History Alive! Chautauqua

Posted on May 2, 2019 Posted in DesignTagged art, chautauqua, Colorado, colorado humanities, Design, Featured, graphic design, illustration, museum, museums of western colorado, wildghost

When the Museums of Western Colorado approached me about redesigning the Two Rivers Chautauqua brand, a number of questions arose. Primarily, what is chautauqua?

The Two Rivers Chautauqua program is a Colorado Humanities supported project where a scholar portrays a significant historical figure and delivers an unscripted dramatic monologue in costume and in character. It’s a unique opportunity for an audience to have a conversation with Mark Twain or George Washington.

In the past, the group had a number of issues come up with their brand. Where is this chautauqua group located? What is chautauqua? Part of the goal of this project was to rename the program.

Those living in Western Colorado immediately know that “Two Rivers” refers to the Colorado and Gunnison rivers. That fact is unclear for people living outside of the region however. Correcting that was relatively simple. Two Rivers became Colorado West.

At its core chautauqua brings history to life. With that in mind we decided to call the program “History Alive! Colorado West Chautauqua.”

With the name settled it was time to work on the new logo. While this chautauqua group primarily focuses on historical figures from the old west, it also includes characters from all time periods and all parts of the world in their presentations. We had ideas to take inspiration from historical figures like John Otto and Chief Ouray, or even more generic figures like pioneers or miners. Those felt too limiting however, so we settled on a more generic look.

The new logo is inspired by western signage and woodcuts from the old west. The logo is meant to invoke memories of the past without being specific to a region, time period, or culture.

The ornament piece balances out the layout and has three swirls, each swirl representing the a Museums of Western Colorado museum location, downtown, Cross Orchards, and Dinosaur Journey. The logo colors also tie into the museums current branding standards.

All in all the project was a fun challenge to work on and does a good job rebranding the program for the museum and the public.

Goodbye Mount Orchid

Posted on April 16, 2019April 24, 2019 Posted in DesignTagged art, Colorado, concert posters, Design, Featured, graphic design, illustration, mount orchid, music posters, rock posters, wildghost

For the past 10 years I’ve had the absolute pleasure to play bass with Mount Orchid (formally Dreamboat). Last Friday, April 12, we played our final show, a bittersweet moment for sure. Playing music with Billy Pogany and the band has been so rewarding. Together we recorded, three albums, played countless shows across Colorado, opened for Collective Soul, and were the first band from Western Colorado invited to play the Open Air show on Colorado Public Radio.

Playing in the band as a designer has also been a lot of fun. I’ve made countless band posters, buttons, and album designs for all iterations of the band, from Dreamboat through Mount Orchid. It’s some of my favorite work, primarily because it was for my own passion project. Here’s a collection of my favorite band designs.

Notes:
• Mount Orchid Smokey the Bear button design by 464r7h4
• Bronco Country / Mount Orchid poster design by Andrew Watson

Read! \m/

Posted on March 24, 2019January 7, 2020 Posted in DesignTagged art, Design, Featured, graphic design, illustration, metal, music, read, wildghostLeave a comment

Colorado Public Radio Open Air host Bruce Trujillo rocking the Read shirt.

Every year libraries across the country participate in Summer Reading, a program designed to encourage reading during the summer and keep kids from having setbacks. The 2018 Summer Reading theme was ‘”Reading Rocks!” An offshoot of working on that project for Mesa County Libraries was this limited run of “Read” metal shirts.

Inspired by the ubiquitous Read posters, my version is a take on totally brutal metal band logos. Obviously not a great fit to promote reading to little kids, the natural use of this art is to throw it on a black shirt and sell it to music nerds like Colorado Public Radio Open Air host Bruce Trujillo.

Local Crews Help Build Country Jam’s Success

Posted on March 15, 2019 Posted in WritingTagged alabama, Colorado, country jam, country music, Featured, Grand Junction, little big town, luke bryan, sam hunt, spoke + blossom, wildghostLeave a comment

This article originally appears in the Spring 2019 issue of Spoke + Blossom magazine.

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Each year in early June, semi trucks filled with concert equipment descend on Jam Ranch in Mack, Colorado. Awaiting their arrival are small crews of sound engineers, stage hands, and festival organizers. They’ll spend the next several days busily sorting and assembling the main stages, sound systems, and general framework for Country Jam.

