THICK AS THIEVES mini print packs!!!

The THICK AS THIEVES mini-print packs have been printed by the ever awesome Andrew Crawshaw (Broken Press) and they look incredible!

Each Pack includes:
- 5 mini-prints with designs from Glyn Smyth, Tom Denney, Casey McKinley, Mark McCormick, and Santos.
- Thick As Thieves patch
- *bonus* Santos mini print.
- Artist info sheet.
150 packs printed with 100 available for purchase.
All packs are in a 9"x9" printed envelope and hand numbered.
The THICK AS THIEVES packs will be:
- $25 ppd - N. AMERICA
-$30 ppd - WORLD.

(if the "add to cart" button isn't working, please message or email me)

THICK AS THIEVES mini print pack

T.A.T. I - N. America $25.00 USD T.A.T I - World $30.00 USD

The hope would be to have THICK AS THIEVES become a continuing series of packs that assemble as many known and unknown artists as possible.

THANK YOU to Glyn Smyth, Casey McKinley, Mark McCormick, Tom Denney, and Andrew Crawshaw. I look forward to the next edition.

A Torche Xmas!

I told you all about the new TORCHE "Xmas"shirts that they had with them on the Part Chimp tour last month and some of you now have them. I finally get to post a pic of the new design. It's a fun a cartoony design of Santa's reindeer turning on him. I've enjoyed working with the guys because they have had me sketching up designs that are unlike any that I usually am commissioned to do. Just wait until you see the new Torche album cover.

Everyday I'm hustlin'.

It's been busy as hell around here. I'm beginning to fuse with my art table and am wishing that there were more hours in the day. Never a complaint, just in the process of getting projects done before I leave to do merch for High On Fire November 9th.
I have finished a few projects over the past few months, but haven't been able to post them up per request by the bands. The LAMB OF GOD "Harvest" design is 6 months away and the new TORCHE "Xmas" design will be available on the PART CHIMP tour next month. As soon as I get the okay, I'll post them up.

I CAN post up the new design for NICHE. NICHE hail from gorgeous Savannah, GA and are an awesome 70's style rock band complete with keys. The keys are provided by Corey Barhorst (Kylesa) and their new cd "So Be It" is available through the band. You can also hear some their music here: NICHE!! Corey informed me that they'll be touring again soon and said that their just completed mini tour was a success. I also heard about how bad ass they were from fellow artist, Brian Mercer who text me while the show was going on in. Check them out.
Seeing as I'm in the middle of a tight schedule, this post will be a short one. I have to get back to the art room. I'm working on the new HOWL logo, 2 KYLESA re-issue covers, and the new TORCHE cover, NOISEAR cover, as well as many other projects coming up after I get back from tour.


P.S. The HIGH ON FIRE tour starts on November 9th and I am with them until November 20th. Come out to one of the shows, say hi, get me high (seriously), and see HIGH ON FIRE destroy. Dates are here: HIGH ON FIRE.

Ladies' Choice

If you live in or around Seattle and don't already know the name Adam Bass or "Superfan", you must not go to shows. Adam is a fixture in the Seattle music scene as is his booking/promotion/label, LADIES' CHOICE. He and co-owner Colin Bush have been setting up shows for a wide variety of local, national, and international acts and have also found time to release a few records under the LC moniker. After 7 years, they finally asked about getting a logo done.

The logo is a bit of silly theme, but one that seems to match the fun spirit of Adam and Colin. Not to mention that the logo and tag-line are on par with a lot of the shirts that Adam sports around town.

Aside from just the label, Adam is one of the best guys around. We're talking about a guy who attends and supports most of the shows in Seattle. Sure, it's mostly bands of the heavier genres but he's there week in and week out. Even if there are 2-3 shows going on in a night, he'll find a way to go to all of them AND buy merch on top of that. Not only can the man run LC in the best way possible but he is also one of the best allies that you could have in this town. He'll get the word out about your show, he'll get people there, he'll flier, he'll book you a show, he'll get you stoned, and he will support your band year after year. The music scene in Seattle wouldn't be the same without him and wouldn't be the same without Ladies' Choice in the mix.

So bands, the next time that you come through Seattle and you have a guy named Adam come and talk to you, take a minute to say hello. Odds are that half the people at the show were there because he informed them of it.

A minute for love.

