Marina and the Diamonds

Marina Diamandis is certainly one of my favorite pop stars. There's a refreshing uncensored quality to her lyrics that is simultaneously conceptual, funny, and melancholy without coming across as insincere. It doesn't hurt that she's a real musician either.

I originally created this poster for Marina's "YouTube Presents" appearance that my sister & I attended a few months ago in NYC. Since that wasn't a "real" concert however, it never quite felt complete - so with this imminent show at Terminal 5, I thought I would polish what I'd done and make a more definitive version. 

With my poster, my aim was to replicate/reference the subtle, "static-y" TV effect that's apparent on the cover art for "Primadonna." Furthermore, the text is meant to acknowledge the multitude of identities and archetypes Marina takes on in her current LP "Electra Heart." The bubblegum's heart shape is simply a reference to Electra Heart's first track. 

Hope you like it!

Thumbnails.

Raw scan of the original illustration.

"YouTube Presents" version.

Final Terminal 5 version.

Shiny Toy Guns

I've been anxiously anticipating Shiny Toy Guns' third album since they released single 'The Sun' not long after announcing the return of original STG singer Carah Faye. I've been a fan since We Are Pilots, and I've consistently been impressed by the band's songwriting and production. At long last, 'III' was released at the end of October 2012 and it does not disappoint. Some of the best material they've ever written appears on the album ('Somewhere to Hide' and "e v a y" come to mind), and I can't recommend it enough.

In addition to their new LP, Shiny Toy Guns recently wrapped up a short leg of touring the U.S. last night in NYC at Santos Party House. It was for this show (originally scheduled for Oct. 30th but delayed due to Hurricane Sandy) that I created an original poster for. It was a bit of struggle coming up with a design I liked, but no matter what I knew that I wanted portraits of the band to have some part in it.

So, once I illustrated the individual drawings below, I roughly assembled them based on some of the thumbnails I sketched. The concert's delay was somewhat of a blessing in disguise in that it gave me just enough extra time push the final design to a place that I felt was polished and good enough to present to the band.

I had the pleasure of personally giving Jeremy, Carah, Mikey, and Chad prints of the final composition last night and was very grateful for the experience. They all seemed genuinely impressed, which is of course the ultimate compliment. My thanks to the band for signing a couple copies for me, and for sharing their time with me. I hope I helped commemorate the tour for them. It was the least I could do for a band that's been so generous to my home state during this time of crisis.


RAW graphite portraits (rendered entirely w/ PALOMINO Blackwing 602 pencils)

Chad Petree

Carah Faye

Jeremy Dawson

Mikey Martin

Final poster.

Signed poster!