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Q&A with Sonos about the recent PearlJam win TheGRAMMYs
http://studio.sonos.com/Article/qa_with_don_pendleton_
Q&A With Don Pendleton
We caught up with Don Pendleton - artist, illustrator, graphic designer - for a brief Q&A following his much deserved Grammy win for Best Recording Package for the work with the “Lightning Bolt” by Pearl Jam. Sound should look good and that is something Don is definitely making sure is happening.
Can you tell us about your work?
A lot of stylized characters and animals, archetypes and icons and some patterns. Almost all of it inspired by skateboarding and influenced by that culture and the history of skateboarding. I've also done a lot of art exhibits and I had a solo museum show this past year. I still love to do skateboard graphics more than anything else.
How would you define you style - if you want to define it, that is.
I had an agent who referred to it as "organic cubism" and that sounded good to me. I'd say my style is pretty limited; there is always some kind of life in my work but I also hope that it is an identifiable style, even as it changes and evolves over the years.
How and when did you get started?
My dad started painting at the kitchen table whenever I was 8 and so eventually I joined in with him and had my own box of pens and pencils. I think I just assumed that everyone grew up like that…drawing and sketching all the time. Like the way most kids grow up playing baseball or football. Then I found out that art wasn't very popular amongst my peers but it was pretty much the one thing I loved to do until I found skateboarding.
You just won a Grammy [Best Recording Package] for the “Lightning Bolt” created for Pearl Jam. Congratulations, first of all! Can you tell us about the project, how it came about and what the inspirations for it was?
I was approached by Jeff Ament, the bassist from the band, and he mentioned they were working on their 10th studio album and wanted me to work on a logo. I couldn't get the logo worked out so I sent him over a bunch of ideas and those just evolved into the body of art that appeared on and throughout the album. Some ideas Jeff had specific ideas but we wanted to illustrate each song on the album. I had a list of all the lyrics and a rough cut of the audio and Jeff and I put together that art over a period of about a month.
I had met Jeff through my paintings and he also grew up a skateboarder too (and still is) so it's one of those situations where if you meet another skateboarder, there is already a pretty strong connection just on that basis alone.
Ed (the lead singer) worked with me and Jeff to fine tune some of the images and give the thumbs up or thumbs down. Then all of that was taken to Joe Spix who works for Republic Records where the layout was put together. Jeff was involved in that too so Jeff was really the mastermind behind the creative direction.
Is this the first time you’ve worked on a project like this- album artwork and working with musicians on their album artwork?
Yes and it was really fun. I knew there was a culture of people who do gig posters and that kind of thing but I was always just a guy who did skateboard graphics and so I never ventured too far away from that. But this was the perfect introduction to the music world since it was just me and Jeff talking on the phone and emailing and exchanging ideas. There were no agencies involved so it was super casual and really, really fun. Those are the best projects….too much direction will kill creativity. My goal was just for the band to be happy in the end and they were so that was enough for me. Plus, the album was really good too. That never hurts.
Music and [visual] art have always been very closely linked. How would you say the visual art and identity matters to the music itself, and what role it has in the presentation of it?
Jeff and I talked about this at the very beginning…just the albums we grew up listening to that we really loved the imagery and how the visuals were as much of a part as the music in the overall experience. We talked about our favorites a little and we really wanted to make something that was reminiscent of that era of vinyl we grew up in. But I feel good album art can make a great album even better and certainly more memorable in a lot of ways. Just like skateboarding has certain iconic graphics that everyone remembers and loves, it's kind of the same way with albums and their artwork: Classic and iconic and all of that.
Why so?
Oh, I think that music creates this super emotional connection with people. People create bonds to music in a way they never could with visual artwork. Without the music, album covers might be visually strong but they wouldn't have that emotional connection that people develop over the years. It's pretty unique and rad. Very few things get people so deeply connected as music and the visuals associated tie into that on some visceral level as well: You hear a song in your head, you can visualize the album art almost immediately if it's all done properly.
You’ve also worked a lot with artwork and graphics for skateboarding/skateboards - and the skate culture and scene is most definitely one of the more creative and art-connected ones there is, if you look at popular culture with a lot of skateboarders becoming artists or graphic designers. Why do you think this is - the outlook on life, the way you think creatively about things that others don’t even consider, like sidewalks, streets and obstacles in general?
Definitely… I credit street skating and the endless search for spots and adapting to new terrain and building your own obstacles and ramps. It was a constant process of searching and adapting. So over time, you almost forge the brain of an engineer or a designer by default in how you look at the world. Some of the best skaters are very intelligent as well, so there is a common thread amongst skaters that is tied to creativity and even perseverance. Falling down doesn't really phase you too much so you're never too discouraged. You just instinctively get back up and try again. And that's an important part of the creative process. The curse is that even though you're never too discouraged, you're also never very satisfied with your own work. I blame/credit skating for that as well.
Q&A With Don Pendleton
We caught up with Don Pendleton - artist, illustrator, graphic designer - for a brief Q&A following his much deserved Grammy win for Best Recording Package for the work with the “Lightning Bolt” by Pearl Jam. Sound should look good and that is something Don is definitely making sure is happening.
Can you tell us about your work?
A lot of stylized characters and animals, archetypes and icons and some patterns. Almost all of it inspired by skateboarding and influenced by that culture and the history of skateboarding. I've also done a lot of art exhibits and I had a solo museum show this past year. I still love to do skateboard graphics more than anything else.
How would you define you style - if you want to define it, that is.
