The new Noisear, Kylesa, and a NW green chile weekend.

I know that it's been a while since I posted anything, but it's been busy over the past few months. I'm finally rested after the 6 week Sanctioned Annihilation Tour came to an end and I'm back in the art room.
Since I've been back, I've been working on sketches for the next few projects that are coming up. I've also started up where I left off on the Hell Hath No Fury "So Shall You Reap" cover. Among the projects coming up during the month are a new Kylesa shirt design, Buzzov-en European Tour shirt, and original designs for a new sticker pack. Prints are also being worked on. I have more designs coming up, but am going to take more time on them so that I can up the ante on the work that I am putting out.
The new Noisear "Subvert The Dominant Paradigm" cd/lp has been posted for pre-sale at Relapse Records (http://shop.relapse.com/store/product.aspx?ProductID=41978). For those of you who don't know who Noisear (www.myspace.com/noisearare) should really check them out. Once again, my hermanos from New Mexico turn out a brutal assault on the ears via 29 sun baked spazztic grindcore tracks. I was amped when Dorian called to ask if I could once again design the cover for the new LP. He sent me a text filled with a string of words, each being small ideas to be included in the cover . I took those ideas and added in the images that the album title suggested and ended up with a cover that everyone was happy with. Of course, the basis of the image is the New Mexico zia constructed of bone that lies behind most of the main images. The nuclear bomb cloud is also a nod to New Mexico and their history of tests within the state. When thinking about the dominant paradigm, I wanted to convey the idea of brainwashing under the watchful eye of the dark powers that be. I also tied the nuclear cloud in with the vomit coming from each of the skulls mouths to convey that what spews from the mouths of society is as poisonous as any nuke. Dorian, Joe, and the guys at Relapse are pretty stoked on the cover and I can hardly wait until I have it in my hands.
In other news, I just got done tour managing Kylesa's 3 mini Pacific Northwest Tour over the past weekend. I stuffed them full of green chile and had a blast watching them tear shit up on stage. They started in Vancouver, BC at the Media Club, for a packed and heavy show featuring locals Haggatha and Baptists. The next night was at Seattle's own Funhouse. The show was sold out and stuffed to capacity as Book Of Black Earth, Lesbian, and Kylesa laid waste to the stage. The 3rd night was actually a private party/show in Portland, OR. It was Stumptown Coffee Roasters 11th Anniversary Bash and they managed to put together one hell of a show with Red Fang, Kylesa, and Baroness. Portland was cold outside, but inside of Berbati's Pan it was raging. We were all treated exceptionally well and were completely grateful to the folks at Berbati's and Stumptown. That party makes me want to work for them. heh. It was a great weekend and a fun quick visit from the Kylesa crew.
I will be seeing them again soon, though. Starting January 13th, Kylesa will be embarking on a 2 week East Coast "Winter Tour" with Zoroaster, Rosetta, and Fight Amp. You can find all of the tour dates and news at: www.tonedeaftouring.com/kyl.html. I'll be once again tour managing and slinging merch for this tour, so come out and say hi, get me high, whatever. Just come out and have a good time!
Back to work for me. Every day I'm hustlin'.

Back in black!

  I know that it's been a while, but I am back! The Sanctioned Annihilation Tour is over and I'm home safe and sound with my amazing wife. Being Kylesa's tour manager and merch slinger was a great time and I have to thank them for the opportunity! I also have to thank Brady (HoF TM), all my good friends in High On Fire, and my new friends in Torche. There will be pictures and more to come. I'm taking a few days off to rest

Prints

 Fresh out of Monkey Press and just signed and numbered, Kylesa's "Spiral Shadow" prints will be available on the Sanctioned Annihilation Tour featuring High On Fire, Torche, and Kylesa. 

Subverting paradigms and a sanctioned annihilation.

 I  took a look at my last post and it was over a month ago. What the hell have I been doing? As usual, I've been extremely busy at the art table and not everything has been about art.

