The Jack White Poster Set includes all 22 of my posters from the 2012 Blunderbuss tour. They will be shipped in two packages. One flat containing the 18X24 posters, and one large tube containing the larger posters (24X36 and one 12X36). All orders will also receive an exclusive reprint of the Red Rocks poster with it's own edition to make up for a rushed printing gaffe (they came out horizontally compressed at 17X24. Reprint is 18X24. Sets will have both).

Sets will cost $1000 plus $57 shipping for domestic orders, $127 shipping for foreign orders excluding Australia, and $147 for Australian orders (I like 7's). I'll include an extra surprise in each pack and endeavor to make the foreign orders more special to make up for the shipping costs. All Australian orders get a small ink drawing of Linus as Danzig to make up for it (assuming they read Peanuts in Australia, otherwise I guess I could do Agro eating a frog).

Email me for availability.

"Waiting for a bus?"

Two recent interviews of note if you are as fond of me as I am of myself when the room's dark. One is conducted by Rainbolt and can be found on Nerdlocker. Thanks Rainbolt for editing out the bits where I bitch about the Hawley-Smoot tariff. The other is in the latest issue of "FLOOD", a free periodical published by the United Kingdom Poster Association. It's a snappy little paper printed by a gaggle of enterprising lads across the pond who distributed it at the most recent Austin Flatstock. Thanks to Crispin Parry and Luke Drozd for putting together such a smart looking and smart sounding interview centered around such a dumb subject. Find out more at the UKPA website. Buy some shit from one of them and maybe they'll include a free copy with your order for only an additional £7 plus handling.

"The dust blows forward and the dust blows back"

A fair while since I updated the site per usual. Here's a quick recap of what I've been up to lately:

BLUNDERBUSS: Since I didn't cock up the single cover too badly, Jack White hired me to complete the artwork for his first solo LP utilizing the beautiful photography of Jo McCaughey. Although compact discs are pretty much an already rotting corpse, I was especially happy with the Blunderbuss CD booklet which features a lot of design and photography that most folks won't wind up seeing.

SINGLES: After Love Interruption, I completed work on three more singles for Jack and oversaw tour versions thanks to the illustrative talents of Tomer Hanuka. Here's the covers which all link up to form a continuous image.

DOCUMENT COVERS: Those of you up to date on Third Man Records news should know that they re-released Document's catalog of classic blues recordings on vinyl. I was asked to design covers for the first three collections including Blind Willie McTell, The Mississippi Sheiks, and the masked marvel himself Charlie Patton. Each subsequent volume will have a unique cover that's similar to these initial ones so that each musician's collection will feel like a set.

AARHUS: I was approached to create artwork for a poster advertising the Aarhus Film Festival in Denmark (they handled the type in-house). In accordance to the theme "Big - Size Matters". I drew a giant turtle with a shit-ton of Aarhus festival logo shaped birdhouses on his back. Turning it in they asked if I could insert a darker element to it, so I added the snake eating one of the birds.

Later I was informed that they animated it and sent me the following YouTube video. I was delightfully surprised they took the animation as far as you see in the advert. If you want one of the prints, please email for price and availability as I have only a few since most were given to friends stricken with children.

ROD y GAB: I was hired to design a poster for Rodrigo y Gabriela's show at the Hollywood Bowl. I was nostalgically happy to design for the venue as the second theatrically used movie poster I ever bought was "Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl" in 8th grade (the first was "Strange Brew"). They wanted something heavy, I sent something that was appropriately deemed "too heavy" and I countered with some gharial headed birds which they liked. If you want one, please email for price and availability as I have only a handful.

AND SOME OTHER STUFF: I'll post about later as I doubt too many folks have read down this far.

Today Mondo/Alamo Drafthouse released and subsequently sold out of my entry into their "Star Wars" project, "King's Lead Hat".

I have personal copies available from me via email until I post "Sold Out" on my site.  After that, I will have some copies set aside for display and sale at Flatstock in Austin this March.

In case there's a splurge of interest, please keep in mind sending an email to me, or receiving an email back from me does not reserve a poster.  If you would like one, please follow the payment instructions in the email ASAP to ensure you get a copy.

NEW MONDO STAR WARS POSTER - "KING'S LEAD HAT"

TIME TO BREAK OUT THE PINK LEATHER '69 COMEBACK SPECIAL SUIT

Jack White and myself have been nominated for a Grammy in the special packaging category for the Under Great White Northern Lights box set.  My only sorrow is that they did not include Autumn de Wilde in the nomination as much of the packaging relied heavily upon her beautiful photographic record of the 2007 White Stripes tour of Canada.  Her photos were the difference between making a table out of pine or making it out of cypress.

It's great to receive a nomination, but it's a thrill to have your designs standing alongside the excellence represented in the other nominees' work, in particular Vaughan Oliver and Klaus Voormann.  Weird to be on the same ballot with guys whose art you wore on t-shirts in college.

