When I first started thinking about this project and how to make it a reality, Craig and his work at New England (Brewing Co.) was one of the artists of inspiration. As a self admitted NEBCO fanboy, I had grown to love the work of Craig and saw him as a fixture at one of my favorite breweries. With that said, I didn't have any expectations to get to interview him, but upon reaching out he couldn't have been nicer and humble about the inquiry.
This helped to validate what I hope you've come to enjoy here at the 16oz. Canvas, great people and great stories. This was one of our first interviews that we did live and it was great to be able to connect in 3-D at NEBCO. We enjoyed a few of their great beers and got chatting about Craig, his career, his art and his outlook on life. I'm sure you'll it enjoy it as much as I did.
Interviews like this are what get me excited about this project. Getting the opportunity to learn about the artist and how their story and timeline developed to bring us to this point. Dean has a great story and path that easily could have gone in several different directions and not ended up with one of the most popular breweries in the country creating some of the most well known label art in the scene. Things don't happen over night and hard work is key. I'm confident you'll learn a little something new about Dean and how he came to be where he is today.
Spiteful Brewing is brewery based out of Chicago that if you're outside of the local area may be off of your radar. I have had the pleasure of enjoying their beers for the last 3 years thanks to regular trips to Chicago. With each visit the brewery continues to grow in size and their reach and amount of beers available increases as well. One thing of note that has always stood out to me was the label art and the unique sense of humor from the brewery.
With that in mind, it was only logical to try and connect with Spiteful. I had the pleasure of speaking with Luke Snobeck their Art Director and employee #1 about the process, the beer and their labels. I'm excited to see them grow and look forward to my next trip to Chicago to enjoy a few of their great beers and see what Luke has in store for his next label.
Speaking with David was a very insightful and enlightening interview. His story, career path and perspective are inspiring and impressive. On first glance, David's artwork is strong, powerful and mythical not to mention a little bad ass. He's a metal head to my hippie-esque self, so I wondered where this interview would go and honestly it really was a benchmark for me. I learned that David and I had a lot in common and shared a similar perspective. On top of that his timeline is a great life lesson for those looking to launch their own business, are a cross road life path or even a struggling artist - you can do it and on your own terms.
It's not easy, but David is a real life example of hard work paying off and being able to find a great work life balance without compromising your craft. Hope you enjoy the interview as much as I did and take something positive away from it.
