Saturday, May 11, 2019

Artist of thew day, May 11-12: Hugh Syme, Canadian graphic artist

Hugh Syme is a Canadian Juno Award-winning graphic artist and member of the Premier Artists Collection (PAC) who is best known for his artwork and cover concepts for rock and metal bands.

Hugh’s art education came from the Toronto New School of Art in Toronto and York University in York, England. He is also a musician and has appeared on some Rush songs as a keyboard player. Syme is notably responsible for all of Rush's album cover art since 1975's Caress of Steel as well as creating Rush's famous Starman logo. In 1983 he told Jeffrey Morgan that he never imagined the band would use it as their main logo.

His client base includes major record companies like Geffen Records, EMI Records, Mercury Records, RCA Records, Capitol Records, Sony Music, Atlantic Records, Warner Bros. Records and A&M Records.

Iron Maiden fans remember him best as the designer of The X Factor cover, which shows the band's mascot Eddie dissected. It is remembered for its gritty realism. Whereas all previous Maiden albums were oil paintings, the X Factor Eddie was a puppet with some digital touch-ups to enhance its look. In some countries the cover was considered so gruesome that a less gory alternative was offered (the alternative cover is actually the back of the original CD booklet).

Def Leppard's Retro Active album cover, which he co-designed with Nels Israelson, shows a lady sitting at a dressing table, looking in a mirror. From another perspective, it takes the form of a skull (a type of vanitas art), the woman's head forming the left eye socket, and her reflected head in the mirror forming the right eye socket. The mirror itself forms the shape of the skull and the accessories on the dressing table form the nose, nostrils and teeth. It was inspired by Charles Allan Gilbert's most famous work, All Is Vanity (1892).

Other bands Syme has done artwork for include: Megadeth, Saga, Styx, Altered State, Fates Warning, Whitesnake, Queensrÿche, Aerosmith, and Dream Theater.

© 2019. All images are copyrighted © by Hugh Syme. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only.


Alice Cooper, Fistful Of Alice, Album cover

Arena The Visitor, Album cover

 Built By Stereo, Album cover

 Carrie Newcomer, Before & After, Album cover

Carrie Newcomer, Kindred Spirits, Album cover

 Def Leppard, Retroactive, Album cover

 Dream Theater, Cove, Album cover

 Dream Theater, In The Presence Of Enemies, Album cover

 Dream Theater, Octavarium, Album cover

 Dream Theater, Special Edition, Album cover

 Dream Theater, The Looking Glass, Album cover

 Extol, Album cover

Flying Colors, Album cover

 Flying Colors, The real, Album cover

 Krista Detor, Mudshow, Album cover

 Megadeth, Cryptic Writings (original)  Album cover

 Megadeth, Youthanasia, Album cover

Peter Frampton, Thank you Mr. Churchill, Album cover

Queensrÿche, American Soldier, Album cover

Rush, A Farewell To Kings, Album cover

Rush, A Farewell To Kings Closer To The Heart, Album cover

Rush, Counterparts, Album cover

Rush, Hemispheres 40th Anniversary, Album cover

Rush, Moving Pictures, Album cover

Rush, Roll The Bones, Album cover

Rush, Snakes & Arrows, Album cover

Rush, Snakes & Arrows Workin' Them Angels, Album cover

Rush, Test For Echo, Album cover

Rush, Live Exit Stage Left, Album cover

Steve Koven, The Sound Of Songs, Album cover

Stone Sour, Album cover

Supertramp, Some Things Never Change, Album cover

Tiles Window Dressing, Album cover

Amstel Brewery It's Happy Hour ... Somewhere, ad

Coca Cola Old Friends, ad

Jimmy Choo New Collection 2014, ad

Permeable Life Spectator, ad

Sudler & Hennessey Galderma - Vitamin D, ad

Woolmark, As Pure As It Gets, ad

Dallas Magazine, Great Places To Live, editorial art

FaceBook, Blah, blah, blah, editorial art

Inukshuk In His Likeness, editorial art

Jack Salem Toy Company Est. June 12, 1952, editorial art

 Mahjong The Sleeping Giant Wakes, editorial art

Special Delivery OB-G Fleet, editorial art

Specimen Somewhere in Indiana, editorial art

Stormwatch Solid Air, editorial art

Tricycle Stampede, editorial art

Up The Creek Imperishable, editorial art

WTF Live Watch Weatherman editorial art

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