Farewell Tom Pogson, painter best known for his Armed Forces cover
++ Armed Forces front cover from the 2020 box set reissue ++
Sad to note the death last month at the age of 69 of the intriguing artist Tim (sometimes Tom) Pogson, whose work notably included the incredible pastiche of the popular wildlife painter David Shepherd for the front cover of Elvis Costello & The Attractions’ 1979 album Armed Forces.
++ Pogson’s painting at the centre of the sleeve’s exterior fold-out ++
Pogson was commissioned by the album sleeve art director and designer Barney Bubbles; they had previously collaborated on the dummy of a project called Smouldering Static, which presented Pogson’s airbrushed depictions of alien life forms and mutant domestic pets. Here are some of the book’s layouts they worked on together.
++ @ Tim Pogson. No reproduction without permission ++
Though this never reached publication, when Bubbles and Jake Riviera conceived of a comforting/unsettling suburban image for the front of Armed Forces’ kaleidoscopic and multi-fold sleeve, he knew that Pogson was capable of realising the idea.
++ @ Tim Pogson. No reproduction without permission ++
++ @ Tim Pogson. No reproduction without permission ++
‘Barney told me exactly what he wanted,’ said Pogson. ‘Although he could have done it himself, he was into intricate graphics at the time. I also painted a pastiche of The Green Lady (Vladimir Tretchikoff’s 1950 Chinese Girl) to appear elsewhere on the sleeve, but that wasn’t used.’
++ @ Tim Pogson. No reproduction without permission ++
++ @ Tim Pogson. No reproduction without permission ++
It was Pogson’s understanding that his Armed Forces image was to be printed in 3D; while this didn’t occur his painting remains the key contribution to an extraordinary visual package.
