Metal Life - Art

Image: Tim Burton. (American, b. 1958), Untitled (Edward Scissorhands), 1990, Pen and ink, and pencil on paper, 14 1/4 x 9", Private Collection, Edward Scissorhands © Twentieth Century Fox, © 2011 Tim Burton.

http://www.metallife.com/news/display_news.php?id=3255

Art News: European erotic comic artist Carlos Diez releases sketchbook

2011-05-29T10:07:00.000-07:00

http://www.metallife.com/news/display_news.php?id=3137

Poster Art for ABSCESS 'Seminal Vampires And Maggot Men' Deluxe Gatefold LP Posted

2011-03-26T12:51:00.001-07:00

http://www.metallife.com/news/display_news.php?id=2594

Comic Book News: American McGee's ART OF ALICE 1st edition sells out

2011-03-24T22:12:00.001-07:00

http://www.metallife.com/news/display_news.php?id=2570

Art News: Famous Monsters of Filmland Giclees Now Available

2011-02-28T20:02:00.000-08:00

http://www.metallife.com/news/display_news.php?id=2320

Book Review: 'Drawn From The Well' by Greg Craola Simkins. Art collection.

2010-10-30T18:48:00.001-07:00

http://www.metallife.com/reviews/books/drawn_from_the_well.php

Art News: GREG CRAOLA SIMKINS 'Story Teller' Solo Exhibit opens Nov. 5th

2010-10-14T19:46:00.000-07:00

'Story Teller': new works of art by Greg 'Craola' Simkins.

Read Full Story Here

NACHTGESCHREI reveal cover art for new album

2010-10-11T10:46:00.000-07:00

http://www.metallife.com/news/display_news.php?id=1738

SPIKE & MIKE 'San Diego Festival of Animation' starts Oct 16

2010-10-11T10:28:00.000-07:00

Spike & Mike present a completely different animation festival from 2009. Note: This is NOT the Sick & Twisted Festival. Spike commented, "These are the films that didn't fit into the Sick & Twisted category. We now return with a BRAND NEW show due to the overwhelming response to last year's show."

Read the Full Article

OCEANO 'Contagion' cover artist discusses his work

2010-10-07T20:46:00.001-07:00

http://www.metallife.com/news/display_news.php?id=1712

"Dragon Song - Wings of Conquest" fantasy art

2010-08-28T07:30:00.000-07:00

Our very latest gallery of fantasy works in the popular "Song" series - Dragon Song celebrates those massive mythical flying reptiles, and the fiercely devoted warrior maidens who love them so!

A fantastic full color collection of paintings and illustrations by a diverse collection of international artists , including James Hottinger, Dave Dunstan, Carlos Valenzuela, Steve Fastner and Rich Larson, Eamon O'Donoghue, Danilo Guida - to name just a few.

With a magnificent painting by Pelaez to wrap up a package like this, Dragon Song will be a most excellent addition to anyone's fantasy art library. $20.00 - CODE - A-DS

Order HERE. Tell them Metal Life Magazine sent you.

"Fantastic Art" - The Best of Luis Royo

2010-08-28T07:20:00.000-07:00

The title kinda says it all. If you're looking for the LAST word in a Luis Royo collectible - THIS is what you've been searching for. In a hardcover edition that can also be used as a weapon (this thing is HEAVY!), the magnificent works of Royo are given the top-notch respect and care they so richly deserve! All of his finest works are included, as well as a running commentary that adds even more interest and information about the art.

Paintings, sketches, studies, layouts - everything that gives Royo's work it's power and detail is here, ready to be added to your personal library of fantasy artworks. We have a VERY limited supply of these - NOTE: the full color slipjacket on some of these copies show some wear, but the ACTUAL book itself is unmarred and quite handsome (black hardcover with goldleaf stamping).

That said, these beauties originally sold for $60, but we're only charging $40 each - and when they're gone, they're GONE! 240 pages in full color. $40.00 - CODE - ROYOHC

Buy Here at SQP Inc. Tell them Metal Life Magazine sent you.

Stan Lee and Greg Simkins Exclusive

2010-08-25T18:47:00.000-07:00

Stan Lee and Greg "Craola" Simkins present an exclusive "Anti Venom" at Dragon Con, Saturday, Sept 4 at the IMSCARED booth.