It's been an ultra busy time since I got home from tour a few months ago. With all that's on my plate, I took a little time out to work on a wedding invitation for my good friend Mike Howard of Fight Amp and his wife's October wedding. I was more than happy to do it and was pleased that they both loved the design. Congratulations to you both!

I have some news on the sticker pack front and they will be printed at the end of the month. It would have been earlier but the printer just left for tour and will print them as soon as he gets back. Everything is going well even though it's been a slow process. Thanks for being patient, all.

Projects for the next few months: Lamb Of God shirt, Howl shirt and logo, Ladies' Choice logo, HHNF cover finish up, Noisear lp cover, Savakas shirt, Finder's Creeper's shirt, and and EVO printing shirt.

Black Wings Broken Bones…Santos Illustration

Meghan & Sean at Cvlt Nation just posted this little piece up. I've never heard anyone describe my art as they did. Thanks guys!

Black Wings Broken Bones…<br />Santos Illustration

ART SHOW!!!

ART SHOW! at The Goods in Vancouver, BC. was this weekend and it was a damned good time. It was a group show curated by Tyler Buckmire and Alison Lilly and included Neal Nolan, Andy Gagne, Jason Evans, Syx Langemann, Amanda Gertz, Brea Bourgeois, Mark Lankin, and yours truly. The show will run for the next month or so if you're in the Vancouver area stop in and check out the art. Plus, The Goods (thegoodsapparel.com) is run by Dave Dove and Heather O'Brien and is a fucking awesome place with some sick threads. Here are a few pics from the show.

Sticker pack teaser.

Just a small teaser concerning the sticker packs. The continuing series will be titled "THICK AS THIEVES, and will be out sometime in the next two months. I'll keep everyone posted and give out all of the details once they are ready. Cheers!

Vancouver group show on July 8th.

I'm pretty excited to announce that I'll be traveling to Vancouver, BC Canada to take part in "ART SHOW!" at The Goods Screening & Apparel. I was invited by the very talented Alison Lilly and just realized that it's going to be the first "international" showing of my art. It's only 3 hours away, but Canada IS a different country.

You can find more info here : ART SHOW!

I will be showing 2-3 pieces and will have a few art shirts available for sale. So, if you live in or around Vancouver or feel like driving from Seattle, please come out and have a good time looking at some art from some amazing artists.

I don't know the end of this.

I love it when a design comes together easily. I especially enjoy it when I'm in the middle of a block in creativity. This was the case with "La Fin", the new shirt design for Philadelphia's Rosetta (rosettaband.com).
When Dave contacted me about doing a shirt design for their upcoming European tour, he had given me the starting theme that included Gabriele The Arch Angel. The idea came from the song "Je N'en Connais Pas La Fin" from 2010's "A Determinism Of Morality" and painted a clear portrait of a man calling for the end:

For every pass
Of this moon
Embers wait
Commune
A dawn's harvest

Spores
Burrowing
Ash
Covering

My world
My home
My loves
My memories

So tell me how I've come so far

Repression of memories
Behind a door best kept shut
Suppression of daily deeds
A crushing venom weeping
Into these hands
A plague upon a frame
Growing on the inside
Withering a simple sullen home

I started by studying the paintings of Gabriele throughout history. The design of the old saint icons are gorgeous in their textures and flow and all seem to be of a similar style of the times. I wanted him to be subtly ambiguous as angels are supposed to be, so his hair and facial features are a combination of masculine bone structure with a feminine softness to it. I wanted his overall look to be dark and ominous as one would think the man who is supposed to blow a trumpet to signal judgment day and the apocalypse would look. The wings are drawn in a different style than I'm used to, though. I was influenced by the wing structure that many of the paintings included and felt that the heavy detail would combine the old idea with my style.

Let this go

Won't you play
Your trumpet well
Gabriele

And pray that I can rest

Spores
Burrowing
Ash
Covering

Towards his feet is the man who set this turn of events into action. As in the song, he seems to be looking upon his life and calling for the end. The "end" in this case, has already happened and the man's body is breaking down into mushrooms and other spore producing plants. From them come the streams of spores sending his body into the ethereal. The lunar cycle included in the design represents that of the days that the man has already spent tormented and how the cycle is just not in him, but a constant theme of man. It was a fun design to work on and any design that allows me the chance to add tons of detail is a design that will always have a place in my heart. So, thank you Rosetta for the design that tore through my creativity block.

