Rory Campbell

It has been almost a month since rorycampbell.me was updated. I am so SORRY.
If it makes you feel any better, I've been working on some pretty cool stuff. That stuff includes the first finished painting of my life (see below).I worked on this painting over the course of a week or so. If you don't recognize it, the painting depicts my parents and I posing in front of the bull at the New York Stock Exchange.
Painting is something I've always wanted to learn, but never took the time to. My experience with drawing has definitely helped me ramp up into the foundations of the medium. But, even so, learning to translate monotone drawings to a colored composition is not easy!
If you are like me, learning new things like this is very exciting! And, if you are even more like me, you also get a little dejected when climbing that mountain of experience. No reason to worry, though! With the power of my inpervious spirit, my skills will be honed.

So I've been workin on some stuff! It's exciting, engaging, continuous, and yet to be revealed. In the meantime, I have this cute little garment I've come up with in Illustrator over the past few days.
I found that the structure of this shirt was similar to the vestments you'd see a priest wearing; and, to be honest, I think I am okay with that! Those of you who followed me about a year ago will probably notice some similarities to the star-C apparel prototype. If not, go do some homework!

I promise there will be more Rory originals posted soon, just bear with me while work wraps up. Merry Christmas and all of that, I love you guys!

I know, there hasn't been much output from me this holiday season. At least, not on the website. Production is not stopping, DON'T WORRY. The last week or so, I have actually been trying to develop this idea of a mock sports brand, Sport Co.
Sport Co. was never 'created'. It has never endorsed an athlete or pushed a major ad campaign. Instead, I like to think of Sport Co. as an embodiment of the concept of sports.
While designing the t-shirt graphic, I tried to center everything around the core characteristics of what I recognize as sports.
The block lettering doesn't require much explanation; below it, however, are some things that probably do. That big, blank, rounded rectangle may not be something you'd see on an ordinary uniform. Instead, it's something you're more likely to see in a weight room or practice field.Maybe I could tell you that I left it blank because it represents the indomitable spirit of human competition. That putting a label on that spirit would be mortifying to me. In reality, I enjoy how it looks being blank.
Now, the NUMBERS! These were what started the whole design process. I wanted to make a shirt with digital characters because:
1. They look neat.
2. They carry two meanings to me
The first is the obvious. Numbers are the biggest characteristic of sports uniforms. As children (and adults), we identify numbers with our biggest heroes. They act like the logo for your favorite superhero!
Also, by making them in the style of digital characters, they represent what both our favorite players and ourselves are constantly fighting against. TIME.
From practicing a buzzer beater in the driveway, to working on a deadline, we will never escape the concept of a countdown. I was hoping that incorporating that 01 into the design could help keep a reminder to myself, that I am always working on a shot clock. And, if I play my cards right, I can be the game winner.

Another Tealsky promo; and this time, they actually posted it! That is not a knock on the wonderful members of Tealsky. It is actually a call for celebration! Between a full time job of my own, learning to paint, and trying to make new art every week, finding time to be still and celebrate a win is not to be taken for granted.
Work is fun! Work is hard. Work is rewarding! Work, when its something you love, is one of the greatest things life has to offer. I have noticed, unfortunately, that the greatest things we have are especially taxing on our spirit.
Everyone wants to be fulfilled. To end their day with a sense of accomplishment or satisfaction with themselves. But standing right between us and that joy is a sort of void.
The void is all that we don't know. The things we are trying to see for ourselves, but aren't quite sure where to find.
And so, our roles as individuals come in. We accept that there is no person on this planet that can point us directly to our aspirations. We must walk into the unknown, using our faith to guide us towards what we know is possible.

Listen to Red Eyes by Tealsky, it's out now on all major streaming platforms

I've been thinking about grids lately. More specifically, I have been thinking about how they are everywhere.

We live in space, right? Without constraints, space would be undefined. Great! We understand what a dimension is.

This isn't about calculus. What I am really interested in is how that concept translates to our lives PRACTICALLY. If you are in a building right now, you are inside a grid. If you are outside right now, you are still in a grid!

Hehe...but for real.
A constraint can be something helpful, like sleeping 8 hours, or watching what you say around a narcisist!
They can also be bad, like when we lose confidence in ourselves.
Grids are INESCAPABLE, and that's a good thing (as long as you know you are in one).

I guess you could call me a 'creative director'. Actually, not yet. As of right now, this promo cover has not been used. But that is not to say it won't happen!

Tealsky is a promising band whose drummer is a close friend of mine. Whether its publicized or not, I could never pass up a creative opportunity.