  I just finished the new cover for Noisear's "Subvert The Dominant Paradigm" cd/lp that will be out later in the year on Relapse Records. The image to the left is a detail from the cover and I'll be revealing the rest of the cover once Relapse has announced the album. I don't want to give too much away, but the design has everything to do with the cover.

 I've also set up the Hell Hath No Fury cover and it's ready to be inked. I wanted to get this done before I go, but it'll have to wait until I get back.  

 Now, here is the main reason why I've been awol for a while. Starting September 29th, I will be Kylesa's tour manager for their Sanctioned Annihilation Tour (featuring High On Fire and Torche). With the impending release of Kylesa's "Spiral Shadow" I was asked by Phillip if I would like to go with them. We didn't know how we were going to work it out and finally Phillip asked if I could be their manager and merch slinger for this tour. It's not the hardest thing to do, but it is time consuming and definitely a new experience. You can find the tour dates here: www.tonedeaftouring.com/kyl.html . So, if you live in one of these cities be sure to stop by the booth and say hi and bring me a joint. 

 It's going to be a busy month and one hell of a time. See you on tour!

Spiral Shadow cover art.

 I woke up a little later than usual today to find that Season Of Mist Records has finally unveiled the cover art for Kylesa's 5th album, "Spiral Shadow". I've been waiting for this day so that I could post the cover, too (I usually don't like to release cover art before the band or label is okay with it). There's a second cover that will be included in both the limited edition and regular versions, but I'll keep that until the album is released. 

 I was honored and excited when Phillip called months back to ask if I'd like to design the cover for their new album. He wanted something really simple for the cover and as he went on explaining his idea, the design was going to be something that wasn't in my immediate comfort zone. The theme of the album was that of looking back on your life at where you've been and where you're currently going. The other specifications were that the art was to be in a circular pattern, be super simple, contain no skulls, and somehow work OP ART patterns into it. It seems like such an abstract idea, but working with them for years now I've been able to come up with designs rather quickly that have seemed to reflect the words and music's intended meaning. At least that's what Phillip and Laura have been telling me. With all of the information that Phillip has passed along, I thought about a tree right away. Trees and humans live out their lives in similar fashion. Trees contain rings that tell the story of it's life, reveals it's age, and identifies everything that it's been through. Humans contain the story of their lives inside their hearts and minds. Spirals are also a huge part of life and are found throughout nature, math, art, etc and that organic nature combined with the human and tree element fit the theme perfectly. I wanted an oak seed to be the center of the design and have the tree grow in a spiral pattern up and out of the picture. The idea would be that you can look back on where you've been, but where you're going is unknown. You'd figure that drawing a circular tree would be easy to draw and detail, but I always do things the hard way and detail the fuck out of whatever I touch. The back cover continues the tree/human idea and has two trees growing out of bone roots, fusing together the the two most important meanings behind the design. I thought that my part of the cover was done when we all decided that there would be an extra design made for their stage set-up and for the limited edition version of the cd. It really didn't matter because I was totally into getting the cover to be as sick as I could get it. All 3 pieces of art took a little over a month to complete.

 After the illustrations were done it was time to add OP ART pattern to the backgrounds of each of the covers. I scoured the web researching OP ART patterns and found that a lot of them are copy written. It's a hassle to go through the process of getting permission and there was really no money to pay for rights, so we turned to the graphic designer on this project, Casey McKinley (www.myspace.com/mckinleyillustration). Casey is a sick illustrator on his own, but the man can hook up a cover with his design skills. He went and created several OP ART patterns that turned out sick! They are scattered throughout the booklets and are included in all of the covers. He also set up the cover for the limited edition version 3D lacquered cover printed on a holographic board. The idea was to have something amplifying the movement of the pattern in the back ground and simultaneously creating a tripped out effect. So, jump on that limited edition version it looks fucking great and comes with a dvd. You can get info on ordering, pricing, and other Season of Mist artists at: www.season-of-mist.com/ . "Spiral Shadow" will be released in Europe on October 25th and in the US on October 26th. 

