dead – Josean Rivera

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I recently finished up this linocut inspired by the song “Cumberland Blues” by the Grateful Dead. My largest print to date (12×18), this was quite a challenge since I was using a soft cut linoblock, which has the tendency to move when lots of pressure is applied. The print came out better than expected, and I ended up making 2 variations.

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The regular edition was printed on 14.5×22 90lb cream paper and limited to an edition of 50. The variant was printed on 15×22 140lb cold pressed watercolor paper (hand colored to create a “tie-dye” effect), and limited to an edition of 25. Both are currently available in my shop: www.etsy.com/shop/joseeen

Drawing to the Dead

I recently finished two new illustrations, inspired by the music of the Grateful Dead.

Cosmic Charlie big copy - Copy.jpg “Cosmic Charlie” Ink, watercolor, digital.

Prints available

wla-fadeaway-copy-small “West L.A. Fadeaway” ink and watercolor/digital

Prints Available

I also created some variants of this illustrations:

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Although I’ve been a fan of Grateful Dead, I had’t done much art related to them until recently. Last year I was asked to create posters for Without A Net, an all star lineup of musicians playing the music of the Dead. This led me to create a few other illustrations that took elements of my own artwork with a GD twist, which I used to create some posters for the Dead & Co. show in Philly in 2015. And most recently, I created a poster for Splintered Sunlight, an east coast Grateful Dead tribute band. I avoided illustrating songs as I do for Phish, although I had plenty of people suggesting I do. It wasn’t until Phish’s recent Nashville show, which had Bob Weir sit in for their second set. They ended up playing 4 GD songs, which of course I had to illustrate!

bob-weir-set SET 2: Julius > Fuego > My Friend, My Friend, Samson and Delilah^[2], Twist^[3] > Miss You^[4], West L.A. Fadeaway^[4] > Playing in the Band^[5]

ENCORE: Quinn the Eskimo^[3]

This show featured the Phish debut of Samson and Delilah and Playing in the Band. West L.A. Fadeaway was last played October 6, 2000 (383 shows). Samson and Delilah through Playing in the Band featured Bob Weir on guitar. Weir also sang vocals on Samson and Delilah, Miss You, and West L.A. Fadeaway. The soundcheck’s Blues Jam featured a verse of Funky Bitch from Trey and Walking Blues featured Weir on vocals.

I plan to do a couple more songs in the near future, but I’m in no rush. I want the ideas to come organically, and for it to be original. This can be difficult, on account that fans have been creating Dead inspired art for almost 50 years now! But it’s a challenge I’m willing to take on! Stay tuned for some new art in the coming months!