The giclee on fine art paper is limited to 25 copies, hand signed and numbered and available with Stan Lee autograph.

There is also a raffle to win 1 of 10 artist proofs signed in person by Stan Lee and Greg Simkins.

Greg Simkins new art book at Dragon Con

2010-08-25T18:40:00.000-07:00

This year will be Greg's first appearance at Dragon Con in Atlanta, GA where he will be releasing special editions of his new book, "Drawn from the Well" along with some new prints. The releases and signings will take place at his IMSCARED booth #BT10 in the Comics & Pop Art Alley where he will be PAINTING LIVE most of the weekend.

To celebrate the release his new book, Greg and the IMSCARED team have some amazing things planned for Dragon Con attendees including:

A raffle drawing for a chance to WIN THE ORIGINAL PAINTING that Greg will be working on throughout the weekend
A special print release & signing with GREG & STAN LEE
Raffle drawings for a FREE copy of his new book with an ORIGINAL DRAWING INSERT (a total of 5 will be given away throughout the weekend)
Twitter contests throughout the weekend for the chance to win some CRAOLA prizes (if you are not currently a follower of Greg on Twitter, click here)
NEW IMSCARED/Dragon Con exclusive t-shirts

http://www.dragoncon.org/members.php

Metal Life interview with Monte Moore

2010-08-20T14:48:00.000-07:00

http://www.metallife.com/interviews/others/montemoore_201007.php

San Diego Comic Con 2011 Artists Alley Deadline Sept 24

2010-08-06T22:11:00.000-07:00

Comic-Con 2011 Artists' Alley Application Package is now available here. Deadline for receipt is September 24, 2010. Spaces fill up quickly.

BROM signing at San Diego Comic Con 2010

2010-08-01T13:28:00.000-07:00

Photo by E. Lacey, Metal Life Magazine

Metal Life Magazine caught up with Brom, one of our favorite artists (and now authors) at San Diego Comic Con 2010. Brom was signing copies of his novel "The Child Thief," his envisioning of the Peter Pan mythos. Brom wrote the novel and provided the artwork (of course).

Brom even took a few seconds to draw a quick sketch for Metal Life editor, Terry Bunch.

Photo by E. Lacey, Metal Life Magazine

Check out more about Brom at his website, http://www.bromart.com/

Brian Froud and Wendy Froud at San Diego Comic Con

2010-08-01T11:37:00.000-07:00

Photo by E. Lacey, Metal Life Magazine

Metal Life Magazine stopped and spoke with Brian and Wendy Froud at San Diego Comic Con 2010. They were promoting and signing their "Heart of Faerie Oracle" book and Brian was also offering quick sketches. The book is based on their tarot deck "Faerie's Oracle."

Photo by E. Lacey, Metal Life Magazine

The Frouds have become legends with their artwork, sculptures and puppet designs. Their handiwork has been used or seen in movies, art books, tarot decks, calendars, music CDs and even wines and chocolates. Most famous, perhaps, is the work that appears in the movies "Labyrinth" and "Dark Crystal."

Visit their site here: http://www.worldoffroud.com/

UPDATE: "Blood Rituals: The Art of Tom Baxa" sneek peek

2010-06-25T19:19:00.000-07:00

Tom Baxa had this to say about his new project:

"I’m blown away! I just need a minimum of $125.00 more and I will reach my goal to fund my art book Blood Rituals: The Art of Tom Baxa! Thank you so much for supporting me and my artwork!

With just 7 days left, this is your last chance to get some of the exclusive rewards only offered with this Kickstarter project and to pre-order a copy of the book with free shipping!

If I don’t reach my goal, I don’t get any of your gracious pledges, so please help me spread the word!!!!!

Btw, I can go over my goal amount as well, so feel free to order your very own copy now:

BAXA’s Kickstarter project page + video: Click Here to View

http://www.baxaart.com/

Comic Con Guide for metal fans - San Diego Comic Con

2010-06-24T10:38:00.001-07:00

Comic Con Guide for metal fan

This is a San Diego Comic Con Guide to help heavy metal fans find the booths and panels that will be of interest. Topics include horror movies, horror comics, science fiction, video games, art, metal music and more.

The guide will be updated as Comic Con releases more information and watch for our coverage during Comic Con 2010.

