wertz
friendlies, our little uke band special ghosts (it's andy, isabel, and yours truly) is playing the burlington hotel on july 18th. if you haven't been to port costa yet, it's time to treat yourself. be sure to have dinner at the bull valley roadhouse before the show.
here's a flyer, and some images of isabel and i screenprinting little stuffed ghost pillows for sale at the show. thanks to bloom press for hosting.
xm
'cuz they love you, like it or not. put down the roundup.
xm
Howdeeee! Campout X approaches. Here's an illo/logo based on some weirdo Tree-of-Life imagery (thanks due to Jonathan Segel for the idea). xm
Friends, There is an Elsewhere Philatelic Society event happening in Oakland beginning this Saturday. It is at the Naming Gallery, which is located at 335 15th Street. The gallery will be showing the Elsewhere Philatelic Society's various creations during these times:
Saturday June 7th - 11am to 11pm Sunday June 8th - 11am to 4pm Wednesday June 11th - 11am to 6pm
Closing reception: Wednesday June 11th 6:03pm-8:30pm at least, perhaps longer.
Please no earlybirds.
As mentioned before, on Saturday there will be gold EPS logo silkscreening starting at noon and on the hour. Bring a shirt or paper or something else flat and big enough to accommodate the circular seal (13 1/2" x 14"). Black works well.
Bring your shiny thing of great import. If you do not know what that is, you probably do not have one. The nook will tell you more, once it is up (which should be rather soon).
Bring a quarter ($0.25). There is a quarter disposal receptacle on display at the gallery.
If you have a cellular telephone, make sure that it is fully charged. If you have headphones, that would also be beneficial.
See you then.
Friendlies, I unearthed these 2008 CVB posters a few weeks back and put them back up in the shop so I thought I'd unearth the video of me making them in the basement. In the most hoopty sweater-and-haircut combination possible. See also the final poster and the sketch for the Cracker record that inspired the poster. Enjoy.
xm
Here's to our favorite goth queen. Accept no substitutions. May she reign indefinitely. Screen print by yours truly.
xxm
Dear Friends of Music, this is a project that I've been working on for a while now, and I'm glad to finally see it on paper. David Lowery from Camper Van Beethoven asked if I'd consider making the song The Day That Lassie Went to the Moon (one of my favorites) into a kid's book, and I thought it was a great idea for a poster as well as a book (the book is still to come!). Well, a bunch of hours of sketching, drawing, and printing later, here she is. Have a gander, and if you'd like, head over to the shop to buy yourself one. Printed with love by yours truly at Bloom Press in Oakland with the kind assistance of Nat Swope.
xm
Here's a new poster design I just completed for our friends at Thingamajigs. This should be a fun event. There's a great video about this event here. See you there. WOOSH! xxm
Wow. I'm stunned. Chris Rathman has taken the cover art I created for Camper Van Beethoven's La Costa Perdida and has done stop-motion animation with plastic beads to create this super-groovy video. There's lots of great CVB in-jokes that whiz by. You'll have to see for yourself. Behold:
Peaches In The Summertime - Camper Van Beethoven (Full Bead-A-Mation) from Chris Rathman on Vimeo.
Apparently, this took Chris six months to complete. Stunning.
By the way, have you checked out the artwork I did for the new record? Here's a taste.
xm
.. magotes. I had to say it. Apologies. The Rickshaw Bagworks totes I've been designing are showing up at Bay Area Whole Foods Markets (and they're still for sale at both Rickshaw in Dogpatch and the Ferry Plaza kiosk). More designs (Sutro Tower? Golden Gate Bridge?) are on the way. Go getcherself one! You deserve it.
xm
Friendlies, the 2014 calendars are here & up for sale in the shop. This calendar is a collection of screenprints I've made since 2003. Also in the shop you'll find both the winter tour posters I just completed for the CVB/Cracker family. Enjoy!
Thank you and hugs: Carolee, Wayne, Isabel, Kristy, Nat Swope at Bloom Press. Big thanks to my sister Julie Wertz for making this happen every year, and to the fine folks at Lee Wood Press in San Francisco for the amazing printing job (as usual).
xm
Friends, you know that "art cult" thing I've been going on (and on and on) about? You can see the documentary about it via iTunes. It's a fun watch. Yours truly appears in the film for a minute. Associate-produced by our friend Phil Benson.
Check it out by going here. Down the rabbit hole you go...
xm
Two bass players are gettin' hitched. It's in the air. Design & illustration by yours truly.
xm
There's a new print up in the shop entitled Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. It's 18 inches by 24 inches of eye-popping, dice-rolling goodness. Printed by Bloom Press in Oakland. Inspired (somewhat) by the Games of Nonchalance. Best viewed under blacklight whilst reclining on 1,000 velvety pillows. Get yours.
xm
Hi there friendlies, I just finished signing and numbering a small stack of these for Friday night. See you then?
xm
Dear Friendlies, Jim Winters and myself are having a show of screenprints at the Dolores Park Cafe, and we’d love it if you could come down for the opening. The opening party is Friday, August 2, from 6-8 pm, at the ever-lovely Dolores Park Cafe (501 Dolores St x 18th St) in ever-lovin' San Francisco.
There will be prints for sale, a set of music by the Argyll Adventure Tree, and snacks. Snacks.
You will see: vanitas, op art, cityscapes, bulls, dogs, our limited edition collaborative book entitled ‘Queen For Two Weeks’, and a few portraits.
See you there? The show runs through August.
xm
dear friendlies, i'm thrilled to announce my first show of artwork in a long while. nat swope at bloom press and i have been producing prints together for a few years, and this will be a showing of a few of the work we've produced together (among other things). the show will be at bloom press, 2310 telegraph avenue, in oakland, on may 3, from 6pm - 9pm sharp. i hope to see your shining faces there. the image below is a preview of one of the prints that will be available.
xm
Friendlies, five of the images I created for the new Camper Van Beethoven release "La Costa Perdida" have been accepted by the 2013 jury to appear in Illustration Annual 54, the May/June 2013 issue of Communication Arts.
Exciting!
xm
Friendlies, the new Camper Van Beethoven record is out today, and it is, indeed, a goody goody. The package design and illustrations were done by yours truly. You can stream the whole thing here, and you can buy yourself a copy here. I recommend getting a "hard copy" of the CD, since that will give you the full sensory experience of owning the record (as opposed to having these little pop gems lost in the "shuffle" of your playlists).
Go ahead, treat yourself. Buy the CD from your local music purveyor, wait for it to arrive, pour yourself a frosty beverage, put the CD on, find a comfortable place to sit and listen, and relax. Listen to each track carefully, noting your physical reaction to each song. You might get distracted. That's ok. Sit back down, and listen to the next track. And so on. See? Feels good, right?
Do you know Camper's older musics? You might start with Popular Songs of Great Enduring Strength and Beauty. This is a good collection. If you like that one, you're ready for Cigarettes and Carrot Juice, a box set of their early records. Key Lime Pie is another favorite. Listen, it's all great. Trust me.
You'll find me at The Rickshaw Stop on February 16.
xm
