“Corcoran-Eyes-d: A Padawan from Matawan”

I’ve been an admirer and collector of psychedelic poster artist Carl Alm’s art since I was a teenager.

The first piece I bought was his “Spun Out”. It used to hang on the wall of my teenage bedroom, but I lost that piece in a fire in 2003.

I am the proud owner of a copy of his “Jedi” piece. I love this piece because it shows the ongoing battle of the space soap opera between the light and dark forces.

Carl crafted the lettering in such a way that “Jedi” reads as both Jedi and Jesus. Along the sides it says, “The Grateful Dead plays, but only Jesus Saves.” I’m not quite sure what it says on the bottom…

I have this poster hanging on the wall of my study. Last night I cut out a picture of me playing bass and inserted it in the middle of the “Eyes of the World”. I like the way the original picture, courtesy of my friend Country Jerry’s wife Carol, had the feet cropped off perfectly so it fit in with the flowing water. I positioned my head so the crown is alignment with the symbolism of the cross.

Some of Carl’s more mind-blowing art can be found at “CarlAlmArt.com”.  He has two pieces he did that are companions to each other that are truly something to behold. One piece is based on Beatles songs and the other on Led Zeppelin songs. The kicker is how both of the pieces flow in and out of each other. On his site you can find links to his “spiel” on them that explains his creative thought processes that went into them.

What I admire most about Carl’s work, besides the heart that goes into them, is the details. They are best viewed in person with the 3-D glasses he sells whether on his site or in person where he sells his art at Grateful Dead and extended Dead family related rock and roll concerts.