This week’s artist was a poster collector for years and used to read the gigposters forums to learn how other artists got their starts before he began to design on his own. He started off doing free work for indie and local bands and gradually has worked his way up to some of rock’s greatest acts. He’s got the gift and natural talent to produce kick ass posters.

This week’s Rock Art Wednesday artist is Brian Methe. (The Ween Womb Poster below is my favorite)

RD: Where can we see your stuff. Which websites, myspace address etc…..

BM: Here are the places where you can find my work:

http://www.gigposters.com/designer/35241_B_Methe.html

www.myspace.com/bmethe

www.flickr.com/bmethe

RD: What are you currently working on?

BM: I am currently working on a t-shirt design for Burning Brides and posters for indie festivals and summer tours

RD: How did you get started?

BM: I’d been collecting posters for years and read the gigposters.com forums about how other artists got started so I used myspace and the internet to build a portfolio doing free work for indie and local bands and gradually worked my way up to doing bigger shows.

RD: What is the favorite poster that you have created?

BM: My Arcade Fire and Modest Mouse posters are my favorite because they came as close to the image i had in my head.

I first saw Phish (who is getting their Lifetime Achievement Award tonight at the Jammy’s) play at the Philadelphia Civic Center during their New Years run in 1994. I had no idea that those stretch of dates leading to New Years Eve would involve those 4 guys from Vermont for just about every year during the next decade (give or take a hiatus). For many reading this you don’t need any introduction to this week’s artist. However, in Runaway Dinosaur’s quest to deliver the best coverage of artists of every kind, a little background on Jim Pollock.

“Jim Pollock is an internationally renown artist best known for his bold and vibrant linoleum prints. Little did he realize that the pen and ink flyers he drew in the late 1980s for the then unknown University of Vermont band Phish was the beginning of a creative relationship that would span two decades. As Phish toured relentlessly, building a massive following, they continued to embrace Jim’s uniquely organic imagery for flyers, t-shirts, cd covers, limited edition prints and tour posters.” -http://pollockprints.com/

His work with Phish is now well known and like their music his style is incredibly detailed and technical. Jim is part of the magic that existed around the band which was truly special and doesn’t doesn’t happen that often.

He has stayed busy with many projects and I wanted to get a sense of what what he’s doing now. He just received his largest request for his 08-09 Subscription Edition. This is where you pay an artists a upfront fee for a series of unmade designs and you are shipped a tube after each new creation over the course of the year….a very special and fantastic way to support an artist’s work.

He also just released a brand new poster, commemorating the release of “Vegas 96″ (from Phish’s December 6th, 1996 show in Las Vegas, NV). Hand printed on acid free stock, the poster measures 12″x20″ and is individually signed by him and numbered with a limited Edition of 1,206 but now unfortunately sold out at Phish Dry Goods…..sorry folks.

Like Jim’s designs you can never know what something is going to to turn out like before you start it. You can have ideas, thoughts, desires and dreams but you never truly know until it’s finally in front of you or your tube arrives at the door. I think today after 6 months, Rock Art Wednesday’s tube has arrived…..enjoy part I of II with Jim Pollock.

RD-Can you describe the new technique/equipment you are using?

JP-My current hand press is a Nineteenth Century iron handpress. It is called a Washington and it was used as a proof press. It is not unlike a forged iron version of Ben Franklin’s press. Ben’s press was made of both metal and hardwood. My first handpress was a screwtop bookbinding press. I printed my posters I did for Phish from 1997-2001 on this press. The Washington press allows me much better registration and I can print slightly faster, although both are at a non-automated speed. For larger runs I cannot print by hand, I use Rohner Letterpress. It is a letterpress shop I have been using since 2002. I started using them after Phish came back from their hiatus in 2001-2002. I could not keep up with the demand that they were asking, doing the posters by hand and I luckily was introduced to Bruno Rohner. I print my larger linoleum blocks (18”x 24”) on Rohner Letterpress’s Heidelberg presses. I still use all three presses, depending on the poster job.

