ARTinSTEREO

new worship EP now available for download

artinstereo — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 04:46:34 +0000

Today I’m releasing an EP comprised of a few hymns and original modern worship tunes recorded recently by myself and Luke DeJaynes of the Fundamental Elements. The record is serving as a fund-raiser to help offset the expenses for adopting a baby boy this spring! Please help us spread the word, and of course, we’d love for you to go grab some new music and support “the cause.”

Get it here!

Project Update: Fundamental Elements Christmas Music (+ Free Download)

artinstereo — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 04:24:10 +0000

You may remember a few months back a post with a sneak peak of the artwork for my band’s (Fundamental Elements) latest EP, This Moment. We just released a couple Christmas songs on our website (CLICK HERE for a free download!) and we put a little holiday spin on the album cover. Thought I’d share…

Now what are you waiting for? Go get some free FE Christmas music! Merry Christmas.

Project Update: Stars Go Dim

artinstereo — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:39:28 +0000

I recently did this project for Tulsa, OK based pop/rock band Stars Go Dim. They released a new single entitled Like I Mean It, (click HERE to download it on iTunes) and hired me to design a digital album cover image, as well as a digital booklet designed for the track. Check it out…

Digital Album Cover image (click to see larger view)

Digital Booklet (click to see larger view)

LAST WEEK FOR CUSTOM CHRISTMAS CARD ORDERS!

artinstereo — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 20:06:28 +0000

This week is the final week to get your Christmas Card orders placed! All orders must be in by this Friday, December 3. How do you place an order? Easy. Simply email russ@fundamentalelements.net and let me know you’d like to order some Christmas cards. Yup, that simple. For a recap on customized card design options info CLICK HERE.

Project Update: Liars, Thieves & Fools

artinstereo — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 21:27:11 +0000

Guitar player and songwriter Joey Avalos, from the Tulsa-based pop/rock band Stars Go Dim recently contacted me with a request to design a digital album cover for a side project he’s working on called “Liars, Thieves & Fools.” He described the music as a very chill, moody singer-songwriter sound, a la Ryan Adams, Wilco, and David Gray, and said they want to have a very simple, retro LP look. Excuse me? Umm, yeah. I think I would like a shot at that. I’d never claim to be the Albert Pujols of graphic design, but I know my strengths, and asking me if I’d take a crack at this project is like tossing #5 a fat batting practice pitch right into his wheelhouse and asking him if he’d like to swing. I was salivating. To boot, he sent me a couple of really vibey, grainy black and white photos that just sent my mind running with ideas, and withing 24 hours that meaty pitch was sailing over the left-center field fence. Pardon the baseball analogy, but I’m pretty darn happy with the turnout:

Be on the lookout for the release of this EP, and keep checking back here to see what kind of projects I’m getting to take on…

Project Update: Hello August

artinstereo — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 18:55:55 +0000

In the past month I’ve had the opportunity to work with a couple more bands on some album cover projects. A couple years ago I did a project for a band out of Alabama called Hello August, and recently they approached me to design a cover for Rise, an EP of some worship tunes they’ve recently recorded in Nashville, TN.

We kicked around a few ideas and concepts over the phone, and as I sat down and played with some stuff, the design sort of took on a life of it’s own – and I was loving it. It’s really fun when that happens, but in this case it headed an entirely different direction that what we’d previously discussed. So when I pitched the concept to the band, I knew there was a good chance they’d say, “Yeah, it’s cool, but it’s not really what we had in mind.” Fortunately the design did for them what it did for me and caught them by surprise in a good way, so we chased it.

The end result was a very simple, retro look, with faded and muted colors and worn edges – sort of designed to look like a vinyl record cover that’s been sitting in your dad’s collection of classic rock albums for the last 35 years. With that in mind, while the design is very simple, a lot of time and effort was spent on attention to detail – subtle design elements that create a retro feel/look, and the addition of wear and tear to create the illusion of a beat up old record cover with creases, tears, and scratches in the paper surface of the cover. I even pulled some old records out, photographed them, and with a little help from Photoshop, placed some of the worn spots from an old Stevie Wonder record directly onto the Hello August design (Side Note: it’s important to point out that I used one of the greatest records of all time – I only use the best materials). Some filters and actions were then applied to fade the colors and give the appearance of aging.

(Photograph I used to get the wear and tear look – if you don’t have this album, stop what you’re doing and go get it. Seriously, go. You can finish this later. You’re welcome.)

(Front Cover – click to see larger image)

(Back Cover – click to see larger image)

The inside cover was equally as simple with similar applications, layers and images to create a classic vinyl cover look. Once the final product is in, I’ll get some photos together and post them for you to see the design in it’s entirety. In the meantime, go listen to Stevie’s Songs in the Key of Life. Over and over and over.

It’s beginning to look a lot like….

artinstereo — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 03:07:40 +0000

Christmas? Really? My son and I went to Target today. As we rounded a corner at one point, we came face to face with it: a wall of Christmas decorations. And then it hit me: we’re less than two months away. Yeah, it sneaks up, folks. And before you know it, it’ll be mid-December and you’ll realize you’ve done no holiday gift shopping, have made few food preparations, and will be thinking, “I really would like to have done Christmas cards this year, but it just got away from me.”

So here’s your friendly reminder: I’m still taking Christmas card orders. Prices and packages are listed HERE. Christmas is fast approaching, I hope to hear from you soon. Order by emailing me at russ@fundamentalelements.net!

ART in Stereo is now on Facebook

artinstereo — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 16:44:14 +0000

Yeah, it took long enough, but better late than never, right? If you haven’t already, go “Like” ART in STEREO on Facebook by CLICKING HERE.

3 Days left for free shipping

artinstereo — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 20:09:54 +0000

Only three days left to order your Christmas Cards and receive free shipping! To place an order please email me at russ@fundamentalelements.net!

They Do Thank You cards, too?

artinstereo — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 15:10:00 +0000

Yes. Yes, they do.