Art for Madonna - @brendonshayart Ask Me Anything <3

[Brendonshayart 239]

Hey Guys! 
I created the FEL 16-track Album Art, Frozen feat. 070 Shake Cover and contributed my art to the Frozen on Fire Lyric Video…

Ask me anything!

Stumbled upon this forum a few weeks back and love reading EVERYONES opinion! 
 

 

 

[Roy 7,612]

11 minutes ago, Brendonshayart said:

Hey Guys! 
I created the FEL 16-track Album Art, Frozen feat. 070 Shake Cover and contributed my art to the Frozen on Fire Lyric Video…

Ask me anything!

Stumbled upon this forum a few weeks back and love reading EVERYONES opinion! 
 

 

 

OH MY GOD.

I AM LITERALLY FREAKING OUT. 

I wanna know how you got this inspiration for these art covers. They're so amazing! :D

[Fabiolous 5,488]

Have you ever chatted/talked directly to Madonna throughout the whole process? Or only a Warner representative?

How did you get the gig? Just posted your art on Instagram and got lucky?

[Alm47 891]

How long was the process to create for her? Does she gave you a few ideas first? How was the feedback?

What does an artist needs to do in order to catch her attention? 😯

I love your work dude! Your album cover for FEL is my favorite one! (And sorry for so many questions 😅)

[Brendonshayart 239]

6 minutes ago, Roy said:

OH MY GOD.

I AM LITERALLY FREAKING OUT. 

I wanna know how you got this inspiration for these art covers. They're so amazing! :D

Hey!!!! 
 

For the Frozen cover, Ricardo sent me the image to use and I did my scribbles on top, there were a fair few variations of the scribbles but M made the final choice when I presented the options to her! 
 

With FEL, M and I worked on a cover we really liked but Warner didn’t find it “iconic” enough. 
I took it upon myself to create another option for them, again using a photo taken by Ricardo, there was no art direction from M or her team, the FEL cover as it is today is my creation which has been used without any tweaking from their end. 
 

It is my handwriting on her brows and also on the hype sticker, you can see my Ⓑ signature in the bottom right of the sticker 😀
 

 

[Roy 7,612]

Just now, Brendonshayart said:

Hey!!!! 
 

For the Frozen cover, Ricardo sent me the image to use and I did my scribbles on top, there were a fair few variations of the scribbles but M made the final choice when I presented the options to her! 
 

With FEL, M and I worked on a cover we really liked but Warner didn’t find it “iconic” enough. 
I took it upon myself to create another option for them, again using a photo taken by Ricardo, there was no art direction from M or her team, the FEL cover as it is today is my creation which has been used without any tweaking from their end. 
 

It is my handwriting on her brows and also on the hype sticker, you can see my Ⓑ signature in the bottom right of the sticker 😀
 

 

So there is indeed an initial cover for the standard version of FEL. That's amazing!

So glad that you and Madonna get to collab on her remix album and her Frozen cover. I can't imagine your excitement when she contacted you. :D

[Brendonshayart 239]

14 minutes ago, Fabiolous said:

Have you ever chatted/talked directly to Madonna throughout the whole process? Or only a Warner representative?

How did you get the gig? Just posted your art on Instagram and got lucky?

Yeah! Since October last year we have been in contact with each other.. she even wished me a happy birthday! 

M followed me on Insta last year after seeing a piece of my work, I gifted that piece to her and the rest is history I guess haha 

[Vogue Italia 387]

Congrats! That is a nice resume booster! How long have you been working as an artist? 

Has Madonna commissioned or purchased some of your artwork as a collector? If so which pieces?

I can see some of Jean-Michel Basquiat's influence in your work, we know Madonna dated him and has a deep appreciation for his work, Is that something you guys discussed? 

[Brendonshayart 239]

6 minutes ago, alvaroliam said:

How long was the process to create for her? Does she gave you a few ideas first? How was the feedback?