New art by Greg "Craola" Simkins this Sat at Joshua Liner Gallery

2010-06-01T18:00:00.000-07:00

Greg Simkins
Inside the Outside
June 5 to July 1, 2010

Joshua Liner Gallery is pleased to present Inside the Outside, an exhibition of new paintings and works on paper by the Southern California artist Greg Simkins. This is Simkins’ second solo show with the gallery.

A fantasist at heart, Simkins alternates between the unsettling and the sentimental—in his finely rendered work, the grotesque can turn sweet and vice versa. Fanged caterpillars become sad-eyed clowns, grow machine parts, or inflate into bulbous balloons that sprout other bizarre creatures and beings. Simkins’ vision weaves together influences as diverse as contemporary pop culture, twentieth- entury fantasy novels, old master paintings, carnival kitsch, and cyborgian amalgams of technology and nature. With Inside the Outside, inspired by his recent travels in Hawaii, Simkins approaches a new dimension of fantasy—a desire to break down boundaries found in the natural world.

In these 10 acrylic paintings and 20 ink and graphite on paper works, the artist harnesses his appetite for fantasy to challenge the rigid, seemingly arbitrary rules of nature. Whereas taxonomy categorizes the biological world into evolutionary branches, and physics dictates who swims, crawls, and flies, Simkins’ art allows the artist to transcend these limitations to propose a new dimension. He conceives this body of work as reaching “outside” a conventional understanding of the world into a pictorial space of imaginative inquiry—in other words, the native realm of the fantasist.

The almost fantastical beauty and variety of Hawaii’s natural environment is concentrated into works like A Branch in the Water, an acrylic-on-canvas painting where jellyfish possess the anatomy of roses and hibiscus and perch in coexistence with iridescent-feathered birds and hybrid insects of the imagination. Other works evoke the meandering, fluid quality of undersea environments where forms and textures interpenetrate with greater ease—here, Simkins is inspired by tropical fish and coral reefs, though never literally. In another painting, The Welcoming Party, for example, the artist introduces deer, geese, and even upholstered furniture into this environmental mash-up. There is something tantalizing and seductive in these extra-natural introductions between wildly diverse species, an “eco-fantasy” that clearly brings great pleasure to the artist even if existing only on canvas.

Born in 1975 in Torrance, California, Greg Simkins received a BA in Studio Art from California State University of Long Beach. Selected solo exhibitions of his work include: The Pearl Thief, Gallery Nineteen Eighty Eight, Los Angeles (2009); It Wanders East, Joshua Liner Gallery, New York (2008). His work has been featured in the following selected group exhibitions: Sons of Baby Tattooville, Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA (2009); Locked & Loaded, Joshua Liner Gallery (2008); KNOW Show, Mark Murphy Design (Art Basel Miami Beach, 2007); Bergamont Invasion II, Copro Nason Gallery, Santa Monica (2006).

Reception Saturday June 5th from 6-9pm

Exhibition Information

Greg Simkins

TOM BAXA art book "Blood Rituals" pre-orders available

2010-05-18T20:20:00.000-07:00

"Blood Rituals: The Art of Tom Baxa is going to be an 8.5’ x 11”, 112 page book with artwork that spans my 20 year career as a fantasy artist, including art from Dungeons and Dragons, Magic: the Gathering, World of Warcraft tcg, and much more!

The book features cover paintings, interior illustrations, drawings, concept art, and some new digital montage work. There’s going to be a section dedicated to my Wicked Fairies® characters, some of my short stories, sketches and more!

I found this amazing site called Kickstarter.com that is set up to help artists fund their creative projects. I have a fantastic designer working on the layout of the book and now I’m asking for your help to raise the money to print the book so I can get it out and into your hot little hands!

You can pledge just to support the arts, or you can receive rewards in exchange for your generous offering. You can see all the rewards I’m offering and more details on my Kickstarter project page: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1633668267/blood-rituals-the-art-of-tom-baxa-dark-fantasy-art . (Make sure you watch the video to the end- there is a special appearance by a Zombie). For a $25 pledge you get a signed copy of the book sent right to your door. It’s just like pre-ordering the book directly from me, but you’re helping to fund the printing of the book in advance.

This is such a great opportunity for me to publish my own work and retain creative control. This way I can give you all the creepy beasties you love and you get to contribute to a marketplace ripe with interesting content! It’s a win – win.

