Andy Lund is an stellar guitarist and songwriter hailing from San Diego. This is my interpretation of his new song,
The Lone Mallard Ballad. This whimsical tune (with a
Penny Lane vibe) is written from the perspective of an envious duck who floats on a Dutch canal, dreaming about riding a bicycle like the folks above him. The drawing appears in a songbook which accompanies
Andy's new CD, Small World.
This project was designed and art directed by one of my oldest friends,
Graham Smith (who also happens to be a master illustrator ). When he asked me to interpret a song, I chose this one because it paints a picture involving two my favorite subjects, animals and geography. My recent drawings have been portraits of wildlife (whales, elephants, peacocks, owls, and more), so it felt natural to include a mallard in the mix. Since I'm also obsessed with cartography, it made sense to utilize a map of Dutch canals as a canvas. Below are a few of the ideas I sketched out for this assignment:
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| Duck floats on water, envious of bikers on bridge. |
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| Duck rides on bike of his construction... |
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| Duck steers bike across bridge... |
Andy's album has been on heavy rotation ever since I received my copy. It's whimsical storytelling paints lovely scenes in my mind. Along with Graham's stunning drawings, the songbook includes artwork by some superb talents ( including two other great friends dating back to my days at Parsons School of Design, David Gordon and Andrea Cobb). I'm thrilled to have been included in this collaboration!