For nearly three decades Country Jam crews have transformed the open ranch land off I-70 exit 11 into one of the largest country music festivals in the U.S. Featuring top country music stars and attracting thousands of music fans from across the country for a four-day honky tonk, Country Jam is the premier live music event in Western Colorado.

Thousands of work hours go in to pulling off the Jam, many of which are supplied by local crews tirelessly working behind the scenes to make sure every aspect of the event runs smoothly.

This year, for the first time in the festival’s history, Snob Productions, a Grand Junction based production company, will handle all aspects of Country Jam. Audio, video, lighting, and staging will all be assembled from the ground up by Snob.

“We are super excited about Country Jam,” Snob Productions owner David Wall said. “It’s one of those events we’ve been working towards for a number of years. We’ve built up our reputation with the organizers and they’ve put their trust in us to run the event. It’s also cool to keep that contract local and that money local.”

Planning for this year’s Jam has been in the works essentially since last year’s event. Wall and crew have been meticulously ramping up effort as the event date gets closer and will use roughly 20 – 30 employees, a majority of which are local based.

“I’ve worked some different [live] events and have seen it all, good and bad,” longtime Country Jam stagehand and stage manager Vernon Walker said. “We are pretty lucky to have a solid local crew that’s been doing it for a long time. Without them the show couldn’t happen.“

West Middle School principal by day, music fan boy by night, Walker has been working the Jam since 1998. Building the main structure, providing grunt labor for the performers’ tour crew, troubleshooting tech and audio issues, even playing tour guide to Chris LeDoux and suggesting which local golf course to play, is all part of the job.

“Being around live music really attracted me to the job. There are few things cooler than live music. Seeing what goes into putting off a show like this is addictive,” Walker said.

Once all the structures are built and the festival gates open, local crews stick around to help shuttle gear during set changes, protect equipment from inclement weather, operate spotlights, and take on any unanticipated task that needs to be completed. While the performers get all the attention, it’s the anonymous local crews who work to ensure fans and performers have a great Country Jam experience.

Country Jam 2019 is June 13-16, and features headliners Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt, Little Big Town, and Alabama. Tickets are available at countryjam.com.

Photo courtesy of Country Jam.

Historical Sign Update

Posted on February 5, 2019 Posted in DesignTagged art, Colorado, Colorado state register of historic properties, Design, Featured, graphic design, historic properties, illustration, signage, wildghostLeave a comment

Recently, I got to work on a historical sign update in Collbran, Colorado. On February 1, Mesa County Libraries installed new window signage at the Collbran Branch Library. Paying homage to the history of Collbran, the new signage is a unique addition to the library.

Thanks to a Historical Society Grant in 1995, the Collbran Branch was relocated to the Stockmen Bank Building on Main Street, Collbran. The original Stockmen Bank opened for business in 1916 and the building was remodeled to its current form in 1929.

The Collbran Branch maintains much of the original charm of the 1929 remodel including the original bank safe dated to 1908, interior wood molding accents, iron work surround the exterior windows and door, and decorative brickwork on the front facade, including “Stockmen’s Bank” in blue and white terracotta frieze.

While the building itself is a beautiful example of early twentieth century western architecture, it has proved challenging to rebrand it as a Mesa County Libraries location. The building was added to the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties in March 8, 1995, so major modifications were out of the question.

Working with the Town of Collbran (Stockmen Bank building owners), we were able to get approval to add a window signage to building to help identify the building as a library, and prominently display library hours.

In an effort to match the charm and historical nature of the building, we threw out our style book and focused on designing signage that would have been historically accurate to 1929. Specifically, we sought to replicate the hand-painted, gold leaf signs often found on bank, salon, and barbershop windows from that era.

Using historical photos of Plateau Valley and other western towns for reference, the design focuses on the word “Library.” Large, gold block serif letters scroll across the top of the design, and are framed by hand-drawn ornaments. Mesa County Libraries colorful sunrise logo was redesigned as a two color, gold and black logo to help unify the sign to the existing building elements.

Working with a sign vendor we were able to find on a vinyl material that replicates a gold leaf texture, while still being affordable and durable enough to hold up to the weather elements. The overall look is pretty stunning, and adds new sparkle to the Stockmen Bank.