Kickstarter.com is totally legit and all the funding is done through Amazon Payments (Amazon.com’s Paypal-like system). Totally safe, secure, and trusted. Read more about how the whole Kickstarter process works on my page and their FAQ section. I funded a project recently and it felt really good to help out a fellow artist.

The tough part is that if I don’t raise my full dollar goal, I don’t get any of the money. So if you are at all thinking that you might buy the book, it would be very helpful if you pre-ordered now, so I can fund the printing of the book.

Thank you so much for supporting me and my artwork! Please help me spread the word!!!!!"

-- Tom.

http://www.myspace.com/baxaart

RIP: Frank Frazetta (1928-2010)

2010-05-11T06:05:00.000-07:00

Frank Frazetta (February 9, 1928 – May 10, 2010), was one of the greatest fantasy artists of all time. His work was instantly recognizable and has inspired so many other artists.

Frank began work drawing for various comic books including drawing of humorous animals. You will know they are Frank's by his signature "Fritz". He continued to work on various comic projects including covers for "Buck Rogers" and "Little Annie Fannie" for Playboy.

A parody of Ringo Starr for Mad Magazine earned him work on movie posters for United Artists. He went on to do covers for adventure novels including "Conan" and "Tarzan". Frank was infamous for stating that he drew his covers without reading the books themselves. He almost seemed to view the book as a vessel to display his art versus being a story with an attractive cover.

Frazetta worked with Ralph Bakshi on the animated movie "Fire & Ice" and Frank's art was used on CD covers by Nazareth, Molly Hatchet, Wolfmother and Yngwie Malmsteen.

Frank had recently signed with Vanguard Productions to release a series of books.
Read Article Here.

Frank Frazetta will be sorely missed and yet, as is the case with artists, he will live on in the imagery that he has created and in the imaginations that his work influences.

Journey onward fallen brother, we raise a toast to you.

Jason Newsted art exhibit at Micaela Gallery in San Franscisco

2010-05-08T10:51:00.000-07:00

"I am possessed by an undercurrent of kinetic energy that I have channeled through pure artistic creation for as long as I can remember, beginning with childhood drawings and songs, followed by teenage rock and roll based ideas, and ultimately, internationally recognized musical recordings and live performances.

With the title of most decorated heavy metal bass guitarist of all time intact, my purpose has shifted from making crazy and colorful music, to making crazy and colorful paintings.

I remain as disciplined, self-motivated, and dedicated to my art, as I have been. It is time for me to climb the next mountain, retaining purity by way of genuine expression in creating art as my quest."

-Jason Newsted, March 25, 2010

BIO

Immersed in creativity from an early age, Jason Newsted learned about beauty, life and death from his upbringing on his family's farm in Battlecreek, Michigan. These early surroundings would come to heavily influence his music career and artistic imagery.

Newsted joined Metallica in 1986, successfully toured the globe as Metallica's bass guitarist through 2001, and achieved worldwide recognition. He recorded multiple albums that won six Grammy awards, sold 100 million units, and earned his 2009 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In 2005, Newsted turned his attention to painting, where he found solace and a new manner for expressing his creativity. His experience with painting is a joy to behold, filled with wonderment and the uninhibited freedom of a mature creative soul.

Newsted's paintings express raw visual energy. He uses rich color and an expressive manner to translate his characteristic intensity into hard-hitting paintings.

EXHIBIT DETAILS
From May 4 - June 27
Micaëla Gallery
49 Geary Street, No. 234
San Francisco, CA 94108 USA
415.551.8118
http://www.micaela.com

Los Angeles Rock'n Comic Con - May 28-30

2010-05-02T14:42:00.000-07:00

The Pasadena Convention Center & Civic Auditorium

Memorial Day Weekend 2010
Fri., Sat., Sun. - May 28, 29, 30

Metal band WILLOW WISP will be performing

THE NIGHTMARE, an Alice Cooper tribute band is scheduled for some daytime performances in the Pavilion

SPECIAL GUESTS Include:

Craig Elliott: Fantasy Illustrator

Rodd Roddenberry: Roddenberry Productions (Days Missing graphic novel)
Trevor Roth: Creator of DAYS MISSING

Pamelina: Musical Instrument & Guitar Art

Ciruelo - Fantasy Illustrator

Dave Dorman: comic book artist (Star Wars)

