Cameron McGill — The Widow Cameron

Cameron McGill released a new full-length album, “The Widow Cameron,” on all digital streaming platforms in October 2022. The 2023 physical vinyl released in April 2023. Cameron entrusted me in January 2022 to lead creative direction, including dressing up both the digital and physical releases, as well as promotional videos for individual song-lyric visualizers from the album: “Horse Race”, “Somebody’s Talking” and “Attention”.

I enlisted my son, Otis, to assist with a majority of the organic media/fine art work production assets needed to present to Cameron. Painting and illustration by the boy, and design direction on my end. The process was creatively removed from critical expectations that we (adults) often put on ourselves to impress. Otis’s innocent abstract color paintings influenced one design idea feeding into the next, eventually leading to what became the album’s release; with its branding and design providing a template for pre-release singles and videos. Childlike, chaotic, colorful and open-ended— which is how I wanted to approach Cameron’s first album release in nearly a decade.

The last album release being 2013’s “Gallows Etiquette” that we collaborated on. Many life changes occurred for both of us over that time. For one, in ’13, I took on a ‘regular’ job leaving behind a decade of working for myself as an artist/creative director on contract campaigns, got married in ’14. and became a parent in 2015. Creating in the manner I had been previously—manic and sleepless, but extremely productive—came to a hard pause, personal creative goals and domestic hibernation ensued.

Cam’, after having released 6 albums, left Chicago in 2015 and put himself back through grad school to teach university level creative writing in the great northwest, Washington State University— and also becoming a published poet along the way since. What remains consistent for each of us on our paths is a passion for the arts and trusting the collaborative process we’ve nurtured during the past 15 years wherever we end up. Enjoy a sliver of this recent collaboration between Cameron, Otis and myself below.