What does an artist needs to do in order to catch her attention? 😯

I love your work dude! Your album cover for FEL is my favorite one! (And sorry for so many questions 😅)

It took a few months from start to finish! 
On the initial design, she gave lots of direction. 
I gained her attention just by tagging her in my posts! 
Thanks so much ❤️‍🔥 

Like all of us, I cannot wait to see it in the flesh!!!!

[Brendonshayart 239]

1 minute ago, Vogue Italia said:

Congrats! That is a nice resume booster! How long have you been working as an artist? 

Has Madonna commissioned or purchased some of your artwork as a collector? If so which pieces?

I can see some of Jean-Michel Basquiat's influence in your work, we know Madonna dated him and has a deep appreciation for his work, Is that something you guys discussed? 

I’ve been an artist forever I guess,

but I would say for the last 5 years I have been trying to pursue art as a career. 
 

Madonna hasn’t commissioned or brought any of my art, though I did GIFT her two pieces that she liked. I will include a photo! 
 

JMB is one of my many muses, and yes, I have had the brief opportunity to speak of him with M. She loves him dearly. I think we will all see a lot more about their story in the movie. 
 

 

[Enrico 15,788]

17 minutes ago, Brendonshayart said:

With FEL, M and I worked on a cover we really liked but Warner didn’t find it “iconic” enough. 
I took it upon myself to create another option for them, again using a photo taken by Ricardo, there was no art direction from M or her team, the FEL cover as it is today is my creation which has been used without any tweaking from their end. 
 

Hi and welcome!

What do you think of the two FEL covers together? There's been a discussion here if they should be considered two separate projects. There actually is no relation with the two artworks. Was this intentional?

I know you might not be allowed to answer this, but are you also working on future releases? If you ever have any chance, please tell M that we pray for demos and unreleased tracks in the reissues  

[Karma 2,818]

Wow, first of all, congrats on this massive achievement 😍! Your work is now officially part of Madonna history. How does it feel to know that thousands of people will own a physical copy of your art? Are you allowed to share the original FEL cover?

And since I'm guessing you are a diehard fan like the rest of this forum, just out of curiosity 1. What's your favorite album / single cover from Madonna's career (besides FEL, of course!)? 2. What's your favorite song from FEL? 3. When did you become a fan?. Thank you and best of success in your future endeavors 😃.

[Brendonshayart 239]

10 minutes ago, Enrico said:

Hi and welcome!

What do you think of the two FEL covers together? There's been a discussion here if they should be considered two separate projects. There actually is no relation with the two artworks. Was this intentional?

I know you might not be allowed to answer this, but are you also working on future releases? If you ever have any chance, please tell M that we pray for demos and unreleased tracks in the reissues  

Hi!!! 
I’m not sure of Warners of Ms intention behind the two different covers… 

I agree with someone on here to the point of, it’s a marketing move, not many randoms/casual fans will buy the 3 cd or 6 Lp, the 16 track I only assume is a lot easier to digest for those people, and cheaper. Also I like how the 16 track has a red vibe too it, makes me think of it as You Can Dance 2, how cool would it be if FEL had of been a continuous mix like YCD?! 

The 50 track artwork is a lot more old school Madonna and its probably more representative of M’a whole career than mine. There’s still so many people out there that think of 80’s M when you bring up M. Maybe she thought more classic M imagery would be appreciated by collectors? 
 

I agree with those that find it very similar to Celebration, but I would say the same as above about that cover too! Haha 

No negative comments here! 

[Brendonshayart 239]

4 minutes ago, Karma said:

Wow, first of all, congrats on this massive achievement 😍! Your work is now officially part of Madonna history. How does it feel to know that thousands of people will own a physical copy of your art? Are you allowed to share the original FEL cover?

And since I'm guessing you are a diehard fan like the rest of this forum, just out of curiosity 1. What's your favorite album / single cover from Madonna's career (besides FEL, of course!)? 2. What's your favorite song from FEL? 3. When did you become a fan?. Thank you and best of success in your future endeavors 😃.