Bill Blair: actor - Babylon 5, Star Trek Voyager, Star Trek DS9, Star Trek Enterprise, Sliders, Alien Nation

Douglas Tait: actor - One by One: Death's Door, Star Trek (2009), Bloodlines, Star Trek DS9; stunts - Dead Undead, Bloodlines, Freddy vs Jason

PANELS include:

-Making Independent Horror Movies On A Budget

-Movie Femme Fatales

-Screams In 4 Color: Comic Book Horror

ALL STAR ROCK BAND performing each night features many musicans including:

Dizzy Reed: keyboards/vocals - Guns n Roses
Sean McNabb: bass - Dokken, Montrose
Chas West: lead vocals - Bonham
Troy Patrick Farrell: drums - White Lion
Keith St. John: vocals - Montrose
Krigger: drums - Scorpions
Glenn Hughes: bass - Deep Purple; vocals - Black Sabbath
Bruce Kulick: guitarist - Kiss

BUY YOUR TICKETS HERE:
http://www.rockncomiccon.com/

Pasadena Convention Center:
http://www.pasadenacenter.com/

GOLDEN GODS AWARDS new show artwork by Brian Ewing

2010-04-02T19:11:00.000-07:00

New show artwork by Brian Ewing

2ND ANNUAL REVOLVER GOLDEN GODS AWARDS PRESENTED BY EPIPHONE SET FOR THURSDAY, APRIL 8 AT CLUB NOKIA IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES

TELEVISION BROADCAST SET FOR SATURDAY, MAY 22 ON VH1 CLASSIC

CONCERT WITH ROB ZOMBIE, FEAR FACTORY, AS I LAY DYING, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA AND BRIAN POSEHN'S ALL STAR BAND FT. SCOTT IAN, BRENDON SMALL, JOHN TEMPESTA & JOEY
VERA WITH SPECIAL PERFORMANCE BY ZAKK WYLDE

http://www.metallife.com/news/display_news.php?id=638

http://www.goldengodsawards.com/

Sculptor "Spacebrain" to design set for MAYHEM's Inferno performance

2010-03-28T12:13:00.000-07:00

Sculptor SPACEBRAIN (René M. Hamel) has once again teamed up with legendary Black Metallers MAYHEM, this time to design the stage set that the band will use for its appearance at his year’s Inferno Festival, in Oslo, Norway, on the Friday 2nd April. SPACEBRAIN first worked with MAYHEM several years ago, designing the startling and aggressive sets that were such an integral part of the band’s live image, and, according to the sculptor, the set for Inferno will be “A crazy mixture of steel, blood and flesh. Think along the lines of Hellraiser, and you might get some sort of idea of what I have in mind”.

Aside from his work as a sculptor, SPACEBRAIN branched out into music in early 2007 when he took up the bass and joined SKITLIV, the blackened doom project of former MAYHEM front man MANIAC. It was his set design for SKITLIV that caused a stir at Inferno in 2008 when the curtains opened to show the band playing in a seemingly safe and cosy parlour setting, which contrasted sharply with the doom-laden riffs and unpredictable nature of the music and the musicians themselves.

Although his collaboration with MANIAC continues, with SPACEBRAIN applying his talents as an artist to work with the front man on a new video for the SKITLIV, the sculptor is no longer a part of the band, having left to concentrate on his own musical project, SUCHTHAUS, a band whose musical direction veers more towards an industrial sound, but which encompasses aspects from many genres. SUCHTHAUS’ line up includes DIE STIMMEN on vocals, SICK BARRETT on guitars and DJ FLASHBACK on “electric Lucifer”. SKITLIV guitarist Ingvar Magnusson has been known to make a guest appearance, and David Tibet (CURRENT 93) allowed the use of some of his work on the track “Indian Run” which can also be heard on SUCHTHAUS’ MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/suchthaus

German born SPACEBRAIN is now permanently based in Oslo and works from a large studio in the city, part of which has been turned into a venue knows as the Spacebunker, where some of his extraordinary sculptures and unique items from past stage sets, including some from the famous MAYHEM sets, are on display.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Spacebrain: http://www.myspace.com/spacebrainartfromhell
Suchthaus: http://www.myspace.com/suchthaus
Spacebrain: http://www.myspace.com/spacebrainartfromhell
The Spacebunker: http://www.myspace.com/spacebunker

Search Amazon.com Music for Mayhem

Search Amazon.com Music for Skitliv

Greg "Craola" Simkins art - CBS Crew 26th Anniversary Art Show

2010-03-25T21:07:00.000-07:00

Opens Saturday, March 27th, 2010 6-10pm

Greg "Craola" Simkins will have an original drawing available along with 3 rare Artist Proof giclee prints to celebrate the CBS Crew 26th Anniversary

Mid-City Arts Gallery
5113 W. Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90019
(310) 694-3460
Contact: midcityarts@gmail.com

CBS Teaser from viejas del mercado on Vimeo.