I have also recently started getting metal plates made for me by Owosso Graphics in Michigan. I create some artwork which I scan and send to them and they send me back a type-high relief plate of the art. It helps save time on carving which is also another labor intensive part of my process. I have been doing strictly hand carved prints for my art pieces.

RD-Do you do ever do any other art besides linoleum cuts?

JP-I mostly do different kinds of relief print art. I have done a lot of linoleum prints, but I have also done some wood cuts and wood engravings. I draw a good bit, but the drawings always seem to end up as plates for printing. It is definitely some kind of obsession I have. Sometimes I think I am inhabited by some ghost of a past century printer.

RD-Which bands, groups/causes are you currently designing posters for?

JP-Since the breakup of Phish I have been doing work for Umphrey’s McGee, a Chicago-based touring band and The Disco Biscuits. Other than that, I have been concentrating on the summer festivals. I am currently doing work for the third year for Ten Thousand Lakes Festival(Minnesota) and I did something for Wakarusa(Kansas) and possibly doing something for Summer Camp, a festival in central Illinois.

I have continued to do prints for non-profit organizations. Last year I did a piece for Ustorm, a music education non-profit started by Jake and Brendan, of Umphrey’s McGee. I made a snowboard design for Burton snowboard’s non-profit called Chill. This year I am doing a Rock The Earth print, which is currently available at rocktheearth.org. (See pictures below) I am also working on a Headcount print. Headcount goes to concerts to sign up music fans to vote. I feel this is an important year for voting!

RD-Do you have an apprentice or assistants?

JP- I do not have an apprentice. Jason Kaczorowski is my soul assistant. He helps me sell my work to collectors and helps me generally with feedback and support. Besides being a great help to my work, he is a great friend and an awesome photographer.

RD-Do you do private commissions?

JP- I have done private commissions a few times. Usually I do it for old friends who happen to catch me at a not too busy time. I have done birthday prints, but mostly I have done prints relating to marriage or engagement. I always wanted to do a Ketubah. (Jewish marriage contract) I was offered to do one once, but I did not have the time to dedicate to it.

Photos courtesy of Jason Kaczorowski.

Thanks to both Jim and Jason for making this happen!

If there are any questions you would like to see included in part II send them in and I’ll try and get them included when Jim gets some free time.

Sorry folks I’m having problems loading the images to this week’s RAW on my way into the city this morning. I stayed up till 2 trying to put the finishing touches on a much anticipated artist. Knowing my schedule once I step off the train I’m making the tough call of holding off until next week which I promise will be well worth the wait.

So little time, so much to do…….

CB

Hey RAW fans hope you are all well and enjoying the new features and writers that we’ve been adding to the team and so happy spring has finally arrived in the Northeast. I wanted to let you in on two GREAT poster sales happening this Friday. If you haven’t noticed Ween is a favorite of RD and when you get to have one of your favorite artists design a Ween print…..you know it’s going to be a good day. This Friday Todd Slater’s Ween Spiritwalker print will go on sale 4/25 at 2PM CST (That’s 3PM EST for our slow fans) The poster is awesome and for some reason can’t get it to load on the page but you can see it here http://www.gigposters.com/poster/94550_Ween.html

The print will go on sale on Todd’s site: http://www.toddslater.net/ like always. This Ween is going to sell out immediately so be there on time if you want it. “You’ll notice some previews of other posters (yes, they are all in the subscription) and new prints up on the site and I will get to selling those shortly.” -TS

Look for Todd Slater posters coming up for: The Cure, Radiohead, Tom Petty, Black Keys, Ladytron and more Ween!

And if that wasn’t enough for a Friday poster blast another RD favorite artist Jermaine Rogers has two prints for sale plus some pics of Jermaine’s gallery space, due to open to the public in a couple of weeks.

