I was contacted by a Surly representative in mid-April asking if I would be interested in contributing to a North Dakota Surly launch poster. The commission was to help celebrate what is unique about our state in an edgy, non-traditional way as part of Surly Brewing Company’s distribution launch into our great state. Myself and two other artists (“Punchgut” – aka Matt Mastrud – and Nathaniel Navratil) were selected to contribute to a commemorative three color screen printed poster that will be distributed at select locations. After accepting, I had a week to come up with a rough sketch of an idea and another week to complete the finished art. Because I was assigned the western third of the state, I chose themes and images representative of western North Dakota. On Wednesday, June 8, I will be in Fargo with Matt and Nathaniel to help sign the finished posters at Surly’s Art Release Party at the Hotel Donaldson. It should be a lot of fun.
Author: thorens
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Surly Commission
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So it begins
Football is nearly over and on days like today, Spring seems like a lifetime away. In order to instill some hope and give the baseball fans in our household something to look forward to, I give you the official ‘Countdown to Opening Day’ refrigerator white board calendar.
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Thirsty Hipster
Of cheese and Pabst. Doodling while watching the Packers game (without commentary). The best of Wisconsin. Bring on the heartburn.
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Bison Drive For 5ive!
Congratulations to the North Dakota State University Bison on their fifth straight FCS National Championship — something no other college football team has ever done! Bismarck’s very own Carson Wentz led an impressive performance against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks. Final Score: 37-10.
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Time to Rest
Like the fading daylight of autumn, another fun-filled Inktober draws to a peaceful close. Better let the sketchbook and sharpies get some shut-eye before the next inkling. Thanks for all the follows, likes, comments and shares over the past 31 days. It’s rewarding and encouraging to know that there’s an audience for my random illustrations and observations. Please be sure to visit Inklings again. Until next time, have a safe and Happy Halloween!
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‘Hey You Guys!’
Hopefully Sloth, The Goonies beefy but lovable misfit monster, will make a return appearance in the alleged Goonies 2 sequel. The last we saw of the Goon Dock adventurers was 30 years ago when they were kids in search of One-eyed Willy’s pirate treasure. It will be interesting to see what adventure awaits them as adults. Imagine the potential plot-lines – Mikey’s mid-life crisis leads him to quit his job, while Chunk struggles with weight gain. Mouth loses all his money in the stock market and Data’s facing a class action lawsuit due to a wrongful death by one of his inventions. High school sweethearts, Brand and Andy, are getting a divorce because of an affair with Stef. Maybe Sloth will save the day. Wonder what he’s been up to for the last three decades.
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Eating your words
It’s a safe assumption to say that nobody likes to be wrong. The reality is, we sometimes are. When it does happen, be prepared for that large helping of embarrassment and humility.
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Party Animal
Like all things 80s, there was a time when Michael J. Fox was box office gold. I think any success the movie Teen Wolf enjoyed was linked to Fox’s rising celebrity and people’s fascination with monster makeup (e.g. special effects makeup master Rick Baker turned Michael Jackson’s Thriller video into a miniature horror movie – and we watched it). I never did see Teen Wolf Too with Jason Bateman, but my guess is it was a disappointing sequel.
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Lord of the Rings
Everyone had a first job. If you were ‘fortunate’ enough to work in the food industry, you understood the word ‘hustle’. I never did labor in the kitchen, but bussed and watered tables during lunch and dinner rushes at a local sit-down restaurant. It didn’t take long to learn that working hard and being pleasant to people were lucrative skills in life. Getting great tips from the wait staff certainly reinforced this lesson.
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Festering Boil
I remember watching the Addams Family as a kid but found myself preferring the Munsters. I never thought about why I found the creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky Addamses less appealing but I think it boiled down to context. The Munsters main characters were caricatured versions of familiar monsters – frankenstein, his bride and dracula – where the Addamses were just oddball originals.