About Greg "Craola" Simkins

After years of chasing the monsters under his bed, Greg “Craola” Simkins has reemerged into the everyday world to create images of what he saw in those forgotten lands. Simkins didn’t always use a paintbrush to display this mob of characters, but spent many of his early years filling sketchbooks with images that were later spray-painted on walls, and finally found their way onto canvases. It is his careful weaving of pop culture, the old masters, nature, carnival kitsch, and (most importantly) his warped imagination, that makes Greg Simkins a sought-after surrealist painter today.

Frank Frazetta Signs with Vanguard Productions

2010-03-08T13:44:00.000-08:00

Photo: Frank Frazetta, J. David Spurlock

Frank Frazetta Signs with Vanguard Productions

Legendary fantasy artist Frank Frazetta and acclaimed publisher Vanguard Productions announce a new publishing relationship.

New York, NY, March 08, 2010 -- Frank Frazetta said, “We’ve known Vanguard publisher J. David Spurlock for many years. Vanguard publishes the very best! I’ve enjoyed their books on Hal Foster, Al Williamson, Jeffrey Jones, Neal Adams, Jim Steranko, Basil Gogos, Carmine Infantino and more. David helped on our Painting with Fire documentary and we helped him on Vanguard’s

Roy G. Krenkel, Wally Wood, and J. Allen St.John books. It’s a natural that we should work together. I’m looking forward to seeing the quality job they do on the new Frazetta books”

Frank Frazetta is considered by many to be THE greatest heroic-fantasy artist of all time. His work has influenced generations of artists, fans, designers, and movie directors. From his 1950s comics; to his breathtaking book covers featuring Tarzan, King Kong, and John Carter of Mars; to his 1960s monster magazines Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella; to his major movie posters, including After the Fox, The Night They Raided Minsky's and Whats New Pussycat?; and, of course, his revolutionary Conan paintings.

Active since October 1990, Vanguard is a publisher of pop culture books, graphic novels, mystery, science fiction, and more. Vanguard is best known as the world's leading producer of art book biographies on illustrators and cartoonists and has garnered acclaim from The New York Times, The Village Voice, Time Out New York, The IPPY Awards, Starlog, National Public Radio, Video Watchdog, The Eisner Awards, Entertainment Weekly, Fangoria, Publishers Weekly, The Society of Illustrators, Variety, The Hugo Awards, Library Journal, The Rondo Awards, Locus Science Fiction Awards, and more.

Vanguard’s publications have been distributed through Diamond Distributors since 1993 with expanded trade distribution since 2000, through nearly every major distributor including Ingram, Baker & Taylor, and Continental Sales Inc. Vanguard’s presence at tradeshows include San Diego Comic-Con International (2010 marks Vanguard’s 17th consecutive year at Comic-Con), Book Expo America (often with their longtime associates, Watson-Guptill), New York Comic-Con, Wizard World, etc. Vanguard represents many top creators. Numerous Vanguard-related talents including Neal Adams, Carmine Infantino, Jim Steranko, and Vanguard publisher, J. David Spurlock are featured on the recent STARZ network documentary, Comic Books Unbound.

Vanguard founder J. David Spurlock said, “We are very excited about launching a line of Frazetta books under the new Vanguard Frazetta Classics brand. The line will include a series of volumes collecting Frazetta’s comics work in top quality book format. Other Vanguard Frazetta Classics will include a new edition of the 2008 hit, Frazetta - The Definitive Reference, a richly illustrated index of every Frazetta work ever published; a Frank Frazetta Sketchbook; and more—all in library-quality collections fully authorized by Frank Frazetta.”

www.vanguardproductions.net

Freedom Group Exhibition 2010 - Known Gallery, Los Angeles

2010-03-03T19:50:00.000-08:00

Featuring works by:

Greg "Craola" Simkins
Alex Pardee
Barry McGee
Dabs & Myla
and many more...

