Pearl Jam CCFA 2006 Benefit  Acer Arena - Sydney, AUS. Poster 18" x 24" signed and numbered 147/250 by artist Ward Sutton

"I wanted it to appeal broadly and be open to interpretation, but my motivation for the image was thinking of the Colitis my brother suffers from. It is like he is cursed within his body and it is a constant battle for him, and I wanted to depict that as a Devil emerging from the insides of the character in the poster. The character faces this with anger, but also determination and resolve - which to me is emblematic of the vibe in Pearl Jam's music. As I was working on the poster I also began thinking about the battle we all face with the demons inside ourselves and I think that theme can ring true with this image as well. Stylistically, I was inspired by the artist Jim Flora - a classic illustrator of children's books and album covers from the '40s and '50s. I'm often inspired from disparate sources and here I'm taking elements of his style and mashing them up with my own spin. I create all my type by hand and on projects like this that is especially fun. Coincidentally, the last project that I worked on in this style was the artwork I created for my brother's company, Sutton Music, so this is another thread connecting my poster design to my brother."

Ward Sutton 

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