Couldn't resist that lizard on a bike!

This was a quick little gig for a friend's Dad who retired just a couple weeks ago. She reached out and mentioned she wanted to have a little poster for everyone to sign at the party and gave me some ideas on what she had in mind for the look of the poster. I looked over some photos she sent me of his office and I immediately latched onto the toy lizard on a bike. I knew exactly how I wanted it to look and that was about it. Had a good time playing around a little and trying some stuff out I don't normally do with my regular client work.

 

Preliminary Sketches

Over the last year I've had a growing desire to get back into painting on my free time so I've been gathering photos, both digital and film, of possible subjects I want to work on through the cold winter months. This is a small selection of places I'm strongly considering and some preliminary sketches. 

The first two photos are from my day trip through Holbrook, AZ, a very interesting and surreal place, and the last 2 are from Rochester, NY and Durham, NC. The restaurant in Durham, NC was my cousin's place and they sadly had to close their doors due to a terminated lease back in the fall. Rumor on the street is the building will be demolished for...you guessed it, luxury apartments. I know, same old story everywhere right now. We figured we should immortalize the beloved restaurant and the building that housed it since they both will no longer exist in downtown Durham.

 

NYNT 14th Annual New Years Ball (unused version)

I mentioned in my NYNT New Years Ball post that there was another poster I made that had to be scrapped so, without further ado, here is first version featuring the one and only, Kid Congo Powers.

Unfortunately Kid had an accident and had to cancel his appearance so Jonathan Toubin and I got to work on a new version (the one now featuring The Mystery Lights) so we could get word out before people started to make NYE plans that didn’t involve going to TV EYE. 

Since Kid just put out his memoir “Some New Kind of Kick” which I shamefully have to admit I haven’t read yet but, it’s next on my list, Jonathan wanted me to do a drawing of the picture of Kid that was shot by Marcy Blaustein and used as the cover photo. I used the Gun Club’s Fire of Love album as an inspiration for the color scheme and placed little references around the poster - cacti, skulls, Kid’s very own custom glasses by Shady Spex. I had also I imagined drawing a giant white spider web in the background of the poster (you’ll see little spiders creeping around the piece and notice the tracing paper with the web laid over the poster if you scroll through the pics) in an attempt to reference the song “Spider Baby” he put out with his current band, Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds but time constraints put a stop to that. And, honestly it may saved the poster from looking a little too busy. 

Sooo, if you’ve actually read down this far and are unfamiliar with Kid’s legacy, go grab his memoir “Some New Kind of Kick” and be blown away by how many iconic bands he has been a part of and educate the youngsters a little on whose guitar they are hearing while they practice that viral dance from Netflix’s ‘Wednesday’.

 

NYNT 14TH Annual New Years Ball

The year is coming to a close so it's about time to start preparing for the NYNT 14th Annual New Years Ball..fingers crossed we make it there. After everyone's parties were cancelled in 2020, besides some high profile people who felt they didn't have to adhere to public safety measures, we were so certain it was going to happen in 2021. I made a poster. We promoted the show. And then ol Omicron shut the whole thing down at the last minute. But this year feels different. I think we'll make it to this one.

I had to quickly whip this one up due to some line-up changes that led to a complete redo of the poster (I'll share the first version later) and since NY's own The Mystery Lights stepped up to save the day I shifted the concept from the previous poster to fit them a little better, hence the UFOs, or whatever you think those floating orbs of light are out in Marfa. I tried a little more dry brush this time around instead of just pencil and dip pen and I really enjoyed the different textures it created for the pants, shirt and hair. The classic soul revue posters have always been the source of inspiration for these posters and after 8 years of make these I like that they are getting closer to the source material while still maintaining their own specific identity. 

This will 100% without a doubt sell out so get those tickets now if you wanna ring in the new year at your friendly neighborhood bar TV EYE with party ringleader Jonathan Toubin and a host of killer bands and dee jays.

And, of course I slapped Party Moon up in that right corner of the poster. Goin straight to the source.

 

Soul Clap & Dance-Off at Spare Room

Here's a new one I whipped up right after I completed the Haunted Hop poster. With all the busier looking posters I've been making lately I decided to get back to the minimal look that we used to have for the Soul Clap posters. I had mimicked this aesthetic before for one of Jonathan Toubin's posters I made for his elsewhere residency back in 2018 and wanted to take another run at it. Plus it helped with the quickly approaching deadline I had.

Jonathan is currently touring the west coast and will be stopping at the Spare Room in Portland, OR on November 11th. Tickets are $10 and the dancing will go from 8 til late. And, in case anyone is curious, I based this drawing off a classic pic of Portland's own, Ural Thomas. Process pics below.

 

RIP Phil Ashworth dot Com

The end is nigh! I'm nuking my website at the end of the year so I'm letting y'all know to git while the gittin is good and grab an OP memorial t-shirt, if you haven't already (Limited sizes/color S-XXL) or some classic Soul Clap & Dance-Off prints, koozies, stickers, or an enamel pin. As of January 1st, 2023 my website will no longer exist...for now.

STORE

 

Phil Ashworth at Moonlab 42

A big ol 'Thank You' to everyone who showed up to my opening last Saturday at Moonlab 42. The show is on view through October 1st from 12-7pm. I have some pins, prints, stickers and t-shirts for sale in store while the show is up.