  My brain hurts from writing all of that.

 

Productive July.

 July has been a great month for completed projects, future projects, and tons of sketching. I have to turn up the speed on getting designs finished as I have a full load of incredible projects coming up. So, I'm sketching as much as I can when I can find the extra time.

 I've sent out the Buzzov-en sketch to Kirk and will be re-working the design and trying to get it to look more ominous. There's more to come on that one.

 A sketch for a new Lamb Of God shirt was just finished and sent off for Mark's approval and ideas. It's based off of the song "Condemn The Hive" and will be another detail fest. I'll have that one inked and colored in the next few months. After that, Brian Mercer (www.mercerrock.com) and I will be collaborating on another design for Lamb Of God. I'm psyched to be working with Brian on the shirt design and can hardly wait to see what he comes up with to start the project. If any of you have been out to the Mayhem Festival this year, you've no doubt seen a few Brian's designs. It was nice to go to the merch tent and see my Lamb Of God shirt next to designs from Brian and Mike Sutfin. It's good company to keep. If you weren't able to go to the festival and wanted one of the "Choke Sermon" shirts, you can get one here: http://lambofgod.shop.bravadousa.com/Product.aspx?cp=800_30451&pc=BGCTLO79

 Speaking of Lamb Of God, I have to thank Mark Morton again for the hook-up on the concert tickets, backstage passes, and for hanging out for a while a few times during the day. Mark's a great guy and is helping me with some contacts of bands that I would die to work with. Plus, continuing to work with them is a good thing, too. 

 August 1st I'll be starting work on the cover for L.A's Hell Hath No Fury (www.facebook.com/pages/HELL-HATH-NO-FURY/335880005869?ref=ts ). The album will be titled "So Shall You Reap" and will probably end up with a massively detailed cover because the idea is has so many elements to it. I love that kind of shit though. I've been working on a sketch and a few ideas for the piece over the few days and am pretty sure that I have a solid design in mind. The cover will be the first time that I have worked with HHNF, but i've known the guitarist/lead vocalist since we played together in Sistema Nervioso back in the mid-90's. She's a good friend and I want to create a sick cover for her band. We'll see what madness comes out the sketching process.

 Also, sketched are a shirt design for Blackbird Clothing Company, 2 shirt designs for The Ocean, and looking to finally finish a shirt design for Better Than Everyone Records (I've been trying to work this design out with the idea that I was given for over a year now and have had a hard time. I need to just make something brutal and fitting). Busy, busy busy and a small vacation coming up at the end of August/start of September.

 Time to pick up the pencil and get some of this shit out of my head.

Halfway there.

 The year is half way over. I can't believe it. Just the other day it was winter and I was hoping for the warm weather to come. Well, it's not quite here yet, but July usually means that the heat is coming soon. Along with waiting for the sun to shine I'll have to wait until October to see the release of Kylesa's new album. The art is finished and the packaging is being finalized this weekend, so I can breathe a small sigh of relief. 

 The new Kylesa album will be released on Season Of Mist and is scheduled for a mid to late October release. The album will be titled "Spiral Shadow" and there will be 2 versions of the CD, as well as being issued on vinyl. The first version will be a limited edition 3D lacquered digipak that includes a CD and DVD.  The 2nd will be a regular edition in a standard jewel case.

  I have to thank my friend Casey for doing a fantastic job with the layout and graphic design work on the cover. It looks incredible. You can see some of  Casey's design work, sketches, and artwork at www.myspace.com/mckinleyillustration . He's a great guy and a sick designer, so if you need any graphic design work get a hold of him.

 Next up on the schedule is the design for Buzzov-en. The idea from Kirk is that of a phoenix and the sketch is coming along smoothly. I'll post up a detail of the sketch soon. Until then, go out and play in the sun. If you live here, go out and frolic in the rain.

