An Interview With The Lovely Carson Ellis

If you take some soldiers away from the camp and the canteen, and try to speak to them of books or of art, they simply sit and stare at you. A few officers like myself, however, have cultivated an appreciation for those who take pen to paper and brush to canvas. On several occasions I have spoken of one such artist whose works I greatly admire -- the lovely Carson Ellis, whose intricate works adorn the many wonderful records released by the Decemberists. You may understand, then, when I tell you the glow of pride it gave me to be taken into her confidence and allowed to ask her the following questions, which she has so graciously and thoughtfully answered:

Aside from the Decemberists, for whom would you most like to design a record cover?

I'd kill to design the album art for a reissue of "It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best" by Karen Dalton.

What are your favourite record covers designed by others?

I think a lot of the illustrated album covers from the 50s are really neat. I like Jim Flora, especially this Louis Armstrong one. And I love this "Peter and the Wolf/Nutcracker" cover. And this one that my friend Chad made for a Bjork tribute record. I like the photo for "Ease Down the Road" by Bonnie Prince Billy.  And I've always (kind of inexplicably) loved the cover for "Houses of the Holy".

Do you have any plans to have an exhibit of your work in New York?

Not right now.  I've been in a couple of group shows there but I spend so much of my time doing illustration work that that I don't get around to making much art to exhibit.  I'd like to sometime though.  My family lives in New York and I think it'd make my grandma's year if I had an opening there, no matter how divey the place.  She's sweet like that.  

Who are some of your favourite artists/designers?

Ben Shahn, Arthur Rackham, Aubrey Beardsly, Pauline Baynes who illustrated the Narnia Chronicles.  I think Socialist Realism in the Soviet Union from the 20s all the way through the 90s is the greatest movement in painting ever, especially in the 20s and 30s: Aleksandr A. Deineka, Yuri I. Pimenov, Ekaterina S. Zernova.  I love a lot of Russian art - icons and the 19th century stuff.  Mikhail Nesterov's amazing.  And this painting by Jules Bastien-Lepage of Joan of Arc kills me.

What is your favourite Decemberists' song?

I have lots:  I was Meant For The Stage, The Gymnast, Red Right Ankle, The Infanta, The Kingdom Of Spain, The Bandit Queen, The Tain, Los Angeles, I'm Yours....