Ed Unitsky - A Powerful Story Teller through Digital Art

There are many different ways to tell a story. Words, music, photos, video and artwork—just to name a few. And I have been fortunate to have worked in most of these realms and met and collaborated with many brilliant artists.

Today I want to spotlight one very special story teller, an award winning International visual digital artist, named Ed Unitsky. I have worked alongside this mastermind and even have the honour of being part of one of his fantastic designs (see above) done for an Alex Grata music project, Voices of Babylon, for which I have written a number of lyrics.

I first met Ed, who sees himself as ‘a citizen of the world’ not limited by borders of time, space and languages, through a number of progressive rock musicians I worked with such as Mandalaband, Last Knight, Alex Grata and United Progressive Fraternity. Ed has created their artwork and infused his talent on their album covers and videos. In fact, he has worked for many top prog rock bands including the Flower Kings and Unitopia and created quite an impressive number of cover art pieces—well over 150!

Ed is known for his very complex captivating surrealistic art as he takes you on a journey through the realm of fantasy where you will experience mesmerising stories within stories. You will see very unusual images such as fish fins and scales on a van! But every image he creates for album covers will clearly and creatively represent the project’s core concepts.

How important is the cover art? Very! The look of an album is as important as the cover on a book. I am personally drawn to an intriguing cover. It lures me in to take a look inside. Many novels have made their way off the shelves into my hands when the images captured my attention. Ed’s artwork does the same with music CDs. He tells a story that corresponds with or compliments the music.

For those wanting to read more about Ed Unitsky’s art, follow this link to a comprehensive interview: Ed Unitsky on Prog in Arts and the Vibes of Music. Also, a great video by Kracked Earth - The Promise (from Splash CD) with artwork and video mix by Ed Unitsky. This song has a Celtic prog rock flare and also features my favourite piper and whistle player-friend, Troy Donockley, from my Iona collaboration days.

Ed continues to inspire those who have come to know and respect his talent. He is a very down-to-earth guy but has an out-of-this world vivid imagination.

This is a lovely tribute video to his art by ‘Quasar’ music.