Old is new again.

 I'm knee deep in ink and hoping to get the 3rd and final panel for the new Kylesa done by the weekend. Thrown into that was a re-visiting of sorts of an older design. Seeing as the "Only One II" design was a more simple design and only used on the front of their "Only One" hoodies, Phillip asked if I could do something to add to the original art. What they got is the "Only On The Inside" shirt design that will be available on their European tour (July 10th). You might notice that this version of the art in the center doesn't have beams of light streaming from the heart. I decided to take them out as I didn't care for the way that they came out when printed on the hoodies. I also noticed that the beams created too much havoc on the eyes when thrown into the ribcage border. All in all, I think that the additions to the old design have given it a new life.

 

 3 days for a highly detailed 2nd cover/3rd panel. Then, scan, clean, set-up, and send out. Wish me luck.

Supposed to be summer.

 While the rest of you are probably enjoying the warm spring weather, I've been inside watching the rain come down. I guess that it's a good thing as I'm still in the throes of inking the new Kylesa LP cover. 3 panels of detailed, surreal trees. It's been a good time as Phillip from Kylesa and Sabiene from Season Of Mist  have included me and my input on the packaging and set up of the cover. It's going to be a trippy cover to go along with the new  trippy album. I wish that I could say that I'll post the cover when I get done, but we have to wait until they "officially" announce the cover art. Keep an eye out.

 A few years back I made 25 sticker packs that included 5 stickers and a 2 color print on vinyl. Needless to say, they sold out fast. Well, I'm going to be making another round of sticker packs soon. I'm not sure if  I'm going to make all new designs or use some detail images from past designs. It may be a little of both. If you have any design that you would like to see included in the sticker packs, feel free to email me. 

 Prints are coming soon, too.

Back into The Womb (art room) to listen to the rain and let the ink flow like the blood of my enemies.

Bastard Samurai and Illuminating Scriptures.

 Just a quick post to let everyone know that the High On Fire "Bastard Samurai" shirt design is now on sale at their merchstore and at live shows. You can pick one up here: highonfire.warnerbrosrecordsstore.com/ .

 I've also run across a shirt that I designed a few years back and have never seen. It's the "Illuminating Scriptures" design for Job For A Cowboy and was one of  2 designs that I created for them.  If you'd like to purchase that shirt, you can go here: www.districtlines.com/Metal-Blade-Records/Job-For-A-Cowboy . I hope that I can get one of these for my own collection. I guess I'll have to shoot Mr. Davy an email.

 There you have it. You can go buy a shirt and cover up that naked torso of yours. 

May is Kylesa month!

 It's looking like May will officially be Kylesa month for me. Besides designing the front and back cover of the new album, Phillip has informed me that the cover art will be expanded in other designs associated with their stage set-up. I'll be designing drum heads, a backdrop banner, and smaller banners for the sides of the stage. It'll be a total art overdose. 

 The project is coming along great as both Kylesa and the label want me to take part in helping them come up with packaging for the new cd/lp. It doesn't happen too often, but it is a good day when a band actually let's me a part of designing the items that my art will be going on. So, be prepared for a unique CD package on this one. 

 Other than most of the month being dedicated to Kylesa, I'll be working up some sketches for projects that need to be started or finished up. Some of the projects have been harder than others to come up with and not every idea given to me by bands or individuals are good. Others, leave it open for me to work and that's when I work best. Thanks to those who allow me to let my mind loose. 

World wrath.

I know that I had posted new Lamb Of God "Choke Sermon" shirt design in my last post, but it's turned into a bit more than first intended. Mark liked the design so much that he asked me to do a back design so that they can use it as a tour shirt for their "World Wrath Tour". So, here are the final designs for both the front and back. The shirts are being printed and will be available starting May 15th in Bangalore, India. They'll more than likely be available for US tour in July, too. To find tour dates go to www.lamb-of-god.com/tour.php.  More Lamb Of God designs are coming in the near future.