SPOON CANDLE

Here's a plug for something I recently designed that's only available from the Spoon online store.  It's a votive candle with my design printed in black directly on the glass.  Are you praying to Spoon or just for otherworldly luck?  I don't know but if I hit big on my next trip to the craps tables I'll thank Britt just in case.

You can get them exclusively the Spoon Online Store.

NEW POSTERS IN THE STORE

New posters for Avett Brothers, Julia's Eyes, and Black Keys in the store.

More Posters...

I also got to make a poster for one of my favorite films, X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes.  Earlier in the year I based a Dead Weather gig poster on ideas found in this film, or more specifically the comic book adaptation that Gold Key put out.  In the comic version, Professor Xavier sees a malevolent eye at the center of the universe sending out ravenous shades into the void.  At the tent revival meeting he stumbles into, Xavier warns, "They are coming to devour us all! Larger than the stars, than the galaxies of stars! They are coming!", and then, as in the film, he tears out his eyes at the exhortation of the preacher.

The whole thing reminded me of the new Dead Weather stage backdrop designed by The Silent Giants.  I imagined the eye Xavier screams about being the one glowing in the center of the backdrop sending out bad vibes with the band silhouettes standing in for its shadowy minions.

For the movie poster though I reworked it to better reflect the actual film.  There Xavier only mentions the eye at the center of the universe watching us all.  Even if you believe in a ubiquitous and omnipotent deity, imagine the insanity you'd suffer if you physically saw that deity watching you, each and every cell of your being with nothing hidden, at all times.  You can believe that a deity does this, but actually seeing it happen all the time surely carries the soul-shattering force of a million Panopticons.  Hopefully I managed to capture  this unique and chilling situation in the poster for Alamo Drafthouse.

Oh, I was told Lars at Alamo presented Corman with one of the posters onstage during his Q&A for the film.  They said he lauded it, but he could have just been put on the spot and felt obligated towards politeness.

WHITE STRIPES 2007 SETS

Sets will go on sale in February.  I'm pre-packing them in January so they can go right out after purchase like the Dead Weather sets.  I'll send out a newsletter email about it when it gets closer to as of yet undetermined sale date.

Today's the day we'll find out if I need to try to get back my old broom job sweeping up at the tire factory.

Why, because I'm offering up the Dead Weather tour sets today (Wednesday) at 10 AM central time.

Working out a new site with Grant, my web guy.  Right now it's incomplete, but I hope to have all of my posters up here soon as well as images of other projects (record covers, packaging, etc.).  For today, at least, I'm maintaining focus on The Dead Weather sets.  If you are having any problems viewing the site, please let me know.

"...and Beelzebub made a snowman."

I am offering the Dead Weather posters for sale on Wednesday September 15th, 2010 at 10 AM Central Time.

I decided for now to offer them as one giant 20 poster set.

Like last time I offered sets, there will be two options for purchase:

OPTION 1: 3 payments of $240 each plus shipping. Posters are sent after the third and final payment is made.

OPTION 2: 1 payment of $650 plus shipping. A discount for those who pay all at once

SHIPPING: All 20 posters are 20X26 inches or smaller, so I am able to mail the entire set flat in one shipment.

Each set is wrapped in a mylar sleeve which is wrapped in 2 layers of kraft paper which is wrapped in a corrugated cardboard mailer box which is wrapped in another slightly larger corrugated cardboard mailer box. Pretty much identical to how I shipped the flat portion of the Raconteurs set apart from the addition of the mylar sleeve for added protection.

I'll include a random non-Dead Weather related extra in each set. Maybe a scary clown mini-print, maybe an Oscar Wilde print, maybe an original sketch of Herman Melville singing into a KWKH microphone, maybe an extra French lobby card from my Cruising collection, or something else entirely.

If you don't have a Paypal account, please email AFTER the sale begins to make other payment arrangements.

Again, chances are these will be on the electronic shelf for a while, but if you think you want them I'd advise acting fast just in case.

"Why not the other sets?"

The Dead Weather sets are the easiest to pack right now (no tubes required). After the nightmare of packing the Racs sets last time, I wanted to offer these now to hack away at the mountains of posters filling up my dining area wall. I will get to the other sets soon.

Plugs

If you are arrested in Oakland between now and Sept 11, make bail and check out the exhibition of my friend Erik Parra's work at Johansson Projects. Erik was a founding member of Animal Rummy when it was a confederation of gals and guys getting trashed in Austin on the weekend. I later took the club name for my website since robjones.com was already taken. When Erik lived here, he painted the loneliest-ass-Emmet-Kelley-eating-razor-blades artwork, but looking at this current exhibit it appears he's getting laid or drinking lithium.

