Several years ago I was in New York, poking around the streets of SoHo and enjoying myself (I love the city!).  I wandered into an art gallery and was immediately drawn to the work of one artist in particular.  His work was whimsical and child-like, but struck me as very bright and clever. 

I struck up a conversation with a gallery owner about the paintings.  I was told that the artist was a man named Boris Kulikov, a Russian-born artist whose own father was a noted painter (if I remember correctly).  I ended up buying three of Boris's paintings, which now hang proudly around my living room.

Fast forward a few years to the time I was finishing the recording of my record.  The time had come for me to select album artwork.  I googled Boris's name and found his website.  I read his biography on his site and realized that in the interim, he had enjoyed some much-deserved success and recognition.  He had moved from Russia to Brooklyn, and had become a noted illustrator for numerous publications, including the New York Times.  He also had become a sought-after illustrator of children's books.  Put his name in a search engine of Amazon or Barnes and Noble, and you will see some of his amazing work.

Anyway, I contacted Boris to see if he would be interested in creating artwork for my record.  As it turns out, he is really a sweet person, and I feel really lucky to get to work with him.  I think the image of a man cutting off his own wings makes for a perfect album cover-- whimsical and simple, yet a little bit disturbing.  It's definitely a picture that stays with you. 

The artwork on the back of the record depicts a woman looking to the sky as feathers rain down around her.  But something else has happened...the clouds in the sky have also fallen to the ground.  I think that's the kind of clever, unexpected twist that makes his children's illustrations so wonderful.

I'm proud to have Boris be associated with my album!