Saturday, August 29, 2015

Sideshow! The Story of Siamese Twins the Hilton Sisters!

The Genius of graphic designer Joseph Allen Black!
For the new Porchlight Theatre production of Side Show,
I was luckily picked out to illustrate the poster.
As Clint Eastwood said, "A man's got to know his limitations"
so I handed all the hard work over to mastermind Mr. Black.
It was a wise decision!
Here you can see bits of the process from beginning to end,
and his different takes due to client comments.
If you ask me, every Joe version is a winner!

http://josephallenblack.com/

And don't forget to see the play!
http://porchlightmusictheatre.org/side-show/








One of Three! Riot Fest Denver Poster Art!

Designed by the amazing Joseph Allen Black!

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

The Wild Wild West! One of America's Last Great Roadside Attractions!


Spent the day in Union, Il., ready to soak up the local sights and sounds.
Daughter and son were my vacationing companions, and since I was the only one with a wallet and a drivers license, they were forced into my way of thinking.
And my thinking was, "Donley's Wild West Town"!
Perfect for a 6-year-old, or a 54 year old man, but maybe a 14th month old is a bit young, and a 17 year old (at least according to her) is a bit too old, but we still managed to have a rootin' too
tin' time!
Donley's was established in 1974, which makes perfect sense, because you're pretty sure that The Brady Bunch MUST have filmed a special two part episode there.
Don't feel bad about slappin' down $17 to get in, they have a staff of about 20 to support. Three of them, guard, train conductor and cashier are senior citizens, while the rest look like they were lured out of junior high with the promise of $5 an hour plus all the salt water taffy they could eat. What spans the age difference of all the hootin' and hollerin' ranch hands is politeness and helpfulness topped off with smiles a-plenty!
We only had 90 minutes before closing, so we took in about 30% of the ye olden options, including the live action Wild West Show, carousel, tomahawk throwing, and Aiden's favorite, the pony ride. So when I go back with my youngest in 5 years, we'll have a few things to do again, and PLENTY of brand new frontier fun to enjoy!
It's a wonderful world where attractions like this still exist!

wildwesttown.com
So far, Aiden will have laughing meltdowns on swings,
and now, ponies.
Or whenever I say something hilarious.








Too Much Fudge jail.
You can also pay an extra $8 and have your pal 'arrested'
at the "Wild West Show" then carted off to the 1880's cell.
Well worth it!

How all authentic Wild West carousels should be decorated!



Wave at the camera, Damnit!
The vintage fortune teller predicts, "You'll have a great time"!


If the other fellow knows you're going to shoot him it the dick,
he'll think long and hard about EVER pestering you.
It's always a good day when...