Cover artwork for a CD version of my December 2024 "That Time of Year Rewrapped" EP. Since this EP features remixes of all four tracks from my 2006 "That Time of Year" EP, while also adding additional tracks, I wanted to reference the 2006 EP's artwork, while updating the cover and overall quality of the artwork. The "rewrapped" part of the title gave me the idea to use a wrapping paper-style background, which I initially generated with Adobe's Firefly AI inside Photoshop 2024. I took the Christmas tree "painting" (originally done in Photoshop Essentials for the main visual feature, and did some processing on that to update its look, then used various filters to both make the two key components fit and give the overall artwork a somewhat retro look.
Cover artwork for a CD version of my August 2022) "country-ish" (a mix of country and singer-songwriter/folk) album, "Thinking With My Heart". The cover features a self-portrait, with Adobe Lightroom Classic used to winnow down the candidates and do some basic enhancements. Then Photoshop was used to extract the subject and make my image more like artwork, while adding texture and creating a retro look for the cover and additional CD packaging designs.
Cover artwork from my October 2020 album, "Moments of Insanity". 2020 was such a crazy year, with the pandemic and US presidential elections, that I wanted to reference Edvard Munch's well-known painting in my cover art. The album itself mixes multiple genres, including pop/AC, country, 1960s-influenced, and "the rest". This is another self-portrait, using Lightroom to sift through photos and do basic enhancements, then Photoshop to "art-ize" the photo, make it fit the "painting", and deal with product-oriented content.
Cover artwork from my 2019 pop-rock album, "The Road That I Must Take". The album deals with life paths, crossroads in life, and twisty-turny roads through life, so I wanted a winding road on the cover. The background image is one I took from near the top of Whiteface Mountain in northern New York. The self-portrait was taken close to a year later in my home, and I placed that image in a way to make it suggest looking down either the path ahead or the one already traveled. The back cover of the CD version also uses the same background photo. All photo editing, compositing, and graphic design was done in Photoshop.
Cover artwork for the CD version of my 2016 pop/adult contemporary album, "In and Out of Love Again". The album is made up of love songs, unrequited love songs, breakup songs, and even a song about lust. My concept for the cover was to suggest an old school mystery writer, perhaps on one of those old TV dating shows, or a show where you tried to guess someone's occupation. I used the normal and upside-down hearts to suggest the different sorts of love-oriented themes. All work was done in Photoshop Elements.
Cover artwork for the CD version of my 2014 album of classic Christmas carols, "What Child is This?". I made the recordings on the album over approximately a decade (generally one per year), covering a variety of modern and traditional musical styles. The front cover started with a photo I took of a Nativity scene snow globe, which I then tried to make look more like a painting in Photoshop Elements.
This cover, from my 2009 "Love Holds On" album, started out as an analog photo of my then-young children walking together in a National Park. After scanning the photo (or possibly a negative of the photo), I used Photoshop Essentials to try and make it look more like a painting. The album features songs in genres ranging from country to adult contemporary, all with themes relating to holding onto love in one form or another.
In 2008, I collaborated on a 2-song/5-track (including remixes) EP with Beverly Bremers ("Don't Say You Don't Remember") and Russian songwriter/producer Alexei Ustinov. Both songs are about adult relationships, and I wanted the cover to reflect that with something of a Valentine look. I used some royalty-free vector art as the basis for the two main characters, enhancing those in Photoshop Essentials to add impact and texture.
My 2006 "That Time of Year" EP featured four original Christmas songs. After initially going down another design route with a more monochrome winter woodland scene, I decided I needed something more holiday oriented. Thus, I attempted "painting" a Christmas tree in Photoshop Essentials. However, my painting skills, digital or otherwise, were severely lacking, so the challenge was to see if I could make something that looked more interesting through the use of effects. What I eventually came up with reminded me of some felt Christmas trees we made back when I was in Cub Scouts, and this design was the heavy favorite with people who'd seen both potential designs.