MARS VOLTA (Houston)
S/N EDITION: 100
$50 USD + SHIPPING

ON SALE FRI APRIL 25
2PM Mountain Tim

This screenprint measures approximately 31 x 22 inches. The striking imagery is accented by a beautiful color fade that spans the image in totality.

Jermaine decided to do some additional experimentation with this image. He had several versions of this print done in blue and yellow mixtures, working closely with master printer Steve Horvath to create weird patterns and color variations in the imagery. What resulted was a subset of truly unique pieces. EVERY SINGLE ONE of these experimental pieces is different from the others, each print being given individual attention.

Jermaine has decided to insert many of these prints randomly in the orders for the ‘regular’ edition of this print. Jermaine does not pack or ship these prints, so please do not lobby him for a copy. We’ve been instructed to place these in the tubes at random: roughly half of the orders will receive them. Those fortunate enough to receive these tubes will get TWO posters: the regular edition and this experimental version.

The regular edition of this print is trimmed to bleed and is a signed and numbered edition of only 100. The experimental edition is signed & trimmed to bleed with identical measurements to the regular edition, and will be inserted into random orders free of charge.

MARS VOLTA (Houston)
S/N EDITION: 100
$50 USD + SHIPPING
ON SALE FRI APRIL 25
2PM Mountain Tim

This screenprint measures approximately 31 x 22 inches and is printed on gallery cream stock. A flock of the enigmatic bird men in repose dominate this print, with seamless colors supplementing the vibe. This print is from a signed and numbered edition of only 100.
Jermaine’s DERO72 Studio and Gallery in Manitou Springs, CO is going to be opening in May. Click Here for some sneek peak pictures.

So Friday sets your clocks because these will go very fast……..

The best part of doing this Rock Art Wednesday feature is getting to know all these amazing artists and the vast styles and designs. I’ll let this man’s work speak for itself but I’m not sure if I have said this about another artist yet…..if I had a band I’d want him to design for us. This week we have rapper/designer Chuck U.

RD-What are you working on?

CU-On my plate right now is: A poster for Dance band. Album covers for Kruse, Muja Messiah, Bobby Hatfield C-Rayz Walz and Kosha Dillz. At-shirt for Gold Standard, and a new series of art prints. Plus a bunch of stuff still for festi di bella sol.

RD-Favorite project?

CU-That’s tough. I’ve been lucky enough that over the past few years, all my projects have been fun in one way or another. Two that stand out are the Kanser album cover, and the Vicious Vicious “parade” album cover. Also the Madlib poster was a lot of fun.

RD-How did you get started?

CU-Long story short. I was in college for graphic design. I decided I wanted to be a rapper. I would trade design services for studio time and production.
I would also get myself opening slots on bills by doing the poster design for free.
After a few years I realized I had more fun making posters for shows than playing them, and more fun making album covers than albums. By then I had worked with enough people, and enough people liked my stuff, that I could start charging more. Around that time, I was lucky enough to get a job in the art department at Copycats media, where I learned a shitload. After about a year and half, I was getting so much freelance stuff I was able to quit and go solo. I just celebrated my “one year without a real job” anniversary in March. There’s more to it, but that’s the jist.

RD-How long have you been at it?

CU-Drawing stuff: since birth. Posters and design: five? maybe six years?

RD-Any advice for an aspiring poster artist?

CU-Yes. Don’t expect to make money…. Oh, and get a job at Kinkos. It’s the worst job you can have. But you’ll learn a little bit, and the stuff you can steal makes it worth it. Just remember to quit before you get fired.

RD-Next concert you are seeing?

CU-Next big one is festi di bella sol (see bellamusicfest.com for info) with 50 or so bands. it’s gonna rule hard! I’ll more than likely end up at the dinkytowner watching people rap before then though.

Our artists are busy with various projects so this week we decided to share some knowledge on what actually makes all these posters we’ve been showing you collectible? This is from a great site called Pipe Creek Posters.

What Makes a Rock Poster Collectible?

