Friday, May 12, 2006

Illustration Friday: "Angels & Devils"



This illustration was done for the amazing Pacific Northwest band Floater several years ago. The album title is "Angels in the Flesh and Devils in the Bone" -- what a great freaking album that is. I was hired to do the art for the album's reissue. Doing the CD jacket art and the art for the disc itself was a lot of fun, but as a bonus the job introduced me to one of my now favorite bands (and a good friend in Rob Wynia to boot!). While all of their albums are quite good, my other favorite (so far that is, as they've just recorded a new one!) was their 2002 release "Alter." Like all of their albums, the songs were very different from one to the next, and within almost every song there's a shift from slow to fast & back again (or vice versa, if that makes sense?! :) I've probably listened to "Alter" a couple hundred times or more between 2002 and now, and each time I'm blown away at Rob's voice, the fantastic guitars, drums, & mixing, AND (maddeningly to me) the fact that they haven't graced the cover of Rolling Stone yet. Anyhow, check them out if you're unfamiliar, you won't regret it!

And while I'm on the topic of music, I've recently gotten into "Clap Your Hands, Say Yeah" (which I mentioned on a previous post), "Architecture in Helsinki", and "The Spinto Band." All of the bands I've just mentioned (including Floater) can be accessed through iTunes (and no, I don't own stock in iTunes -- so there!).

Lastly, some potentially good career news on a couple of fronts this past week or so (!!) -- um, unfortunately though, to speak about them now would be too premature, and while I don't believe in being jinxed per se, I do believe in the maniacally vengeful universe smiting people for counting their chickens before hatching, so... :)

So, for now, thanks for stopping in!
Jim

15 comments:

Roz Foster said...

Beautiful drawing--perfect for the topic. Rob Wynia's got a good friend in *you* for plugging his music! I'll cross my fingers for you on that hush-hush (good) career news.

Anonymous said...

Really a fascinating concept renderd in an excellent drawing.

Joy Eliz said...

I love this!!!

Luisa said...

Great drawing!

Laini Taylor said...

Love this one, sweetie! And look at that poor gaunt angel's ribcage. Feed that angel! And as for the good news... fingers crossed!

Katili said...

Love the circle they make while dancing the never ending dance within one's mind. If I had a tattoos, this would absolutely be one of them. Great work.

Jim Di Bartolo said...

Thanks for the well-wishes Roz! :) (and wifey Laini too! fingers crossed indeed!)

And thank you Paula, Joy Eliz, and Lu*** for the nice compliments, it was a fun piece to work on!

Katili, it's funny you reference tattoos and this artwork -- there are at least 3 people that I know of that have gotten tattoos of this piece! I feel ultimately complimented! So, if you ever end up as the 4th person getting it, let me know! :)

Jim

Susan Mitchell said...

What a beautiful drawing - I thought you would have something cool up your sleeve for this one!
Good luck on the work stuff, it's always a bit nerve wracking until you sign the dotted line.
And music - have you and Laini ever listened to The Arcade Fire or Wolf Parade? Two big Montreal bands that are worth a listen:)

Anonymous said...

Beautiful illustration of the timeless battle!

Claudia said...

If you weren´t such an amazing illustrator you´d have become a musician I´m sure.

Shuku said...

This is absolutely lovely! Such a sense of movement and energy. Perfect for music!

Jim Di Bartolo said...

Hey thanks so much everyone, for the kind words! :)

Jim

faeorain said...

Very interesting and well drawn. Much different from most I have seen.

Jaimie said...

what a beautiful drawing. I wonder what medium you used. I do admire your human anatomy skill

Alex S said...

hey! Look whos here! First of all, the Alias finale was a total dud, except for the tiny exception of Sloane's fate, but still- 5 years for that dud-filled ending! the only good news is you are painting and posting great stuff!