Seeing that myspace is a graveyard these days I have started a Facebook page to go to for art galleries and news. Go to www.facebook.com/santos.illustration. Check it!

A visit home and a sermon to choke on.

 The month of April is almost over and it's been a great month of news, rest, vacation, and finished projects.

 This month, I was finally able to pull away from the art table and take a long needed trip home to Colorado. I stayed in Denver with one of my best friends and had a great time hanging out and seeing friends and family that I hadn't seen in years. While in Denver we were able to catch the Colorado Avalanche play the Chicago Blackhawks at the Pepsi Center. It's been awhile since I'd been to a hockey game and anyone who knows me knows that I am a hockey fiend. It was a great birthday gift and the bonus was my wife getting to see her first hockey game 

and Blackhawks game (She was born and raised in Illinois). We also traveled down to San Isabel, Colorado to check out Bishop's Castle, ate at Pass Key in Pueblo, and sat in the front yard of my grandmothers housewhile my cousins drank and played dominoes. Ah, visiting Colorado is an experience. It feels good to go home, but it feels better to leave.

 I had started the inking process on the Lamb Of God "Choke Sermon" design before my trip and am happy to announce that the design is colored and ready for the next LOG tour. It was easy working with Mark and he let me go off after a general idea was established. I like that. I find it easier to come up with something and not work under constraints. From the sounds of it, this looks like it will be the first of many designs for Lamb Of God. Fuck yeah!

 Well, the Avs just lost and are out of the playoffs. They had a great season and I'm sure to take a small ribbing from Mike Fisher (San Jose Sharks fan and sick artist) but there's always next year. And, next year we're planning on seeing the Avs play in Chicago. Hopefully, the Avs win this time.

 Work on the new Kylesa album cover has begun.

A few things...

 The poll is now over and it looks like the first run of the High On Fire "Bastard Samurai" prints will be in blue. Red came in second and may be the color set used if I make a second run in the future.  The design will be available in shirt form, on their tour with Priestess and Bison BC. Check www.highonfire.net for dates.

 I'm working on the detail on the Lamb Of God shirt and have been sketching out ideas for the new Kylesa cover. The inking should be done in the next week or so and then I can start on the Kylesa cover. I also just added The Ocean to my schedule and will be doing 2 designs for them. It's going to be a minute before that will happen, though. 

  Warm weather is here and I watch the seasons through the window. I need to remember to get out and frolic once in a while and break away from the art table.

Bad Acid Tab 9

 Here is a link to the Bad Acid Tab 9 page: www.badacidmagazine.com/page12.htm  . Glad to see that it became a monthly publication. 

All That Is Heavy & Bad Acid.

This morning, my best friend Jenny sent me an email that she received from All That Is Heavy

 (www.allthatisheavy.com ). I had forgot about these postcards, but it looks like they are available now when anyone orders from their online store. Here is the direct link to the postcard page : www.allthatisheavy.com/scripts/free_art_print.asp. ATIH started the idea of postcard prints as a way to cut down the amount of waste that their postcards were creating. They said that they were sending out postcards with orders and realized that people were just throwing them out. So, they came up with the idea of getting some artists together to donate images for limited edition postcards. The postcards are included in every order and are printed on recycled paper. Other artists in the series include David D'Andrea, Arik Roper, and Malleus. 

  The other good news that I received was an email from Dave at Bad Acid Magazine in the UK. It was an email announcing that Tab 9 is out and available now. I had been asked a little over a two years ago to design Tab 9's cover and now it is finally out. For those of you who haven't run into any issues, Bad Acid is a music magazine crammed full of music and insights on bands and the music scene around the world. Every issue comes with tons of interviews, reviews, news, a 90 minute dvd (containing music videos, short films, and art galleries), and a compilation cd with 64 bands. 

