Dad's Vinyl

So after sifting through 193 vinyl records (both singles and albums), I've chosen on 25 of these covers to reproduce. I've already made some progress by reproducing the cover Prince and The Revolution's "Purple Rain" and Paul McCartney's "All The Best!". Now that I've removed these 25 records from my Dad's vast collection, I can start work on reproducing the covers of each album within the album's running time. These illustrated covers I'll produce will each be in watercolour, because in the last seven months this has been my "weapon of choice. Attached are some photos I've taken to give a glimpse in to how big my Dad's collection actually is.

Here's a full list of every vinyl record I'll be recreating, with a photo of the original cover:

1) The Jacksons - "Destiny" - Featuring: "Blame It On The Boogie" and "Destiny"

2) The Beach Boys - "20 Golden Greats" - Featuring: "God Only Knows" and "Wouldn't It Be Nice"

3) Electric Light Orchestra - "Out of the Blue" - Featuring: "Turn To Stone" and "Mr Blue Sky"

4) David Essex - "Rock On" - Featuring: "Rock On" and "Ocean Girl"

Dad's opinion: "This was the first record I ever bought, and I didn't have much choice at the time, I had to buy something!"

5) The Osmonds - "Crazy Horses" - Featuring: "Hold Her Tight" and "Crazy Horses"

Dad's opinion: "This was also one of the first ever records I bought."

6) Elvis Presley - "Moody Blue" - Featuring: "Unchained Melody" and "Little Darlin"

Dad's opinion: "This must've been grandads, and it's just landed in my collection by chance."

7) Stevie Wonder - "Songs In The Key of Life" - Featuring: "Sir Duke" and "Pastime Paradise"

Dad's opinion: "The best album I've ever heard, and there ever will be."

8) Earth, Wind and Fire - "I Am" - Featuring: "In The Stone" and "Boogie Wonderland"

9) The Eagles - "Hotel California" - Single 12"

10) New Order - "FAC93" - Featuring: "Confusion"

11) Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel - "White Lines" - Single

12) Queen - "A Night At The Opera" - Featuring: "You're My Best Friend" and "Bohemian Rhapsody"

13) Propaganda - "A Secret Wish" - Featuring: "Dr Mabuse" and "D.U.E.L"

14) Wild Cherry - "Wild Cherry" - Featuring: "Play That Funky Music" and "Nowhere To Run"

15) Lionel Richie - "Can't Slow Down" - Featuring: "All Night Long (All Night) and "Hello"

Dad's opinion: "This is an awful cover..."

16) Whitney Houston - "Whitney" - Featuring: "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)

17) Simply Red - "Men And Women" - Featuring: "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" and "Infidelity"

18) George Benson - "In Your Eyes" - Featuring: "Feel Like Making Love" and "In Your Eyes"



19) Prince - "Batman - Motion Picture Soundtrack"

20) Bob Marley - "Legend: The Best Of" - Featuring: "Buffalo Soldier" and "Jamming"

21) Spandau Ballet - "The Twelve Inch Mixes" - Featuring: "Gold" and "True"

22) Michael Jackson - "Bad" - Featuring: "Dirty Diana" and "Smooth Criminal"

23) Michael Jackson - "Thriller" - Featuring: "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" and "Human Nature"

There will be two additional covers featured that have already be painted, but simply not included in this run-down. This will bring the total to hopefully 25 complete illustrated covers produced in the album or single's duration.

Beginning work...

So after collecting scans of eight selected gig tickets, I've then sourced a quote from a review for each gig, along with a photo taking at the same venue or at least on the same tour. By using these photos as a reference to work by, I've so far produced these two illustrations, which I would plan to take up a one side of a page each, along with my own quote which would face a page that includes a scan of the ticket and the review quote.

Here's what I've come up with so far:




Jamie T - Sticks 'N' Stones Tour,

The Cockpit, Leeds 2009

 


Connor O'Brien, Villagers,
The Cockpit, 2010

Gig...

I've found the perfect quote from Simon Armitage's book "Gig". The book is about northern poet Armitage's relationship with music, gigging, writing music and nostalgia. This quote basically explains my own relationship with my record collection:

"Over the years, I've recognised that my record collection also functions as a kind of photograph album or diary. A lot of my memories are stored within it. Almost every song throws up an image, often something unremarkable or incongruous, probably connected to the first time I ever heard it."

By producing a collection of illustrations that accompanies a selection of scanned tickets or album reviews, I will be exploring my nostalgia attached to those albums as well as my own practise.

If choosing to produce a book that focuses on gigs and their tickets (which act as my portal to a memory of cramped music appreciation), I'll also be exploring Leeds' hosting of brilliant bands and acts from across the country and the world on our doorstep. In this sense the book of collected tickets and illustrations will act as a personal and public display of Leeds' music scene from the last three years.

Theme - collecting music and the idea of the cd

So I've been thinking constantly about working around my own and my family's music collections - these being my Dad's massive vinyl collection and my own 150 cds. It's struck me how treasured these collections have become, as my Dad's vinyl generation has died out, the CD is the next to become obsolete in the download age. It's on this theme that I can keep things personal, socially and economically relevant.

Building on my practise?

In the duration of this module based on the theme of "collections", I'd like to take the opportunity to build on my practise, enabling me to refresh my ability as an illustrator and experiment more, as modules in the past havn't entirely given me this freedom. I'd like to produce work that stands in the same vein as Pauline's did last year (featuring the flamingos), so it might just be a case of picking out one subject matter under the "collections" umbrella and running with it.

It seems obvious to me to choose something that is significant as a collection and meaningful to me, so I intend to continue my research in to the theme until I stumble upon something I want to draw about.

Some things I've been considering as ideas are:

Taxidermy
Albums
Facebook friends

Cragside House

Cragside was the home of Lord Armstrong - seen at the time as the house of the future - innovated the functionality of the grand house with machinary for more dependance and a smaller requirement for staff.

Upon my visit back in August 2009, I saw amongst the grandeur and opulance of his interior were vast collections of shells, butterflies, and insects, as well as all manner of recoveries from Armstrong's international endeavours. This discovery for me is remembered as a hidden gem in an otherwise remarkable and "first of it's kind" houses in lush surroundings.

A BBC series which explores the history and grounds of the house
can be found from this video onwards:

My Collection

This is basically my prized possession and just happens to be my

obsessive collection. There's exactly 150 albums here, spanning

about five years of collecting. It doesn't compare to a million

vinyls in an emtpy shop, but it's mine and that's basically all that

matters.

The Archive - The World's Largest Collection of Vinyl Records

This is a brilliant short about Paul Mawhinney, owner of the world's
largest vinyl collection in the world. It's a really sad story, but it's
got me thinking about ideas for "collection" and the sentimental side
of people's personal posessions and hobbies. I'll be uploading a photo
in the next post of my "collection" - the one thing I treasure the
most, just like Paul.

Collections

The theme of collections is so vast, but I've been thinking an awful lot about
what constitutes to a collection and someone who collects, whether it's for
a job, hobbie, concious, subconcious or even as a world record.

Here's just a few that I've thought of:

• Family photo albums
• Stamps
• Cuddly toys (childhood sentimental value)
• CDs
• DVDs
• Books
• Timepieces
• Tickets
• Buttons
• Phone numbers
• Art (private collections/exhibitions/own work/personal books)
• Stationary
• Facebook friends
• Animals (zoo/pets)