...
In
the late summer of 1999, David Frain met Mary Beth Jarvis (Kevin's
Mom !)
in
an on-line discussion of progressive music. Having expressed interest in
a
particular
style of prog, she mentioned that her son was in a band of similar influence,
and
so she put David in touch with Kevin and Rick. At the time, David was actually
looking
for musicians to augment a tech-fi/fantasy video concept which he was scheming.
As
it turned out, the proposal bounced back to him as:
"How
would you like to do some cover art?"
Kevin
and David arranged to meet at a YES show in October of 1999 in Myrtle
Beach
where,
after the show, they broke out David's portfolio of pen/ink drawings on
the tailgate
of
his old pick-up truck. At the time, Farpoint was developing a theme which
would later
become
the core repertoire of "Grace". Although never hearing a single note
of Farpoint's music,
David
went to work on a few visual interperetations of themes derived from the
tiltes of "Grace".
...
Acsending,
descending, and cyclical elements seen here were inspired by the song titles
"Into
The Night", "Into The Light", "Sunset", "Dawn", "Yesterday", and "Nevermore".
The
double-helix connecting Heaven and Earth was inspired by "H2Origins".
As
things go, the band postponed "Grace" and began work on "First Light".
Around
this time, David surrendered to embracing computer-generated imagery
and
Farpoint had adjusted their desire for him to illustrate something
more along the lines of
David's
earlier pen & ink work, "Alignment After Twilight".
...
The
illustrations for "Grace" had already been in the works for two years by
the time
that
Farpoint's second CD was ready to print and David will tell you honestly
about how
he
cringes when he looks back on those early versions. Thanks to some consructive
collaboration
with
Kevin, David was able to hammer out a newer computer-generated version.
Like
sine waves 180 degrees out of phase, Farpoint went back into their studio
writing and recording
their
next album while David went back to his studio expanding his newly found
knack for animation.
Never
out of touch for very long, Kevin wired David with titles from the new
project.
These
are variations on what would become the final cover art for "From Dreaming
To Dreaming".
....
...
...
The
expansive chasm was visualized as a result of David's "From (here) To (there)"
reaction.
The
bridge was his vision of the symbolism of the Christian holiday, Good Friday.
The
atmosphere was inspired by the title, "Autumn Sky".
The
figure sailing through the sky actually began as a pen/ink creation "Cruise
Control" in 1996.
Visions
of the traveller were inspired once again by Farpoint's title, "Ashley's
Song (Sail On)".
Farpoint's
"From Dreaming To Dreaming" is bracketed by two very immersive pieces:
"Lux
Universum I" and "II". Both were instant visual stimulants for David.
Farpoint
gave him permission to use the music for his movie, "Light Speed Dreaming",
Inspired
by Farpoint's contributions, the movie is also bracketed by these two songs.
In
December of 2006, Farrpoint created a nine-plus minute special edition
just for the movie,
including
brand new vocals featuring Jennifer Meeks.
Farpoint's
newest album, with a working title of "Cold Star - Quiet Star", is in the
works
and
so is its illustration with a comprehensive layout and an ambitious new
look.
Although
what you see here are not the final images for the album, they are part
of its evolution.
The
"arena" was developed simultaneously as part of a new web-site theme and
as an advetisement
in
a progressive music publication. The idea was partly carried over from
one of David's earlier ideas,
a
work in pen/ink called "Nectar" from 1996. Experimental versions of the
final art are what you see
in
the backgrounds of this web-site.
...
...
Like
explorers on parallel paths, Farpoint and Frain are cutting a swath of
positive artistic progress.
David
never likes to feel like Farpoint's artist-for-hire, rather, just a humble contributor.