From
September 14-17, hundreds of metal fans descended on White Hall , Maryland
Could you
introduce yourself and offer a quick bio?
What media do you work in?
My
name is Dylan Garrett Smith and I’m an artist/illustrator/designer living in
the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. For
my illustrations, I primarily use ashes, chalk-lead, and ink on black
cotton-rag paper, but I have also used (and continue to occasionally use) the
ashes of a burnt church as a drawing material or mixed into my ink when I’m screen
printing posters. I attended the first
year of Shadow
Woods and had an absolute blast – I met a lot of people, I
discovered a lot of bands I hadn’t heard of, and saw some bands that I already
really liked, so last year, I decided to go back as a vendor and sell my
prints, patches, and pins. After last
year, Mary contacted me and asked if I was interested in doing the poster and
shirt design for this year – I said, “Hell yeah!” and got to work!
Could you
highlight some of the musicians/bands who you've created artwork for and what
that process is like?
I’ve
created art for Mastodon,
Baroness, Sodom , All Pigs Must Die, Early Graves , The Funeral Pyre, Wildspeaker, High Priest, Of
Feather and Bone, Old Wounds, and literally dozens of others. Whenever I create anything for bands,
whether they’re as big as Baroness or a band putting merch together for
their first tour, I always sit down with their records and take them in; listen
to the songs, read the lyrics, and get a feel for what they’re about. From there, I start sketching – and most of
the time, no one will see the first or second sketches because I’m just putting
information down and figuring things out.
But once I have a sketch that shows a more solid idea of the concept
that I’m working with, I’ll send it over to them to check out and if they like
where it’s going, I begin working up the final image.
In what ways
does music influence your creative process? Do you have "go to" bands
or albums when working?
Absolutely
– some of my favorite records to listen to in my studio are “Torn Beyond Reason” by Woods of
Desolation, “Burning for the
Ancient” and “…and the lamps expire”
by Addaura,
and “The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s
Skull” by Earth. These records are some of my favorites of all
time and perfect for me to listen to while working because I’m able to reach
this calm state of relaxation (which is otherwise extremely rare for me) where
I’m not actively thinking about anything – I can just work.
Are there
any artists, visual or otherwise, who distinctly influenced your style, medium,
or process?
There
are literally dozens of artists whose work has been influential to me not only
finding my own voice as a creative, but that continue to inspire me still. Paul Romano, Pushead, Jeremy Hush, Seldon
Hunt, Florian Bertmer, all of the incredible artists working with The Vacvvm –
and a ton of others, but I also think that rather than a single artist, the
most influential thing in every aspect of my life and my creative growth has
been growing up in punk. My work ethic,
problem-solving skills, aesthetic, political views, lifestyle, outlook, and
everything else came from growing up in the DIY punk scene.
There have
been several blogs and articles calling attention to appropriated or
"repurposed" artwork, generally taken without credit to the original
artist, specifically in the world of "music artwork". Could you speak
a little about the current attention to this issue and your feelings on
artistic credit in general?
It’s
always a bummer when I see an artist not getting the credit that they deserve –
whether that’s from a band using art without permission, another artist
claiming someone’s work as their own, or a publication posting about a new
album without mentioning who designed it.
Do your own work, praise the people that are doing cool things, and
credit your artists. Always.
Who was your
"must see" act going into Shadow Woods? Who was a pleasant new
discovery for you?
Going
into the third year of Shadow Woods, the bands I absolutely needed to
see were Panopticon,
Woe,
Withered,
and Black
Table. All of them exceeded
my expectations – they were phenomenal.
But a few bands that I had never checked out that I really enjoyed were Night Raids, Erlkonig,
Voarm, Infera Bruo, and Worthless.
Overall, Human
Bodies was the most exciting discovery for me – I’ve been listening
to them nonstop since being home. And if
you’ve never seen Heavy Temple
Finally,
where can fans view and purchase your work? Feel free to promote any
musical/film/literary/etc. projects you're involved in as well.
My
work is available on my site, www.dylangarrettsmith.com
as well as various shops, galleries, bands, and brands around the country (and
a few others). The best way to stay
up-to-date on my creative endeavors is to follow me on Instagram at @dylanxvx. Thank you for taking the time to check out my
work!