If you are reading this, I have good ideas! Look at them, and if you think the same, let me know. I am always looking for a chance to make something.

Some time has passed, I know. But fret not! I can assure you that there is an abundance of new ideas still at my disposal.

It is one of these new ideas that has taken me away from the blog for the week (as well as a Bladee concert).

As you could see, there is a lot left to be imagined. What you CAN imagine, I hope, is a typeface that demonstrates clarity.

In other news, I recently revisited photoshop to play around with some pictures I took at a sculpture garden.

Miu Miu is, unsurprisingly, making me very happy with the trends they are starting. It seems like it was only yesterday when we were (tastefully) flaunting Nike Elite socks, complimented with a pair of Sperrys.

The boots are not a direct rip of the topsider sillouhette. At least, I hope. Their real inspiration is derived from the mocassin-like seams that run across the front of the shoe, as well as the large flappy upper. To give them a little ruggedness, I also added a thicker sole.

I would like to think that the owners of these boots could be found in a variety of places. Maybe a sailing adventure, a walk in the park, trip to the grocery store, hike in the mountains? Honestly, any environment will do, the only thing I really want to come from this concept is more concepts.

There is still a lot of empty wall space in my apartment. As of right now, the vibe is lighter wood accents, muted blue fabrics, and mid-century forms.

A lot of the inspiration, besides some basic sillouhettes from the Internet, came from this Marc Jacobs storefront I passed on the way to the movies last week.

Steve Lacy is coming back. At least according to him.

I have a feeling that Steve is going to do some DESPICABLE things. He has shown from the time he got popular that he is a versatile musician. Everyone loves his guitar skills, but the drums he puts on his tracks are equally exceptional. Seriously, listen to his outro on Apollo XXI (link on Michael).

William Shakespeare was well aware that The Tempest was the last work in his career. His play is a story of forgiveness. More specifically, choosing to forgive. Prospero, the main character, is the former Duke of Milan...and an advanced sorcerer. After being overthrown by his brother, Antonio, he is exiled to a remote island with his daughter, Miranda.

Over the years, he has raised Miranda and enlisted the help of a magical spirit named Ariel, who seems to be a woman but is actually a dude. That is, if spirits even have a gender? Anyways, Prospero finds an opportunity to detour Antonio and his entourage to the island. That's not exactly accurate, he wrecks their ship and crashes it ashore.

One could imagine that Prospero is looking to inflict maximum pain on his bro. After all, he has been alone on this island with a teenage girl and non-binary spirit for over a decade. That's not what happens though! The five acts of the play progress like a Tarantino film, tracking the storylines of the ships inhabitants until they all converge at Prospero's crib at the end.

In each group's journey to Prospero's, we can see that most of these people are not the best. There is an assassination attempt, a drunken butler, a deformed slave, and VERY spontaneous marriage proposal. Prospero, with his magical wizard powers, watches this all unfold, and, despite all of that, he forgives them all. Before Shakespeare checks into the retirement home, he leaves us with this beautiful reflection through the eyes of the main character:

" Now my charms are all o’erthrown,
And what strength I have’s mine own,
Which is most faint. Now, ’tis true
I must be here confined by you,
Or sent to Naples. Let me not,
Since I have my dukedom got
And pardoned the deceiver, dwell
In this bare island by your spell;
But release me from my bands
With the help of your good hands.
Gentle breath of yours my sails
Must fill, or else my project fails,
Which was to please. Now I want
Spirits to enforce, art to enchant;
And my ending is despair,
Unless I be relieved by prayer,
Which pierces so that it assaults
Mercy itself, and frees all faults.

As you from crimes would pardoned be,
Let your indulgence set me free."

What would happen if we woke up and decided to forgive EVERYONE? Prospero must have imagined obliterating his brother and his crew. It would be easy. And, I will be the first to admit, rage bait Twitter threads have a special place in my heart. But, what do we gain when we fuel ourselves with contempt? You would think that we gain nothing. Unfortunately, it's much worse than that. All of that hatred comes back to us. Our world is self-centric, the negative feelings we project onto others are the same ones we feel from ourselves.

This is not to say that we should let ourselves be doormats to all of the bullies of the world. What I do think, however, is that we should be mindful of the reasons we want to project our anger.
In the story, Prospero could have chose to kill everyone before they even reached the island. We know that's not how he operates though! In fact, the choice to let them onto the island is what gives the entourage an opportunity to see from Prospero's perspective. It's beautiful!

Basically, start being more understanding, it helps.