Ground Up Presents: UP LATE (a case study)

I recently completed a very interesting and eye opening illustration project for local rap dudes Ground Up. The project called for album artwork and some web banners to be used for their latest mixtape "Up Late" (actually released today April 5th, 2011). The guys contacted me out of the blue, and had a very high level of enthusiasm for my work from the get go. At first I was a little nervous to work with artists in this genre of music because I wasn't quite sure if my art could fit in with their sound. Once I did some research, and extensive listening to past mixtape efforts such as "Girls Who Smoke Cigarettes" and "Higher Ground" my gut feeling changed and I felt that I could effectively collaborate with these guys to create something that everybody liked.

I've also never really shared my collaboration process for client work with the internet, and figured that this project in particular would be a good case study to direct prospective clients to in the future. So above I also posted the first two rounds of black and white concept sketches, the color sketches, and then of course the final product. This was a unique project because of the high level on client input, and also because the project took on a completely new theme half way through, which then led to another round of "Late Night Talk Show" themed concept sketches.

All in All I am happy with how the artwork turned out, I tried some new things with the computer and I think the result turned out a little slicker than usual. You never know when change is gonna come. A BIG thank you to: Malcolm, Al, Bij, Jon, Frank, and the rest of the Ground Up crew for initially contacting me and then turning this into such a memorable project.

Please check out Ground Up at: http://www.groundupsounds.com

and

Download UP LATE for FREE!! at datpiff.com

Enjoy,

b

Melt. Down. Snowmelt Three

As the month of March draws to a close, we can feel spring approaching in our bones, in our minds, and in the air. The large tree sculpture has completely melted away its snowy edifice, and we see that the only remnants of this past cold season are the puddles on the floor. The flowers continue to bloom, as time marches on ... (sorry for the reflection on the window)

Burly Breakfast

Sometimes after a long Saturday night, you wake up with one thing on your mind (or at least I do) "Where can I get the most filling and hearty breakfast imaginable??" This thought is then followed by the inevitable phone call(s) to the various members of your crew, to get a consensus on where this trough of food may be purchased at the most competitive price. Usually the answer is Honey's or even the Penrose Diner, however; yesterday I decided to take matters into my own hands.

Now I do not necessarily think of myself as a gifted chef by any means, but after I had completed this epic breakfast I felt a certain sense of pride. Like a farmer who just won the "(insert-mid-western-state-here) state fair" with a 400 lb. Pig/Chicken crossbreed, I was proud, in awe of, and a little startled by the plate of food that I had created. And the best was still to come, duh, the consumption.

Pictured above is my most recent breakfast/brunch plate of food that I felt compelled to share:

Two Eggs

- fried w/ ketchup and hot sauce

Three Pieces of Scrapple

- Habbersett brand, Philadeplhia's favorite since 1863, I keep the pieces thin and cook 'em crispy, strictly hot sauce!

Cheddar Biscuits w/ Cream Chipped Beef

- Biscuits had extra sharp cheddar, and I added some mayo to the mix to make them extra fluffy, Cream Chipped Beef added that salt I was in dire need of.

and to wash it all down a Yuengling Bock Beer - an amazing seasonal dark lager that tastes like half original lager and half porter, not too heavy not too light

This was a doozy for sure, needless to say I did not even attempt to go skateboarding after this, just kicked it and enjoyed my first free Sunday a few months. cheers!

Also, Thanks to Space 1026 for the love!!!

Melt. Down. Snowmelt Two

It's getting pretty warm in the greater Philadelphia area, as the temperature steadily increases we see the snow continue to melt off the tree sculpture. Flowers are still blooming on the walls, and we begin to see puddles form on the floor of the installation.

WEST SIDE FLOWER DRUM SONG STORY

I've been pretty busy with a few projects lately, but when asked to participate in this interesting group show I couldn't decline. The show is called RECOVER, and basically I got to pick a vintage record sleeve to do whatever I wanted with (You can view all of the record sleeves they had, and who claimed which ones on TrickGo's flickr). The record sleeve that I chose was a split LP with songs from the musical "West Side Story" and "Flower Drum Song". I chose the sleeve because the buildings on it looked like something I might paint or make, so including the actual artwork would appear seamless. I wound up combining the building and pagoda shapes (hence the title), and I also pasted the text from the record sleeve on the back, rearranged to read as the title. Information about the piece is below:

"West Side Flower Drum Song Story"

12.5" x 12.5" x 1.75"

Mixed Media on Panel

2011

The opening reception will be held at TrickGo (1135 Pine street, Philadelphia PA) this Saturday, March 19th. Come and party, its gonna be fun.

Thanks to Gab, Maxine, Matt, Courtney, and the rest of the TrickGo family for inviting me.

Melt. Down. Snowmelt One

On March 11th the first snowmelt occurred in the window on 764 s. 9th, above is the window as well as a closer shot of the freshly melted section. "Some flowers have started to bloom on the back wall, and the snow is beginning to melt off of what appears to be a dead tree" - an astute observer

Melt. Down. Installed!

Melt. Down. has officially been installed, above is a shot of the first phase at night!

First two of four new pieces for "Melt. Down."

"My Dream Coozie"
23.5" x 14.5" x 1.75"
mixed media on panel
2011

"Burial"
18.5" x 18.5" x 2.75"
mixed media on panel
2011


for pricing and availability please contact me via e-mail at: bradford.haubrich@gmail.com

Also, a big thanks to Mr. Daniel Fishel (o-fishel.com) for taking the time to interview me for a blog that he contributes to called Non- Slick.

check out the interview here

thanks!

"Melt. Down." a melting art installation

I am excited to announce my first big project of 2011. It is a self-initiated installation and collection of new works entitled "Melt. Down." The installation will be on display from March 7th to April 4th and will be changing/melting as the weather warms up and we get closer to spring time. "Melt. Down." will be installed in the front window of a large house (that many of my friends live in) on 9th and Catherine in South Philadelphia. This project intrigued me because it requires me to build-out gallery walls in the window display pictured above. To further complicate matters all artwork and materials for the gallery walls must be small enough to fit through the door to the window display, which is about 2' by 3.5 ' (as pictured above, represented by the pink box in the middle of the schematic). This should be interesting ...

Stay tuned for more information and install pictures as the opening date gets closer.

Also pictured above is the promotional card that I designed, as well as a google map screen shot of the exact location of the house.

Thank you to: Alaina, Emily, Yis, Liz, Matt, Kate, and Jon for letting me utilize their window dislpay for the month of March.

RSVP on Facebook here for news, pictures, and the occasional sarcastic comment

"ROLLD Bones" for The Age of Reptiles group show

As overheard while in line at Ricci's deli/hoagie spot on 11th and Annin: "Dis time those South Philly skate punks have gone too friggin' far! I can't believe they had to balls to defile and re-arrange those sacred dinosaur bones. I had heard about that burial ground down there on Darien and Snyder, but even as young butt head I never dared lift that man hole, much less party down there and leave my beer cans!!!! Kids these days, no friggin' respect for nuthin."

"ROLLD Bones"

17" x 25" x 1.75"

Mixed Media

2011

Created for "The Age of Reptiles" group show at The (infamous) Paradigm Gallery, the show will be up from February 25 - March 18.

Special thanks to Anthony Pedro and The Autumn Society for including this skate dude in such an awesome show.

Also, thanks to Austin over at Eye Collector for the shout out!