"Hephæstus at the Forge"

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graphite, gouache; digital effects

8½" x 10¾" at 300 ppi • 2015

Canada Boy Vinyl was a short-lived record-pressing plant in Calgary, Alberta—and, in its time, the only such plant in Canada. They already had a logo, colour scheme, and font when I came onboard, but they were dissatisfied with their graphic design services and felt the company needed something more emphatically artistic.

The figure represents the mythological Hephæstus, Hellenic analog to the Roman Vulcan, in the act of forging one of the metallic stampers used in vinyl pressing. This was important as CBV not only had pressing facilities but also a recording studio, cutting room and, critically, a fully-equipped galvanics lab—making it a true one-stop shop for industrial record production.

I based Hephæstus' face on that of the company's founder and CEO, who happened to be an old friend from art school and our days on the Calgary music scene in the early '90s. Though the business imploded rather tragically, I am proud of the work I did and what my friends accomplished in building it. At its height, CBV was a thing to behold—and it was a terrible pity what fate had in store for it. All that remains are the memories, a few thousand records, and a handful of artworks like this one. So it goes.