But the easiest way for me is to say they’re narrative paintings that tell stories about the human condition. I guess we always want to put people and their work in boxes. How would you describe your style to someone who is now becoming familiar with your work? Why do you think Tyler resonated with it? It’s always difficult to talk about work. I’ve heard so many stories of artists being commissioned by record labels to make art for rappers, but I feel like it definitely means something different when the artist reaches out to you. Now, after seeing that “Lumberjack” video and all these other visuals he’s been rolling out, I’m really impressed that he was able to communicate his vision to me without actually showing me any of that. There were no real specifics he gave me other than this rough sketch. After talking a bit about what he was looking for, we FaceTimed so I could get more info about what he really wanted. But if he wanted to commission something, I was definitely up for it. He asked if I worked on commissions and I told him I did but didn’t get them that often. What was that initial DM like? He was like ‘Hey, I love your work.’ and I said that was a nice surprise. When an artist of his stature recognizes your work, it’s an exciting thing. I checked to make sure that it was really his account and it was. When I got that DM from him, it was like a pinch yourself situation. How did you feel about getting a DM from him on Instagram? Were you a fan of his work already? Yeah, I’m definitely a fan of his stuff. It was interesting to learn that Tyler, The Creator reached out to you himself. We spoke to Ferrand about his experience working with Tyler, The Creator, his artistic influences, how he started painting, and what his plans are for the future. passport inside an empty airport, or the sense of adventure he captures for Tyler’s newest album. Whether that’s the uncertainty an immigrant family feels while clinging on to an U.S. Ferrand’s work viscerally captures the human experience through narrative paintings that can conjure up stories filled with emotions with just one glance.

A self-taught painter, Ferrand originally graduated with a degree in film from the Virginia Commonwealth University in 1997 and began painting in the early 2000s. Observant fans may have recognized that when Tyler shared the album art on Instagram for Call Me If You Get Lost, he also shared an alternative album cover painted by Ferrand. Gregory Ferrand is a Washington D.C.-based painter who is the latest artist to receive a much-coveted cosign from Tyler, the Creator. And for his Grammy award winning album Igor, Tyler also tapped into Lewis Rossignol for a grittier album cover that was later released as a special vinyl. Whereas the dreamy cover art for Flower Boy was originally an oil painting by the artist Eric White. For example, when T dropped Wolf, the deluxe edition featured special art made by the pop surrealist painter Mark Ryden.

Many of these covers feature the work of Tyler’s favorite artists. Ever since Tyler, the Creator dropped his debut studio album Goblin in 2011, the Los Angeles-based rapper has been a fan of dropping alternate album covers.

Call me if you get lost metacritic