 As well as doing the cover, I have an interview and an art gallery on the dvd. The art gallery goes through my portfolio and is set to Lesbian's cover of "Bad Man". I thank those guys, again, for donating that song to the project. You can see the cover and order an issue at www.badacidmagazine.com .

 I couldn't finish this post without announcing that I'll be doing a shirt for the Southern sludge masters, Buzzov-en. That may not seem exciting to a lot of people out there, but they were one of my favorite bands until they broke up a few years ago. They're back and putting out a new record this year along side the Relapse release of their recoding sessions pre-1995 called "Violence From The Vault". It'll be great to hear some new music from them and be able to draw them up a design. 

  Oh, and I'm in the process of working up some prints of the new High On Fire "Bastard Samurai" design. I'll post more when they are close to being printed. 

 

Count my fingers nine...

 New High On Fire "Bastard Samurai" design. It will be on sale on their upcoming tour starting March 31st. Visit highonfire.net for more details. I'll write a better entry once I get back from the world outside of my art room.

No end in sight.

  I know that the heading title sounds ominous but it's quite the contrary. I'm currently engaged in inking the new High On Fire "Bastard Samurai" shirt design and it's coming out more epic than I thought it would be. I can't say it enough, but I love having the time to give my full attention to my work. I'm hoping to have the design done in time for HOF's tour (starts March 31st), so I'm keeping my nose to the grindstone until it's completion. 

  More good news keeps rolling in. Last night Shrinebuilder tore it up at Nuemos  and I was able to hang out and talk to Scott for a while after the show. I found that my Shrinebuilder shirt design was their only shirt for this tour and for their European tour. He also added thatl he'll be commissioning me for a Neurosis shirt design in the future as well as a shirt design for a band that I can't mention until it's confirmed. Damn! Neurosis has been one of my favorite bands since the late 80's and doing any work for them is a dream. With that in my future, I can concentrate on my schedule at the moment. Next in line is Lamb of God full color shirt, cover design for the next Kylesa album, new Kylesa shirt, I'm Better Than Everyone Records shirt, HIgh On Fire "Snakes" shirt, Kuma's Corner shirt, and my first Blackbird Clothing shirts. Sometimes, seeing no end in sight is a positive statement.

Return To Dust

  I'm so damned happy that I have the time to work on art all day. Since I quit work, I've been able to commit my time to the fine detail that I love so much. Another good example of that would be the new cover for the Sanctus Bellum "Return To Dust" LP/CD. Justin has been super helpful in giving me ideas for the cover and I'm glad that the final design came out so well. Looking at the piece as soon as I was done I noticed that from afar it looks like a Cthulu skull in the background. Another unintentional image I guess. Well, the new album looks to be a stoner-rific good time and you can check out some tracks at www.myspace.com/sanctusbellum. 

 As usual, I have a few days of rest ahead. Then, The High On Fire "Bastard Samurai" shirt design will be inked. For now, I think that I have to go outside.

The armed wolves are pushing through your head.

  No sleep seemed like the perfect end to a design that took close to a year to complete. That might be due to the revisions and complete change of artistic flow halfway into the first idea, leading me to rethink the design altogether. I'm glad that that happened. "Pregnant Insect" is the new t-shirt design for Colorado's Cobalt (www.myspace.com/stinktown666)  and spawned from the lyrics to the song from their "Gin" cd (Profound Lore Records).  I liked the idea of the beetle in the center spawning the dead and being tied to the female, who is spawning her own dead. The thought that I wanted to keep in the image was that of the parallels between the spread of humans and insects throughout their environments. Mainly the thought of them being like plagues to the Earth. The constant birthing of either species is symbolized by the ovum that that the beetle is centered within and is also the point where the two bodies join. Some of the other images come directly from the lyrics. The eye and coca plants that the skeletons are holding were influenced by the cocaine/up all night excess that the lyrics suggest.  Now that I solely work on art, I was able to take time to get into the piece and detail the hell out of it. You can order/pre-order shirts here: www.hoodedinoil.com

  I have been working with Des from High On Fire on their new design and Mark Morton on a  Lamb Of God for the past few months and the final sketches will be done here in the next week. Immediately after that I will be drawing up the cover and logo for Sanctus Bellum (www.myspace.com/sanctusbellum) from Houston, Texas. Good times in February.

