Tag Archives: AJMasthay

“Back of the Worm” Print for Dick’s by AJ Masthay

AJ humbly present my only piece for Summer Tour 2014 – “Back of the Worm”

Prints and variants will be available this Friday, August 15th at 12 noon EST.

For those of you not familiar with the reference, I highly suggest you checkout the Amsterdam shows from Europe 97, go ahead… I’ll wait… okay, got it? Now you understand right?

The basic idea behind the image is the fact that Denver is the new Amsterdam, so it’s reasonable to expect some worm riding to go on in a couple weeks. There’s also a deeper story about a certain Colorado chipmunk who got into something he shouldn’t have, but I’ll leave that for another day.

Here’s the deets:
“Back of the Worm”
August 29-31
Dicks, Commerce City, CO
11 color linoleum block print
Edition of 200 on Canson Edition Antique White with a single deckled edge
Signed and numbered by the artist

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A very limited number of variants will also be available. Check them all out on our Facebook Photo Album.

AJ Masthay’s ‘Jersey Devil’ – on sale October 14th at Noon

AJ Masthay has revealed his Halloween print for Atlantic City, and its yet another winner and one of AJ’s finest prints in his extensive portfolio. “Jersey Devil” is an 8-color linoblock print, measuring approximately 14.5″ x 23″ and printed on Canson Edition Antique White in a Numbered Edition of 125. These prints will be on sale Monday, October 14th at 12 noon EST for $35 each.

Check out the sketch below and AJ’s Instagram for process pics

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AJ Masthay Releases Fall Prints!

AJ has been hard at work in the studio since Denver coming up with excellent prints for Fall Tour 2013! He is releasing the first two prints of the tour on Friday October 4th at noon EST.

“Killing It”
Hampton Coliseum
October 18-20, 2013
This print is an edition of 200, seven color linoleum block print and on canson edition antique white.
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“Feed Arachnid”
DCU Center
October 25-26, 2013
Worcester, MA
This print is an edition of 100, seven color linoleum block print and on canson edition antique white.
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AJ will also be doing a special “From the Crypt” selection from his archives during the month of October. He will be celebrating past Halloweens along with some other falls tour shows by releasing a couple of prints each week. Keep your eye out for them to drop starting on Friday October 4th.

For these new prints and the others, please visit Masthay Studios

AJ Masthay End of Summer Sale – 25% off all in stock prints!

From AJ Masthay:

It’s time for some fall cleaning in the studio and that can only mean one thing, an end of summer sale! Use the code “StinkyPrints” at check out to receive 25% off all in stock prints*, both official and unofficial. We don’t do this often, but we’ve got some large editions on tap for the fall and need to make space in the flat files, our loss is your gain!

Code is only valid until Sunday, September 22nd so don’t miss out. Come waste some time at masthaystudios.bigcartel.com, who knows you may find something you just can’t live without…

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Meet Dick! 2013 Dick’s Print from Masthay Studios

Counting down the minutes until Phish takes over Dick’s for Labor Day weekend? Feast your eyes on this new treasure from Masthay Studios. Meet Dick and leave the ordinary behind to dive into an alternate reality where everything is possible and anything goes. This print’s so sick – angels weep. On sale Friday, August 16th at noon from Masthay Studios. Get Yours!  And whatever your do – Don’t Blink!

Meet Dick

Masthay Studios Summer Tour 2013 Prints Release Information

Summer Tour is just a few short weeks away, so as a wise man once said – Let’s get this show on the road! The first round of individual prints for this summer will be available for purchase next Friday, June 14, 2013 at 12 noon EST on MasthayStudios.com

This first round will include the following venues:
Bangor, Maine – Rise of the Cephalopods
Jones Beach – Finally Free
Merriweather Post Pavilion – Barn Burner
Northerly Island, Chicago – Skyballz aka-The Overflow Tank

Cephalopods are widely regarded as the most intelligent of all the invertebrates. Naturally they will rise up and take their revenge on the human race, it’s only a matter of time. I imagine they will start their land domination in Maine since so many of their brethren have been harvested out of the waters there. Donning their “above water” rocket propelled mechanical exoskeletons, they first entrance – then ensnare.
Watch yourselves and stay safe!!

Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion
Bangor, Maine
Six color linoleum block print
13″x23″ Canson Edition Antique White paper stock
Edition of 150

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Both editioned prints and variants will be available on a first come, first served basis. I am still working hard to complete additional prints for this summers shows, which will be available at a later date. Saratoga will feature this summers triptych print set entitled “Duke of Lizards” and will be available exclusively at the Summer in Saratoga Art Exhibition taking place Saturday, July 6th at the Saratoga Hilton. Check out the

Facebook event page for more info on this exhibition.

Images for Jones Beach, Merriweather and Chicago will be released between now and the onsale date, but let’s start at the beginning – Bangor, Maine and what I am calling “Rise of the Cephalopods”.

View the Big Cartel shop for more images.

Can’t wait to secure this and all my other Summer Tour pieces? Grab one of the very few remaining Summer Tour Subscriptions. At $300 shipped, you’re guarenteed matching numbered prints from all Summer Tour editions. With a minimum of 10 prints it’s by far the most economical way to add to your print collection, plus the lack of stress dealing with print drops will save years on your life. No promises, but it’s also looking very likely that at least one bonus print will be included with subs.

Stay tuned to the Masthay Studios Facebook page for additional images and info on the rest of Summer Tour. I plan on hitting the lots at Bangor, Jones Beach, Merriweather, the Gorge and Tahoe so keep an eye out for the weirdo walking around Shakedown with a portfolio of prints and be sure to say hello!

Lots more offical work coming out of the studio this summer also including Furthur, Widespread Panic, Yonder Mountain String Band, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, RockyGrass Festival, The Bounce Festival and many more!

Have a happy and safe summer everyone, I’ll see ya in Bangor.
Sincerely,

AJ Masthay
www.masthaystudios.com

The Grateful Gallery Tour, One of a Kind Traveling Art Gallery Coming to Major Northeast Music Festivals this Summer

‘The Grateful Gallery Tour’, a traveling art gallery making appearances at music festivals throughout the Northeast will feature the art of famed artists John Warner, Mike DuBois, AJ Masthay, William Giese, among more to be announced in coming weeks. At each festival stop, an extensive art gallery will be created whereby festival goers will be able to view and purchase gig posters from numerous bands, including The Grateful Dead, Furthur, Phil Lesh & Friends, The Allman Brothers, Gov’t Mule, Widespread Panic, Umphrey’s McGee, Yonder Mountain String Band, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Railroad Earth, Cabinet and many more.

Framed and unframed prints will be on sale from the artists, who will also be making appearances in the gallery as their schedules permit. In addition, the gallery will feature original paintings from acclaimed artist William Giese, whose artwork has graced the covers of several Grateful Dead albums.

The Grateful Gallery tour will be installed at the following Northeast festivals this summer:

Old Farmer’s Ball, May 11th in Scranton, PA. This event features additional artists including Mickey O, J Rizzi, Nick Clemente, Bill Orner, Matt Hiller, Jason Ried Miller and Jim Gavenus.

Mountain Jam, June 6-9, Hunter, NY.

Bear’s Picnic, August 1-4, Central PA location TBA

Peach Music Festival, August 15-18, Scranton, PA.

Catskill Chill, September 6-8, Hancock, NY.

