2 day cd package FINISHED

well, i got it done. and now i'ma eat lunch and get back to mudding up the drywall.
I wish i had more time to really refine the thing, but thats how it goes.
Here are 2 little illustrations i made for the inside of the package.

the record cover

muddn' pre hair cut (that's my muddn' stache)

controlled fires up on the hill

more controlled fires

we saw about 6 trains

and a boat on the way down to LA

well, it's been an exciting week. I went down to la, did a lil' grill masterin (I love BBQ), saw the family for easter, played a little music with my pops, got a hair cut, came back to the mountains, been mudding drywall, helping out with the controlled burns on the property (fire hoses are fun), and i got a call from my brother Mike saying he needed me to do a record package for a promo ep his band is printing up. He said it had to be cool looking and have birds. Oh, and i only had 2 days to do it. Waiting for a final copy edit for the inside. here is a sneak peak at the cover.

Is it spring yet?

It snowed a few days ago. Luckily it's warmed up a bit and the snow is melting in the sunny places. Even though it's gorgeuos up here, I'm heading down to LA tomorrow to see the family and to take care of some business. I hope it keeps warming up for my return.

in that kinda mood.

sonny terry and brownie mcghee are two of my favorites. enjoy!

OH SHIRT!

Last night I finished up this T-shirt graphic for Punch Brothers. I had to re-scan each individual piece of the collage and photoshop it all back together. Now we have a good high res file of our beloved mustache guy.

My buddy Dan helped me out a couple of months ago designing a killer shirt for the band. It seems like only girls are buying it up though, so I tried to make this design a little more masculine. (lets ignore the flowers, birds and buterflys and just focus on the mustache)

Check out Dan's work at:

www.DFreitas.com

(you can see the shirt he made at the Punch Brothers online store.)

On the road again...

Yesterday I made my 2 hour journey from 84 degree LA back up to 40 degree Tehachapi. When I got up to the mountain (6,500 ft) there was ice and snow everywhere. Even though last night's temperature was in the 30's I slept better then I have in weeks. Most of today was spent cleaning and organizing my room. It's been 3 or 4 months since I've spent a decent length of time here. It is very quiet. And the air is so fresh and so clean clean.

The cab of my truck. (not much to check out here. I just liked the photo)

Highway 58. Check out those windmills!

The road up to the temple. The inside is just about finished. Now we need to finish puddying up the outside ornamentation and get it painted. Check out that copper colored roof!!!

Screen Shot

Here is a little happy find. I found this image "photo 9.jpg" stashed in a jobs folder from 2006. Since it has the same kind of center split as the poster below, i thought i'd put it up. It is a screen shot of an illustration in progress I created as part of the packaging for Chris Thile's album "How to Grow A Woman From the Ground". It was the first time for me working with a record label. I had complete artistic freedom to create anything I wanted. There was a song on the record that was titled "Christhile's Magic Bunny Ride" and I created this illustration in honor of that song. When I completed the image I sent it out for final approval and the next day I received an unrelated email saying that track 14 (christhiles magic bunny ride) was now called "The Eleventh Reel" and to please make all necessary changes. HAHA! We kept the image anyway, and later that song received a Grammy nomination for best bluegrass instrumental (of coarse it lost to Doc Watson. But hey, come on, it's Doc Watson!) Now that I look at this version of the bunnies, I kind of like it more then the one that made the booklet. Oh well. if you bought the actual cd you can be the judge.

poster post.

I've been diggin' through my files to get everything ready for my website and i came across this drawing i made for a poster for my friends Chris & Thomas. It was one of the best shows I saw last year. Check them out.

http://www.myspace.com/chrisandthomas

My favorite song of theirs is "Broken Chair".

and i owe it all to you...

Those of you who know me know that i am never without my ipod. I recently returned from a 5 week trip to India and Nepal. I left my computer, camera and ipod at home for this trip so that i could be as present as possible. It was one of the longest periods of time i have gone without music in my whole life.

So... I have heard Bill Callahan's music here and there over the years and it didn't really move me (if anything, his voice reminded me of school house rocks or something like that) untill 2 weeks into my trip. As i was sitting in our room at a Buddhist monastery in Sikkhim India practicing what i learned in the previous day's lessons on how to make tormas (traditional Tibetan Buddhist ritual sculptures made from dough) Bill Callahan's song "Rock Bottom Riser" came echoing through my mind. It was one of my little secret hopes that when I got back to the states I could find the song in my head, lay down, close my eyes and listen to it till i fell asleep. So, i found it today. The video by pictureDRIFT's Brendan Cook and Paul McNiel is gorgeous. Enjoy!

PUNCH BROTHERS!!!!!

The Punch Brothers' first release on Nonesuch Records "Punch" has been out for almost 2 weeks. It was #1 on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart as of last week. Here is the cover of the album: The photo is by one of my favorite photographers and all around sweet person Autumn de Wilde (thanks is due to my brother Mike for his awesome retouch work). The image of the fellow with the mustache is the cover of the booklet. I designed and illustrated the entire album package. It was the first time I didn't seek help from another designer for the type layout. Very nerve racking.

Check out the band's website:

www.punchbrothers.com

Suzanne Ferreira designed the site and my friend Tom DesLongchamp from RISD did the little intro animation.

enjoy!

Tsumori Murals (new mural up Jan. '08)

spring '07

spring '07

spring '07

fall '07

fall '07

fall'07

spring '08

spring '08

spring '08

In January i had the pleasure once again of working with the folks at Satine Boutique to bring the designs of Tsumori Chisato to the walls of their store. This marks the 3rd time i have painted the Tsumori room at Satine. It was a lot of fun. (more pics to come with the spring collection on display)

Welcome to my BLOG!!!!!!!

well, i never thought that i would ever start a blog, but here it goes. i hope you enjoy it. (i hope i enjoy it).