[Deathwatch] Alton Kelley, psychedelic artist, 67

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Alton Kelley, psychedelic artist, dies
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/03/kelley.obit.ap/index.html

PETALUMA, California (AP) -- Alton Kelley, an artist who helped create
the psychedelic style of posters and other art associated with the
1960s San Francisco rock scene, has died. He was 67.

 Kelley died Sunday of complications from osteoporosis in his Petaluma
home, according to his publicist, Jennifer Gross.

Kelley and his lifelong collaborator, Stanley "Mouse" Miller, churned
out iconic work from their studio, a converted firehouse where Janis
Joplin first rehearsed with Big Brother and the Holding Company.

The pair created dozens of classic rock posters, including the famous
Grateful Dead "skull and roses" poster designed for a show at the
Avalon Ballroom, as well as posters and album covers for Journey, Steve
Miller, Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles.

Kelley and Miller's work influenced other well-known names in the genre
such as Rick Griffin, who moved to San Francisco in 1966 after seeing
their psychedelic posters and soon started producing his own.

For inspiration, the pair scrutinized old etchings and photos, took in
the youth culture of the time and dug through public libraries, often
breaking out into laughter until they were asked to leave by the
librarian, Miller recalled.

"We were just having fun making posters," Miller told the San Francisco
Chronicle. "There was no time to think about what we were doing. It was
a furious time, but I think most great art is created in a furious
moment."

Born on June 17, 1940, Kelley met Miller in 1965, at the epicenter of
the hippie movement -- San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district -- and
soon recognized their ability to work together, in their words "riffing
off each other's giggle."

In recent years, Kelley's artwork focused on paintings of hot rods and
custom cars, which were sold as fine art and printed on T-shirts.

He is survived by his wife Marguerite Trousdale Kelley; their children
Patty, Yosarian and China; his mother, his sister and two
grandchildren.

Many thanks to TheLenGuy for posting this obituary