Phamily Poker Classic 2013: Harvey’s Lake Tahoe

Phamily Poker

Greetings,
Here we go again!  We are extremely happy to announce the Phamily Poker Classic 3 to you first!
The Phamily Poker Classic 3 is once again a Texas Hold Em Event and will take place on July 31st at Harvey’s casino in Lake Tahoe.  This is the same casino that is hosting Phish’s July 30th & 31st shows. Seats at this Phamily Poker Classic tournament are very limited as it will be played only during the afternoon of the 31st.  As at the prior Classic tournaments, blinds and chip stacks will be structured so that nobody will miss a note of Phish.
This tournament will once again benefit our favorite charity The Mockingbird Foundation.  The entry fee will be $140 and at least half of that amount will go directly into the prize pool along with a slew of great non-cash prizes that will be raffled off throughout the tournament.  Every player in the Phamily Poker Classic 3 will receive a limited edition custom poster by AJ Masthay and the final table will get a special signed/numbered edition different from the rest in the number that they’re eliminated!  We anticipate a large number of exciting non-cash prizes to give away!  I’m sure you all remember the great prizes we’ve had in the past. The remainder of the buy in will go to the expenses for the tournament and for the donation to The Mockingbird Foundation.
In appreciation of you having participated in our past events we will be opening up the opportunity to purchase a seat in the Phamily Poker Classic 3 for you in a special pre-sale that will last until Wednesday April 10th, prior to the general on-sale at 10am pt (1:00pm et) on April 10th. The special pre-sale is open now.  You can purchase you seat here.  We hope that you’ll help us sell this event out, whether you can attend or not, by telling other fans out there how much you enjoyed the past tournaments.
We hope that you will join us again and make this event as special as the previous Phamily Poker Classic tournaments, which raised over $10,000 for The Mockingbird Foundation.  With your continued support, we can keep these events happening and support a great cause.
As always, we will keep you posted on any information that you need to know at www.phamilypokerclassic.com.  If you have any questions we can be reached at phamilypokerclassic@gmail.com.

 

Update: An interview with AJ Masthay, releasing ‘Mockingbird’, a Limited Edition poster

Update 3/13: Final details from Phish.net, including images of limited edition variances. The prints will go on sale this Friday, March 15 at 12 noon EDT (9am PDT) on AJ’s website. This limited edition of 150 prints on navy blue paper is a six-color linoleum block print, and costs $40. There is a limit of one print per customer.

Update 3/11:  Check out this beauty of print!

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Update 3/9: Read on Phish.net an update on further sales of AJ’s poster.

AJ Masthay was recently commissioned to make a limited edition print (150) to celebrate the quickly approaching release of The Phish Companion, 3rd Edition. This limited edition art print celebrates the book’s forthcoming release. The print will be on navy blue paper with six-colors from this linoleum block print. You can expect to see the Famous Mockingbird clutching the just-liberated book of knowledge, while evil King Wilson’s troops rally on the horizon. Some process pictures from AJ are seen below, the final image due Monday.

This is the original drawing and gives a fair approximation of how the final image will appear.
This is the original drawing and gives a fair approximation of how the final image will appear.

You can pick this poster up in the Phish.net store for $40 starting Friday 3/8 at 3pm EST/Noon PST.

AJ talked with Pete Mason today about the print and a little insight into his recent artistic endeavors.

Pete Mason: How did this poster for Mockingbird come about? What led to making the print?

AJ Masthay: The good people at The Mockingbird Foundation contacted me quite some time ago about the book cover for the next (Phish) Companion. I gave a couple quick concept sketches to them to present to the publisher, who went in a different direction. When the cover didn’t pan out, they asked if I’d do a special print to help commemorate the new book. Honestly, I couldn’t have been happier.

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Pete: Have you wanted to do a poster tying together elements of Gamehendge? Was it a natural choice to make a print with a Mockingbird, given that The Mockingbird Foundation is connected with Phish net?

AJ: I can’t recall if the Mockingbird was requested or was just a “given” but we knew it was going to be a Gamehendge theme from the get go. The imagery of Gamehendge is ripe for artistic interpretation. I’ve pretty much avoided it in the past, but this project opened the floodgates and gave a green light to dive into all that Gamehendge goodness. Who knows, perhaps a series in the future? (ed. note – YES!)

Pete: With six colors, how labor intensive was the print, compared to other prints?

AJ: As of writing this I’m only 3 colors into it so I’ll tell ya when it’s done lol. Seriously though, I really feel like I pushed myself on this one, both conceptually and artistically. I’ve really hit a groove blending both traditional carving tools and super fine detail with the Dremel. It allows me to basically draw on the linoleum, creating a draftsman-like quality that you just can’t get with gouges alone.

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Pete: You’ve been doing a great deal of official prints lately: Furthur, Umphrey’s McGee, Yonder Mountain, among others. How has the transition been, from making fan prints to official prints? Its been quite a rapid ascent for you.