When evaluating rock posters there are many factors to consider. Concert posters are an artistic, historical record of a musical event, and they may create feelings of nostalgia in someone who attended a concert, or even an emotional connection to a particular cultural era. Some collectors focus on the work of specific artists or bands, while others view rock concert posters as an investment opportunity, especially when some posters are now worth thousands of dollars in today’s expanding memorabilia market. Whatever your motivation for collecting rock posters, there are key elements to take into account. In the final analysis, collecting what you like may be the most important consideration of all.

Edition

Rarity increases value and makes a rock poster more collectible. This is true of modern as well as vintage posters.

The original printing of a poster is more valuable than a reprint. In the case of vintage posters, take as an example the Fillmore and Family Dog numbered series. Many of these posters were reprinted two or three times, and there are subtle differences between printings that you need to be aware of when dealing with these vintage items. You can find a list of books on this subject at References for Collecting Rock Posters on this site.

Modern rock concert posters can be divided into several categories:

1. Printed as limited edition consecutively numbered prints, signed by the artist.
2. Printed with a known number in the run, but not numbered; signed by the artist.
3. Printed with a known number in the run, but not numbered or signed by the artist.
4. Printed as an open edition, where the poster is printed many times with no set number in the run. These may be signed or unsigned.

Editions printed with a smaller total number in the run are more collectible than larger editions. A poster that is hand signed by the artist is more valuable than an unsigned print.

Printing Technique

Many collectors of modern gig posters favor prints created by the silkscreen process over those produced as lithographic/offset prints. This trend has contributed to the desirability and value of silkscreen posters. Of course, there have been, and continues to be, many great collectible posters produced that are not screen prints.

The Artist

The popularity of an artist and the value that has come to be associated with his work can be a major factor in a poster’s desirability. Some collectors even choose to make the posters created by specific artists the major focus of their collection.

Originality of the Design

As with all artistic endeavors, some posters stand out as unique works of art that generate mass appeal.

Featured Performers/Venue

The musicians featured on a poster play a prominent role in its value and how much collectors covet it. For example, a concert poster that lists Jimi Hendrix as the headliner is much more valuable than one for a lesser known performer or a less popular one.

The venue the poster was created for can also contribute to its popularity.

Condition of the Poster

The condition of a poster is a major factor in determining its value. Posters that have been properly stored will be in mint condition with no flaws.

Damage from environmental factors such as fading due to exposure to sunlight, yellowing and decomposition from attack by acidic oxidizing gasses, or discoloration from mold and mildew all contribute to a decline in the value of a collectible poster. Careless handling that leads to bent corners, creases, tack holes, etc., also has a negative effect on poster value.

A damaged poster that is extremely rare may still be valuable, based of course on the extent of the damage, and the demand for it by collectors.

Linen backing and paper restoration have long been an accepted practice among collectors of movie posters, but as a general rule it is considered taboo by most serious rock poster collectors. But when the preservation of a valuable poster is in jeopardy, it may be wise to consider the services of a professional restorer.

In the linen backing process, the poster is mounted with wheat paste to acid-free rice paper, which has been adhered to canvas “linen.” The result helps to preserve the poster and make it more durable. The process is reversible and so the backing may be removed at a later time. In the restoration process, tears can be repaired, stains can be removed, and missing paper can even be replaced. In some cases an expert would be required to ascertain how much restorative work was performed on a finished piece. For obvious reasons it is necessary to state the amount of restoration performed when selling a poster that has been professionally restored.

A little bonus in addition to our main feature this week from Jason Munn!!!!

Good morning everyone,

Short notice on this one, but this Friday, Bloom Screen Printing and I are having a print sale.

Bloom will selling proofs from it’s vast amount of prints that he has printed over the last 7 years. Quantities are extremely limited, so stop by early. Loads of art prints, gigposters and beyond.

