strip under my lip to my chin.
TA-DA!!
Beard In A Box. Lacquered and resting in its temporary home until i'm motivated to build an actual shadow box for it.
My "Travel Beard", I take with me since the other one doesnt really leave the house.
Well, you made it this far down..
So, every 7-ish years I grow my hair and beard out for around 12 months. Mostly because I can (and why not), but its also interesting to take stock of how much new grey there is, how much is left and it's a chance to harvest a ceremonial dread.
This past adventure went a little long, not quite 4 years, as I had the initial idea to glue my beard, eyebrows, and hair, then cast a mold of my shoulders and head so I could reattach it all. Because of limited storage space, I decided to settle for just the beard. Eventually I'll make a shadowbox for it. Many thanks to my partners in crime, Lori and Christian, for going on this journey with me!