ACCOZZAGLIA

at last.

after spending the last two days in a non-stop marathon of sorts, i just now completed designing the sleeve art for the up and coming La Musique Populaire album, Love Conquers Alda.

i sent the proof for the sleeve, disc and back tray art to the duo a few minutes ago. it’s in their hands now.

my greatest worry (even fear) these last several months was that i couldn’t conceptualise creative ideas any longer — not since i moved to Seattle, that is. for whatever reason, being reduced to financial nothingness and being in the social exile of Everett shattered my ability to conceive and execute visually creative ideas.

of course, since the last major client project i undertook in 2002, while i was still back east, i’ve come to recognise that i’m not a graphic artist wunderkind like all the people i know out there who are. i’ve been really hard on myself as of late, calling myself a hack and regarding my work as all “derivative”, rather than something unique.

i keep thinking that, to produce the kind of work i’d love to do — illustration and photography-intensive stuff — i’m either gonna have to learn to start drawing and finding some money to shoot with my Nikon again, or else i’m just gonna have to give up the ghost. it’s just too expensive to commission professional photogs and illustrators, and unlike other art directors out there, i’m dirt-poor and simply can’t afford to front for a project before i get paid by my clients.

in a way, i suspect that my chronic lack of access to quality visual materials (such as the aforementioned photography and illustration) is one reason of a few why i feel like i ran into a creative wall (or limit) some time ago. it’s just too expensive to consider.

my business sense is the pits. maybe going back to school will give me the chance to learn how to change this.

but regardless of how i feel about my future as an art director, i’m proud of what i just sent out tonight. and quite frankly, nothing can take away that sense of satisfaction from me.