KNOWN Gallery
441 N. Fairfax Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90036
info@knowngallery.com

http://www.knowngallery.com/

Greg Simkins solo exhibition "The Pearl Thief", Nov 3rd. Los Angeles

2009-10-27T20:55:00.000-07:00

Greg "Craola" Simkins upcoming solo exhibition,"The Pearl Thief", is on Tuesday, November 3rd from 7 to 10pm at:

Gallery 1988: Los Angeles

7020 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90038

(323) 937-7088

gallery1988@aol.com

www.gallery1988.com

John Baizley of Baroness Announces Solo Art Exhibit

2009-10-24T12:58:00.000-07:00

BARONESS’ John Baizley has announced the details for his first solo art exhibit. Presented by Metropolis Gallery in Lancaster, PA, this event will run through the month of November and for the first time contain original works available for sale. The opening reception will be held Friday, November 6th at the Metropolis Gallery. Additional details can be found here.

Baizley has created the artwork for all of BARONESS’ releases in addition to other classic albums such as PIG DESTROYER’s Phantom Limb and TORCHE’s In Return. The most recent release to feature his artwork is I Told You I Was Freaky by HBO’s Flight Of The Conchords. The few available prints John has made, most culled from album art, or specially made tour-only posters have all been hopelessly sold out, resulting in a fanatic fanbase competing for the precious available works on sites such as ExpressoBeans.com - putting John in the same rabid collector conversation as Shepard Fairey, Emek, and others. To view samples of Baizley’s artwork, please visit MySpace.com/JohnDyerBaizley.

Metropolis Gallery Presents The Work Of John Baizley
November 6th through 30th
154 N. Prince St., Lancaster, PA 17603
www.metropolis-store.com

Cover Art: Graves of Valor - Salarian Gate

2009-08-19T19:18:00.000-07:00

"Salarian Gate" by Graves of Valor.

Cover by: Orion Landau (of Relapse Records)

Metal Album Covers: Part 1

2009-08-15T16:53:00.000-07:00

In the '70s and '80s is was common to purchase your metal on vinyl and since the cover was 12 inches wide and 12 inches tall, the artwork really stood out. You could really see the details of the artwork and since artists had room to play with, they were able to use small details to convey the message of the art. When the cassette tape replaced vinyl as the dominant music format, the cover art had to adapt as well. The covers were no longer square and they were much smaller. If the cover art was square, it was now small and had to be framed to fill in the rest of the rectangular space. Once CDs had replaced cassettes, the cover art was once again square, although still considerably smaller than the record cover.

Another major change in cover artwork is the technology available to produce the art. As the technology improved both in creating digital art and in printing it, the artwork has changed as well. Taking a quick look at the covers of long time bands that have used the same artists such as Iron Maiden, you can see the effect technology has had. On the first 2 Iron Maiden album covers, Derek Riggs introduced us to "Eddie", Iron Maiden's long time mascot. As time went on, Eddie was portrayed in more complex scenes showing both an improvement in Derek's skill and the technology he had available to create the art.

With digital photography, cover artists were finally able to blend photos with art with relative ease. Other computer technologies improved such as 3D rendering enabling artists to use realistic three dimensional images, photos, and art all together in one cover if desired. As the technology available to artists continues to improve, the innovation of artists will continue to push that technology to its limit.

Throughout the course of these changes, several names stand out as legends in the world of cover art. Some of them were hired directly to produce cover art, while others were talented artists whose art was sought out by bands. Some of the legends of cover art include the aforementioned "Derek Riggs", "Dan Seagrave", "Wes Benscoter", "Joe Petagno", "Ed Repka", "Kristian Wåhlin" and "Vince Locke". There are many more, but that is a list of some of the most popular. Often, mainstream artists are approached for covers by metal bands, such as when Black Sabbath talked to "Greg Hildebrandt" for the cover of "Mob Rules". "Luis Royo" is another mainstream artist whose art is used on CD covers.

Remember, the artwork on the cover, inside and printed on the CD, are as much a part of the overall experience as the music itself. So the next time you listen to a CD, make sure to really look at the artwork and let it visually enhance your experience of that CD.

We will be exploring each of these artists and more in future articles on the subject of cover art, so stay tuned.