I will be selling some of my more recent posters along with quite a healthy stack of scratch and dent posters. The scratch and dent posters will be selling for $5.00 each. The stack includes many long out of print posters, so stop by early for those as well. The new prints will be $25.00 each.

Here’s the details:

This Friday night, April 4th, From 5:00 - 10:00.
Bloom Screen Printing
2310 Telegraph Avenue
Oakland, CA 94612

In other news I’ve added a few new posters to the shop. Explosions In The Sky, Jens Lekman, The Dodos and Why?

Check them out here:

http://thesmallstakes.com/gallery.php?page=1

That’s all for now. Hope to see you Friday.

Jason
The Small Stakes

In the world of Rock Artists, there are so many artists out there that we don’t know about and 100x times more that don’t know about Runaway Dinosaur. So this week we decided to put a post up on Gigposters looking for Rock Artists who wanted to be featured on R.A.W. The response to our post was great and this week we are proud to feature the work of Sei Rey Ho and Chris Reynolds of Us and Them.

A little history by Sei Rey Ho……

“Right now, Us & Them consists of Chris Reynolds and myself. I mainly do all the printmaking and design for the posters, and Chris handles alot of our web projects. Our online presence doesn’t really represent a lot of our agency work.
Currently, I’m in the deep dark mountains of Boone, North Carolina, a small hippie mountain town in western NC.
We just moved here from Seattle, WA. Such a heavy contrast to the city life, but we’re getting more and more work done with the little distractions of the city. Both Chris and I went to design school. Me: the University of South Carolina, Chris: Appalachian State University.
After school, I was sooo amped about design / art / traveling…so my girlfriend and I moved to the big-city Seattle.
I lucked out and landed a graphic designer position as soon as I got in town with Getty Images. Working under the badass art director, Chris Ashworth, (former art director of RayGun), he taught me alot / the position taught me alot about agency dynamics……
From there…I left Getty Images and joined a small but forceful firm: Hammerquist & Nebeker (www.hammerquistnebeker.com).
Really cool job. We did alot of work for various action sports companies like Petzl, K2, North Face, Cliff Bar, etc.
But music has always been my true passion. So while working for all these agencies…I always stayed up super late to make rock posters for various bands. The bands were smaller and friends at first, but then I started reaching out to bigger bands…and to my surprise people were stoked about my work, and stoked to get some posters done. We got a lot of good feedback from the folks at the Stranger (a few “Poster of the Weeks” in their publication). So, it seemed like we’re were on the right path. So, about 6 months later, I said goodbye to my friends at Hammerquist & Nebeker and tried to pursue a career doing design work for musicians and action sports companies.
I loved working with one of my best friends, Chris Reynolds, so I called him up and told him conceptually what I wanted to do with Us & Them, and he was stoked as well! From there, we’ve been backing each other up, him being in Savannah, GA, us being in Seattle.

RD-What are you working on?

U&T-Printing-wise, we’ve just finished silkscreening our print for the Disco Biscuit’s 4.20 gig in Asheville at the Orange Peel.We’re also working on printing our posters for RJD2’s 2008 Tour. Design-wise, we’re working on a commissioned art print. We’re stoked on it. Something super abstract and free.

RD-Are you doing posters for any if the big summer festivals?

U&T-We’re stoked! We’re doing our first poster for Rogue Wave’s show at the Sasquatch Music Festival this year.

RD-How would you define your style?

U&T-It’s really difficult to define our style. We really try to do our best to graphically represent the bands that we’re working for. Since music is so different / individual, in order to be successful, we try to mix it up. Our main goal is to create something that the band is really proud to rock.

You’ll be seeing a lot of more of these guys in the short future. Check out their work at their site here. Here’s a link to their myspace: www.myspace.com/agraphictranslation.

See all past Rock Art Wednesdays!!