Concert Posters

Posted on January 28, 2019February 5, 2019 Posted in DesignTagged art, concert posters, Design, Featured, graphic design, illustration, kyle emerson, mount orchid, music posters, rock posters, tight thump, wildghostLeave a comment

Designers are always looking for total creative freedom. When approaching a project, nothing is more appealing than the phrase “do whatever you want.” While that attitude doesn’t work out so well for commissioned projects, it always plays when making concert posters.

Concert posters are a blast to make, and since I play in a band (Mount Orchid) and hang out with a lot of musicians, I get the chance to make a lot of them. My general approach is to be as wild as possible, no limitations.

Wild color schemes, fun font treatments, and weird art make for an eye catching combo. I’m a fan of taking art out of context and reusing it in creative ways. This three-armed gorilla for example, was a piece of art I found on a vintage Czech circus poster. With some color adjustments, hand-drawn fonts, and an expressive brush palette, it’s now a fun advertisement for a concert.

The stakes are pretty low when designing concert posters. They are temporary ads that are not meant to last forever, like a commissioned logo. I think that’s why I like making them so much. It’s total freedom and the chance to be creative just for the sake of being creative.

Longo, Bacon

Posted on January 23, 2019 Posted in DesignTagged art, Design, Featured, francis bacon, graphic design, illustration, robert longo, wildghostLeave a comment

“I believe in deeply ordered chaos.” – Francis Bacon, painter

“Longo, Bacon” is an art piece I made for recent art show celebrating artists Francis Bacon and Robert Longo. Both artists made work about identity, isolation, and anxiety, themes I often feel and think about.

This collage takes the iconic character poses from Longo’s “Man in Cities” project, and places them in the expressive and chaotic world of Bacon. All the expressive brush work and boxes hint at themes of isolation and anxiousness. Creating this piece, I imagined myself as the central image trying to make sense of the world around me. I like the juxtaposition of a dirty maddening background against the clean but anguished characters of Longo. It suggests that even when you think you’ve got the world figured out, chaos is all around you.

Generally, this style of art work falls outside of my comfort zone. However, as a creative it is important to push your self to try new styles. As Longo said, “an artist should know art history.”

The final piece is a 24 x 32 inch, mixed media collage.

The Punisher – Season 2

Posted on January 14, 2019 Posted in Special ProjectsTagged Featured, marvel, netflix, punisher, the punisher, wildghostLeave a comment

Frank Castle is back! From the looks of this trailer, “The Punisher” season 2 picks right up where season 1 left off – with Frank dishing out vigilante justice.

Check out the trailer for Marvel’s “The Punisher” season 2. I got the chance to create some graphics and set decorations for the show and I’m beyond excited to see the new season. I’ve been a comic fanboy all my life so this is literally one of the coolest projects I’ll ever work on. Season 2 of Marvel’s “The Punisher” debuts on Netflix January 18.

Zine Party

Posted on January 10, 2019 Posted in DesignTagged art, boston terrier, Colorado, comic book, Design, Featured, graphic design, illustration, magazine, wildghost, Writing, zine1 Comment

I was recently asked to contribute some artwork and writing to a pop-up magazine. These projects are fun to work on as it is a chance to create something completely from your own imagination without having to answer to a client.

For this pop-up I created four items: “Shed Your Skin – Wild Ghost logo,” “Electric Ballroom” short story, John Contino tribute skull, and “Dog-o and Chef,” an original comic short.

Shed Your Skin – Wild Ghost logo

This is a new take on my own Wild Ghost logo. I’ve had the idea to make a glyph using the Wild Ghost snake in the shape of a “G” for a while and this iteration feels really good. Eventually as I develop my brand I see this as being a stand alone mark.

The “Shed Your Skin” text is really a reminder to myself that when I fell boxed in to a certain artistic style that I have the freedom to change as needed. This really is the essence of Wild Ghost and why I founded the company. I wanted to create something that was unshackled and free to inhabit any artistic form I need the company to take, hence, Wild Ghost.

