Garage punks Skegss are enjoying the long-awaited release of their debut album, My Own Mess, today and one of the coolest things about the album on first glance is its vibrant, kooky cover art.
Working to the whole 'mess' theme, NSW visual artist Jack Irvine pretty much spewed every bright colour, ridiculous doodle and zany character he could think of, not only illustrating the front cover, back cover and gatefold of the vinyl but even an exclusive zine and tote bag. Check out the Skegss album bundles here.
We caught up with Jack to ask about his inspirations, concept and what it was like working on an album and zine.
"I just wanted to keep it fun and each page is a different song almost. So for every page, I'd listen to the song on repeat, just scribbling and drawing whatever came to mind, and I feel like the songs directed me to do things that made sense to the song. So the [page for the] song Margarita has heaps of margaritas, it's kind of fun, heaps of party.
"My favourite colours are yellow and red, so anything with those I'm the most stoked on. My favourite artists are guys and girls that put a positive spin on things - guys like Keith Haring, Ken Done, another dude called Howard Arkley. All my drawings are never too precise - I want people to feel like anyone can do 'em if they wanted to. Anything I do, I've always wanted it to be approachable. I want people to be motivated to make their own things - I don't wanna exclude people and make them go, 'fuck how did he do that?' I want younger kids to [have a go]."
Though he's mates with the Skegss boys, Jack says it's "a dream come true" and "freaky" to see his art on an album and zine.
"With music, it's timeless. You're doing something and people who buy this are gonna keep them for their kids as well. I remember going through my dad's records and being like 'holy crap, look at this art' and trying to track down the artists. So it's kind of a dream to be able to have my art on a record, because I feel like in 20 years time some kid could pick this up and go, 'who the hell did this?'"
Follow Jack on Instagram here.
Skegss' My Own Mess is out now!