I’ve seen a lot of rock posters in my time but nothing like the posters we have today. This week’s Rock Art Wednesday artist is the first one we’ve had to use digital programs as his craft tools. Craig Howell of Cheeba Productions is well known in San Francisco and was kind enough to take some time in between his father and artistic duties to talk with us. I highly suggest you visit his studio site where you can see more of his posters and other rock art from various tours, album art, etc….

http://www.cheebaproductions.com/

RD-Give us some background on the digital techniques you use?

CH-My primary software is Painter 8 & Photoshop, I tend to switch back and forth within those 2 programs as I am developing a piece.

RD-How did you get started?

CH-After graduating from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. I got a job as an illustrator in the professional sports industry in a studio in Buffalo NY. At that point I was all traditional mediums, airbrush on bristle board illustrating logos, player portraits and team mascots for years.

I moved west to San Francisco in 1998 just as I was moving my illustration work to digital. One of my favorite things to do was going to the shows at The Fillmore and The Warfield and loved walking through the halls and checking out all the posters. So, my friend Gregg Gordon who was already creating posters for BGP hooked me up so I could get my work in front of Arlene Owseichik (BGP Creative Director).

There was one particular piece that she said caught her eye was an Elivis Presley portrait I had Airbrushed before I was working digital.

She was a big fan of Elvis and so I think it’s where it all started.

RD How long have you been making posters for BGP?

CH-Almost 10 years. My first BGP posters was Chris Cornell @ The Fillmore in September of 1999. I remember how excited I was going to The Fillmore for that show. It was sometimes strange for me going to the shows when I created the poster because they always had a framed copy of the poster displayed in the lobby for the guests to view and when you first get there you want to go check it out , see how it printed and you would hear the comments on your work and with them not knowing you were standing there…. the good and the bad critiques. You never know what you were going to hear. I would usually be there with other poster artists and it was as amusing to them as it was for me. But I would be there with another artist when they created the poster for that night, so it was amusing to be on the spectator side of that situation too. We all always took the negative things that were said with a laugh, what else can you do I guess. They would hand the posters out as the patrons were leaving the building and I remember standing outside of the Fillmore after the Guster show when I did the poster and this girl about 14 walked out and as she was walking by my circle she said “ugh, it’s a dead fetus” and everyone with me just started laughing… it was actually a baby in a space suit. So she was close at least/

RD-You are launching a new site to unload the massive amount of inventory you’re sitting on..can you tell us about that?

CH-With all the posters I have created since 1999 I would always get my copies like the artists do. Most artists sell them of on ebay , poster dealers or at the Bay Area record stores but I was pretty lazy with that and stored them away and my same friend Gregg Gordon “Gigart” would always encourage me to sell them and I never really did so I’ve still got all my copies stored in these blueprint cabinets from the past 10 years and recently was telling another artist who also creates posters Chad Grohman that I wanted to create an online store for people to buy posters direct from the artists, just so I could starting selling these prints of mine. Another friend who is a popular fantasy art illustrator Tony Mauro was interested in it also so the site was created.

The site has just launched and is www.posterpimp.net.

RD-What are some of your favorite projects you’ve worked on?

CH-In the Poster realm it seems like the latest ones are my favorite creatively because I see growth in my technique so I think I would naturally gravitate towards my Smashing Pumpkins, Blue October, and comedian Katt Williams. But overall I enjoyed working on two projects that they specifically wanted 2 seperate posters because they were playing 6 straight shows at the venue. one was Social Distortion and the other was Counting Crows and on both occasions I created two posters that when put together make one larger poster and I’ve always felt those were favorites of mine.

RD-What are you currently working on?

CH-I recently worked on Bullet for my Valentine, 30 Seconds To Mars and Killswitch Engage for merch development. The next project I am working on is the “Death Cab For Cutie” Fillmore poster for their April dates in San Francisco.

Check out past Rock Art Wednesday’s here.

A little extra love for Rock Art Wednesday this week. Our friend Sam over at Live Music Blog is heading down to Austin for Flatstock and did a great preview for his poster feature Drymount! 

Check out the entire Drymount! Flatstock 16 preview here.