>>>The Art & Design of Charlie Wagers<<<

The Fray Shirts

Charlie Wagers — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:51:13 +0000

My old friends in The Fray are about to release their new album, Scars & Stories, next week. With the new album coming out, they’ll be embarking on plenty of tour dates in 2012, and I was asked to submit some designs for shirts to be sold on the upcoming tours. Here are the two that got picked up! I’ve got a serious knack for using the moon, and woodgrain texture.

Rustic Bullshit

Charlie Wagers — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:49:20 +0000

I spent a few hours today screen-printing the jackets for the long-overdue vinyl treatment of Rustic Bullshit by Talons’. Also known for his work with Six Parts Seven and Trouble Books, Mike has been making music under the name Talons’ for quite some time. This record was originally released as a CD-R in 2006, and is now getting the vinyl treatment. First-pressing is limited to 100 copies, in chipboard jackets, that I screen-printed (three colors). It’s also being mastered for the first time, and will spin at 45rpm, for the audiophiles. Look for it soon, from Bark & Hiss. Listen to the CD-R (unmastered) version of the album below.

While there, Andy & Josh were printing the Cloudkicker that Adam & Keith designed – five colors!

Akron Addys

Charlie Wagers — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:14:16 +0000

I’ve never entered into the Addy Awards, so this year I entered three pieces into the Akron competition, and lucky enough, I was able to walk away with one! I entered my logo for Summit Cycling Center into the logo portion of the contest, and yesterday was notified that I won an award. I’ll have to wait until the ceremony in March to know if it’s gold or silver, but needless to say – I am pretty excited regardless.

Expired Type 54 4×5

Charlie Wagers — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:25:42 +0000

Today I took a quick trip up to Aperture to pick up some photos from a past art show. While I was there, Scott Meivogel asked if I would sit for a quick (not really) portrait. He used a 4×5 camera, loaded with eleven-year-expired type 54 film. This camera was insane, you have to focus the shot with the shutter open, then close it and load in the film – without moving the camera or the subject. Using his iPhone light-meter, and the shutter was open for two seconds. Pretty awesome. I can’t believe how sharp it is.

Well Worn 12″ Shipping Now

Charlie Wagers — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:45:07 +0000

The new split 12″ between Caravels & Gifts From Enola is shipping now. Brian Stowell picked up a copy yesterday in Portland and sent me over these photos (to hold me over until my copies ship in). So damn proud of this thing, and can’t wait to see it in person. The outer-sleeve is full-color plus a metallic spot-under-print, and with a full-color insert with lyrics (hand-written by me).

Order the Coke-Bottle-Green version (shown below) from Topshelf Records, White version from The Mylene Sheath, or grab a Clear version from either band at their upcoming shows. You can also stream the whole record on Absolute Punk.

Josh Ritter – New Years

Charlie Wagers — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:39:17 +0000

Josh Ritter & the Royal City Band played a special show on New Years Eve this year, and I was contacted to submit artwork for the projected back-drop for the song Wolves. Josh’s manager asked that I send them the moon from the shirt I designed for them last year. The first photo is from soundcheck (by Brian) and the second from the performance (by Rich), and lastly is a little peak into the actual imagery I sent.

Mat Kearney Neon

Charlie Wagers — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:17:54 +0000

At the end of last week, I was asked to submit some shirt options for Mat Kearney‘s tour that starts later this month. Of the three treatments I sent over, Mat liked this one the best. I’d been meaning to try something neon-sign related. This will be printed up as a girl’s shirt.

Eric Starr’s Business Cards

Charlie Wagers — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:00:47 +0000

This is a fun project to start out the week. Eric Starr at Arkham Tattoo in Akron asked me to design his new business cards. When he said he wanted some 19th century Magician inspired imagery, I knew i wanted in. My favorite part is how the front of the card has three different orientations.

Red Forest

Charlie Wagers — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 01:14:49 +0000

This is the cover for the new album from Akron’s If These Trees Could Talk. It’s title, Red Forest, is derived from the radioactive woods near Chernobyl. The songs on this album are gritty and destructive, which is what inspired me for the style of the album art, and the imagery of a burnt out forest. The CD will be self-released, and LP on Science of Silence, both including foil-stamping.

Sixand5 Best Album Covers of 2011

Charlie Wagers — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 01:08:54 +0000

Ben Sharp just sent me this link from Sixand5 Online Inspiration Magazine. They put together a list of the 50 best album covers of 2011 on Bandcamp, and nominated the cover I designed for Cloudkicker’s Let Yourself Be Huge as #12! Very cool! It’s an honor to see my work presented alongside the covers for Tycho (by Scott Hansen/ISO50), The Dead Pirates (by McBess), & Absofacto (by Silent Giants).