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07/23/2020 12:01 AMThe new solo album from Joe Bouchard, a founding member and bass player from the rock band Blue Oyster Cult, will have a unique Clinton connection: Local artist Logan Cummings designed the album cover and thumbnail illustrations.
Bouchard and Blue Oyster Cult had a string of successful albums and are best known for their smash hit “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper.” Since leaving the band in 1986, Bouchard has released five solo albums and his sixth album Strange Legends, will be available for purchase on his website on Friday, July 31.
Bouchard now resides in Killingworth with his partner Joan Levy Hepburn, who has taught art classes in the area for several years. One of her students over that time has been Logan Cummings, a recent graduate of The Morgan School who will be studying art at UConn in the fall. Bouchard had been impressed with Cummings’s art and decided to ask him to be the artist for the artwork on the album.
“I noticed his talent about two years ago when he started posting his drawings and sketches on Instagram. His style was usually a juxtaposition of surreal styles on modern themes. I could see right away that he looked different from most student drawings,” Bouchard says. “He worked on a huge oil painting and rose to the occasion even thought he’d never worked with oil paints before.”
“I was really excited to hear that Joe needed my help. He mentioned wanting to work with me a few years ago after he put out his album Playin’ History,” Cummings says. “I had just recently started learning Photoshop and some concepts of graphic design, so I told him that if he needed me for any future projects, I’d be happy to help.”
The conversation hadn’t ended.
“When he asked me about making drawings for the album’s single, I was excited to take on the project. Album artwork really helps in setting the final product’s atmosphere, so to be in a position where I can create a mood and feeling to the record in the form of visual art was a really special feeling,” Cummings says.
Bouchard worked on the album for about two years and in October 2019 he approached Cummings about doing the artwork. Cummings started working on the art around the new year and completed most of it around April. Cummings says each individual piece took around two to four hours to complete and he is at press time still finishing up some final pieces.
For inspiration on what to draw, Cummings said “I listened to the songs and just worked with some concepts based on the mood of the music or some imagery I found in the lyrics. For some of them, such as ‘Walk of Fame’ and ‘The African Queen,’ Joe gave me some ideas to work with so I didn’t have to do all the thinking.
“I’m really happy with the artwork for ‘Winter.’ I think it’s visually appealing and captivating, and it really fits with the vibe of the song,” Cummings says. “The artworks for ‘Forget About Love’ and ‘Strangely in Love’ are also up on my list because I really like the concepts and the final look.”
Bouchard also said if forced to pick one he’d say Strangely in Love is his favorite piece of artwork on the album.
In addition to his work on the album, Cummings has already gained recognition locally and beyond for his art.
“I’ve already done two murals one at school, one on Glenwood Road, run an in-school T-shirt business, The Morgan Merchbar, and since November 2019, I’ve been designing for a novelty and streetwear brand, which has gained a following of over 20,000 on Instagram already,” Cummings says.
Cummings says he’s excited to see what kind of doors this project and others will open for him in the future.
“I’m planning on focusing on graphic design and communications in school, and I also want to look into marketing and Spanish. I expect all of those areas to help me in crafting my ideal future, so I’m looking forward to learning as much as I can about these interests.”
For more information on Cummings’s art, visit @log.artwork on Instagram; for more on Bouchard, visit JoeBouchard.com.