It's right back to the art table and in the words of Mr. Brian Mercer, "NEXT!"

You can check out the video for "Je N'en Connais Pas La Fin" here: Music For Astronauts

Juxtapoz online.

YES!!! Thank you Juxtapoz for the addition to the Illustration section and thank you Chris for informing me that this was posted. Now, I just need to find out how to get them to let me be a part of their "Black-N-White" issues. (wink, wink)
You can find it here: juxtapoz.com/Illustration/santos-bleeds-ink

NOOTHGRUSH!!!

The folks at WARLORD CLOTHING have started printing the NOOTHGRUSH "Twin Threat" shirt designs. The image is an older one of mine originally drawn for a 4 way split called "Twin Threat To Your Sanity" with Bongzilla, Dystopia, Noothgrush, & Corrupted. The split is out of print and long gone, but the fine members of NOOTHGRUSH have revived it into a sick t-shirt. You can purchase them at the Warlord Clothing site at www.warlordclothing.com.

"But that NOOTHGRUSH on my TOOTHBRUSH... Well, some are nice, but he is not."
-Dr. Suess - There's A Wocket In My Pocket

Art, shirts, and stickers!

It's almost May and I've been at the art table for what seems like days straight. Not a bad thing by any means and it's only getting better.

The 2 shirt designs have been selling really well and I want to thank everyone who bought one. It's helping more than you know. There are still some available in S-M-L-XL, but the smalls and medium sizes in each are almost gone. Both the "Pelican" and "Reptilian" shirts were printed in limited editions of 50 of each design. (You can order them in this blog's previous post.)

As for the art sitting on my schedule, it's going to be a busy few months ahead. I'm currently working on a shirt design for Rosetta's European tour starting June 23rd (rosettaband.com). It's based off of the song "Je N'en Connais Pas La Fin" as per Dave. The subject matter is something that I love, so it should turn out to my liking and hopefully theirs.

After that, designs for a Red Fang 3-sided longsleeve shirt, a Howl shirt design and logo, Kylesa shirt design, HHNF cover, "On The Wagon" book logo, Laike logo, Zoroaster shirt design, 2 more Santos art shirt designs, and I think a St. Vitus shirt is in there, too.

I am also currently inking my design for the 1st in a series of sticker packs due out this summer. The first pack will include sticker designs from Glyn Smyth, Casey McKinley, Tom Denney, Mark McCormick, and me. I will release more details closer to the completion date.

JUST ADDED: Lamb of God shirt design and a Buzzov-en shirt design. Word up.

The mighty Fight Amp.

For some unknown reason, I always find myself rushing to finish up a job before I leave on any trip that I take. I couldn't possibly break my annoying habit before I left for the Metalliance Tour, so I finished a new design for Fight Amp entitled "Blue Collared". It will be available on their US tour starting April 14th in Philadelphia, PA. You can find tour dates and more here: www.fightamp.com.
I started the design by talking to Mike about the ideas behind Manners and Praise and about individual songs off of the album. He told me that he and Jon had worked construction and the lyrics simply came from observing the lives being lived around them and the construction site. He also in formed me that they were working for a Christian construction company and told me about his time working with good people who often discussed their views with them. The album was a homage to the working class. Starting with the school children marching off to a daily helping of misinformation and conformity. To the man who continues that march into his late years. I wanted to capture a bit of the anguish and hidden subtleties of what it takes to be a blue collar worker. I started with the main character standing front and center, wrapped in the American flag. The wrench in his right hand is one of the tools of the trade in many instances and it fit the idea. I added the two imps in suits to show the slave/master aspect of being a life long worker and killing themselves for someone else. The control and money flows. The final touch was the "cradle to grave" figures flanking the man. On the right, you have the school children. Bound, blind, and malleable. Then to the left you have the elderly beaten down and still bound and controlled. Empty husks of the life that's been taken from them. I guess that's my idea of the corporations who employ most of the blue collar workers of this country. I've worked in numerous factories and warehouses to know how hard you have to work for little pay. Meanwhile, the boss or CEO is making money off of you and doesn't give a shit that you even exist. I hope that the idea came across in the design. It was a fun design to do and gave me more insight into an already awesome band.