“Electric Ballroom” – Short Story / John Contino Tribute Skull

The “Electric Ballroom” short story in an excerpt from a longer unpublished fictional piece I wrote about a local band struggling for attention in a small town. I chose this section because I really like description of the main character playing guitar. I’m obsessed with Fender instruments and their offset guitars always seemed so cool to me.

John Contino is one of my favorite designers and I love how expressive he can be using a combination of digital and hand drawn art. I struggle sometimes with digital art, particularly getting a computer to be as expressive as I want it to be. I’ve been studying Contino’s technique in the hopes of learning how to bring a more personal feel to digital design. This skull was hand drawn, based off one of his drawings, scanned into Photoshop, and redrawn from there. The lines in the finished skull seem more lively to me. It’s a little extra work to get this effect, but I’m looking forward to using this technique in upcoming projects.

Dog-o and Chef – Comic Short

This was by far my favorite piece to create for the magazine. I’m my spare time I really love cooking and every time I’m in the kitchen my Boston Terrier is at my feet, hoping to catch a couple scraps. This is a real pecan pie recipe, but as you can see, when you let a dog be your sous-chef, things can take a turn for the worse!

While fun, this project turned out to be much more time intensive than I anticipated. Character drawing in particular was difficult. Drawing my dog in multiple positions, while still maintaining his defining characteristics was a challenge.

Nathaniel Rateliff

Posted on December 22, 2018January 23, 2019 Posted in WritingTagged art, art on the corner, Colorado, creative district, Featured, Grand Junction, public art, wildghostLeave a comment

This article originally appears in the Winter 2018 issue of Spoke + Blossom magazine.

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Atop the Colorado music scene sit Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats. Since the release of their 2015 eponymous debut album, the band is one must-see act currently active in the Colorado music scene. Led by their powerfully charismatic songwriter-and-lead-singer Rateliff, the Night Sweats are totally worthy of the accolades and love the state has shown them.

Even casual music fans will know the boisterous, bearded Rateliff from headlining gigs at Red Rocks, annual holiday shows at the Ogden Theater in Denver, or multiple appearances on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Rateliff and Co., fueled by a little bit of vintage soul and classic rock charm, have struck a chord with music fans around the state — and the world.

The band’s success, however, is still a relatively new phenomenon. Before Colorado was a trendy destination for twentysomethings, before Open Air on Colorado Public Radio championed local music through the airwaves, back when the Underground Music Showcase was indeed an underground music showcase, Denver music fans will remember Rateliff as a mildly successful folk/gospel artist, and not as the headlining frontman from the Night Sweats.

Venture through old YouTube videos of Rateliff playing solo gigs, and you will find a denim-clad songwriter with the voice and chops primed for a breakout. Listen closely to his acoustic work, and you will also hear the early influences and song structures that the Night Sweats developed to great success.

Rateliff’s solo music is slower and a bit more tender than that of the Night Sweats. Often strumming a nylon-string classical guitar, Rateliff is an introspective storyteller. His work on the 2013 album Falling Faster Than You Can Run demonstrates his ability to pierce the soul with little more than his voice and a thoughtful lyric.

As a solo artist Rateliff found a reasonable amount of success touring the country. He was featured in multiple music blogs and magazines like Spin and Paste Magazine, as well as the documentary Austin to Boston, which shows the highs and lows of musicians on a low-budget cross-country tour in a caravan of old Volkswagen buses.

For music fans who missed his career as a solo artist, this archival footage shows that it was all there in the early days. Rateliff’s songwriting and massive voice were well-honed before people really started to pay attention. If you can entertain a bar with just your voice and a simple guitar riff, then you’ve really got something. Rateliff’s always had it.

Lucky locals enjoyed a rare chance to see a more retro Rateliff perform a stripped-down set opening for folk icon John Prine, who himself is having quite a moment following the release of his recent album, The Tree of Forgiveness. Their November 8 show at the Avalon Theatre in Grand Junction was just one of a handful of concerts together. (Western Slopers have another chance to see Rateliff, along with the Night Sweats, at the Belly Up in Aspen on December 15 and 16.)

Regarding the significance of playing alongside a living legend like Prine, Rateliff remarked, “We keep losing all this magic as people pass away, and now we just have to start making it for ourselves again.” Whether solo or with the Sweats, Rateliff has proven himself a magician indeed.