AJ: I’m honored whenever a band asks me to create a piece for them, the fact that these are the same bands that I love is icing on the cake. The transition itself was pretty painless as my process is the same whether its a gig poster, pop culture piece or an art print.

Pete: What artists have had the greatest influence upon your art, both traditional and non-traditional?

AJ: It’s hard not to be influenced by fellow artists in the field like David Welker and Jeff Wood, but I’ve never been shy about my love of both their styles. I started out collecting posters before I was making them so you’ll see Pollocks, Emeks, and tons of other gig posters on my walls, all influencing my work. When it comes down to it though, I’ve come to realize that nature is my biggest influence. Whenever I find myself in that nasty “creative block” mindset where nothing is working, I’ll grab the dogs and head out to the woods. Nine times out of 10 it’ll get the creative juices flowing and things start to jive.

 

PhanArt’s Best of 2012

Well, 2012 was an incredible year for PhanArt, with more art than ever before, plus the addition of five staff members to the site – Taylor, Kelley, Chris, Jim and Chris. Fans have been submitting more and more art to PhanArt for sharing on the site, which led to a record number of posts as well as a record amount of money raised for The Mockingbird Foundation – over $3700!

What was popular this year? Well, shirts and posters as usual, but anything that had that Cheerio/Henrietta design took top honors for the most common piece of phanart. It seemed that every bit of clothing and all sorts of art were seeing this design, any why not? It’s iconic, only Phish fans know what it is, making it a silent calling card for other fans whether at a show or in real life. There was at least one wedding party with Fishman ties for the groomsmen!

Then of course, there are pins, which has basically become a flooded market. Everyone is making them, few are buying and many are trading for them. Some of them are truly amazing and we are likely only a few days away from the first ‘Golf Ball’ themed pin of 2013. There are a reported 1700-1800 pins total made already, according to Fred Hosman, who would know, because he collected pretty much every single one up to date. That number of pins is more than the number of individual pieces of art in PhanArt: The Art of the Fans of Phish

So, here we are with more art being made, Phish being at the top of their game and the 30th anniversary likely to shed a great deal of art, especially if there are more shows than the last two years. Without further rambling, I present the Best of PhanArt, 2012 edition. This list of 12 was compiled with input from fans on the website, Facebook, Twitter, as well as reported sales from artists and feedback on lot. Some of these pieces of art are still available for sale, while some sold out a long time ago. Click the links to see what you can still get and support the Phish Art Community! Remember, the Phanart made in 2012 was amazing and the following is just some of the best. If you think something was overlooked, share what was missed below in the comments section below.

Honorable Mentions

 Otto NYE print

AJ Masthay Kansas City

TRiPP NYE

Tim Ripley Colorado

Michael Ortiz San Francisco/Colorado/NYC series

Ceramic Pheesh from Matt Pace

And now for the Best PhanArt of 2012…

12. My Other Vehicle is a Second Set Tweezer

A simple Tweet led to an incredibly popular sticker, so much so that it was sold in bulk to a few fans during Summer Tour. Andy Cary’s wit led to a sticker that was begged for at shows, Jiggs’ design made it the perfect bumper sticker for a car, and led to some nice donations for The Mockingbird Foundation, as Andy deferred any profit to them. In keeping with that, all sales of this sticker through the month of January will go to The Mockingbird Foundation, after shipping and handling.

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11. Split Open and Melt pin

You couldn’t make a more literal pin, but Jeff from My Phavorite Things did, and succeeded. It doesn’t look like there are any pins left for sale, but if you can get one, this is a well through out and produced pin.

First up is the SOAM Phan pin made by myphavoritethings.com DEF one of the best pins of the year.

10. Kerrigan summer print 

The return of the Happy Fish in one incredible print! Ryan Kerrigan continues to create incredible Phish posters for each show and tour, and this one stood out as one of the best of the Summer!

st12 summer tour 2012 poster KERRIGAN

9. Life is Hood shirt

Life is Good < Life is Hood. Brian Kushner of PhanBadge made a great shirt with a familiar guitar sticking out, and the response was incredible. Many shirts were out of stock by the time SPAC rolled around. Brian graciously donated a few shirts to benefit The Mockingbird Foundation, all of which were snapped up quickly. The crossover aspect is huge with this shirt, since you can wear it to a show or just in daily life, getting more than a few heads to turn when they notice the slight difference in this now classic shirt.