So cool that it’ll be in peoples hands all over the planet!!! 
 

Yeah! I’ve shared it before, I’ll post one of the early drafts of it here! 
 

Favourite album cover - Confessions 

Favourite single cover - Like a Prayer 

Favourite song from FEL - Frozen

 When did I become a fan? 
I’m 30, I’ve grown up hearing Madonna always. 
I was 5 when Frozen came out, I was mesmerised by that video as a child, I feel that was my first time seeing her. My uncle is gay and has been a big fan since Everybody, I have all of his memorabilia and records now, he taught me all about Madonna when I got a little older and at about 10 years old he lent me all her CDS to feast on.

 

[vesalii 1,285]

1 hour ago, Brendonshayart said:

Hey Guys! 
I created the FEL 16-track Album Art, Frozen feat. 070 Shake Cover and contributed my art to the Frozen on Fire Lyric Video…

Ask me anything!

Stumbled upon this forum a few weeks back and love reading EVERYONES opinion! 
 

 

 

can you share the back design?

[Brendonshayart 239]

19 minutes ago, vesalii said:

can you share the back design?

I only did the front! I’ve seen the back now in another thread on here!

[artlover 3,927]

Welcome aboard!! 

isn't it fantastic that even so far away from each other (I live in Brazil) we can get to chat with someone who worked so close with Madonna? I find that fascinating... 

If you do not mind me asking...

Is that the cover Warner labeled as not iconic enough? What were the comments and how did Madonna receive them?

[Scottyx 8,757]

 glad you got the gig but sorry the handwriting just ruins the cover for me. maybe something different next time. mind you I still ordered a pile of copies.

[Alpha 1,171]

I definitely prefer your design...simple and not overdone or gimmicky. Really like your aesthetic!

[nodoman 324]

2 hours ago, ScottyX said:

 glad you got the gig but sorry the handwriting just ruins the cover for me. maybe something different next time. mind you I still ordered a pile of copies.

that is their style, though. what you see is what you get.

 

6 hours ago, Brendonshayart said:

Hey Guys! 
I created the FEL 16-track Album Art, Frozen feat. 070 Shake Cover and contributed my art to the Frozen on Fire Lyric Video…

Ask me anything!

Stumbled upon this forum a few weeks back and love reading EVERYONES opinion! 
 

 

 

love your refreshing work! i wish you would have done the back cover for the 16-track release, plus the design for the upcoming release in august for a cohesive design language. the latter one feels cheap, sadly.

[Immaculate 363]

3 hours ago, ScottyX said:

 glad you got the gig but sorry the handwriting just ruins the cover for me. maybe something different next time. mind you I still ordered a pile of copies.

It's crazy because to me the handwriting makes it really cool and unique.

Congrats for your incredible work @Brendonshayart can't wait to have it in my M collection <3

[mouse 436]

8 hours ago, Brendonshayart said:

I took it upon myself to create another option for them, again using a photo taken by Ricardo, there was no art direction from M or her team, the FEL cover as it is today is my creation which has been used without any tweaking from their end. 
 

Thank you for taking the time to share all these infos here and congratulations for your work which I love.

My questions are : did you choose this photo of Ricardo ?
If yes, why ? Did you have the possibility to choose any period or necessarily a recent photo ?

[Blue Jean 15,124]

Hello Brendan!

Congratulations on what you have achieved!

I just wanted to say I love this design and I’m wondering if it or any of its variations were considered?

 

[thegoldencalf 12,573]

@Brendonshayart was this a fun project to work on? Was Madonna difficult in her requests or it went smoothly? 
Also you mentioned she gave lots of direction. Are you able to share the guidelines she offered? 
You posted on your instagram a mock-up of the boxset with a really cool design. Was that ever considered for the box art? 
And finally, did you choose the final cover photo or was that given to you?

[deathproof 10,555]

Welcome Brendon, you are very brave to come here!

Do you know if you’ll be tasked to work on anymore projects for this Warner partnership? Like for the re-releases?