The busy season.

The month of January isn't over and already 2010 is getting off to a great start. I've been busier than I have ever been and big projects are coming my way almost every week. It's been a good month so far.

At the moment, I'm busy inking the Cobalt "Pregnant Insect" design. This design has been in the works for months now with Erik, Phillip, and I communicating back and forth on the final design. It should be done in the next week and Phillip said that they will be printing the shirts soon after its completion. I will post the image and link to purchase the shirts when they are for sale.

The sketch detail above is from the new "Bastard Samurai" design for High On Fire. I've been working on some new designs for them for a few weeks and have two solid sketches that will be used along with a couple more ideas that are still to come. To help the process along, Des has sent me the High On Fire "Snakes For The Divine" album. It is amazing! I love High On Fire and have liked the last couple of albums, but this album is as solid as they come. The music combined with Matt's descriptive lyrics are invaluable when coming up ideas for designs. I have to thank Des for getting that to me me early. It helps so much. So, on February 23rd go out and pick up "Snakes For The Divine." It's damned worth it.

  

I was informed this week that Bad Acid Magazine tab 9 will be out April 1st worldwide. Bad Acid Magazine is out of the UK and run by a super-cool guy named Dave. The magazine is incredible. It's filled with interviews, reviews, news, new bands, old bands, obscure bands, you name it. Plus each issue comes with a CD filled with tons of bands and a DVD that contains interviews, videos, short films, and art galleries. Not to mention that tab 9 features a cover, an interview, and an art gallery done by yours truly. I was told to find some music to accompany my art slideshow so I need to find a heavy band that will go with the mood of the art. We'll see who answers the call.

Ryan Kasparian from Blackbird Clothing Company (www.blackbirdclothingco.com) e-mailed a month ago to ask if I would be interested in working with BCC in the coming year. Here it is and yes, I am now working with Ryan and BCC. Ryan seems like a cool guy and he does some great work. I'm pretty amped to join the roster of sick artists that BCC already has. It should be a good time and it looks like it may lead to a collaboration with Ryan in the near future. Ryan will also be the one printing my design for Kuma's Corner when it's ready.

And last but not least, I received a call from Phillip Cope the other day and he asked me if I would like to design the cover for the new Kylesa album due out later this year. Of course, I said YES! From talking to Phillip it looks like the cover art will be a bit different from what I am used to doing, but it'll be a great challenge and will make me think outside of the arena of my normal habits & subject matter. I am looking forward to it and can't tell you how happy that news made me! They are one of my favorite bands and a great group of people. It should be a fun process.

That's all for now.

The Collaboration.

The idea was conceived two years ago when I e-mailed Tom Denney (www.tomdenney.com/) to tell him how I liked his work. We began talking in emails and phone calls and I finally just asked him if he would be into working on a collaboration. He quickly sketched some things and sent ideas back and forth for a bit before he sent me his inked portion of the piece. It took me a little over two years to finish it, but it is now finished. Damn. I just sent the image to Denney and I hope that he will add some color to it. It's done, it looks good, and we're both happy with the outcome. I'm now looking forward to the collaboration with Jon Baizley.

 The collaboration design IS for sale. So, if you need a cover, here it is.

New year. New decade.

 Happy New Year! I just wanted to wish all of you good luck in the new year and look forward to the ever growing output of art from all of my friends and heroes. 

 Plenty of stuff coming out in 2010. This year I'll be working with Blackbird Clothing Company, Kuma's Corner, and even more bands. Keep an eye out and I'll keep you posted on what's to come. 

 Also, Lesbian, Harkonen, and Shining Ones tore it up at The Comet last night. It was a great way to enter the new year!