Words by Brian Kayser — Book Jacket Design, Illustration

Posted on March 27, 2018 by Jeff Smack

I’ve been working on these Words books [+] for awhile now. Each one is a collection of interviews with legendary artists. It started as one book but now it’s being compiled into volumes.

I spent many years discovering new music by actually digging through records, tapes and cds in stores, attics, basements and yardsales. I read my favorite artists’ point of view in print before twitter decimated a pretty robust culture of magazines. So this is a pretty special bit of work. Journalism in print! It’s high art, man.

This collaboration with Brian Kayser has segued into other book jacket design and illustration projects that I’m excited about. I’m working on a couple of children’s book ideas and currently designing a jacket for another different collection of interviews from an independent hiphop label out of London. I won’t say to much about those things yet but once they get printed, I’ll be posting details of them here.

Get a better look at the covers in my design portfolio [+] or on my instagram feed [+].

High Resolution

Posted on November 27, 2017 by Jeff Smack

I’ve been journaling about my New Year’s resolutions for the past few years. I’ve managed to keep them and carry them forward. They’ve focused mostly around running, meditation and making art.

This year I’ve run over 800 miles and just finished my first marathon with a respectable time — for a 40 year old dude who just started running a few years ago.

A few years ago, finishing a marathon popped into my head as a goal and soon after that it started to feel like an inevitibility. And just like that, I did it. And now it’s over. Doesn’t seem as difficult in the rearview.

Looking forward to what 2018 has in store. Drinking more water, more often, is a pretty radical practice I’ll take on.

Bones & Muscle Memory

Posted on February 26, 2015 by Jeff Smack

I draw a lot of skulls, abstract forms and floral patterns. I spent many younger years exploring this type imagery and it’s stored in my muscle memory as much as my imagination. If I sit in front of blank paper too long, it just starts drawing itself.