UPDATE: The FIGHT AMP "Blue Collared" shirt design is not just available on their current US tour, but is also available at www.shirtkiller.com.

Look what came in the mail today...

Tuesday was February 1st and that meant that the new Noisear "Subvert The Dominant Paradigm" was just released on Relapse Records. I received my package from Relapse today and am stoked on how the covers came out. The back cover art was drawn by Arif Rot of Wormrot and is sick as fuck! And, Orion Landau finished up the packaging by putting it all together and added his touch to the graphic design and layout of the booklet. You can find the CD/LP online at the Relapse store (shop.relapse.com/search_results.aspx?st=1&ss=noisear) and at most record stores near you. Amazing political grind from my brothers from Nuevo Mexico.

Limited edition "Swans Of Black Ash" tour prints.

Phillip had some prints made up for the Kylesa Winter Tour featuring the new "Swans Of Black Ash" design. They are hand signed and numbered and limited to 50 prints. They're going fast and the only way to pick one up, is to go out to one of the shows on this tour.
We weren't able to get the shirt version of the design printed before tour, but they will be available on their upcoming European tour and beyond. You can also pick one up at www.indiemerchstore.com/kylesa/item/11614/.

Just in time for tour.

The new Kylesa "Swans Of Black Ash" shirt design is a detailed beast, born of late night ideas between Phillip and I during the Sanctioned Annihilation Tour. With this design, I wanted to rightfully represent Kylesa and their life as a band while creating a piece that upped the ante when it came to the overall look and art itself. I also wanted it to be a design that was an answer to the beauty and brutality that I saw during the six weeks of touring.
For the design, the idea was to still use the central theme of "Spiral Shadow" and and make it a piece more personal to the band as a whole. The swan, of course, starts out life as an ugly gosling right out of the egg and eventually grows into a beautiful swan. As a band, they've had their ups and downs throughout the years and while their past contains many trials and pain, they've managed to hone their music into a beautiful balance of ideas and musicianship.
The tree continues the theme and grows from behind the egg, into the wings of the swan, and out of the top. It represents the roots set down by the band and the continuing ascension as the tree grows past the the beauty of the swan itself into the unknown. I also wanted the tree to resemble the vein structure of a pair of lungs. To see them play day after day and see the machine that they become once they start to play IS the feeling of several people breathing as one. One machine chugging along and drawing you closer with each breath until the listener becomes a part of machine themselves.
The snake is that touch of evil that everyone continuously encounters throughout our life and is wrapped around the swan and preparing to swallow the egg as to show the trials along the road to such a growth. Their cannot be good with out the bad in life.
The piece as a whole and the explanation of that piece is a personal letter to the people who have become my good friends over the years. Kylesa is a great band and an amazing group of individuals and having the opportunity to work with them on art and now, as a tour manager, just reinforces that there are still good people out there making incredible music.
There will also be a "Spiral Shadow" shirt design available on the tour, so go out to the shows starting January 13th in Atlanta, GA.
I get to sit back now and advance some shows. I hope to see some folks out there!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you all! I hope that everyone had a great evening. I had a great time with a few friends from Portland, OR and a few of my favorite people here in Seattle at the Neurosis show. They played a 2 night NW engagement staring Thursday December 30th with Wolves in The Throne Room and Black Breath and NYE with Ludicra, Yob, and Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth. It was a crushing show and one of the best ways to start 2011. Neurosis played 3 new songs and gave us all something to look forward in the new year.
Speaking of new year, I have several things coming up. I'm still working on finishing the Hell Hath No Fury LP/CD cover and almost finished with a new Kylesa shirt design. I will continue working with Mark Morton on some new LOG designs as well as joining my friend, Brian Mercer, in creating some designs for a new NASCAR endeavor that Mark and his wife have going. I finally get to work with the mighty Buzzov*en by designing their European tour shirts. There will also be a few sticker packs coming out and I've talked to a few friends who will be making prints of a few designs this year.
Also this year, I'll be tour managing Kylesa for their East and West Coast tours in support of "Spiral Shadow". The East coast tour starts January 13th in Atlanta, GA and will feature supporting acts Zoroaster (1/13-1/20), Rosetta (1/21-1/29), & Fight Amp. I'll be around so come out, see some good music, and say hello!
Cheers all and I look forward to another great year! In the words of Jonathan Nuñez, "It's going to be the best last year ever".