If you wake up in Long Beach between now and Sept 10th, check out the first solo exhibition of my buddy Kevin Tong's work at Phone Booth Gallery. Kevin is a gifted illustrator and screenprinter (he's exceptionally talented at color separations that in turn produce very lively and unique prints). He's a whore for posting progression videos, and you can see a video made for this exhibit.

"God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater"

It's been a while since I updated my site so here's a belated sampling of what I've been up to since the last update from soonest to latest:

I was asked to knit together the packaging for the latest Dead Weather record: Sea of Cowards using concepts and images developed between the band and Floria Sigismondi during the photo shoot for the album. A multitude of thanks to all members of the Dead Weather for giving me another dance and special thanks to Miles Johnson of Third Man Records for helping on the cover which bizarrely took a lot of hammer swings.

I was asked to conjure the packaging for the debut single, debut album, and second single from Karen Elson. It's one thing to have someone ask you to design the cover for their 4th or 5th album, but it's quite another to have them ask you to design their first. I was honored with the opportunity from Karen and hope I did a good job communicating her haunting sound with the visuals (a task facilitated by David Swanson's excellent photography). Thanks again to Miles for his assistance on the first single cover and for his outright design of the back.

I was asked to tackle the sizable task of designing the packaging and promotional material for The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights including the LP, CD, DVD, Blu-ray, movie poster, art prints, popcorn bags, postcard sets, balsa wood planes, book cover for Autumn deWilde's photographic record of the Canadian tour, and all the contents of a rather nifty box set. Special thanks to Todd Slater for designing one of the promotional t-shirts offered at screenings.

This project was a ivory winged chronovore. As a result I sadly had to take time off from Dead Weather posters in order to complete all aspects of it, but I'm unusually pleased with the final results. I really appreciate the opportunity Meg and Jack granted me to giftwrap their most ambitious release yet. I'm also thankful to Autumn de Wilde for letting me design the cover for her beautiful and well crafted collection of photos (another person with a stunningly large task. I got to see all the photos taken on the tour, and I probably would have either jumped off a roof at Damien's birthday party or begged to make an 800 page book rather than attempt to edit them all down to the present thoughtful edition). Thanks also to Emmet Malloy for letting me handle the poster to advertise his movie (it's like having Mary Nolan trust you with her eye shadow).

I was asked to layout the packing for Brendan Benson's latest album "My Old Familiar Friend" as well as the single A Whole Lot Better utilizing beautiful artwork and lettering from Evan B. Harris. It was a fun task and I'm happy Brendan trusted me with a project outside the Raconteurs as I'm a big fan of his solo work (I once made a Brendan/Bob Marley mix CD for my immediate female relatives as an X-mas favor).

I finally got to do something for Spoon. I've been contacted a few times to create artwork for them, but it's always come when I'm smack in the middle of a big project. Finally the stars aligned and I made a poster for their 3 night extravaganza at Stubb's. It is presently available for sale so please check the silkscreen section for purchasing info.

I got to work on decoration designs for two TMR pop up stores (NY & LA) as well as brainstorming with Miles on album cover ideas for the specialty 45s made for the stores (LA & London). My biggest regret with this assignment was not being able to see the LA store in person.

I was asked to design the packaging for the debut album from The Dead Weather as well as a host of singles, shirts, posters, and other assorted visual tasks including the backdrop for their stage show. It proved a welcome challenge changing gears and passing into darker realms my work really hasn't visited in a long while. As someone who'd vote for changing the national anthem to side 1 of Danzig II: Lucifuge, the imagery came naturally and was a real blast. I appreciate the Dead Weather trusting me with such a momentous assignment (again, quite an honor to design a band's first record).

I was invited to partake in an alliance of evil with Patrick Keeler in designing the packaging for the second Raconteurs album, the excellent Consolers of the Lonley. Always a pleasure to work with Patrick, but the artwork was a real group effort with suggestions coming from all band members (notably Brendan's suggestion of presenting the band member photographs in shadowboxes rather than my initial design of surrounding the main framed portrait with smaller related framed portraits and photographed objects). It's almost a shame there were no color photographs in the album as I might have had an opportunity to learn more of Patrick's approach to color correction (he's quite the master).

I also brainwaved posters, singles, shirts, stylophone packaging, and promotional whatnot for the tour. I have to say the NSS series of posters made during this tour are perhaps my favorites of all the posters I've ever designed. On a side note, I've recently got to meet and hang out with a big influence on those posters, San Antonio's own Jim Harter. If you have a shelf full of themed engraving collections from Dover books, chances are that half of them were put together by Mr. Harter. Jared Connor, Bobby Dixon, and myself got to peek at his personal archive and it would make your toes explode (plus he's an exceedingly friendly fellow).

Anyways, I shower the Raconteurs with my gratitude for keeping me busy during that time.

If I forgot something I did or someone I worked for, please excuse my faulty facilities and know that I appreciate the work. Man, I really need to update more often.