Firstly, I'm going to start with a huge apology. It's been a very long time since I've posted on here, mainly due to busyness (no excuse, I know). The good news is that I'm not dead. I have been very busy working on a number of different and wonderful projects and unfortunately I've had to put my blog (as well as updating my website) on the back-burner. Hopefully, normal service has now resumed. Thank you kindly for your patience.
Okay, let's kick off my return with Elephant Tree.
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| Live at The Bird's Nest, Deptford |
I discovered the rock band Elephant Tree by chance during the Desertfest Festival in London back in April. I had heard of them but I wasn't too familiar with their sound. My goodness, I was blown away. Completely smitten. The stoner/blues/doom three piece were performing at The Underworld in Camden (I also drew Carpenter Brut there back in February, but I'll save that for another post) and as per usual, I was armed with my pen and pocket sketchbook. Inspired by their sound and incredible performance, I produced a series of sketches, trying my very best to capture the band. Sadly, drummer Sam Hart was out of my view so I didn't get to draw him (and when I did change my position a cymbal was inconveniently obscuring my view). The venue it's self is pretty dark and to be honest, I wasn't quite sure of what I had drawn until the following day. The results were quite staggering. I truly believe that their vibe was a direct influence on what I was drawing. The magic of two creative elements becoming one.
I later caught up with the band when they performed at The Bird's Nest is Deptford, London, and I presented them with framed prints of my sketches, who are a lovely bunch of guys. Certainly a night to remember, yet again another superb performance.
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| Peter Holland (left), Jack Townley (right) |
The image you can see at the top of this post is one that has been constantly floating around in my head whilst listening to their amazing albums when I've been working in the studio. In the end, I had to exorcise what was in my head onto paper. As with most of my personal artwork, it's very much an image full of cryptic symbolism. I dare say that a road sign featuring a weasel and a tree in a spotlight looks pretty random. There's a dream like quality where by I'm picking out images from my sub-conscience which represent 'something'. In an interesting way, from my point of view, it's very fascinating to hear how viewers outside of the 'circle' interpret the image(s). I hope that you like it.
I also hope that you enjoy the incredible tunes and vibes by Elephant Tree. Please feel free to check them out on their
Bandcamp and
facebook pages (please click on the relevant links)
Enjoy!
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| Oh, and I managed to capture Sam in the end |