HOOD_Indigo

8. Party Time/Playboy shirts 

Seen on the lots of Bader Field in June, this is a great shirt, hands down. The Playboy brand has an aura of epic parties in the grotto, and ‘Party Time’ is the perfect way to to tie the two together. This shirt was only seen briefly on tour, so we have no purchasing info, so if you know who made this shirt, contact PhanArt (at) gmail and we will do our best to have it up on the site. Again, great shirt to the creators!

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7. Otto summer leg 2 

Branden Otto has been making posters since 2010 and in 2012, he found his groove, creating incredible work from start to finish. Fans sold out one edition, leading to a second variant being produced. Stacking the vehicles, adding in tour dates and some subtle Phish references, as well as great creativity and color schemes showed that Otto is moving on up among his fellow artists.

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6. Jam Jars

The “Jam Jar” series by Tweezburger creator Jon Weber and Cactus Bomb Designs doesn’t just look great on bread, all 6 jump out as genius spins on different jams Phish has done over the years. Funny, small and a set = classic Phish pins.

Then you have the Jam Jar series by tweezeburger creator Jon Weber Aka Cactus Bomb Designs.  www.cactusbombdesigns.com

5. Summer Tour Pac-Man shirts

These were seen through much of Summer Tour, although the creators never got in touch with us to get on the site. Based on the number of fans wearing them, it’s likely they sold well on tour, if not sold out. Using the one and two-stops on tour as general pellets to eat, and the four 3-day runs the Power pellets is just smart designing. This was well thought out and a great design. It would even be higher on the list, but black isn’t a great color shirt for the summer. But being in the top half of the Best of 2012 isn’t too shabby. Big ups to the four levels at the bottom, one for each tour to date in the 3.0 era.

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4. TRiPP Atlantic City triptych 

Try saying THAT five times fast. This set has been sought after by fans and sold quickly, making for yet another classic TRiPP trio of prints that connect to form gorgeous imagery.

PH Atlantic City triptych cropped

3. Jiggs Oklahoma City Zoo

Jiggs has branched out from his earlier designs and t-shirts and delved into some great posters in the past year, starting with NYE 2011 and going through 2012 with Bader Field, OKC Zoo and Dick’s prints. This one stands out among them all, capturing the song that would cap off the band’s first show in Oklahoma, in a most unique fashion.

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2. Ties from stuPINdous Creations

Never in a million years did I think that Phish-themed ties would be a thing, let alone a well produced thing. Well, Adrian from stuPINdous Creations proved that one wrong, a few times over. First there was the Henrietta tie, then the Cactus and Big Red ties (seen below) and most recently, a Henrietta Bow Tie. Many of these ties sold out quickly, especially the Henrietta tie. These ties are stylish, they are great for work or play and speaking from experience, get compliments nearly every time. That’s a great tie – when they don’t realize there’s a Phish theme to it, but you do. Adrian, nice work on these. Can’t wait to see the Page tie! Here’s to hoping it involves sandwiches!

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Big Red's TieCactus Tie

 

And the best of PhanArt 2012 is…….

1. Ben Whitesell’s NYE

The intricate detail of this limited edition print from Ben Whitesell and the overwhelming response from Phish fans made this a runaway #1 choice for 2012. Ben has made great prints in the past and this one is the culmination of his growing skills in making great posters. Examine the way in which Ben detailed Trey’s guitar, going deeper with a mechanical angle and creating one of the best posters of 2012. Ben, here’s to hoping you can keep making art of this caliber in 2013!

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So, did we miss something? Was there some art that should have made the list? If so, tell us what you think we missed in the comments below. Art is all around us on Phish tour and this is just a small slice of the great art out there this past year. With greater input from fans taken into greater account this year, we feel this is a great representation of the Best PhanArt of 2012. If this past year is any hint, 2013 will be even better.

– PhanArt Pete and the PhanArt Crew