iron_wine_v21.jpg

When it comes to being creative, most of us settle for a signature talent – say, drawing or juggling or composing dirty limericks. But Sam Beam (aka Iron and Wine) is one of those vexing all-rounders.

Not only did he record The Shephard’s Dog, which has introduced his music to a wider audience and received much acclaim, he’s also responsible for the striking cover art.

“I went to art school, wanting to be a painter,” he says, “and then I got into photography. Then it was movies, and I liked the images. One of the things that interested me in film was that I was communicating in images. That was something I did intuitively and could not even talk about until I started having to do interviews.”

He was content teaching college filmmaking when Sub Pop decided that his music should become much more than a hobby. Beam would go on to successfully escaped the “freak-folk” ghetto as his music matured and became at once more adventurous and accessible. This is the kind of album you can’t put on without someone asking who’s playing.

I really like the dog on the cover. There’s something about the pose that seems to perfectly capture the movement and gestures of a canine. We all love cool album covers but unless we live in a dorm, most of us don’t want them on our wall. But take the (solid) typography off this picture and I’d hang it in a second.

Here’s another painting from the same series:

music_feature1-2.jpg

This is “The Shepherd” that owns the dog. They both have those same creepy yellow round-eyes, probably because most people end up resembling their pets.

And while we’re on the subject, what is it about folk singers painting their own album covers anyway? As a singer, Bob Dylan makes a very good songwriter. As a painter, he makes a very good singer. Here’s the cover from his 10th (and some say worst) studio album, Self Portrait:

self_portrait.jpg

Hmmmmmm. Much handier with a paintbrush is serial offender Joni Mitchell:

joni-mitchell-clouds-front.jpg

joni_mitchell_selfportrait.jpg

Alright, art appreciation is over for the day. Time for group discussion – can anyone think of some other examples of musicians painting their own album covers?

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Iron and Wine: The Shepherd's Dog

iron_wine_v21.jpg

When it comes to being creative, most of us settle for a signature talent – say, drawing or juggling or composing dirty limericks. But Sam Beam (aka Iron and Wine) is one of those vexing all-rounders.

Not only did he record The Shephard’s Dog, which has introduced his music to a wider audience and received much acclaim, he’s also responsible for the striking cover art.

“I went to art school, wanting to be a painter,” he says, “and then I got into photography. Then it was movies, and I liked the images. One of the things that interested me in film was that I was communicating in images. That was something I did intuitively and could not even talk about until I started having to do interviews.”

He was content teaching college filmmaking when Sub Pop decided that his music should become much more than a hobby. Beam would go on to successfully escaped the “freak-folk” ghetto as his music matured and became at once more adventurous and accessible. This is the kind of album you can’t put on without someone asking who’s playing.

I really like the dog on the cover. There’s something about the pose that seems to perfectly capture the movement and gestures of a canine. We all love cool album covers but unless we live in a dorm, most of us don’t want them on our wall. But take the (solid) typography off this picture and I’d hang it in a second.

Here’s another painting from the same series:

music_feature1-2.jpg

This is “The Shepherd” that owns the dog. They both have those same creepy yellow round-eyes, probably because most people end up resembling their pets.

And while we’re on the subject, what is it about folk singers painting their own album covers anyway? As a singer, Bob Dylan makes a very good songwriter. As a painter, he makes a very good singer. Here’s the cover from his 10th (and some say worst) studio album, Self Portrait:

self_portrait.jpg

Hmmmmmm. Much handier with a paintbrush is serial offender Joni Mitchell:

joni-mitchell-clouds-front.jpg

joni_mitchell_selfportrait.jpg

Alright, art appreciation is over for the day. Time for group discussion – can anyone think of some other examples of musicians painting their own album covers?

Posted by Ash on 22 May, 2009
Album: The Shepherd's Dog
Artist: Iron and Wine
Cover Artist: Sam Beam
Record Label: Sub Pop
00s, Album Art, Alternative, Art-based, Folk




  • http://paulcapewell.com/ Paul

    The first that springs to mind is Ryan Adams' 2005 '29' – a pretty dark painting for an album exorcising the demons of Adams' 20s.

    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/da/2…

  • http://jacknoel.co.uk/ Jack Noel

    Didn't Graham Coxon paint the cover for Blur's 13? And in fact, most if not all of his solo album covers too…

  • http://mooseyard.com/Jens Jens Alfke

    David Byrne painted the cover of the Talking Heads' “Speaking In Tongues”.

    I seem to remember Don van Vliet himself painted the cover of some Captain Beefheart albums?

    Robyn Hitchcock has drawn the covers of many of his albums (though not in paint.)

  • jbacardi

    Roy Wood (Boulders, Mustard, others), Ronnie Wood (Gimme Some Neck) and Cat Stevens (on more than one of his 70's releases) come to mind…

  • http://www.weracketeer.com/ Isaac Priestley

    Guitarist John Squire painted all the Stone Roses disc covers and now he's retired from music and focuses on his art career.

    I also illustrated the disc cover for “More Needful Things”, from my band, World Racketeering Squad:
    http://weracketeer.bandcamp.com/

  • J Freem

    I seem to recalling hearing that Richard James is responsible for the self-portraits on “I Care Because You Do” and “Richard D. James Album”, but who the hell knows with that guy.

  • LMXV

    Marilyn Manson “Lest We forget”. Watercolor.

  • LMXV

    Marilyn Manson “Lest We forget”. Watercolor.

  • Grando Orlando

    Sub Pop Records have gone a long way from this painted cover to sleeve for the latest release of Dum Dum Girls – http://coveryrshame.blogspot.com/2010/03/dum-du…

  • another morning stoner

    Conrad Keely of …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead has done most of the band's album art – would definitely make a sweet article

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  • a guy

    Bedouin Soundclash – jay