I had an agent who referred to it as "organic cubism" and that sounded good to me. I'd say my style is pretty limited; there is always some kind of life in my work but I also hope that it is an identifiable style, even as it changes and evolves over the years.
How and when did you get started?
My dad started painting at the kitchen table whenever I was 8 and so eventually I joined in with him and had my own box of pens and pencils. I think I just assumed that everyone grew up like that…drawing and sketching all the time. Like the way most kids grow up playing baseball or football. Then I found out that art wasn't very popular amongst my peers but it was pretty much the one thing I loved to do until I found skateboarding.
You just won a Grammy [Best Recording Package] for the “Lightning Bolt” created for Pearl Jam. Congratulations, first of all! Can you tell us about the project, how it came about and what the inspirations for it was?
I was approached by Jeff Ament, the bassist from the band, and he mentioned they were working on their 10th studio album and wanted me to work on a logo. I couldn't get the logo worked out so I sent him over a bunch of ideas and those just evolved into the body of art that appeared on and throughout the album. Some ideas Jeff had specific ideas but we wanted to illustrate each song on the album. I had a list of all the lyrics and a rough cut of the audio and Jeff and I put together that art over a period of about a month.
I had met Jeff through my paintings and he also grew up a skateboarder too (and still is) so it's one of those situations where if you meet another skateboarder, there is already a pretty strong connection just on that basis alone.
Ed (the lead singer) worked with me and Jeff to fine tune some of the images and give the thumbs up or thumbs down. Then all of that was taken to Joe Spix who works for Republic Records where the layout was put together. Jeff was involved in that too so Jeff was really the mastermind behind the creative direction.
Is this the first time you’ve worked on a project like this- album artwork and working with musicians on their album artwork?
Yes and it was really fun. I knew there was a culture of people who do gig posters and that kind of thing but I was always just a guy who did skateboard graphics and so I never ventured too far away from that. But this was the perfect introduction to the music world since it was just me and Jeff talking on the phone and emailing and exchanging ideas. There were no agencies involved so it was super casual and really, really fun. Those are the best projects….too much direction will kill creativity. My goal was just for the band to be happy in the end and they were so that was enough for me. Plus, the album was really good too. That never hurts.
Music and [visual] art have always been very closely linked. How would you say the visual art and identity matters to the music itself, and what role it has in the presentation of it?
Jeff and I talked about this at the very beginning…just the albums we grew up listening to that we really loved the imagery and how the visuals were as much of a part as the music in the overall experience. We talked about our favorites a little and we really wanted to make something that was reminiscent of that era of vinyl we grew up in. But I feel good album art can make a great album even better and certainly more memorable in a lot of ways. Just like skateboarding has certain iconic graphics that everyone remembers and loves, it's kind of the same way with albums and their artwork: Classic and iconic and all of that.
Why so?
Oh, I think that music creates this super emotional connection with people. People create bonds to music in a way they never could with visual artwork. Without the music, album covers might be visually strong but they wouldn't have that emotional connection that people develop over the years. It's pretty unique and rad. Very few things get people so deeply connected as music and the visuals associated tie into that on some visceral level as well: You hear a song in your head, you can visualize the album art almost immediately if it's all done properly.
You’ve also worked a lot with artwork and graphics for skateboarding/skateboards - and the skate culture and scene is most definitely one of the more creative and art-connected ones there is, if you look at popular culture with a lot of skateboarders becoming artists or graphic designers. Why do you think this is - the outlook on life, the way you think creatively about things that others don’t even consider, like sidewalks, streets and obstacles in general?
Definitely… I credit street skating and the endless search for spots and adapting to new terrain and building your own obstacles and ramps. It was a constant process of searching and adapting. So over time, you almost forge the brain of an engineer or a designer by default in how you look at the world. Some of the best skaters are very intelligent as well, so there is a common thread amongst skaters that is tied to creativity and even perseverance. Falling down doesn't really phase you too much so you're never too discouraged. You just instinctively get back up and try again. And that's an important part of the creative process. The curse is that even though you're never too discouraged, you're also never very satisfied with your own work. I blame/credit skating for that as well.
Post edited by demetrios on
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Comments
Very similar to how music and album art are connected. There is this visceral connection to it that can't be defined but it's related to youth and specific eras of growing up and having an emotional connection to that period of time. Some of the classic board graphics became such icons of their era that they literally define that era for al lot of people. So you think back on your youth, you think of the spots and your friends and those graphics were just as connected as all the other parts.
On a very basic level, style is an intrinsic part of skateboarding and so even though there athletic angles to skateboarding, my favorite skaters weren't athletes, they were artists. For sure.
What’re you working on now? And what’s the next year going to look like for you?
I have been painting for an upcoming exhibit in Laguna Beach at Artist's Republic 4 Tomorrow in July. I also have some shoes coming out with Vans this summer. So some fun stuff for 2015, a good mix of fine art stuff and some commercial projects.
And what would your dream project be - in music, with musical acts, sports - if you could pick whatever you wanted?
That's tough because my only goal when I was growing up was just to do some skateboard graphics. That was it. And now I've probably done around 1000 of them and skateboarding has changed so much over all that time.
And print is continuing to die on some level and that is the medium I will always prefer. So I would be stoked to do another album cover and I would love to do some book covers/design. Maybe the internet will blow up one day and they'll suddenly need a bunch of book cover designers! I would be right there, first in line.
For more of Don’s work, visit his site here or follow him on Instagram @pendledon. And let’s see if the internet blows up, only time will tell.
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