Rock Poster.

I've been a member of the San Diego Museum of Art since I first moved here five years ago. It's obvious, but when you're a member, you're at the visual whims of whatever exhibit the museum displays during that season. It's often hit or miss. You either relish it or tolerate it for those four months.

I had received the museum's quarterly newsletter in the mail and saw that the upcoming exhibit was High Societies: Psychedelic Rock Posters of Haight-Ashbury. Ugh. I wasn't looking forward to it and considered it to be a four month dead zone. Now I absolutely love San Francisco. It's in my top four cities in the world (along with Florence, Prague, and my beloved Boulder), but I don't have any particular attachment to the 60's, tie-dye graphics, or the idea of a printmaking exhibit.

But I went and found myself absolutely riveted. I saw the images and was hit by a visual resonance -- the posters were a perfect balance between art, design, graphics, and line.

Aside #1: I love the word resonance. It's a powerful force when it occurs in my life and I don't take it lightly, whether it's generated from environment, sight, smell, sound, or person.

Aside #2: I would be at odds to describe my artistic style. I'm not trying to be evasive or aloof like most artists are when asked this question (they loathe being typecast or categorized). I just simply don't know. Perhaps I'm too close to it. Maybe it's because I paint nothing like those artists that I admire (Klimt, Schiele, Mucha, Freud...). Maybe I'm too early in my artistic development to even have a style. But if pressed, I think that there is a certain aesthetic to my artwork. I like things to look beautiful and I enjoy a strong use of line. I found this same quality in these art posters. They were designed to look attractive.

I looked at the rock posters and thought that it would be something I'd be good at. It's a symbiotic relationship between art and design, and visually conducive to my own style.

Since that exhibit, I have bought a few rock posters at shows, but secretly I always wanted to design one on my own.

Well, I finally have. I created one for my friends' band, Secret Apollo. Welcome to my first rock poster.



I painted the image in oil on canvas board (14x18"). I then photographed it and added the text in PhotoShop.