ILLUSTRATION
> SKATEBOARDS
Another very fun yearly show that the Swell Artist Collective put on was called Art Deck-o, each artist was given a raw skateboard deck for them to turn into original pieces of art. The show was then held at the Visual Arts Collective for one night as a silent auction. I was lucky enough to paint three pieces for the years 2018, 2019 and then the 2020 show was canceled due to Covid. I still have my final piece and I happily have it hung in my studio.
2018 - Just Keep Fighting
I have been a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan since high school when my best friend and I would argue who was better, Spike or Angel. (Spike is definitely my problematic fav). At this time I was listening to the rewatch podcast Buffering the Vampire Slayer and one of Jenny Owen-Younges accompanying songs “Just Keep Fighting” really hit me hard. She wrote it right after the Trump election as a call to all their listeners (a large portion of whom are LGBTQIA+) to not lose faith and to keep fighting for each other and the rights of all humans. This is a piece I made with the passion that song stirs up in me.
2019 - Spiderman into the Skaterverse
I was OBSESSED with the new Spiderman into the Spiderverse movie and this skate deck was my way of staying within that movie a bit longer. I loved the amazing comic book style they created. I loved the colors that filled every inch of the screen, I loved the music. It was honestly all I could think about and talk about for months after having seen it. I wanted to be apart of the crew who made it so I could learn how they did it and I wanted to make comic books that would give others the same feelings I felt when watching that movie.
2020 - Toilet Paper Zombie
Based on a sketch I did in my sketchbook in March of 2020. What a topsy-turvy time that was to be alive. Nothing was on the shelves in the stores. People were so nervous to be near anyone and the streets seemed so quiet as everyone stayed inside hoping this unknown Covid Virus would pass in a few weeks. You could say my frustration at those people hoarding supplies came to a head in this piece.
This skate deck was fully intended to be sold at the silent auction, but the event was canceled and that year saw the end of the Artist Collective. Happily I was able to hang on to this piece as I really did describe a certain moment in time for me and I love how I was able to capture it in this painting.
Bonus Deck! Croki 2021
After the Marvel Series, Loki came out in the summer of 2021, I really wanted to put together a Loki Variant costume for halloween that year. In that process I decided my variant would be a skateboarder and thus the Croki skateboard came to life. I had a spare skate deck from my friend Noble who ran the Swell shows and so it was a perfect excuse to create this cute little piece.